This Is India 2017 – Part Seven

February 28^th, 2017 – Flight Home-Mumbai, India to Ottawa, Canada

The morning of February 28^th I caught my last domestic flight from Cochin to Mumbai and had all day to go shopping in Mumbai and take it easy before my flight back to Canada.

Just when I thought my adventures were over in India, little did I know that my flights home were going to be more adventurous than I ever expected.  Some of you have heard this story before and I apologize in advance!  For those who are reading it for the first time, hold onto your seats because here we go 😛

Mumbai, India to Zurich, Switzerland- 1 A.M. IST Feb 28^th: Halfway through the flight, I awoke to an older lady in the aisle who got upset because she didn’t make it to the bathroom on time so she started screaming at the flight staff and everyone around her. Passengers tried to help by yelling out to her, asking if she is ok, then the staff tried to get her back to her seat but she refused to sit because she had wet clothes. She walked throughout the plane screaming at everyone, sitting on armrests of other passengers and almost on top of a baby. Her son tried to calm her down and return her to her seat but couldn’t. The co-pilot came by and tried to convince her and couldn’t, he ordered the staff to block the emergency exits and he called overhead for a Dr to come help this lady so luckily a Dr volunteered. After an hour of convincing, he gave her some medication they had on board to calm her down because it was either that or make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia and get her off the plane. That was a 9-hour flight and we were all happy to land in Zurich.  Whew!!  As soon as I got off the plane, I headed straight for the Lindt chocolate store and started eating chocolate right away!  The fact that it was 7 a.m Swiss time was irrelevant and I bought so much to bring home for my kids because we’re all addicted to it and proud of it 😛

Zurich, Switzerland to Toronto, Canada:  One hour into the flight, another overhead page for a Dr or nurse was made out of panic. Being a nurse, I got up to see what was needed and a lady who had surgery 4 weeks ago was traveling sooner than expected. She had abdominal pain, rapid breathing, increased pulse and was dehydrated from vomiting prior to boarding.  She was also on the flight from India like me so she had already been traveling for a long time.  After laying her down across 4 seats, we contacted a Dr. on the ground and I applied oxygen, took her blood pressure and pulse, started an IV right away and gave Gravol IV. Thank God I got the IV first try because they only had one cathalon on board in their emergency kit and it’s been 4 years since I inserted an IV!  It was either that or make an emergency landing but knowing we were over the Atlantic Ocean I’m not sure where we would have landed; maybe Iceland.  The staff was great with me, they wrote everything down I was doing and I stayed with this lady for the entire 8-hour flight while she recovered. When we landed the paramedics came on board to take her off first and I gave them the full report of what happened.  Air Canada gave me a discount for 2 people on my next flight because I was the only medical person on board and it was a way to thank me for the help which was very nice of them. Next trip will be with my 2 kids and the discount will help for sure.  So 2 back to back close call emergency landings later, I had one more flight to go to get home and I was praying it would be calm!!  As soon as I landed in Toronto I had to eat because I was starving 🙂

Toronto to Ottawa: The usual turbulence but other than that I arrived safely and exhausted.  Thanks to my great friend Diane for picking me up at the airport, I was so dead!  I missed you!!   Back to the chilling cold of Canada.

I’ve been home for about eight weeks now and it took me roughly 2 weeks to recover from the jet lag, my vacation, and the flights.  I started a new job 2 days after getting back so it’s been very busy for me ever since but I am enjoying my time there.

Many thanks to everyone who has been following my This Is India blog adventures, it’s been just as fun to write as it is to read and answer the comments ❤  Many thanks to everyone who played a part in my This Is India blogs, you guys are the best, love you lots!  For those of you who would like to connect with my friends, here are their blog links:

Darshith – https://darshith0000.wordpress.com/

Nimitha – https://nimzrevealed.wordpress.com/

Pratyusha – https://naughtyinnocence.wordpress.com/

Deepika – https://deepikakumaaraguru24.wordpress.com/

Vineet – https://vineetpandeystories.wordpress.com/

Rafat – https://imrafat.wordpress.com/

Rupali – https://lettersandpoetry.wordpress.com/author/missbookthief/

KP –  https://kp14191.wordpress.com/

Karthik – https://powerfuloverflow.wordpress.com/

Noorain – https://theplatememoirs.wordpress.com/

Neerja – https://ametalk.wordpress.com/

Vipul – https://thehorsemanhitsagain.wordpress.com/

Nitin – http://tinytidbits.in/

If you’ve never been to India, you have to go.  If you live there, you are extremely fortunate and if you ever want to get away, please come to Canada and see me 😉

That Was India, 2017.

 

Lots of Love ❤

Jen 🙂

**P.S:  On a different note, my next blogs will be about my upcoming book release which is right around the corner in May so please stay tuned for that, I am super excited to tell you all about it!!

 

 

This Is India 2017-Part Four

February 14-17th, 2017

I took an Ola cab from Pune to Mumbai on the 13^th and cabs in India are not expensive.  I was able to ride 3 hours for about $40.00 Canadian.  In comparison, for me to go 40 minutes to the Ottawa airport from my house, it costs me about $60.00 Canadian.  I don’t even want to think about how much 3 hours would cost here, I’m getting heart palpitations already! 😛 Then I realized, hey, This Is India!

I met my friend Vineet again because the next day we were heading to Alleppey by train and he was able to have the time to visit some places with me which made it fun not to be on my own all the time.  On the 14^th, we boarded the train and the trip was going to take roughly 20 hours to get there.  Trains in India are not the same as here.  They run slower because of the tracks so it takes longer to get there which is ok because there’s more time to look at the scenery and talk.  Your seat also becomes your bed so every cabin has bunk beds along with sheets, blankets, and pillows.  I liked this idea because I could stretch out my legs the entire trip and not be sitting the whole way.  I slept like a baby and workers on the train came around to serve food, chai, and coffee.  It was a really great time to experience train travel there.  Alleppey is located in Kerala which is more tropical than Mumbai so as we got closer, the vegetation changed and so did the temperature which I loved.  Temperatures were at +40 C each day!  That’s better than -40 C here in February!

                        

Prior to leaving Canada, I spoke with another friend of mine, Srinath who connected me with his friend Soni who connected me with his friend Binu in Alleppey because Binu owns a houseboat there.  And when you go to Alleppey, you have to try a houseboat ride on the backwaters of Kerala.  When you board the boat, you are not the only ones out on the water.  Numerous houseboats are out at the same time each day showing tourists the beauty of Kerala.  The houseboat ride was roughly 6 hours long and lunch and snacks were included.  The food was incredible and we docked at lunchtime to eat.  Binu was very good at taking great care of us, picking us up and touring around the town.  Many thanks to everyone for arranging this day in advance for us.

Alleppey is a nice place that’s not too big, it’s on the Arabian Sea and the water is so warm and clear.  The hotel was located right across the street from the beach and it had great views from the restaurant and also very good food.  The sunset was amazing and we were lucky to see one on time, so many people were on the beach at that time compared to during the day.

I bought some famous banana chips and managed to bring some home for the kids.  I think I liked them more than they did, I’ve never had such great banana chips!  This Is India!  🙂

It was great to see the southern part of India and have good company along the way.  Thanks for joining me Vineet, I had a great time traveling with you! 😀

On Friday the 17^th we went our separate ways because I was flying to Bangalore to see more blogging friends for the weekend!  😉 ❤ Stay tuned for more fun and excitement…

 

Much Love ❤

Jen

 

 

 

This Is India 2017-Part One

Saturday, February 4^th, 2017 – Ottawa-London-Mumbai, India

I am finally writing my blog about my trip to India, it’s been a crazy month of March with a new job, finalizing my book, and getting back to normal from the jet lag.  Thank you for your patience.  So let’s begin!

Feb. 4^th at 7 pm, my great friend Helene drove me to the Ottawa airport and my kids came with me to give me a loving send off.  I was traveling solo again because of the time of year and the kids had exams to write but I wanted to make sure they would be with me when I left so we could have the maximum amount of time together.  They are so amazing, understanding and loving towards me, all they want is for me to be happy and I am.  Next time I go to India, they are coming with me for sure.  I was also happy to have Helene with me because she always lightens the mood if it gets emotional and she was there not only for me but also for my kids.  Thank you so much, Helene!! XO

I boarded the flight and slept most of the way to London, Heathrow.  Once I arrived I texted the kids to let them know I was safe and en route, then I texted my friends in India.   Heathrow is such a nice airport I wandered around during my layover and then boarded the next flight to Mumbai.  I sat beside the most adorable couple who were in their late 70’s and they were big jazz fans and lovers of Mercedes cars!  We talked the entire flight and had so much fun, I felt like I knew them for so long.

It was 4 a.m. IST on Monday, February 6^th, when I landed in Mumbai, India and all I could do was grab a cab, go to the hotel and sleep!  I arrived at the Sheraton Vashi, slept for 5 hours, ate breakfast, slept for another 6 hours, ate supper then relaxed for the night.  My blogging friend Vineet arrived to welcome me to India and we had a good time chatting about many things and made plans for the next day.

I stayed in Mumbai for two more days and I spent my time at the hotel pool, touring Mumbai with Vineet by foot, cab, and train while eating in many great places.  We had so much fun going around and I can’t believe how big a city it is!  We went to South Mumbai and ate at Leopold Café which was really fun 🙂  I always felt like a celebrity whenever I went to a restaurant, the wait staff are always men and they are not afraid to ask me questions as to why I am visiting.  I explain “to visit friends, attend 2 weddings and relax.”  They found that so interesting because I was solo and I enjoyed answering their questions just to see their response.  Marine Drive is a nice place to see at night because the lights resemble a pearl necklace that lines the curved edge of the bay.  We ended up talking there for hours.

One time while Vineet and I were going to eat supper at the hotel, the wait staff said the restaurant was closed for a private function and suggested we attend a free whiskey tasting event in the hotel and they would be serving free food there!  So off we went even though I don’t like whiskey, and sure enough, we walked in and sat down at a table in a room full of people who were sampling 6 types of whiskey.  I recognized a few bottles and then the host did a contest asking if anyone knew what type of dogs were on the Black and White label whiskey and I threw up my hand with the answer!  “Scottish Terriers,” I said and I won a 40 oz bottle of whiskey!  I couldn’t stop laughing because I was the last person in the room who probably wanted it so I gave it to Vineet since he is a big fan and he was super happy 😉 We ate lots of food and it turned out to be really fun and unexpected which is what life is all about sometimes.  Going with the flow and not planning too tight so you can remain flexible.

I wanted to spend my time relaxing in Mumbai before the first big event which was the wedding for my lovely blogging friend Pratyusha!  Karthik, who is another blogging friend from Mumbai was going to be attending Pratyusha’s wedding too so we planned to meet at the Mumbai airport on Thursday, February 9^th and go to Hyderabad together and we would meet even more blogging friends at the wedding!  I finally met Karthik at the airport after my phone gave me wifi trouble and that’s when I realized I needed a new SIM card.  Ugh.  Not a simple task this time around.

If you’re familiar with my This Is India 2016 posts, you’ll remember my excess baggage charges and my giant water bottle going through security no problem!  Well, the same things happened again this time, where I had to pay extra for my bags even though I packed lighter this time and my water bottle still managed to sail on through security on the moving belt.  Amazing!  Karthik and I boarded the flight and we were on our way to Hyderabad, excited to see everyone there!

To be continued…..

 

Much Love ❤

Jen