November 16, 2014. India arrival

Gautham wisely told us to get to O'Hare early to beat the crowd.  We were so glad we did.  Long lines for Air India, with people pushing huge carts of luggage.  We relaxed in the international terminal with drinks and a snack in a Rick Bayless restaurant.  I was disappointed not seeing Rick. :-)

On board, this picture greeted us, to get us in the mood.....

We left Chicago at 1:30 PM and started the LONG 19-hour flight.  We really got tired of sitting.  We tried to get up periodically to stroll.  The food was pretty good, for airplane food. The Indian options were much better than the Western ones.  

George and Meredith slept some; I couldn't.

We stopped in Delhi at the Indira  Gandhi airport.  We loaded up at the duty free shop for Scotch supplies for one of the wedding receptions. Here is George with the shopping bags the airport.

We landed in Hyderabad at 7:00 PM.  Bala and Nagu (Gautham's parents) were there to meet us.  They drove us through crazy traffic to their home, about 30 miles away. Since it was dark, we couldn't see much, except thousands of people darting in and out in the traffic.  Lots of scooters with families of 3-5 crammed  on the seats, 3-wheeled taxis with people hanging out the sides, people crossing the road at random.  I certainly couldn't drive here!

We got settled in and went to bed at 10:00 PM.  I think that would be about 10:30 AM Central Standard Time.  There is a 11 1/2 hour time difference.

Nagu warned us that we would be awakened at 5:30 AM by the Muslim call to worship at the mosque next door.  Will be a good wake-up call.