Travel

Travel - India

Hello again, yes I am back in the UK, and am now at my mums updating this Blog. But I think I am going to need a little bit longer than just a week as a holiday, after a week like the one I have just had, one of the least pleasant trips I undertake started from a bit of a nightmare travelling to Heathrow.


I left my house at 5pm on 12th August knowing full well that there were still strict security measures taking place at Heathrow. I left at 5 because my flight was supposed to be at 21:55 (9:55pm), and this would have given me around 3 hours to check in and get through customs.
But, the M4 spur was a nightmare, it hadn?t taken me and Jake the taxi driver long to get to the turn off, but that is when the problems started. Traffic was heaving, and from making it to the turn off, with the Terminal only 8 miles away, we were getting anxious about making it. Finally, at 8:25pm Jake managed to drop me off, and I wandered over to Terminal 3 expecting the worst, what I got was worse than the worst.

The Terminal was choc-a-block with people, I got in my queue and waited, and then someone asked if anyone was flying to Delhi, straight away I said I was, and was ushered to the front of the queue under ominous looks from others who had clearly been waiting a lot longer than me. So to the pre-boarding gate where they check your hand luggage (which was a laugh as all I had was a plastic bag), the queue here stretched for a good 300m, even before you got to the Disney style zigzag queue system.
One passenger objected verbally that a Pakistani family were allowed in the queue in front of him, to which the official (herself a Pakistani) replied their flight was at 9:45 and they had preference. The gentleman stated (with a raised voice but not abusive) that his families flight was at 9:35pm. To which the official lost it and shouted at the gentleman ?DO you realise how much STRESS we are in, why cant you just wait there like everyone else, you really do have no idea!!?, sorry dear but you have no idea, you cannot in your position lose it like that. She never even said sorry, just looked at him with sheer contempt, hopefully she will be disciplined for it, and if I was the guy in question I would DEFINITELY put in a complaint.

Just after 10.10pm I made it to the x-ray machine. Off with the shoes and belt and through the scanner, and then a pat down before the contents of my plastic bag was checked.
Out came a pen, a memory stick, and a pack of chewing gum, which had been opened. ?You can?t take them on? said the customs official. ?But I need the memory stick for my job?, said I. ?Then you have three choices, 1) Go back to check in and check it in as hold luggage. 2) We will keep it here, and then you pay £7 to get it back on your return. 3) The bin. ?The Bin? I answered and I waved goodbye to a memory stick containing not only work, but a few images of some rather nice looking ladies (if you know what I mean ;)). But throwing the gum?????



Potential Bomb Making Equipment ?? HA!

Finally after a two hour delay I managed to get on the flight and was on my way to India.

I arrived in Delhi and met up with Keyur, now the thing is the security restrictions involved with the UK, are pretty much in force in Delhi too.
I thought I would get away with my hand luggage, but no, I had to recheck it in as it had shaving gel, deodrant, after shave and toothpaste in. So, back to check in which was luckily quite empty, checked in the hand luggage, and then back through customs, to the flight, with my trusty plastic bag containing my travel documents.

Onto the flight then, and onto the next leg of the journey, Calcutta. Which you can read about in my next posting.