9/28, 9/29, 2023 - Friday and Saturday - from the itinerary: get to the airport in time for my 10:20 Finnair flight to Delhi via Helsinki - business class.
The reason for this trip to India was simply to use up my vouchers from the original 2020 trip- postponed due to Covid. I was just here in 2022, but again, couldn't use 3 of the original vouchers on that trip because of a government event at Alila Fort and a broken runway at Bogdogra. Since I was coming back anyway, I added the Bhutan leg.
Was up at 5:30 and Chris kindly drove me to the airport where he also had a flight back to Riyadh.
It was probably one of the worst starts to a journey from the standpoint that I had very little sleep in 3 nights and was feeling the effects.
Arrived to the airport in good time and the Cathay Lounge was fine - bunny and I had some champagne and dim sum. I have a new suitcase for this trip since my last one disintegrated in Japan....
There was a new plane/ new seats on both legs (LHR to Helsinki, then Helsinki to Delhi)-Airbus 350. The seats don't recline flat, so I wasn't sure how comfortable they would be. 2 things on the short haul- they give you stupid little earbuds and the small extender to fill the 5 inch gap between the seat and leg rest ( on both flights) was stupid- hard to use handle once you could find it, and difficult to release. The food was good- the short haul had rigatoni, a small venison appetizer and some champagne (of course)
At checkin the airline representative, an Indian, almost wouldn’t let me fly because he said I needed a different print out of the e-visa. Frantically I got to the page he recommended and now had another task in Helsinki - namely to get this printed - in addition to finding a luggage cover for my new suitcase. During the layover I had time to go into the lounge for more cookies and champagne- the only things worth ingesting there.
The flight was uneventful. You know you are getting old when you have to watch the instructional video to understand how to operate the seats. Also, when you can’t find the seat number and accidentally sit in the wrong seat and have the occupant bruskely point out where they are. I experienced so many rude travellers that I found myself missing COVID.
I was successful with all my errands in Helsinki and had a lovely flight to Delhi. The food and service was great. The only downside, was, again, fellow travellers who didn’t understand they had to share the overhead space. I knew I was exhausted when I actually slept soundly for a few hours on the 7 hour flight. At take off I had blueberry juice and champagne (not mixed)...There was a nice sunset after takeoff and the food was, again, great. The new seats were amazingly comfortable. There was enough room in the raised footwell to lie flat
The Delhi airport experience was also amazingly positive. A year ago getting my visa was an exercise in managing pandemonium. Now it was well signed and organized. I asked the passport agent if my original printout would have been sufficient and he said yes - I felt vindicated and wasted a lot of energy in worry trying to get the other document printed - oh well.
i was met at the airport by Mr. Shashi and my driver Naresh for the short drive to the Pullman Aerocity where I had the day at leisure. I got a local SIM card for this trip - based on past experience it is cheap and very convenient. I will use it to roam when in Bhutan and I think it will be a good hedge in case of emergency.
Since it was only 6am I was not able to check in , so hung out in the lobby until 10. By accident I realized I didn’t bring enough of one of my meds (didn’t realize the box had been opened), so arranged for that while I waited.
Once in the room I passed out for a 2 hour nap and went for a haircut and swim. The weather was really nice and air pollution not so bad. Here's the room.
I arranged to meet a work colleague - Rajeev Gupta - this evening. Bless his heart, he drove over an hour to see me (and an hour back) through Delhi traffic. The least I could do was buy him dinner, so we ate at the hotel and caught up. We worked together at TCS and he ran all of delivery operations. He now has his own company and he’s getting ready to retire.
Turns out my last trip was 18 months ago, so here is a picture then, and now
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