One of the many things I appreciate about my Gmail account is Gchat. It is simple, fast, and doesn't come with any annoying pop-up ads. And, with Gchat, I can communicate with Martin through his Blackberry in whichever corner of the Earth he may be. So when Martin first landed in Mumbai, to start working and looking for apartments, I could gather his first impressions, just as he was gathering them for himself:
Martin: Hiiii
I just touched ground
Still on the flight
me: yes i know i was tracking it on lufthansa.com
hehe
Martin: My oh my I am excited to see our new dirty and poor home city
me: was it the slums you saw
9:25 PM Martin: The flight was sooo boring and a bit long I think
One thing hit me: how do you change a diaper on a flight?
There is absolutely no other paces then at the seat
Fortunately our trip with turkish air is divided equally into two stretches of 4 hours
We should be fine
Lots of chuildren on this flight
Oh, I did not see anything at all
I'm in the middle row
I just assume its horrible
me: oh like thaaat
(yadda yadda yadda)
Martin: Guess what
me: oh no what
Martin: I already made first friend
me: haha what do you mean by friend?
Martin: Indian guy who has lived in the states for the past 8 years
He is moving back to mumbai TODAY haha
me: haha ok good!
Martin: And his wife and child will join soon
me: hey! just like youuuuuuuuuu
(Blah, blah, blah)
Martin: I'm in the very back of the flight and I can already feel the heat from the front door
me: its gonna hit you like a wall
Martin: Yep
Wow everyone is so polite
me: ok all good things so far!
Martin: I just spoke to a couple about diaper change
me: hahah
Martin: There is a table
me: i looked it up online
9:40 PM Martin: Ok
me: yea it said sometimes theres a table and sometimes the only table is your lap. depends on the plane
Martin: Go to bed love
Omg
me: jamen sveske kan ikke sov (english: yea but prunes- that would be Isabel- can't sleep)
Martin: The airport is shit
me: ta da!
Martin: Lol
Martin: Ok, better now
Lots of aircon free standing types
9:42 PM me: better than nothing
Martin: Oh, and marble floor now instead of dirty carpets
9:43 PM Ok, hit immigration
Right at the end of the escalator
Big disaster
me: your first disaster! congrats
Martin: ;-) I survived it
me: you are through [immigration] already?
Martin: Nope
Looooong queue
me: yea
i figured that would happen
try to imagine everything with me and isabel
Martin: Its not too bad
The luggage band is the fastest ever haha
People have to run to get thir luggage off it hehe
me: oh fun so it's like a game!
and i guess you came through immigration no problem then
Martin: Very easy
me: great :)
now are you looking for someone holding a sign with your name?
or will you soon, rather
Martin: Already found the driver
So easy :-)
me: wonderful!!
Martin: Its like singapore...just 100 years ago haha
me: is this going to be our driver?
lol
Martin: No, he is from the hotel
Standing outside waiting for the car
me: ...so you have a driver but no car? i thought the two would come together
Martin: One in charge of meeting me, one in charge of driving etc
All super inefficient but creates jobs haha
I feel good being back to asia babe
me: and one to fasten your seatbelt, and one to tie your shoes...
Martin: I can't stop smiling
me: really! awww
this is good honey
Martin: Excellent service
Just checking in
The hotel is litterally just outside the airport
me: you are there already! whoa
Martin: Brand new I think
me: haha you could have walked then
Martin: Yes
Then again... Terrible roads
me: is it hot? is it smelly
Martin: Hot
me: unpaved?
Martin: Not smelly
me: ok well thats good
hotter than singapore?
Martin: About the same heat at night
me: ok. i hope your room is nice
Martin: It isssss
I have a 40 inch flat screen
Very nice room
The water looks clean so not too bad like russia where it is yellowish
Oh, I have to tell you...
The room is completely quiet:-)
me: hahah!
i think, so far, it has been a good experience
unless you are saving the theft, elephant trampling, and food poisoning stories for later. wink wink. ;)
