Getting to India
After lots of last minute prep at the office, and a week of other craziness that included moving to a new apartment, I headed for the airport to catch a 17:30 flight to Frankfurt. The flight was already delayed by half an hour, so I had more than ample time to wait in the usual long line at Pearson to drop off my luggage, and also pick up some Rupees.
On the flight, I conveniently got the chance to move into a bulkhead aisle seat to make room for a family sitting together, which made for some welcome extra legroom. Air Canada’s seatback entertainment system actually worked for a change, and so I watched The International and Watchmen. The former was a decent conspiracy/action thriller, although to be honest I can’t even remember the cast (I know it was someone like, but not exactly Daniel Craig). The latter was really quite awful, and halfway through I started falling in and out of sleep, more out of boredom than exhaustion.
We made up time in the air and landed on time in Frankfurt. Although I had a few potential plans to spend some of my 6-1/2 hour layover with friends or family, it all fell through and I ended up taking the train into town and roaming around for a few hours. I was honestly surprised at what a nice city Frankfurt is. I got off the train at Hauptwache, which is central Frankfurt and an area with lots of shops, cafes, and walking distance to the river Main. In addition to the expected clusters of bank and insurance headquarters, there were lots of older buildings, churches, galleries and museums, as well as a large park that runs the length of the river in that part of the city. Best of all, the stopover gave me a chance to consume some of my favourite German goodies that you simply can’t get in North America, including Laugenbrötchen and Apfelschorle (bread boiled in saltwater prior to baking and apple juice with carbonated mineral water, respectively).
Back at the airport I moved through customs and security without a hitch and boarded my Lufthansa flight to Mumbai. Unfortunately this time there was no entertainment system, and the aircraft was quite a bit older. The fact that the crew were significantly more attractive only partially made up for the lack of amenities, and the chosen video running on the few tiny screens – a Discovery Channel documentary on the life or Meerkats – didn’t make the time pass any quicker.
I sat next to a gentleman that was actually from Pune, and was just returning from a trip to Sweden on business for a scandinavian software firm he worked for. He was very familiar with the area, including Magarpatta City, the gated live/work community a little east of central Pune where I am staying. We talked a little bit about offshoring, life in Toronto and travel, but I spent most of the time listening to a number of playlists I’ve created on my iPod over the years, some of which – incidentally – are in desperate need of a refresh. A few others, however, have stood the test of time surprisingly well.
Upon arrival in Mumbai, my bags took forever to come off the belt – Murphy’s law, I suppose. They did, however, eventually arrive, with only a small snag in one of the luggage tags to note. Finding my driver took some time as there are a number of different gathering points for prepaid cabs, regular transport, shuttle busses, etc. The ride to the hotel was quick and uneventful, although it gave me a first glimpse at the poverty and that is so prevalent everywhere here. The most striking thing in retrospect is that all the photos of the hotel on the Internet are shot from the second floor up, so as not to have to show the ground level barricade and secure entry gate, and the fact that a stone’s throw away from the building, people are sleeping by the side of the road, near makeshift shelters and among packs of stray dogs.
