Take-off and Landing

A week before I went to India, Anju the bride hooked me up with a really cool lady named Dheepa and she was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We exchanged a few emails before I finally left from our beloved LCCT with the Airasia, Now Everyone Can Fly, I was really really nervous. So Dheepa offered to pick me up from the airport.

The flight was delayed for about an hour because of runway closure and there was a plane coming from Melbourne and some dudes in there are going to Mumbai too!

I sat with a Gujarati boy. His name was Vihar and we chat all the way from KL to India.

He just graduated from a University and went to Melbourne for few months.

He was very talkative and always have many "One Thing" to tell me; he scribbles a lot too.

I asked him loads of question about India and he told me my knowledge about India is better then him. So we concluded that India is the only place where you can find the most beautiful and the ugliest anything on earth.

He also taught me what cricket is all about.

We landed in the great Mumbai International Airport at 9:45pm local time.

I asked Vihar what is his plan that now he is home.

"I think I'll enjoy the world cup first." He said matter of factly, with a smile.

It was Cricket World Cup and it is the only thing that unites India.

Remember Peter Russels and his joke about India? I expected a mixture of bad smell as soon as I step out of the plane.

I didn't smell anything.

There was a long que at the immigration, and then a very long walk to the arrival hall...

I hired a prepaid taxi and as soon as I step outside, I saw Dheepa in her orange Salwar.

She had a bit of problem with her knee. I felt bad to had her come all the way to the airport. But she was so warm and made me feel like I have known her for a long time.

As soon as we settled down in her 1 room apartment in Lokhunwala, I felt at home already...