700Miles to Work
To Bangalore & Back in a Day!
Waking up in a different City and working in some other city isn't new to me. My day began at 4am. No No 3 am. Wait a minute! 2 am. I barely was able to sleep fearing that I would realize my worst nightmare of missing a flight and ruining everyone's schedule. After these bomb scares and heightened security at Airports, I was even more scared of missing my Flight. The worst part being that I had to be present there twice in the same day.
After much deliberation, I finally got of my house at 4:30 hoping to see no rain and at least one sober Auto Driver. I was lucky enough to get both and reached the Airport by 5. Its been only a month since my last visit here but the airport seemed a lot bigger this time. Surprisingly my flight which was to take off at 6:40, was already up for a security check. I rushed through the check in process as I had only hand luggage. In the rush I forgot to give them my Freq Flier info. I made it through the security where I was told to take off my Vest for Screening. I made it in time to the flight and finished reading most of DNA on the way.
My flight had a great landing and no turbulence on the way. Bangalore arrivals was much better than its departure. I waited for my Boss's flight to land. My wait included staring at a hot Model from Bangalore on whom I had a huge crush for like ever. Then finally my boss arrived and we were off to our Bangalore Area Office. This was a lot better than what we have at Mumbai. It was wi-fi enabled and a very good place to have a meeting or discussion.
The day progressed with a lot of training sessions and a few heated arguments. I enjoyed the South Indian meal served for lunch.
All my Bangalore friends were enjoying their long weekends and were on their way to Hyd. So I was not going to visit anyone there and spent some more time browsing. At about 7, I set out to the Bangalore Airport. I almost forgot to mention, Bangalore probably has the best weather in the country. The cool breezes were a great relief from the sultry Mumbai Rains. The Auto Driver didn't understand Hindi or he pretended he didn't. So he conveniently dropped me off at the arrivals section and I dragged my sorry ass to the Departures through the crowded parking lot.
Bangalore Departures! "Did I come to a Bus Stand or a Railway Station?" was the first thought in my mind. After seeing the airlines ticket counters I confirmed this was the airport. The place was so crowded that I thought everyone in Bangalore is leaving town tonight and is in the Airport. Luckily I had my boarding pass ready from Mumbai itself. So I hunted for the end of the endless serpentine security check queue. After an hour or so I made it through security only to find that my flight was delayed by 30 Min. TOI & Mumbai Mirror to the rescue. I spent the rest of my agonizing wait staring at people to look for familiar faces if any.
Finally I got onto the flight and after another 1 hour delay overall, I landed in Mumbai at about 12am. The journey was even more painful as the elderly gentleman next to me was a little too big and out of chivalry I didn't rest my right hand. Bad Move... very Bad move. My Shoulder still hurts from that. Anyway, Mumbai airport seems to be really changing a lot. I found an auto in 2 mins and I wasn't mobbed by the crowd like it happened on my last visit. I reached home at 12:40 to hit the bed cribbing that I had to go to work the following Day.
After much deliberation, I finally got of my house at 4:30 hoping to see no rain and at least one sober Auto Driver. I was lucky enough to get both and reached the Airport by 5. Its been only a month since my last visit here but the airport seemed a lot bigger this time. Surprisingly my flight which was to take off at 6:40, was already up for a security check. I rushed through the check in process as I had only hand luggage. In the rush I forgot to give them my Freq Flier info. I made it through the security where I was told to take off my Vest for Screening. I made it in time to the flight and finished reading most of DNA on the way.
My flight had a great landing and no turbulence on the way. Bangalore arrivals was much better than its departure. I waited for my Boss's flight to land. My wait included staring at a hot Model from Bangalore on whom I had a huge crush for like ever. Then finally my boss arrived and we were off to our Bangalore Area Office. This was a lot better than what we have at Mumbai. It was wi-fi enabled and a very good place to have a meeting or discussion.
The day progressed with a lot of training sessions and a few heated arguments. I enjoyed the South Indian meal served for lunch.
All my Bangalore friends were enjoying their long weekends and were on their way to Hyd. So I was not going to visit anyone there and spent some more time browsing. At about 7, I set out to the Bangalore Airport. I almost forgot to mention, Bangalore probably has the best weather in the country. The cool breezes were a great relief from the sultry Mumbai Rains. The Auto Driver didn't understand Hindi or he pretended he didn't. So he conveniently dropped me off at the arrivals section and I dragged my sorry ass to the Departures through the crowded parking lot.
Bangalore Departures! "Did I come to a Bus Stand or a Railway Station?" was the first thought in my mind. After seeing the airlines ticket counters I confirmed this was the airport. The place was so crowded that I thought everyone in Bangalore is leaving town tonight and is in the Airport. Luckily I had my boarding pass ready from Mumbai itself. So I hunted for the end of the endless serpentine security check queue. After an hour or so I made it through security only to find that my flight was delayed by 30 Min. TOI & Mumbai Mirror to the rescue. I spent the rest of my agonizing wait staring at people to look for familiar faces if any.
Finally I got onto the flight and after another 1 hour delay overall, I landed in Mumbai at about 12am. The journey was even more painful as the elderly gentleman next to me was a little too big and out of chivalry I didn't rest my right hand. Bad Move... very Bad move. My Shoulder still hurts from that. Anyway, Mumbai airport seems to be really changing a lot. I found an auto in 2 mins and I wasn't mobbed by the crowd like it happened on my last visit. I reached home at 12:40 to hit the bed cribbing that I had to go to work the following Day.
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