Planes, automobiles, and amazing abodes

The plane trip wasn't nearly as bad as I expected.  Actually, it was quite enjoyable.  The flight from New Orleans to Houston was short and easy, as usual.  My dad and I decided to indulge in one last treat before leaving the country - bacon double cheeseburger!  Some of you on Instagram already saw this one.  We washed those down with a cold beer!

The flight from Houston to Frankfurt was awesome.  The plane had those fancy touch screen systems in the back of every seat.  I managed to watch Contagion (not the smartest move), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (BEEN wanting to see that one), and Avatar (Yeah, I'm one of three people on the planet who hadn't seen it).  The food was meh but overall this leg was a win.

We landed in Frankfurt but another plane was in our gate so we had to wait for a little while.  Apparently we were cutting things close without realizing it.  We made our way through the airport to check our departure gate, like I always do, and found that they were already boarding the damn flight to Mumbai.  Good thing we weren't screwing around in the airport thinking we still had a 1+ hour layover!

The flight from Frankfurt to Mumbai wasn't nearly as good as the previous.  Apparently it was an older Lufthansa jet so they didn't have the fancy entertainment system.  My dad and I had seats in different areas of the plane but that was fixed quickly as he got the person next to him to swap with me.  This worked out quite well as we had an exit row and nobody in front of us so we could stretch out plenty.  That's a lifesaver on a 7+ hour flight.

Landing in Mumbai was the part that I was always most nervous about.  We got these little cards to fill out for Indian Immigration before we left the plane.  It turned out quite nicely.  Hand the card and your passport over to the officer, they check it over (and ask you to remove your hat), stamp it and send you on your way.  We swapped currency at this point from US Dollars to Indian Rupees.  The exchange rate was WAY better than it was in Houston (51.xx rupees per dollar in India vs 46.xx rupees per dollar in Houston).  Finally, we handed our immigration slip to the guy at the exit and were in the clear!

We walked out of the airport in Mumbai into, quite literally, a whole different world!  Fortunately the friend that I am visiting wasn't joking when he said we would be taken care of.  Sure enough, within 25 feet of the door, was a young man holding a sign reading "Welcome to India JT Migliore, from Dhaval Shah".  At this point, I knew everything was gonna be just fine!  Little did I realize the leg that lie ahead...

Luggage loaded into the car, we take off into the sticky Indian night, my dad and I riding in the back seat of a tiny Tata Indica.  Immediately we realize something is amiss.  There are cars pulling into the very first intersection from ALL directions!  Close your eyes and hope for the best?  Apparently NASCAR is missing out by not scouting for talent over here!  Cars, trucks, buses, cargo haulers, motorcycles, and tuk-tuks were EVERYWHERE... I can honestly say that unless you've seen it with your own two eyes you can't possibly understand.  I thought New Orleans traffic was crazy but it's not even close.  Horns never quit honking, bright lights (aka dippers) are constantly aflash.  We were supposed to sleep on the 6 hour car ride from the airport, right?  Not a freaking chance...

Our very first Indian sun rises around 7:30 Indian Standard Time on the drive from Mumbai to Surat.  I can sincerely say that I was amazed, shocked, dismayed, disturbed, and excited by the array of sights this morning.  The poverty, and I know I haven't even seen much yet, breaks my heart.  It's so depressing.  Truly, we are blessed to be able to live the way we do and I know that this experience will make me think twice about taking my surroundings for granted.  The sights on the drive became so much to take in that I became kind of ill and numb.  Truthfully, I wasn't feeling well when we finally arrived at Dhaval's parents place in Surat.  After about an hour and some amazing hospitality I was back in the groove, though.

Simply put, this house is purely stunning.  There will be plenty of pictures posted by my dad on the Shutterfly link (see earlier post for the link) that you will have to check out.  I've seen pictures of it before and really they do it no justice at all.  Within 20 minutes of arriving I was handed a cell phone to use while here (HUGE thanks to Dhaval for this courtesy and consideration), a hot cup of Indian tea, and some delightful snacks.  About the time we finished a second tea we found out that one of the houseguests was locked in a bathroom and they were performing rescue efforts (See Instagram!).  It was downright hilarious!

So we've finally settled in here and it's time to clean up from traveling.  I'm off to hop in the shower(with CEILING RAIN SHOWERHEAD!) now that I'm finished with this post.  Plenty of more updates to come.  We leave here around 5AM IST tomorrow for our train trip to Jaipur, Delhi, and Agra.  I'll update as frequently as I can, likely in the evenings (mornings for you folks as IST is +11.5 hours on CST and +13.5 on my West Coast friends).