July 22, 2012
Ben and Timmy took us to the airport. They arrived a little before 10 am. The drive to the airport was easy, it being a Sunday and all.
Checking in our luggage was easy as well. One of our carry-ons was found to be double the weight limit, so the guy at the check-in counter offered to have it checked in free of charge. We were only too happy to accept his offer. When we were walking away from the check-in counter we were having second thoughts about the contents of that bag, if there was something inside it that we might need asap during the long haul.
We had coffee with Timmie and Ben and chatted a bit to kill time. We were there early.
Then it was time to go in. We told them to wait for us to make sure we cleared customs. It was again not too bad. We easily got that thing done in the least amount of time.
When we cleared it and got our bags back, we phoned them to tell them they can leave.
Still there was time to kill because we were told at check in that the flight is delayed by an hour. We walked around, got a bite to eat at Fireside Café and watched a little Giants. The Giants and the Phillies were in extra innings when we left to head to our boarding gate.
Little wait at the gate before we were allowed to board. Our seats were in the back of the plane, the second to the last row, which is good because there’s enough room on the side to stand up and the seats are so close to the restrooms. Very convenient.
It was going to be a long 13 hours I thought. The meals served were sufficient, good enough. The wine also was good. I watched Hunger Games and several episodes of the Big Bang Theory, before I finally succumbed to sleep. I felt like I had enough sleep.
We arrived in rainy Hongkong. About 2 hours before arriving, the ride became a tad bumpy, which really scares me. But nothing really tough to swallow for seasoned air travelers.
In Hongkong, we had very little time to go from arrival area to the departure gate, because well our flight arrived late. 20 minutes late, for which the airline was very apologetic about.
I thought I had time for potty break when we arrived at the departure gate. However, it wasn’t to be. You see we were lining up in the wrong line earlier. I even asked the lady in the front and she said we were in the right line. When it was our turn to hand her the boarding passes, she said we’re on the wrong gate. It turned out that our gate was all the way to the end of the terminal. So we hurried and breathing heavily by the time we saw our destination.
When I was about to make a short potty run, I saw that the line had started to form for boarding. I knew I could have made it and back to the line in time, but I didn’t risk it. I wasn’t in a hurry to use the facilities. I only wanted to take my contact lenses out since I’ve been wearing them for many hours already and I’ve even taken a nap with them. I don’t wear contact lenses for napping or sleeping.
Thankfully, we got boarded and found out that we were not seated together. Thankfully the gentleman I was seated with agreed without a word to swap seats with my husband. I fell immediately asleep. The plane didn’t leave soon. It was sitting there for sometime and I have already fallen asleep. When I woke up, the plane was still sitting there. This plane was also a Cathay Pacific. This one had faulty entertainment device so no choice but to sleep during the entire flight.
The rain in Hongkong was falling hard. But I was sleeping so I didn’t feel it. The shaking I felt. The meal on this 5 hour ride was okay as well. I was expecting more since I heard that Cathay Pacific is one of the best airlines. The service I got on both the SF to HK and HK to DEL was adequate, more than okay, but definitely not outstanding or memorable.
We arrived at Indira Gandhi International Airport at midnight, 12:30 am. What little I saw of the airport, I was impressed. I would have loved to snap a lot of photos, too many spots are photo worthy, but it was midnight and we just got off a 20-hour plane ride with the last thing I wanted to do was take out my camera and start photographing. First things first. We have to go through immigration and then collect our luggage and then customs. Three of our luggage we found quickly. The keyboard took a long time to locate and if I didn’t ask an airport worker who asked a co-worker to check the other carousel, we wouldn’t be able to locate it. I don’t know what kind of system that is, if some of our luggage comes out of one carousel and another piece of luggage in another carousel.
While I was waiting for the luggage to show up, hubby went to call our travel agents. Thankfully we manage to find him. We also got some money changed and also get a SIM card.
It was about 3 pm when we got all settled in our hotel. Did I tell you how hot and humid it was at midnight? It was unreal. I could have sworn the temperature at 1 am was above 80 with very high humidity. Sweat was rolling down my spine and my neck. So uncomfortable.
Shower was wonderful as well as an air-conditioned room. We only had a few hours to sleep because our tour starts in the morning at 10 am.
No comments:
Post a Comment