- wrapping up hour seven in the ever so lovely Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport. While it is great, I would have been happy to depart after two.. but it's all part of the experience, right? :)
- completed more than 7 laps of the concourse (up and down) while hauling two big ass bags to kill time. (I was only planning on having one carry on but I packed too much in my checked luggage so I had to purge some into a second carry on). my shoulders are now as sore as my legs from not stretching out after yesterday's 5k color run.. Darren, Amanda and Janean- hope you three are all faring better in that department :)
- was able to watch Andy Murray win Wimbledon in an intimate setting- standing with about 80 other travelers watching a crazy layout of TV screens while standing in the isles of the duty free shop as every seat in every bar/ pub/ food venue that showed the match was PACKED. The cheers, shouts and tears of joy that exploded as he won was awe inspiring... it was really, really fun to watch!
- purchased an international phone with dual sim card slots that apparently works in over 190 countries, including the UK and India- so when I arrive sometime tomorrow I can get an Indian sim card and have a phone for emergencies. yeah!
- 2nd flight of 3 in this adventure, aka London to Mumbai, is also going to be late, which means I will probably miss my connecting flight from Mumbai to Mangalore. Fun. Having said that, there are about 5 flights after the one I was going to catch so I should be OK to still get to Kannur tomorrow night. I am already in a very zen state of mind and this will sort itself out. :)
- I was able to find a really well rated car service to pick me up from the Mangalore airport and drive me directly to the program location in Kannur tomorrow (whenever I arrive) for like $50- $60 so I am SUPER stoked that I don't have to take a 15 min taxi ride to get to a 2 1/2 hour train ride to catch a bus to get to a pick up spot. Door to door, about 150 km for less than cab fare from SFO to my flat. Love it.
- I am starting to second guess my decision to only pack two accessories for the next seven weeks.(my adorable hat and a pair of dangly silver earrings). Resisting the urge to shop in very overpriced Heathrow in the hopes of the shopping mecca I have been promised in India can deliver. Then again, I'm unemployed, so the shopping will be somewhat limited :)
All in all, things are good, despite the fact that I am knackered. I think I slept about four, maybe five hours on the flight last night- between hitting turbulence and being jolted awake (not fun) and the movie selection (they had the 2nd GI Joe movie on and seriously, who can resist Channing Tatum, Duane Johnson AND Bruce Willis!? Apparently not me :) I didn't sleep well. With any luck, the flight tonight is going to go something like this: Board. Stash bags in various bins. Pass Out. Hopefully we take off, fly 9+ hours and land safely while I sleep so I can wake up as we taxi down the runway towards the gate!!
On that note, I'm going to leave my comfy bar booth, finish my Magners and make my way to the gate to see about catching a flight.
loving reading your updates and you're not even in India yet! :)
ReplyDeleteYep, these are great- keep them up! Love that saw Murray win Wimbledon. I watched it over Skype with my sister - epic match. We're not normally very good at winning things in Britain, so it was a bit of a shock for the nation, I think.
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