TL;DR post in a nutshell:
- If you’re traveling to India and need some information, you ought to read this.
- If you’re in for some LOL, you ought to read this.
- If you’re in love with the Chaborkia, you seriously must read this.
I need to document this trip before it’s all lost in memory!
I left India on the 22nd of August. Since I was in Ahmedabad, a relatively small city like Penang, I needed to catch a 1 hour flight from Ahmedabad to Mumbai for my international flight home.
As my dad left a 3 hour gap between the 1 hour domestic flight and my international flight, I thought I had ample time to frolick around the airport to enjoy the sights and sounds.
But it all went wrong. Just as the taxi reached my home, my dad made a last minute check on our flight and to our horror, our domestic flight was delayed for 2 hours! I cannot afford waiting for 2 hours, I might miss my international flight!
Screw SpiceJet. Seriously screw you.
——————————————————————
When I first landed in India three months ago, my dad also left a 3 hour gap for us to touch down Mumbai and head to Ahmedabad. But again, there were last minute changes and we were left breathless after chasing the flight down. CHASE. Really need to chase the plane okay? Then with the non-existent system ruling India’s airport, we lost a lot of time fighting our way through their customs, which were utterly ridiculous.
First the customs are separated to male and females. Then India is packed. If you think Hong Kong’s airport is packed, India is 101x worse! So their system is something liddis:
1. You put your hand carry luggage through the x-ray machine.
2. Since there are a gazillion others lining up, you might be ushered away to other lines that are less crowded, leaving you worried about your belongings on the other end of the hall.
3. Males and females are separately scanned and worse thing is, scanning is done MANUALLY meaning they run their hands through your body. So by the freaking time we’re done with the scanning our belongings are left abandoned in one of the lines!
4. There is no fixed check-in destinations for each airlines, they shift as they please.
5. Since everything isn’t fixed, you really need to depend on LUCK and ASK the clueless airport staff, who will then join you in banging around and asking about where to check in, any delays etc.
What sort of system is this lah you tell me.
——————————————————————-
I’ve already experienced the Amazing Race when I first came to India, I told myself I didn’t want it to happen another time. But it did.
Out of haste, my dad demanded a refund from SpiceJet and bought a costly GoAir flight that was taking off just 10 minutes away. 10 freaking minutes!
And we chased the airplane down with just 5 minutes to spare. Phew. Exactly 1 hour later, we reached Mumbai.
Okay listen up travelers. There are two airports in Mumbai. One domestic – Santa Cruz Domestic Airport, the other international – Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. To travel back and forth is easy, just take the free inter-terminal shuttle bus service that comes every 30 mins. You only need 15 minutes to get in between domestic and international. However you can only use the free shuttle PROVIDED you have your connecting flight ticket at hand to show the conductor.
If you don’t have one, you cannot take the free bus and will have to face the horrible Mumbai traffic jam. Approximately 45 minutes to go to the next terminal lah.
My dad thought the security would be lax and he could see me off till the International airport by sneaking on the shuttle, but alas, we were told to hand out our connecting flight tickets and I was forced to bid dad goodbye right there.
And I was alone.
It’s exhilirating to be traveling alone in a foreign land even though it’s just a short distance. Just me, my big red luggage, my laptop and my handbag full of the essentials.
You won’t get lost in Mumbai’s internatiol airport. Upon entrance, everything is clearly marked. There are plenty of check-in counters on the right side of the airport and Immigration is on the left so you might do a bit of walking. Remember to keep watch the overhead screens to make sure you’re on the right counters and flights aren’t delayed.
Toilets are well maintained by the cleaner ladies so you dun need to fret about it either. For good food and familiar names like McDonald’s and all that, check in first. Dun go for the lauya Coffee Day and other local restaurants near the entrance, later you laosai.
As I was walking to Gate 15, a guai lou approached me and asked one too many questions. I feigned deafness and smiled at him vaguely. It was right to do so – When I nestled myself in front of my Departure Gate, I saw him holding the waist of the poor ladies manning the souvenir counter. They didn’t look too comfortable with him. Hamsap lou lol.
Don’t buy the souvenirs in the airport okay? They’re grossly overpriced.
For those with connecting flights the next day, you can find a Slumber Zone near Departure Gate 15 and 16. There are some makeshift beds for you to sleep on. I was tempted to lie down but am not too pleased with the cleanliness.
And I waited patiently for my flight. When I was in Immigration, my dad called me but reception was bad. Minutes later, I received a call from Maxis.
I was utterly perplexed to receive a call from Maxis, asking me for my location and how was I. Apparently my dad was so worried about dropping me alone in Mumbai, he tried calling me but failed to reach me. Then, he called my bro, and amidst the STD/IDD mumbo jumbo, both dad and bro couldn’t reach me so my bro *somehow* demanded Maxis to call me and get back to him.
LOL should I be amused or embarassed about this parental rage episode, I really dunno. And Maxis, with all the RUBBISH they have been sending to me and bad services, yes I thank them but yet again no thank you. Who was at fault for bad reception / failed IDD services when I direly needed them? AND I FUCKING PAY YOU A LOT OF MONEY OKAY?! And I have to put up to a lot of your crap advertisements!
My Departure Gate grew steadily more crowded as time passed. I was lucky I was wearing a mask as a stupid fella had a hacking cough and he coughed like wanna die all through my wait. Somemore he was wearing white hats and white robes, those religious sort of fella. Hello you wanna go heaven earlier is your business okay dun drag me along. What sort of times are we at now lah? H1N1 okay, have some respect!
I approached the airport staff to voice my concern but sadly, they don’t give a fuck about it.
K fine I’ll just sit there and be a little ignorant traveler.
And I boarded at 11.50 pm. I got an aisle seat which was just 1 row behind the acclaimed emergency exit seat. I set my eyes on the spacious seat, ready to pounce should the seat be left vacant. I was about to pounce on that seat when a couple came in, sat down and gloated loudly at their fortune of getting that comfortable seat. FML
I told myself not to have a midnight supper but the MAS fella was so professional he actually made me nod even though I was dead set against eating anything.
And I om nom nom on some Indian curry. Last meal was somewhere in the sky having Indian curry… Which caused me indigestion and made the rest of my flight a living hell. FML
I reached KLIA safely at about 07.30 am. Technically it has been 7 hours or so if you see the time but the flight was only 4 hours long.
My dear Akonana came to pick me up. The look of him, standing there, looking into my eyes, made me feel as though nothing has ever changed and I was coming home to a warm blanket that I know will always be there for me…
Or maybe it’s just jet lag, too tired to have a faster heartbeat when seeing your loved one after 3 freaking months. LOL. And he failed to hug nor kiss me upon seeing me. WEI WHAT LAH YOU. Haiyah I dunno wanna feel exasperated or angry lah, too used to his coolness. But you cannot say he dun love me wor. He does. He just threw away half my room and cleaned it for me. And amidst other things. 😀
So that’s it. I’m back! The longest vacation I ever had…
Chaborkia dot Com 