So after making all the initial checks - passport, hotel
confirmation, and what not - it seemed
like all that was needed was to grab a cab and board our plane. When we arrived at the ticket counter for
United Airlines, we were instructed to use the automated kiosk. No problem - done
this a few times before. Unfortunately, all I got was "Error!", "Error!", no
matter what I did, "Error!" I was being
a bit proud of myself for waking up at 4:00 AM and still handling
myself graciously, but I was in serious
need of some assistance.
Fast forward twenty minutes later. I get the much needed help that I so desperately required. The flight we planned to take had us routed through Singapore, where we were supposed to arrive at 11:55 PM local time and depart 2 hours later. But since the connecting flight to Delhi would technically be the following day, they could not check the bags to our final destination. They suggested that we fetch our bags in Singapore and then recheck in at the Singapore airport. So far this is OK - I didn't need a visa to travel to Singapore. Common sense tells you that a person could not clear customs and recheck into the airport in 2 hours.
The ladies at United were kind and were doing their best to accommodate the situation, but their computers were not allowing them to override the system to check our bags to our final destination (and they really tried). Fast forward another 2 hours and the lovely United ladies re-routed our flight: a quick jaunt to Newark, then direct to New Delhi. Slaps on the backs all around - we grabbed our tickets and although I was a little frustrated, I brushed it off.
Then the freak out - we are arriving a day early! Rahul is supposed to meet me at the gate and I don’t even have a hotel reservation for the first night. I had everything so organized, what was I going to do? My mom - the ever so Que Sera Sera optimist- told me “to forget about it, we'll figure it out when we get there.” I am not exactly the "figure it out when we get there" type of gal. I have never been diagnosed with OCD but I know I do have the tendencies – it’s a flaw, love me or don’t. I was freaking out all over the place ....my heart beating fast, sweaty palms, the whole lot. What am I going to do? We left our cells at home. Do they still have payphones? Turns out they do - thank goodness for the leftover vestiges of yesteryear. I was able to call my very understanding husband in mid panic attack and he extended our hotel reservations (my hero). And thanks to the technology gods who gave us WiFi, I emailed Rachna at SCI who is such a fantastic person and within minutes had our airport transfer rearranged. Thanks to my now dear friend for life Rachna and my husband it wasn’t such a big deal.
Fast forward twenty minutes later. I get the much needed help that I so desperately required. The flight we planned to take had us routed through Singapore, where we were supposed to arrive at 11:55 PM local time and depart 2 hours later. But since the connecting flight to Delhi would technically be the following day, they could not check the bags to our final destination. They suggested that we fetch our bags in Singapore and then recheck in at the Singapore airport. So far this is OK - I didn't need a visa to travel to Singapore. Common sense tells you that a person could not clear customs and recheck into the airport in 2 hours.
The ladies at United were kind and were doing their best to accommodate the situation, but their computers were not allowing them to override the system to check our bags to our final destination (and they really tried). Fast forward another 2 hours and the lovely United ladies re-routed our flight: a quick jaunt to Newark, then direct to New Delhi. Slaps on the backs all around - we grabbed our tickets and although I was a little frustrated, I brushed it off.
Then the freak out - we are arriving a day early! Rahul is supposed to meet me at the gate and I don’t even have a hotel reservation for the first night. I had everything so organized, what was I going to do? My mom - the ever so Que Sera Sera optimist- told me “to forget about it, we'll figure it out when we get there.” I am not exactly the "figure it out when we get there" type of gal. I have never been diagnosed with OCD but I know I do have the tendencies – it’s a flaw, love me or don’t. I was freaking out all over the place ....my heart beating fast, sweaty palms, the whole lot. What am I going to do? We left our cells at home. Do they still have payphones? Turns out they do - thank goodness for the leftover vestiges of yesteryear. I was able to call my very understanding husband in mid panic attack and he extended our hotel reservations (my hero). And thanks to the technology gods who gave us WiFi, I emailed Rachna at SCI who is such a fantastic person and within minutes had our airport transfer rearranged. Thanks to my now dear friend for life Rachna and my husband it wasn’t such a big deal.
We then passed through security, and took a quick bathroom break before
heading to our gate. Warning - too much info ahead - but for you self-cyclers, you will
understand. I started to spot- maybe it
was the stress, but this wasn’t supposed to happen for another week. (We were
arriving early just in case.) So as you can understand, I am entirely grateful to
the whole snafu that lands me in India even earlier. I am taking this as a sign that the stars
and universe were aligning to get me to India when I needed to be. Que Sera Sera indeed!
Ahhh, such a fitting entrance:) Sit back and hang on tight-- you are in for the ride of a lifetime and I cannot wait to read all about it:) Bernadette
ReplyDeleteSounds hectic, so glad the timing all worked out for the best! Hope all goes well. Bon voyage! X x
ReplyDelete