Our Flight and Arrival In India

We have arrived! So my wonderful friend Amy dropped us off at LAX for a 12:30pm departure. We arrived in Houston a couple of hours later. I brought along 2 mp3 players, my Iphone, and two India guidebooks, sweaters, and my stroller which I checked and picked up at each gate.  I also brought snacks and my laptop which I never used and will go back in checked luggage on the way home. I also had a backup battery pack for charging and I had planned on recharging in the airports, but we never had enough time between flights. From Houston we had a 10 yes I said 10 hour flight to Frankfurt. The flight was uneventful, except for the delicious vegetarian, Indian food. My back and knees where hurting mid flight as I tried without success to get a little sleep. When we landed, Drake was sleeping. So I put him in the wonderful Ergo carrier on my back and Draven and I walked down the stairs from the airplane and stepped outside. Boy was it cold! The wind was blowing and it woke up little Drake, so glad I had sweaters! When I got to the gate I was told it was changed and after lots of walking carrying Drake on my back and Draven in the stroller, with the help of a kind Indian man on my flight, found the right gate. There was a huge crowd getting on the plane of mostly Indian people and it was just really bizarre. The airline attendant was giving announcements which I could not hear. I was told by another passenger I could board, so I pushed my way through the crowd, went through one of those big rotating glass doors and into a shuttle to the next plane. This would be an 11 hour flight to Mumbai. I have to say the mp3 players and I phones saved us. The kids were totally content watching shows and playing games. With the battery back-up, we had just enough power to get us through. A bollywood soap opera type of movie was playing. I have to say I was a little put off by how American the family was being portrayed. Eating spaghetti and pizza and using silly American slang, just wasn't into it.  It made me wonder about daily Indian life and the influence of media. I spoke to an older Indian woman about it briefly while waiting to use the WC.  I just don't know enough to put anything together about it, but I thought it was kind of lame. As we descended I looked out the window and noticed we were flying over little islands all lit up. It was really pretty. When we arrived in Mumbai, both kids were sleeping so Draven went in the stroller and Drake went on my back and we went through customs. They had a line for infants and handicapped people which they sent me to.  I hadn't completely filled out the forms so I had to step aside, finish it and go up to the desk again. A nice man asked me a couple of questions and I went right through. As I walked through the seemingly small airport, I noticed the shabbiness of it. It seemed old and tired. On to baggage claim. Two men immediately approached me, in competition and asked if I needed help, I said no and they promptly left me alone. My bag came right out, one of the firsts, so I was able to wheel my bag and push the stroller with Draven in it and Drake on my back to go through security. The man took one look at me and waved me through. Now I was walking down a hall, passed money exchange booths toward the exit of the airport. There were windows and I could see many people waiting outside, some sleeping, it was 2:30AM. I wan in India, now where was Del. I had read so much about harassment and scammers that I was a little paranoid of being bothered. You basically walk out and surrounding you in a horseshoe is a short wall with many people staring at everyone coming off, many holding signs to pick people up. I came out by myself, so I felt I was being stared at by a whole crowd, all around me. A man walked up very close to me and said in an Indian accent, "Take your bag, I take your bag, I take your bag" Without really looking at him I said a firm, "No thank you", only to look up and see Del! I don't have to tell you I was so happy to see him. It had been two weeks. So we went out toward the parking garage. Nothing like L.A. The cars didn't really slow down, just honked as we made our way to the elevator. The first one we couldn't get to work so we took the second one. The driver was alseep in the little car, Del said they both were sleeping in there for awhile as they had been there since 11:00. The kids woke a little and we had a very exciting, very fast ride out of the airport. The driving was like NYC only much, much faster, crazier,not really respecting the boundary of lanes and not bothering stopping for any red lights. He did however stop for a dog in the street which I appreciated. Looking out the window it reminded me of run down areas of Mexico I had been in. There were quite a few little fires that people had going and I am still not sure what they were for, our driver didn't speak any English and I haven't asked anybody else yet. We made it to our hotel  and I greeted the doorman with a Namaste my hands in prayer and a little bow. He seemed to really appreciate this and greeted my back the same way. It warms my heart to get this namaste greeting whenever I go down into the lobby, I love it! We got up to our room and were wide awake. Poor Del had to work the next day and didn't get much sleep. The kids finally went to sleep somewhere around 6am, and I was able to do a little yoga and meditation. During my meditation the feeling of being just where I needed to be here in India in this very moment came over me, as well as a feeling of gratefulness for everything, including the opportunity to be here, on the other side of the world with my family, eagerly waiting the exciting adventures to come.