The trip started as usual with MAC pulling a nearly all-nighter at Big Apple Greeter and not coming home until 11 p.m. Even so we managed to get up around 7 a.m. and finish packing, clear up some of the mess and feed the cats who circled warily, knowing something was going on. They certainly know that suitcases mean that we will be away for a while but they are well cared for by our excellent cat carers so have nothing to worry about.
At 9.30 a.m. sharp our Carmel Car Service car arrived and we took our bags down (MAC a little tardy) and set off for the airport. Even though there had been dire warnings about the oncoming ‘polar vortex’, the roads were clear and traffic light. The driver told us that he was from Hyderabad in India and was interested to know of our upcoming trip. We made good progress to Newark Liberty International Terminal B and were soon checked in for our flight. We made our way to the Virgin Atlantic Lounge where we were served brunch (no buffet here, waitress service!!). We remained comfortably there until about 12.15 when we proceeded to the gate for a very smooth boarding process. Our seats (we had treated ourself to Business Class) were in the front of the area and we soon settled into very comfortable seats. To our surprise, we were also furnished with pajamas!! That was a first.
The flight took off right on time and was uneventful. Service and food were very good and with the flat-bed seats, we were able to get quite a good night’s sleep. The entertainment system was a little wonky but as this was a night flight it really didn’t matter and the buttons adjusting the seats needed some manipulation but on the whole I would rate this as an excellent, comfortable and restful flight.
Winds being favorable, we arrived at Mumbai at about 1.30 p.m. which was an hour early. Disembarkation was easy. The immigration process was rather strange and we were unsure of exactly what to do as our flight to Colombo was a different airline and thus we were in transit but not entering India on our visas. My immigration officer was very genial and I passed through quite quickly and smoothly. MAC’s lady immigration officer made a bit of a meal of her entry and there seemed to be some doubt as to whether we even needed to go through the process at all. Anyway, we picked our bags up quickly and decide to exchange some money. We used some of our dollars to get some Indian and Sri Lankan Rupees. We exchanged $500 in Indian and $100 in Sri Lankan. I suspect that the rate we got was rather more advantageous to the changer than to us. It was INR 67 to US$1 where the published rate is INR 70 = US$1, so I guess their margin was INR 1,500. We are going to have a pool with the group when we get to New Delhi with an initial ‘ante’ of INR 15,000 which Darshana will hold for those incidental expenses such as temple entry, tips, etc.
We had quite a long wait for our flight with Sri Lankan Airlines to Colombo which was at 8.30 p.m. There is a Business Class waiting area where we could make ourselves reasonably comfortable during this layover. We checked in using their automatic kiosk but we could not check our bags or access the lounge until 3-4 hours before the flight time.
Eventually we checked in and although the check in was handled by a trainee and her mentor, it seemed to go OK but, maybe that is where our later trouble started. We proceeded through security and went to the very fancy lounge that we had access to. The lounge was sumptuously decorated with marble or similar carved screens dividing up the areas. The food was excellent with an Indian buffet of all sorts of delights. For future
Moving on from there, we moved to the gate and soon boarded the Sri Lankan Airlines Airbus. We were greeted on boarding by a delightful sari-clad flight attendant who welcomed us with hands in prayer position and the word “Ayubowan” which means in Singhalese “May you have a long life”. We took off and were served another wonderful meal in which I had a mutton curry which was excellent. Every now and again our lovely flight attendant made sure we were completely comfortable. It was a sign that tiredness was setting in that MAC made a complete mess of filling out her arrival form!!!
On landing in Colombo, the four of us seated in Business Class had our own bus to the terminal where we found quite a long line at immigration. We picked the wrong (slowest) line and eventually moved to a quicker one and passed through this formality.
So, no good journey goes unpunished. To cut a long story short, when we got to baggage claim, we found that my green bag was missing but another, very much like it was swirling, unclaimed around the carousel. It seemed obvious that someone had taken my bag in mistake for theirs. After the usual formalities, not helped by my mislaying the baggage claim slip, we left the airport bag-less and met our contacts from Red Dot Travel outside the terminal. They seemed ever-optimistic that the bag would turn up and our driver Mendes, drove us the 10 or 11 Kms to the Jetwing Beach Hotel at Negombo where we checked in, had a fast shower and went to sleep. It had been a long day!!!
So, the good news, the person (a Brit!!!!), who had grabbed what he thought was his wife’s bag but was, in fact, mine, returned it to the airport. We were notified of this at 3.45 a.m.by phone and that the bag would be here at the hotel at 8 a.m. in the morning. Great relief, back to sleep again. How grateful were we for the pajamas we had been given on our Air India flight which served us well for this night.
We live to fight another day and the Red Dot schedule will go ahead as planned with a trip to Dambulla this morning.
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