Mumbai to Madrid
ANTARCTICA! HERE I COME!
I would be flying from Mumbai to Madrid, explore Spain for a bit, then fly from Madrid to Buenos Aires, Argentina. From Buenos Aires, I would fly to Ushuaia and board the cruise to Antarctica. Then I would return to Ushuaia, and explore Argentina for a bit - and then head home! Talk about going to the other end of the world!
I would be flying from Mumbai to Madrid, explore Spain for a bit, then fly from Madrid to Buenos Aires, Argentina. From Buenos Aires, I would fly to Ushuaia and board the cruise to Antarctica. Then I would return to Ushuaia, and explore Argentina for a bit - and then head home! Talk about going to the other end of the world!
Tickets, Visas, clothes and equipment, packing, foreign exchange, detailed itinerary, hotel bookings, train and air tickets, cruise ticket, vaccination certificate, travel insurance…all check!
One nervous and excited traveller - double check!
One nervous and excited traveller - double check!
WOOHOO! THE TRIP BEGINS!
While in the check in line, I saw a guy dressed in full PPE - you know the stuff that the ambulance guys wear…the plastic suit, the mask, gloves etc - and naturally assumed that he must be an employee of the airport - either a medical dude or a sanitation guy or something. Why else would you be wearing that full body condom? But then I was quite startled to see him standing in the line at the emigration counter to get his passport stamped! Dear me, this guy was a passenger!
He must be a really really really safety conscious passenger!
The emigration people must be seeing thousands of people everyday and probably pride themselves on maintaining a poker face at all times - whether they are seeing a hippie with a drum or an arab in robes or a jewish dude with sideburns and a black hat - but I thought I saw even these phlegmatic people staring at him out of the corners of their eyes.
He must be a really really really safety conscious passenger!
The emigration people must be seeing thousands of people everyday and probably pride themselves on maintaining a poker face at all times - whether they are seeing a hippie with a drum or an arab in robes or a jewish dude with sideburns and a black hat - but I thought I saw even these phlegmatic people staring at him out of the corners of their eyes.
I thought he was a medical professional or a lab tech or a maintenance dude - but it turned to be a really cautious traveller!
Dangerous flyer! and ticketless to boot!
At Dubai I went - as per SWMBO’s orders - and asked the Emirates people about cancelling the Brazil-Dubai sector in my ticket and refunding me the moolah, and they informed me that while only one sector cannot be cancelled, I could definitely cancel the entire Brazil+Dubai+Mumbai leg and ask for a refund.
‘Ah great!’ Bharathi said ‘I will wait till the laaaaaaaast minute - if the airlines themselves cancel the flight, then they will have to issue a full refund! BUHAHAHAHA’
‘Ah great!’ Bharathi said ‘I will wait till the laaaaaaaast minute - if the airlines themselves cancel the flight, then they will have to issue a full refund! BUHAHAHAHA’
Dubai airport
The flight from Dubai to Madrid was even nicer! The plane was a very swanky one - wider seats, larger and HD TV screen - and most importantly - it was almost empty! The airline had been good enough to assign only one person in each row and most of them took advantage of Emirates thoughtfulness and stretched out over the 3 seats to lie down in comfort!
surreal sleepytime in Emirates
I alternated sleeping and drinking Gin and Tonics served by the friendly and efficient air hostesses, and was replete and happy when I hit Spain.
stairway to heaven! or at least to First class...
This stowage area looks like a happy family
fascinating shapes are everywhere - this was the drinks holder on the seat
Clearing the health protocols was also very smooth - one has the option to fill in the health declaration form online and upload the RT PCR test result - and you get a pre-authorisation. Otherwise you can stand in line and show the physical vaccination certificate and test result to the health team, and possibly get pulled aside and tested.
I had filled in the Spain health forms already and received my pre-authorisation and QR code and the health guys just scanned the QR code and waved me through in seconds. All the worries about covid causing problems to enter countries turned out to be utterly unfounded! It was completely smooth and hassle-free.
I had filled in the Spain health forms already and received my pre-authorisation and QR code and the health guys just scanned the QR code and waved me through in seconds. All the worries about covid causing problems to enter countries turned out to be utterly unfounded! It was completely smooth and hassle-free.
Madrid!
Since I was first off the plane, obviously fate had to balance the scales - and my baggage was among the last to arrive. The airport was deserted by the time I finally got my bags!
My luggage were the absolute last pieces to come out!
The airport had been totally empty and all the shops had been closed - the metro had been fairly empty, and the stations looked dark and forlorn since all the shops there also had been closed. I had naturally assumed that the city had gone to sleep and everything would be dim and dark outside and I would have to worry about highwaymen and dacoits on deserted roads! ‘YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE!’ kind of situations.
Welcome to Madrid. Everything is closed. Go Away.
But when I came out from the subway - the whole place was a huge party! WHOA!
A PAAAAAAAARTY! ARRIBA! OLÉ!
The whole square was lit up with a giant christmas tree and lighting and there were hordes and hordes and hordes of people milling around! More crowds than in Bombay! WTF!
The cup of life, this is the one
Now is the time, don't ever stop
Push it along, gotta be strong
Push it along, right to the top
I was jostled left and right and nearly carried away in the wrong direction by the milling crowds, before I yelled and wiggled and forced my way back!
A PAAAAAAAARTY! ARRIBA! OLÉ!
The whole square was lit up with a giant christmas tree and lighting and there were hordes and hordes and hordes of people milling around! More crowds than in Bombay! WTF!
The cup of life, this is the one
Now is the time, don't ever stop
Push it along, gotta be strong
Push it along, right to the top
I was jostled left and right and nearly carried away in the wrong direction by the milling crowds, before I yelled and wiggled and forced my way back!
imagine my shock when I got off the train and out of the metro station! What crowds!
