Before going ahead, A Very HAppy Dusshera to everyone..or Subho Bijoya as my mom would say 🙂 It has been one of the thandaest navratris I have EVER had..thanks to the London trip…but chalega..next time will be double dhamaal in compensation…have asked RD to book tickets to Baroda for next year 😉
Anyways back to the chronicles…you can read part 1 here
So we reached london safe and then went to the airport…
unfortunately about 200 million other flights had landed at the same time which left us with about 1000 million more passengers (what I exaggerate okie?) and we stood in the immigration line for like 2.5 hours…I am not kidding here okie…it was crazy…and there were so many people with small kids and all that…though the authorities tried their best, they just couldnt handle the crowd…
couple of great things
1. As soon as they saw someone with a small child, they would try and take them ahead (Though I do feel that they could have been a bit more proactive about that…I had this 6 months kid who cried herself to sleep because her parents couldnt do much but stand in the line, take her around etc etc…but still she just got bugged and cried herself to sleep! I felt so horrid..I didnt have the guts to ask the parents to give her to me..what if they dont like..or what if she starts crying more..and knowing my track record with babies, the later may have been pretty much possible!)
2. There were loads of punjabi aunties and gujarati masis travelling by themselves..the Brits went out of their way to search for punjabis and gujaratis within their staff to help these aunties get past the immigration stuff..these people in the staff were translating everything to those aunties and answering back to the immigration guys…honestly great stuff
and so then I finally reach the counter..I am dead tired, exhausted, its about 2 o clock india time in the night which means I am technically just 2.5 hours away from my wake up time which makes me at my crankiest best!
the immigration officer looked at me, decided I was some kind of a lunatic freed from India into Britain (I looked that part as well with my crow hair all over my face and my t shirt crumbled with all the sitting in the flight..have you see these ladies who wear designer stuff and get in and get out of flights as if they were in and out of a beauty parlour or something..Salutes to those ladies!)
anyways while my colleague is left in like 10 seconds..this IO asks me why I am there, till when I am there, checks my hotel booking, my return ticket booking, rechecks my hand prints which didnt come properly with all the grease of the chips I had eaten 😉 anyways all in all, he plans to make me never come back to UK and pretty much succeeds in that..and then lets me go with a smile (killer one!) and says enjoy your stay..yaa right!
and then we came out to realise there was NO ONE to pick us up…I tried to get in touch with my boss via a phone booth there…he said he would ask the driver to come back who had apparently left after waiting for over 3 hours for us…I dont blame him though!
anyways, after a lot of confusion and craziness, we did manage to find him…and we reached the hotel only for them to tell us that the hotel room had been confirmed in our names but not been paid for!!
I could only stand there too zapped to even think what to do…I again called up boss,
RM: look boss, these guys are saying that the hotel room is not paid for
B: how is that possible
RM: how would I know, you talk to them
B: but we paid by my credit card
RM: look boss, you do what you want, I want to sleep and before that I am going to eat my dinner here..you finish the formalities while we go and have our dinner okie?
B: !!!!
and then honestly I gave the phone away to the receptionist and colleague and me just marched into the restaurant to have some pathetically sad pizzas…I was so so tired that I thought I would just collapse in the restaurant only!
anyways boss got it sorted out (thank God for that!) and we managed to get our rooms…
I crashed…I seriously dont remember anything after that!
Next: The concluding part……..
R's Mom 
Happy Dussehra RM! Hope you enjoyed the day off yesterday 🙂
If I miss just one hour of sleep I will be dull the full day. I can understand how tired you must have been.
“you finish the formalities while we go and have our dinner okie?” – lol 😀
crow hair ??? – We have seen your pic and your hair is very nice okie!! 🙂
I can understand the nightmarish-times when the cab-driver doesn’t turn up at the airport and the hotel rooms not being booked/paid for! Seriously! Hugs, RM!
‘look boss, you do what you want, I want to sleep and before that I am going to eat my dinner here..you finish the formalities while we go and have our dinner okie?’ – Ahhh!! Now I can understand why RD chose to use the Microwave for making the Maggi and cleaned up the counter-top as well before you left to Madras! 🙂 🙂
Lol…Ayyoooo Pavam boss!!! All this at 2 o’clock india time…
Ok i have to ask 200 million flights, 1000 million people…5 people per flight?
ok..before i add any mroe smart alec comments – Happy Dussera to you too!
🙂
Immigration – always a hassle as I remember too!
So how was the Pizza at 3am in the morning? 😛
sad pizzas you said? aww poor baby even food was not good,is it? 😦
and what is with these IOs catching you only for long questioning session??? 😉
You said that to your boss??? hahahaha!!! Good! Better to say it the way it is.
As far as those ladies coming out in deisgner wear which is never out of place, well am sure they change it just before getting out of the flight otherwise it is not humanly possible to keep ur clothes crease free…..
And what is it with u and IMO’s??? U guys are in an internal love affair, when they see you they don’t want u to leave, nahin? You are internationally loved my dear 😀
@Summerscript: Ype, yesterday was spent generally being lazy…like I wrote, the navratri was really the saddest I have had in ages 😦
@S&S: thanks for the hugs…most people I complained to found it funny!
and what…I am training RD well okie 😉
@Nuttie: yaa I am definitely pavam 😉 and hey I am bad with numbers (the fact that I work in a consulting firm should be overlooked here) I am really really bad with numbers gah!
@Swaram: 🙂
@RS: yucky…arey phorenland mein khana was really really sad!
@Scribby: Muah..I love you 🙂 and those IOs pata nahi rey..my face only is like that!
@Smita: I later felt I was rude..but that time…I really had enough!
and maybe they do change their clothes..but then again..I salute their whole enthu!
yaa I swear whats with me and IOs…I just dont understand…yaa yaa internationally loved..what ever!!!
ummm i called your boss pavam…not you 😛
Wish you a very Happy Dussehra! 😀
Everytime, everytime I travel abroad, I tel myself that I will dress impeccably, and step out of the plane fresh and pretty. And everytime I look like i have survived some sorta blizzard 😦 Really salutes to the women who manage!
That being said, your boss picked your call at 2-3 in the AM? :O Wow, you’re lucky in that department!
Whats with you and IOs is with R and airport Loo’s!
Can understand how exhausted you must have been! And I was just imagining you in fata hua jeans, faded t shirt, and crow hair! Anyway like SummerScript said we have seen your hair in the dakshina chitra pottery pic, who are you kidding???
Happy Dusshera to you RM and did you do the pooja to your Kindle and inaugurated it or not?
Thats why you let friends know the time of landing.. So they are there with hot piping food.. You shud have toldme:-) he he he…
Airports are fun I worked for 6 months with the team at borminghm airport and each day was fun. People of different kind woukd come.. An sometimes when there was rush we were asked to help out… The punjabi maasi’s with all there achaar and gifts and gujju aunties with more food….
So you foun thw rooms and slept.. Fir kya hua agle din.. Woh to yaaad hai na ?
Happy belated Dushera and well in advance happy Diwali to you and yours!
Love R’s Mom and her irrepressible statements. Keep ’em coming!
@DI: heheheh sorta survived a blizzard! where do you come up with such words…that just described me to a T..most times of the day 😉
no rey..boss was in UK only..so it was just about 9.30 in the night for him!
@Seema: abhi janam janam ka rista with airports I guess 😉
arey that photu toh RD ne liya na..touch sab kiya rahega before sending it to me 😉 He just loves me too much 🙂
Pooja of kindle..arey why didnt I think of it..gah!
@Bikram: arey nahi rey….all the way from there to London! thats so sweet of you to offer 🙂
@Zephyr: why are you wishing me Happy Diwali so soon…:( you wont read my blog till then is it 😦
RM,
Pooja of Kindle was your idea. Here is what you wrote in reply to SAB’s comment: “@SAB: Imagine SAB telling me that she missed me *Preens a bit* are the classics downloadable? yipeeeeeee….to be honest, I am too scared to touch it yet…may be will do pooja for dusherra tomorrow and then try to start reading from it ”
Also, kala tikka on RD’s love for u!
Happy Dusshera to you too!
As for flights – I can never, ever come off a flight looking half way decent 😦 I don’t even have the enthu to run a brush through my hair 😦 Some people, not only look like theyhave stepped out of salon, then also walk around in stilettos, making me want to worship their feet 🙂 9 hours in shoes like those !
Your boss got a earful, didn’t he 🙂 Can’t blame you 🙂 You got just sad pizzas? Oh oh! I do hope the rest of the trip was less eventful 🙂
@Seema: arey wohi toh…why didnt I think about it…no actually thats wrong..I should have written it as ‘why didnt I remember to do it’
sorry thoda confusion in words from my end 🙂
@Smitha: exactly..and you know Smitha I noticed so many so many so many (yaa yaa that many) ladies in London wearing those pencil heels and walking around with so much ease…I am at awe seriously!!!
@nuttie: What..I thought you called me Pavam AND called me boss 🙂 arey boss is in UK only..so it was only about 9.30 his time or something
Dont know why u say that heathrow is bang 1 hour 10 minites. And at that time ita open roads..
Ohhhh r u saying it will be a problem for you if I say that in Mumbai achaaaaa lag gaya pata mere ko abb… To yeh chakkar hai.. 🙂
what is with you & IO(s) dear? an age old enmity?
sad pizza 😦 …how was the food for rest of your stay ?
I do hope to read in the concluding part that you enjoyed this trip 🙂
Happy Dussehra to you too!!!
Earlier this year, my mom was visiting me and she was stuck in London Airport too. I have heard that you really need help navigating thru there, and after being to a few other airports, I totally agree. But yes a Mallu officer came and helped my mom so yeah what you said is right, they do find the IO who speaks that language to help.
WOW! reach all the way there and no car and no hotel room….. Good thing ur boss took ur call at that time and helped you out…
Ok waiting for the ending now!…. Always puts a smile on my face when I read your post. 🙂
Happy Dusshera to R’s household.. Waiting in immigration line for 2.5 hrs and then missing cab.. OMG..Hugs RM.. waiting for the next part 🙂
Hilarious post RM..you make it all sound so funny when it is just the opposite !
In spite of all the hiccups ( at a goddamn hour of night), am glad it all worked out at the end and you were able to have a good sleeping session peacefully.
Waiting to read the next part(s). 🙂
@Bikram: Oh thats it..awesome next time then…and what are you saying about mumbai..mereko samjha nahi 😉
@AT: Putting up the concluding part now 🙂
@Ranjani: Thanks for the last line..hehehehe 🙂
@Ani: Muah thanks for the hugs
@AHK: yaa…I did sleep very well 😉
You don’t remember anything after that??? Thank God you remember the concluding part!
Jokes apart, looks like it was a terrible welcome into London for you. Imagine a smart-alec IO (in India as well as London, what are the odds of that!!!), a missing in action driver, and a hotel booking that seems trio have not be made! No wonder you crashed!!
@Ashwathy: hehehehe 🙂 I know..I seem to invite trouble na
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