With storms predicted along the I 95 corridor on Tues, many events were canceled, and so I had the a.m. to leisurely get the last of my preparations completed. Ginny (Laramore) and I decided to leave for the airport earlier than we thought necessary to insure that we were there, and she was back, before the snow started. Long story short, when I went to check in for my 2:19 flight, about 11:30, the man said to me, "I'm putting you on the 12:40 flight. It's going to get crazy around here!" So, about the time I was supposed to leave Richmond, I was in ATL.
The flight out of RIC was crowded and the attendant at the desk continually urged, "There will not be room in the overhead bins because the flight is full, check your luggage at the gate." When I got my boarding pass, at the 11th hour, she suggested that I heed her advice. My response was, "I am going to Mumbai, and I am flying standby." She nodded, and down the gateway I went with an economy class seat assignment on my boarding pass. I had just gotten into the plane when another attendant came in with a new boarding pass for me . . . a seat in First Class! No problem with room for my luggage.
As I was early to ATL, there was plenty of time for me to walk from Terminal B to Terminal E, where the international flights take off. I was hungry, and found a restaurant, with Yi FI, out of the fray; and enjoyed my last hamburger for at least two months.
When I went to the counter to 'report', I heard the Delta employee explaining to some women who were not too happy about new seat assignments that the likely explanation was that the computer didn't know they were together when it reassigned seats because we were flying to AMS on a different aircraft. To keep another long story short, I got onto the flight to Amsterdam in Business Class!!! I had been told my by friend Dave who had checked the 'loads' earlier in the week that it was unlikely that I would get the upgrade on that flight! Maybe it was the change of aircraft. Who knows!?
Though comfortable, I didn't really sleep on the overnight flight. So, life seemed a little rugged when I got off the plane in AMS Wed a.m. That same plane was going on to Mumbai in a couple of hours, but I had to go through the whole stand by procedure. Again, I got on in Business Class. Thank you, Lord. I may have napped on that second flight, but was really quite out of it when I got into the Mumbai airport. Certainly another perk of flying Business Class is that there is even a different line for you to go through immigration, and it is certainly shorter than the one for Economy.
I booked a hotel while still inside the airport, and was on my way out to meet the car that they were going to send for me, when who should I see but Dave Hicks! He was waiting for Doug, his new colleague, who was also arriving, having been delayed because of the storm. If I hadn't had a place, I could have gone to the same hotel where they were staying, but they leave today, so I just left things as they were This place isn't great, but clean sheets, a Western toilet and AC . . . all of the essentials are here. There is TV, too, which I haven't used yet. (I later tried it, but it didn't work!)
I have managed to get some sleep and to eat breakfast and lunch. I have not managed to get in touch with the old students from Woodstock School that I want to see, but . . . It is just about 4:45 Indian Standard Time, 10.5 hours ahead of EST. I have heard from Rebecca via FB. They are both working women. Kedu is a surgeon, so no doubt she has had a busy day. I'm going to try to stay awake now until after eating supper, and hopefully get a good sleep tonight. That will help me get onto the right time zone and not feel so tired!
The flight out of RIC was crowded and the attendant at the desk continually urged, "There will not be room in the overhead bins because the flight is full, check your luggage at the gate." When I got my boarding pass, at the 11th hour, she suggested that I heed her advice. My response was, "I am going to Mumbai, and I am flying standby." She nodded, and down the gateway I went with an economy class seat assignment on my boarding pass. I had just gotten into the plane when another attendant came in with a new boarding pass for me . . . a seat in First Class! No problem with room for my luggage.
As I was early to ATL, there was plenty of time for me to walk from Terminal B to Terminal E, where the international flights take off. I was hungry, and found a restaurant, with Yi FI, out of the fray; and enjoyed my last hamburger for at least two months.
When I went to the counter to 'report', I heard the Delta employee explaining to some women who were not too happy about new seat assignments that the likely explanation was that the computer didn't know they were together when it reassigned seats because we were flying to AMS on a different aircraft. To keep another long story short, I got onto the flight to Amsterdam in Business Class!!! I had been told my by friend Dave who had checked the 'loads' earlier in the week that it was unlikely that I would get the upgrade on that flight! Maybe it was the change of aircraft. Who knows!?
Though comfortable, I didn't really sleep on the overnight flight. So, life seemed a little rugged when I got off the plane in AMS Wed a.m. That same plane was going on to Mumbai in a couple of hours, but I had to go through the whole stand by procedure. Again, I got on in Business Class. Thank you, Lord. I may have napped on that second flight, but was really quite out of it when I got into the Mumbai airport. Certainly another perk of flying Business Class is that there is even a different line for you to go through immigration, and it is certainly shorter than the one for Economy.
I booked a hotel while still inside the airport, and was on my way out to meet the car that they were going to send for me, when who should I see but Dave Hicks! He was waiting for Doug, his new colleague, who was also arriving, having been delayed because of the storm. If I hadn't had a place, I could have gone to the same hotel where they were staying, but they leave today, so I just left things as they were This place isn't great, but clean sheets, a Western toilet and AC . . . all of the essentials are here. There is TV, too, which I haven't used yet. (I later tried it, but it didn't work!)
I have managed to get some sleep and to eat breakfast and lunch. I have not managed to get in touch with the old students from Woodstock School that I want to see, but . . . It is just about 4:45 Indian Standard Time, 10.5 hours ahead of EST. I have heard from Rebecca via FB. They are both working women. Kedu is a surgeon, so no doubt she has had a busy day. I'm going to try to stay awake now until after eating supper, and hopefully get a good sleep tonight. That will help me get onto the right time zone and not feel so tired!
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