October 12 - Delhi to London to Newark to Ellenville

LONG travel day... More than 24 hours from the time we left the short-stay hotel until we arrived home in Ellenville.

Again, at the airport, we had to show our passports as we entered the terminal. First stop was the British Airways ticket counter to get boarding passes and check our suitcase. Went very smoothly (Yay!) and very little time needed. We went to the security area (no shoes had to be taken off) and put bags on x-ray conveyor belt, just like we've done many other times (at different airports) for the trip. Had the "India Security Pat-down" and went to get my backpack. This time almost everything had to be taken from the backpack. Makes me wonder what he thought I had in there. Explained what everything was and stuffed it all back inside, not as neat as before. (Gave up on being neat at that point. Too tired and just wanted to go sit down.) Bought a cold drink (Of course, we couldn't take our free water in with us) and waited for our flight boarding to be called. Many of the people in our group fell asleep (not surprising since it was after 1 AM) but I stayed awake. (Someone had to watch our carry-on bags.) At one point, I walked around the secure area, checking out the shops and food places. There's a Subway there, with limited sandwich choices. I wasn't hungry. (I knew there would be food on the plane.)

Our flight left on time, flying about 9 hours to London (Heathrow). I think I slept about 7 hours, though not consecutive time (food serving, having to get up so person next to me could go to toilet, my getting up for the same, and leg cramp from the limited space in the seat). Smooth flight, arrived ontime in London at Terminal 5 (new one completed last year).

As usual, in London/Heathrow sytem, we had to go through security there and bag x-ray. Took its usual extra time (can take more than an hour for this), but no extra inspection of my backpack. They did take my "liquid quart bag" to check its contents. (I can't figure out how they would be able to find out exactly what is in each container; they actually stuck a liquid-sniffing device into the bag!) Three hours until our flight...

We walked in/out of the shops on the second level, kept checking the Departures Board for our flight gate (Heathrow does not post that early so you don't know if you'll be in the A section, where we were at the time, or have to take a shuttle to the B section.) We were told that we should stay in the A area, even if we might have to go to the B part. Seems that if you're at the B section and have to go to the A section, you'd have to go through security again. (Why? Who knows?) Our flight left from the A section, easy for us. Our gate was on the lower level so we had to take a bus to the plane. (More transportation.)

Plane ride, less than 7 hours, smooth and uneventful, with meals, ample supply of cold drinks, and choice of movies on seat backs. I didn't have to get up for anyone else the whole flight so made it more relaxing. (Well, I'm not saying that an airplane flight today is really relaxing, but it was an improvement from the earlier flight.)

On time arrival at Newark. Very quick through Passport Control (Welcome Home to the U.S.) and downstairs to baggage claim. Called Stan to find out where to meet him and waited for our bags. Not too long a wait.

Felt good to get into OUR CAR and take the ride home.

I'm planning to add more about the people and other topics about our trip as I have time (and energy) this week.

Great to be home. Looking forward to sleeping in our comfy bed. (Sean is home, too. I'm sure he's going to like sleeping at home, too.)

October 11 - Flying to Delhi from Varanasi

We went to the Varanasi Airport for our short (little more than an hour) flight to Delhi. Flight was originally scheduled for 2:40 PM but left about 2 hours later. Before we could enter the terminal, our passports were checked. Once inside, we stood in line for security check. Bags on the x-ray conveyor belt and a pat-down by a female security person. My backpack was filled with items that were either valuable (cost) or unusual size/shape that wouldn't fit well into the suitcase. Even after they sent the pack through the x-ray twice, I had to show them what was inside. I felt like it was "show and tell" as I took out my windup flashlight (told him, "You just wind it like this, no batteries" ... he was impressed), opened the box that held my small Taj Mahal (he was more impressed), pulled out the metal chairs that go with little table (seemed like he never saw one of those before), and showed a few other things. Steve told me that, as he watched what was happening, he was giving a commentary to some people in our group. We had lots of time waiting for our plane to arrive. Waiting area was crowded with many people, including us, having to stand in the stuffy, hot room. From my limited experience and what I heard, appears that planes are often delayed. It wasn't a weather problem either. Finally we were on the plane and headed back to Delhi. They served food and cold drinks.

When we arrived in Delhi, we all had to wait for our luggage. Looked like all was going smoothly, but we found our very soon that there was a glitch. One of the people in our group had taken the wrong suitcase. Her flight was earlier than the rest of ours, so she and her friend were taking the shuttle from domestic to international. Fortunately, Sanjay was able to get in touch with her so we rode in our bus to the international terminal area to give her the right bag and get the wrong one from her. (That would reach its owner the next day, via the airline.)

Originally we were supposed to have about 5 hours at our hotel to rest and shower before returning to the airport for our return flights home. No such luck with the delay from Varanasi and the bag glitch. We had a little more than 2 hours at the hotel. Managed to get a shower and change into clean, non-sweaty clothes. Made some tea in the room and finished the crackers I bought a couple of days ago.

Refreshed and clean, we left for the airport at 10:30 PM. (Our flight was scheduled for 2:15 AM. They require us to be at the airport 3 hours before international flights.

October 11 - Temple Visit and Waiting in the Hotel

This morning we didn't have to be up very early. Special thank-you to Sanjay for scheduling activities yesterday that gave us the extra time this morning. We didn't go to breakfast until after 9 since bus boarding was at 10. A short visit to a local "secular" temple that has a huge map of India and its neighbors, constructed into the floor in solid blocks of marble, about 100 years ago. Mahatma Gandhi was there for its dedication as "Mother India Temple." We had to remove our shoes, as usual. Had a "last chance" to observe the "organized chaos" on the street outside the temple area. Lots of cows. Makes me laugh to see a cow meandering down the street and all vehicles going around it. Different world.


We saw an elephant on the grounds near the temple and have no idea why it was there with the people. As Sanjay says, "God only knows."

Back to the hotel to finish packing and bags out no later than noon. (Ours were out at 11:30 and the hotel workers immediately took them downstairs.) When we went into the lounge, we sat and waited for update on our flight to Delhi. Not unexpected... delay. Ate a veggie club sandwich and french fries (good tasting...) and relaxed. Good that I could find an outlet for the computer. Battery won't last too long. I decided to take the cables so I can plug in when we're in Delhi airport and maybe in Heathrow, too. Makes time go by more quickly. Doubtful that I'll get to upload anything but will be able to write.