Differences Observed Over Vacation ... part 2

Another example ...

After the flight to England we de-boarded the plane
and followed signs to immigration. We joined the
queue and stood in line as the stamps thumped and
returning vacationers chatted away excitedly. We
then followed signs to baggage claim. People tended
to park their trolleys to the side, then stepped
up closer to the belt, ready to grab their bags.
We got our bags and joined the orderly queue through
customs, handed over our paperwork to the customs
officials and answered about 5 questions on details
of our visit. We filed through and followed signs to
the hotel shuttle. It was slightly cool, so the
10 people waiting for their friends/family from the
flight all wore light jackets. We found the waiting
place, the bus arrived in 5 minutes and we quickly
left the airport.

After the flight to Mumbai we de-boarded the plane
and followed signs to immigration. We were sent
to the front of the queue because we had 2 children
and were checked in very quickly. We then followed
signs to baggage claim. All the signs directed
passengers from our flight to belt 2, but when we
got there an uniformed man stood there, waving his
arms, telling us to go to a different belt. On
we went to the different baggage claim where people
grabbed the trolleys and jammed themselves plus the
trolleys up against the baggage claim belt - Twiggy
couldn't have slipped in to get near the belt. The
bags came trundling around the belt soaking wet from
the rain. Some bags had little pools of water on the
top. We retrieved our damp belongings and joined the
mass of people surging towards customs. At customs
the man took our small form and waved us on. We filed
through to outside where hundreds of people stood by
waiting for passengers. Half of them had to stand in
the rain holding flimsy umbrellas. As we stood to the
side waiting for our ride, a man tried to take a photo
of our son. Our driver arrived and led us to the van -
as we walked over a guy walked up to us, grabbed the
suitcases and followed us to the van where he hurled
in the baggage so it slammed into the side. Then he
raced back over to me and grabbed the stroller - with
my son in it - and raced back to the van. I yelled
after him to stop it and give me back my son, meanwhile
my son burst into hysterics. My husband and our driver
then started yelling at the man to leave us alone. Then
my daughter started to get upset. In retrospect it's
all very funny but at the time I was almost hysterical
with exhaustion, frustration, and irritation.

Then yesterday morning after a long day, my husband and
were in the kitchen, we looked out the window, and there
on the roof of the neighboring apartment was a guy peeing
on the roof.

Welcome back to Mumbai.