I woke up early.. 8am..other folks were asleep.I helped myself to museli and milk and a bananna. The guys woke up and connected the laptop to the IPL match between deccan-chargers and mumbai-indians on a streaming video internet site.. Ah the pleasures of broadband in an advanced country..
Divya - my onsite coordinator called on Tushar's phone and asked me if i was ready to go out.. Of course i said and got ready. It was quite cold with a nippy breeze outside.. Finally some people on the road..Divya who recently married Mukesh drove up to the apartment in a not so new toyota. I say this becuase once we hit the Interstate highway i94 it was all gleaming accuras, hondas, fords and 4x4 pickups..the odd lotus elise and a ferrari along with some corvettes..
The weather was cloudy and cool with some sun.. Finally i began to feel the american countryside's beauty and enjoyed the flat roads. Mukesh maintained a steady 65mph on the center lane although other vehicles zoomed past us. He apparently has been ticketed a couple of times.. The gps device on his car was accurate and giving constant directions. We filled gas/petrol where i finally got to see afro american families in big cars.. But the colored kids in other cars were dressed in punk like manner.. Heavy chains on their necks, long tshirts and baggy pants..the usual stuff.
We pulled into a huge mall complex. It was one floor but spread out. Clothes start from $20. Shoes- nike from $29.. A bargain if converted to indian rupees.
finally there were enough people in the mall to satisfy my curiosity as to where the people were in this country. I came to the conclusion that they are either at their homes or driving or at malls!
We ate a wierd ice cream called 'dippin dots' that resembled thousand small thermocol balls. It was real ice cream though.. Divya and Mukesh make a cute couple.. Divya with her new hair cut looks actually like a school goer and the IIT Roorkee graduate hubby is a little seroius type but a nice fellow. Like any other newly married couple they were interested in small kids in the mall..small kids, so many.. I thought the 'baby boomers' generation was in 1960! Divya went off to check female clothes and i feeling bad causing the separation went off with Mukesh to check out electronics, music,etc. We met up soon and lost we were in the huge mall tried to find our way back to a restaurant we had identified while comming in.The mall has all kinds of speciality shops from shoes to wedding dresses. Cellphone accesories and cutom tshirt graphics outlets are lined in the walkway.
We had lunch at 3pm at Rain forest cafe. This was a unique expirence! The whole cafe looked like a rain forest with water fall curtains.. Heavy tree like foliage, moving monkey dolls and what not.. Even thunder and lightning at times, We ordered soft drinks and pure cheese pizza and then some nacho chips with cheese dip.. We then left the mall and back home.. This time saw harley davidson bikers in groups, cops stopping people overspeeding.. I bid good bye to the couple and reached the apartment. I have been writing this since 4:30pm and its now about 9pm.
office tomorrow at 8:30am.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Chicago-Milwaukee
Its 5:30pm at terminal3 gate g9. Chicago ohare airport. I have almost lost sense of time. The vanilla latte is what is keeping me awake as i wait for the filght to milwaukee which leaves at 6:45pm.My flight BA295 from heathrow london landed at 2.30pm local time. I noticed that unlike my earlier flight here people were eager to get off the plane just like india. After walking through the single direction corridor i reached the immgration area. There were two lines meandering towards multiple counters. The one with the black color q tape is for visitors. The other blue line for resident americans. lots of british people were in the line and i noticed that the immigration authorities at the counters were handling things with a smile and casual talk. Not the case for others. By others i mean the one holding the white i94 forms. The people from visa exempt countries carry a green i94.i was directed to counter no 64 where an hawaiian looking officer was seated. I gave the passport and waited. Basic questions were asked like why i want to go to milwaukee, who is my employer,etc. I had to push the interview to the point where i would make things clear that my training period would get extended to about 12 weeks.. As my current return ticket was for jun 28. I gave the invitation letter and within two seconds the gloved officer asked calmly but indifferently why the date mentioned on the invite letter was 24th april but my visa was granted on 18th April! How could i explain that IT companies file for pre emptive visas? Some how i managed to say that at that time i had the letter on the wipro letter head.. Now its a formal letter from the clients. This was a catch question as i was travelling for the first time. My answer seemed good enough and as i watched him write 16 aug 08 as the return date.. I heaved a small sigh of relief.
thanked him and went straight to baggage which was on the carousel by then. Fortunately chicago has free trolleys. Got one loaded the bags and headed to the single exit that took me through customs who took my form, one look at my face.. The showed the thumb to move on. I was carrying no raw food and i had indicated this on the form.
Next went directly to AA counter where airline ppl were directing us to the correct counter to hand over our pre checked in bags. After finding out the gate went to get some water. A disinterested coloured girl at the counter directed me to get change for $20. Water cost $1 something. I headed off wondering how they do business and called home. Then pulled out the $1 notes that i had got from home and ended up buying $2 something water. Then i had to go up the escalator to catch the connecting train. More asian support people here.. Reminds me of the movie 'terminal'.
got off the train , crossed the overhead foot bridge and reached terminal 3. Below i say swanky cars zipping away. Terminal 3 looked like 100 years old. Zero furnishings. I saw people were going through security check. Confirmed from the airline desk if i could take any security counter and then also confirmed from a TSA officer if i could carry the water with me. Reply- no. Pl finish it before xray. Aaargh... $2 disappearing down my throat in gulps. Again shoes are to be taken off. Collected my stuff at the other end while i watched a working mum being questioned about the baby's apple juice then her laptop..
inside now terminal 3 looked like a proper airport terminal. Went looking for gate G9. Found it and plopped myself on the waiting seats.
I met Araya the Dba who was on the 5:15pm flight. There he told me that his irritating bengali companion was caugth at the xray carrying potato,okra and onion! What the!!? The gutsy guy didnt feel it was necessaary to declare this in customs.. Technically he tried to be smart. Apparently he even tried to argue that the TSA cannot take away his food! He came through.. Somehow.. Minus the onions. Very proud of his victory.
i bid goodbye to araya and headed back to my gate. Suddenly felt a bout of hunger. avoided the neat looking bar which had americans enthusiastically watching some sport and haded to starbucks. One espresso brownie cake and a vanilla latte. Back to gate G9.
a young mother with a crying baby with a punk center hair cut, old folk, chatting ladies.. And now i calculate..i last slept properly at 3:30am india time yesterday, then just a two hour sleep on the flight to chicago. Almost 24 hrs per india time and no sleep.. A new record! Certain things that are evident are, the asian population is very much a part of the support staff. All forms of it. Along with the people of african-american origin. Makes me wonder if the economic divide still exists?Ok. Now iam typing all this and i notice its 6:20pm and i see people moving to the gate. I too got up but to notice to my horror that the screen next to the gate shows 'albany 6:45'.. I rushed to the girl at the counter and enquired and she informed me that the milwaukee flight was boarding from G14! The good part was it was not too far and was actually just next to the starbucks outlet where i had been to earlier. I reached just in time to join other passengers to get on the flight. It was a tiny aircraft. 50 odd seats..the cockpit door wide open, an old airhostess that resembled 'thelma' from scooby-doo.. I took my seat 12a. Single seat. Window and ailse. Loads of leg room. Again at the emergency door. thelma then came up and asked me and the other passenger whether we could operate the emergency door in case it was necessary.. The small aa eagle flight taxied out and took off. It was to be a 26 min flight only...and the most scariest beating the landing in the 777 by a long way. Apparently it was very windy outside. We were flying quite low and it was really bumpy! I held on to my seat tightly. Only the blond in tiny pants was showing some fear..everyone else was quite calm including thelma who informed that she wouldn't serve anything in this turbulance and anyway we were almost there.
The plane landed in a green looking milwaukee. The airport was near empty but quite unalien. I collected my luggage and followed the signs to information and phones. Called home. Then went over to information who were actually the airport transfer people. Three colored girls were manning the desk. Quite friendly. I paid $13 in cash and waited on the benches for my van to pull in outside the terminal. Now i felt quite vulnerable.. I had not contacted tushar yet.. Nor Divya. Why? I had no 50 cent coins with me! The counter girl annonced that my van would be outside any minute. I pulled my luggage and headed outside. I was to reach the divider in the center to wait. I stopped before crossing and to my surprise all the on coming vehicles stopped seeing me. I hesitated for a second then realised the respect for pedestrians here.
The van driver loaded the luggage in the back. A tough looking guy past 50. I got in and so did one aged lady. We drove in silence..i was half asleep and yet looking outside the window.. It was dusk and the roads were almost empty.Once we reached downtown i could see vehicles parked on both sides of the road. Our driver was very law abiding and stopped for pedestrians, red lights etc unlike a yellow cab that was in a hurry. There was also a 'desi cab'..probably a private company run by indians..
we entered N cass street but missed 1039 by 3 houses. The driver to my surprise didn't either tell me to get down here nor go in reverse. He went around the whole block and dropped me right in front of the buidling.
i took my baggage and headed to the apartment building door. After a moment of struggle the door opened outside and i walked in. Here was another door and a very dimly lit corridor beyond it. I knew i had to buzz the apartment and the occupants would press the button to open the doors to let me in.. But i didnt realise that the white protrusion against '10' was the button and i was fighting with the door. An old man in a guard's dress came from outside and opened the door for me. And i thanked him. He was probably the care taker or a ghost who appeared from nowhere!
i went up to the first floor by a cluastrophobic lift and knocked on door 10. Tushar opened the door. He had put on much more weight than in the full face photo i had seen in wipro employee pages. Kitchen, small drawing room and a bed room. Nice but cluttered. By this time my head felt like a trucks engine piston assembly and i badly needed sleep.
We watched some old 'boogie woogie' show on his laptop. He was laughing heartily at the smallest of javed jafri's jokes and i told myself maybe staying too long in a foreign place makes one appreciate every tiny link to one's homeland and language. We ate chapatis which he made along with some bean curry.
The intertnet at his place was so fast that we were watching 'iron man' the movie streaming! And i was thinking back at the trouble i had to take to use a 128kbps line back in Pune.
i was too tired and i went to sleep halfway through the movie. I slept on a fat matress on the floor. Only to be woken up by the other roommate who came in at 3am. Said hi and i dozed off only to be woken up again when he was mumbling about work in his sleep.
thanked him and went straight to baggage which was on the carousel by then. Fortunately chicago has free trolleys. Got one loaded the bags and headed to the single exit that took me through customs who took my form, one look at my face.. The showed the thumb to move on. I was carrying no raw food and i had indicated this on the form.
Next went directly to AA counter where airline ppl were directing us to the correct counter to hand over our pre checked in bags. After finding out the gate went to get some water. A disinterested coloured girl at the counter directed me to get change for $20. Water cost $1 something. I headed off wondering how they do business and called home. Then pulled out the $1 notes that i had got from home and ended up buying $2 something water. Then i had to go up the escalator to catch the connecting train. More asian support people here.. Reminds me of the movie 'terminal'.
got off the train , crossed the overhead foot bridge and reached terminal 3. Below i say swanky cars zipping away. Terminal 3 looked like 100 years old. Zero furnishings. I saw people were going through security check. Confirmed from the airline desk if i could take any security counter and then also confirmed from a TSA officer if i could carry the water with me. Reply- no. Pl finish it before xray. Aaargh... $2 disappearing down my throat in gulps. Again shoes are to be taken off. Collected my stuff at the other end while i watched a working mum being questioned about the baby's apple juice then her laptop..
inside now terminal 3 looked like a proper airport terminal. Went looking for gate G9. Found it and plopped myself on the waiting seats.
I met Araya the Dba who was on the 5:15pm flight. There he told me that his irritating bengali companion was caugth at the xray carrying potato,okra and onion! What the!!? The gutsy guy didnt feel it was necessaary to declare this in customs.. Technically he tried to be smart. Apparently he even tried to argue that the TSA cannot take away his food! He came through.. Somehow.. Minus the onions. Very proud of his victory.
i bid goodbye to araya and headed back to my gate. Suddenly felt a bout of hunger. avoided the neat looking bar which had americans enthusiastically watching some sport and haded to starbucks. One espresso brownie cake and a vanilla latte. Back to gate G9.
a young mother with a crying baby with a punk center hair cut, old folk, chatting ladies.. And now i calculate..i last slept properly at 3:30am india time yesterday, then just a two hour sleep on the flight to chicago. Almost 24 hrs per india time and no sleep.. A new record! Certain things that are evident are, the asian population is very much a part of the support staff. All forms of it. Along with the people of african-american origin. Makes me wonder if the economic divide still exists?Ok. Now iam typing all this and i notice its 6:20pm and i see people moving to the gate. I too got up but to notice to my horror that the screen next to the gate shows 'albany 6:45'.. I rushed to the girl at the counter and enquired and she informed me that the milwaukee flight was boarding from G14! The good part was it was not too far and was actually just next to the starbucks outlet where i had been to earlier. I reached just in time to join other passengers to get on the flight. It was a tiny aircraft. 50 odd seats..the cockpit door wide open, an old airhostess that resembled 'thelma' from scooby-doo.. I took my seat 12a. Single seat. Window and ailse. Loads of leg room. Again at the emergency door. thelma then came up and asked me and the other passenger whether we could operate the emergency door in case it was necessary.. The small aa eagle flight taxied out and took off. It was to be a 26 min flight only...and the most scariest beating the landing in the 777 by a long way. Apparently it was very windy outside. We were flying quite low and it was really bumpy! I held on to my seat tightly. Only the blond in tiny pants was showing some fear..everyone else was quite calm including thelma who informed that she wouldn't serve anything in this turbulance and anyway we were almost there.
The plane landed in a green looking milwaukee. The airport was near empty but quite unalien. I collected my luggage and followed the signs to information and phones. Called home. Then went over to information who were actually the airport transfer people. Three colored girls were manning the desk. Quite friendly. I paid $13 in cash and waited on the benches for my van to pull in outside the terminal. Now i felt quite vulnerable.. I had not contacted tushar yet.. Nor Divya. Why? I had no 50 cent coins with me! The counter girl annonced that my van would be outside any minute. I pulled my luggage and headed outside. I was to reach the divider in the center to wait. I stopped before crossing and to my surprise all the on coming vehicles stopped seeing me. I hesitated for a second then realised the respect for pedestrians here.
The van driver loaded the luggage in the back. A tough looking guy past 50. I got in and so did one aged lady. We drove in silence..i was half asleep and yet looking outside the window.. It was dusk and the roads were almost empty.Once we reached downtown i could see vehicles parked on both sides of the road. Our driver was very law abiding and stopped for pedestrians, red lights etc unlike a yellow cab that was in a hurry. There was also a 'desi cab'..probably a private company run by indians..
we entered N cass street but missed 1039 by 3 houses. The driver to my surprise didn't either tell me to get down here nor go in reverse. He went around the whole block and dropped me right in front of the buidling.
i took my baggage and headed to the apartment building door. After a moment of struggle the door opened outside and i walked in. Here was another door and a very dimly lit corridor beyond it. I knew i had to buzz the apartment and the occupants would press the button to open the doors to let me in.. But i didnt realise that the white protrusion against '10' was the button and i was fighting with the door. An old man in a guard's dress came from outside and opened the door for me. And i thanked him. He was probably the care taker or a ghost who appeared from nowhere!
i went up to the first floor by a cluastrophobic lift and knocked on door 10. Tushar opened the door. He had put on much more weight than in the full face photo i had seen in wipro employee pages. Kitchen, small drawing room and a bed room. Nice but cluttered. By this time my head felt like a trucks engine piston assembly and i badly needed sleep.
We watched some old 'boogie woogie' show on his laptop. He was laughing heartily at the smallest of javed jafri's jokes and i told myself maybe staying too long in a foreign place makes one appreciate every tiny link to one's homeland and language. We ate chapatis which he made along with some bean curry.
The intertnet at his place was so fast that we were watching 'iron man' the movie streaming! And i was thinking back at the trouble i had to take to use a 128kbps line back in Pune.
i was too tired and i went to sleep halfway through the movie. I slept on a fat matress on the floor. Only to be woken up by the other roommate who came in at 3am. Said hi and i dozed off only to be woken up again when he was mumbling about work in his sleep.
Pune-Mumbai-London-Chicago
I left pune in a hurry. I was late by 30mins than my plan. Stopped at a food plaza for some wada pav and water the cheapest items on the exorbiantly priced menu. Traffic on the expressway was scant and we made good time. Within 2 1/2 hrs were inside mumbai's borders. I was very worried if i woild be able to locate any atm on the way. I had very less indian currency with me but enough dollars for 2 nights stay at a five star hotel. But i would need to pay in rupees for the cab and in case i was carrying extra weight in my luggage. After missing out on a couple of ATMs on either side of the road on account of my schumi breed driver i managed to ask him to stop on busy road , ran to the atm and withdrew some cash. Back in the car, i began to sweat and started cursing the humid mumbai weather and the fact that my cab was non a/c. We took 1 hour to get through traffic and reach the international airport via congested flea market roads.
The airport from outside looked no better than new delhi railway station with a zillion people of all age groups and economic backgrounds. My driver dropped me at terminal 2b /c. I entered the airport after passing security.
Apparently the baggage x ray machines are different airlines and the one for British airways would operate only after 10:30pm. It was 9.20pm at that point. I cursed the system and the casual and indifferent support staff who were more interested in checking out female passengers rather than loading the luggage on the xray machines.
i couldnt collect/exchange rupees for pounds as the forex converters require the customer's boarding pass for some reason. So i milled around with my luggage observing confused passengers who were running all over the place. I had two samosas and bought a bottle of water total rupees 60. Yeah.. Still cheaper than other airports. I then headed back to the xray machine and started the queue at 9:45pm.
Indeed the staff arrived at 10:30pm and i was the first 'economy class' passenger to get my baggage xrayed.The british airways counter was right next to this place and i was greeted by a girl with heavy makeup. She took my passport keyed in things for a long time and printed out my boarding pass. No need for the eticket print out. She gave me two options - my luggage could be checked in till chicago or till 'milkawee'.. Yeah she said 'milkawee' every single time i asked to clear this point. Even though i would be taking American airlines from chicago i could get my bags checked in till milwaukee (milkawee).. I agreed and checked the theree boarding passes. Still i was confused as the third pass had the american airline flight info but a british airways header.. Both airline is part of 'one world' alliance. The airline staff also give the customs form. Once i got the boarding passes i confirmed that i was indeed going to Milwaukee,USA rather than Milkawee, Africa!
There are a lot of airline staff to assist you but mind you the other airline staff will not even address basic airport related questions.
i was looking for 'emmigration' only to find the 'bureau of immigration' counters on the other end of a huge snaking line. When it was my turn the officer at the counter leaned forward after looking at my customs form and passport. Realized later that the silent officer was looking at my face to match the photo on the passport. I was cleared and i headed to the departure gate at the lower level. I waited for the security check announcement and once they did i reached the security check.. You are not allowed to carry water past x ray. I found this quite perplexing and i thought this was some underhanded trick to make people buy water from counters past the security check.
I found one more wipro person travelling on the same flight to london. Chatted with him for a while and boarded the huge 747-400 british aircraft via the aerobridge at 2:15am.. Flight already late. First comes the cubie based club class then first then world traveller plus which has calf rests and more space. I sat at a window seat and next to me were a 50+ marathi couple. I checked out the flight entertainment, had the special asian veg meal, watching the grey moonlit ocean. The flight would go around gujrat, bypass pakistan and iraq and go via the black sea and bypass the swiss alps and reach london. I watched an episode of simpsons and dozed off at 3:30am.
Woke up, freshend up, had bfast of upma and tiny masala dosa. Watched 'hitman' the movie and waited for the aircraft to land at london. London from the air appears very green and organised. The 747-400 behmoth landed effortlessly. i went through to 'connections' corridor at london - heathrow and through a security check. Here one has to remove belt,wallet and shoes also! No water bottles again! I was carrying a small water bottle from BA. The moment my bag came through an alarm went off.. I was concerned.. It was becuase of the water bottle.. Yet the security lady took a piece for sterile cloth in long metal handle and wiped the insides of my bag and tested the cloth for some diseases maybe in a wierd looking machine. I was cleared. I reached the terminal 4 departure area where there are enough shops for everthing. Its a longish terminal lined with shops. For pay phones you need a 1 pound coin. Same for internet access on a console. I bought a diet coke with the twenty pound note which i had exchanged for about 1600 rupees back in mumbai after getiing the boarding pass. Diet coke 500ml cost about 2 pounds.
i used the change and went to a console that said telephone. The one next to it said internet.. So i searched for the reciever..couldnt find one on this telephone console..i thought maybe we had to use the builtin speakers that were visible..but after dropping the coin i realised this was also an internet console but deftly displaying 'telephone' on top!
The tata indicom calling card can be used from telephones toll free. My coin came out when i dialled the number..this was at another real telephone after i used up the internet and found the pay phone.
i then changed to formal clothes as advised by my company. Better impression on immgration officer at chicago.. I milled around lots of times, checking prices of various items to try and understand the pricing levels of all goods in london. I went into the second souvenier shop,determined to buy somethiung this time only to be confused again.. I picked up some collector coins..somehow some part of my arm brushed a small decorative plate and crash..it broke before i realised it was me who dropped it.. At once the foreigners at the nearby cafe went..'oh ho...some one's broken something'.. Already my mind was racing and i felt i wouild have to shell out all the lefft over british pounds and some dollars also.. But surprisingly the two indian girls at the counter swiftly cleaned up the mess and walked away.. Wow! But i did buy a coffee mug. They need ur onward flight number before billing..why?
finally the boarding call was announced along with the gate number for my flight.. I followed the group of passengers down corridors through another security check this time a pat down and manual bag check and then to the bus which took me to the boeing 777. This time my seat was next to the emergency exit and the window was too far from my seat on the door..damn!The flight goes through manchester, irish sea, near iceland by passing greenland and into cananda and around the lakes and only briefly over lake michigan and lands at chicago. Total about 7 hours.
the food was not as good as the previous flight and the tv options were also not choosable but broadcast channels whcih ran bbc news for 30mins then simultaneously 4 movies on different channels..then all screens went blank after 2 hrs except for the cartoon channel and the map channel showing live flight information. In BA you cannot upgrade your seat youself if you find empty seats in ther upper class..they get better food and drinks maybe..the two americans who shifted seats were asked to pay money or return back the economy class.
the landing at chicago was scary with the flight dropping altitude drastically many times. Windy conditions announced a calm captain after landing.
The airport from outside looked no better than new delhi railway station with a zillion people of all age groups and economic backgrounds. My driver dropped me at terminal 2b /c. I entered the airport after passing security.
Apparently the baggage x ray machines are different airlines and the one for British airways would operate only after 10:30pm. It was 9.20pm at that point. I cursed the system and the casual and indifferent support staff who were more interested in checking out female passengers rather than loading the luggage on the xray machines.
i couldnt collect/exchange rupees for pounds as the forex converters require the customer's boarding pass for some reason. So i milled around with my luggage observing confused passengers who were running all over the place. I had two samosas and bought a bottle of water total rupees 60. Yeah.. Still cheaper than other airports. I then headed back to the xray machine and started the queue at 9:45pm.
Indeed the staff arrived at 10:30pm and i was the first 'economy class' passenger to get my baggage xrayed.The british airways counter was right next to this place and i was greeted by a girl with heavy makeup. She took my passport keyed in things for a long time and printed out my boarding pass. No need for the eticket print out. She gave me two options - my luggage could be checked in till chicago or till 'milkawee'.. Yeah she said 'milkawee' every single time i asked to clear this point. Even though i would be taking American airlines from chicago i could get my bags checked in till milwaukee (milkawee).. I agreed and checked the theree boarding passes. Still i was confused as the third pass had the american airline flight info but a british airways header.. Both airline is part of 'one world' alliance. The airline staff also give the customs form. Once i got the boarding passes i confirmed that i was indeed going to Milwaukee,USA rather than Milkawee, Africa!
There are a lot of airline staff to assist you but mind you the other airline staff will not even address basic airport related questions.
i was looking for 'emmigration' only to find the 'bureau of immigration' counters on the other end of a huge snaking line. When it was my turn the officer at the counter leaned forward after looking at my customs form and passport. Realized later that the silent officer was looking at my face to match the photo on the passport. I was cleared and i headed to the departure gate at the lower level. I waited for the security check announcement and once they did i reached the security check.. You are not allowed to carry water past x ray. I found this quite perplexing and i thought this was some underhanded trick to make people buy water from counters past the security check.
I found one more wipro person travelling on the same flight to london. Chatted with him for a while and boarded the huge 747-400 british aircraft via the aerobridge at 2:15am.. Flight already late. First comes the cubie based club class then first then world traveller plus which has calf rests and more space. I sat at a window seat and next to me were a 50+ marathi couple. I checked out the flight entertainment, had the special asian veg meal, watching the grey moonlit ocean. The flight would go around gujrat, bypass pakistan and iraq and go via the black sea and bypass the swiss alps and reach london. I watched an episode of simpsons and dozed off at 3:30am.
Woke up, freshend up, had bfast of upma and tiny masala dosa. Watched 'hitman' the movie and waited for the aircraft to land at london. London from the air appears very green and organised. The 747-400 behmoth landed effortlessly. i went through to 'connections' corridor at london - heathrow and through a security check. Here one has to remove belt,wallet and shoes also! No water bottles again! I was carrying a small water bottle from BA. The moment my bag came through an alarm went off.. I was concerned.. It was becuase of the water bottle.. Yet the security lady took a piece for sterile cloth in long metal handle and wiped the insides of my bag and tested the cloth for some diseases maybe in a wierd looking machine. I was cleared. I reached the terminal 4 departure area where there are enough shops for everthing. Its a longish terminal lined with shops. For pay phones you need a 1 pound coin. Same for internet access on a console. I bought a diet coke with the twenty pound note which i had exchanged for about 1600 rupees back in mumbai after getiing the boarding pass. Diet coke 500ml cost about 2 pounds.
i used the change and went to a console that said telephone. The one next to it said internet.. So i searched for the reciever..couldnt find one on this telephone console..i thought maybe we had to use the builtin speakers that were visible..but after dropping the coin i realised this was also an internet console but deftly displaying 'telephone' on top!
The tata indicom calling card can be used from telephones toll free. My coin came out when i dialled the number..this was at another real telephone after i used up the internet and found the pay phone.
i then changed to formal clothes as advised by my company. Better impression on immgration officer at chicago.. I milled around lots of times, checking prices of various items to try and understand the pricing levels of all goods in london. I went into the second souvenier shop,determined to buy somethiung this time only to be confused again.. I picked up some collector coins..somehow some part of my arm brushed a small decorative plate and crash..it broke before i realised it was me who dropped it.. At once the foreigners at the nearby cafe went..'oh ho...some one's broken something'.. Already my mind was racing and i felt i wouild have to shell out all the lefft over british pounds and some dollars also.. But surprisingly the two indian girls at the counter swiftly cleaned up the mess and walked away.. Wow! But i did buy a coffee mug. They need ur onward flight number before billing..why?
finally the boarding call was announced along with the gate number for my flight.. I followed the group of passengers down corridors through another security check this time a pat down and manual bag check and then to the bus which took me to the boeing 777. This time my seat was next to the emergency exit and the window was too far from my seat on the door..damn!The flight goes through manchester, irish sea, near iceland by passing greenland and into cananda and around the lakes and only briefly over lake michigan and lands at chicago. Total about 7 hours.
the food was not as good as the previous flight and the tv options were also not choosable but broadcast channels whcih ran bbc news for 30mins then simultaneously 4 movies on different channels..then all screens went blank after 2 hrs except for the cartoon channel and the map channel showing live flight information. In BA you cannot upgrade your seat youself if you find empty seats in ther upper class..they get better food and drinks maybe..the two americans who shifted seats were asked to pay money or return back the economy class.
the landing at chicago was scary with the flight dropping altitude drastically many times. Windy conditions announced a calm captain after landing.
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