Bombay 2 Pune

I have done Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai so many times in last three weeks that I am loosing track of it already. I have been trying different modes of transport every time. First time I took a door to door "cool-cab" (taxi with air conditioning). It costs around Rs.1880 and they will pick you up from your house and drop you off at your office. Pretty convinient and fast but can prove to be costly if done every week.

So then I tried the shared "cool-cab". This is the same taxi but shared by three people and it is NOT door to door. So I had to go from Andheri to Dadar TT by cab (see photo below) Dadar happens to be in the opposite direction of Pune. So I didn't quite like the whole deal with shared cab. Although it is quite economical and you only pay Rs. 280 for the journey.

So last time I took a "volvo" bus. These are buses operated by private tour companies and operate daily between Pune-Mumbai. Their pick up locations are pretty convenient and I was able to catch one on Deccan which is very close to my house. This option costs Rs. 220 but it does take any where from 4 to 5 hours to reach Mumbai (Compared to three hours by cool cab) The nice thing about Volvo was that it is adequately air conditioned and you are completely isolated from the traffic outside. So it proves to be more relaxing that cool cab. (in cool cab even when you are not driving the traffic around you makes you feel tired) I do have some photos of the Volvo bus that I will post soon. Check out this "cool cab" :-) This is the way they transfer truck chassis from manufacturing plant to dealers. Usually you see a convoy of such bare bone vehicles on the roads. I felt really bad for these drivers as they have no protection from heat, sun and pollution!This photos is specifically for my paragliding friends. I was noticing the nice cummies as I was waiting in the line at the toll booth on my way to work to Mumbai :(

Status check after one week

Kids are happy!
Parents are happy!!
Wife is happy!!!
So I am happy ;-)
Work is hectic but very challenging! The travel can get old quickly.
But after just one week, the change has been good so far.

Day 4 : High flying beer

I am writing this entry few days late but things have been too hectic.

Today morning I got up at 5:30am, got ready and went to Mumbai's domestic airport. My first time ever to fly domestic and I was looking forward to the experience. I was already very impressed when I found out that I could print my boarding pass ahead of time just like in US. The "world is flat" definitely can be seen in action as India has caught up with such nice fascilities really fast!

I was greeted by good looking staff of Kingfisher airlines. The entire staff is very young, attractively dressed and quite enthusiastic! This to me was a stark contrast to the staff you come across on domestic US routes. The energy levels of this staff was clearly visible in their actions.

The flight itself was a great experience. Even though the duration from Mumbai to Bangaluru was only 1 Hr 15 minutes, we got one drink service and one meal service! Each seat had individual TV monitors with Dish Cable TV channels! First time in my life I was flying mile high while watching Federer take care of his opponents with his usual swiss precision.

The only bummer is that even though I was flying Kingfisher air, there was no Kingfisher on board! :( It is an Indian Government rule that there can be no alcohol on any domestic flights. But hey, I was already high and didn't need any chemical aids! :)

On my way back, I flew on Jet Airways. Once again the average age for crew members was 21 years. I flew directly to Pune and reached at around 11:15pm.

All in all I had a long hectic day in Bangaluru but once again the highlight of the day was the fact that India has caught up and in some cases surpassed US when it comes to domestic travel!

Day 2

I have been in Mumbai for last two days but rarely have gone out...it is blistering hot outside but doesn't affect you when you are sitting in AC room/office. :)

Tomorrow I will be flying to Bangalore. This will be my first time taking a domestic flight in India. I am looking forward to flying with an airline that is named after my favorite indian beer, Kingfisher.

Day 1

Day 1 back in India is going well so far. Rhea/Roma did excellent in the long flights. They have travelled now across pacific four times in last six months so I guess they are getting used to it :)

Mumbai airport keeps on surprising me everytime I visit. The immigration area has been improved a lot since last time I was there just six months ago. The efficiency with which we were done through immigrations was excellent. Baggage took some time to arrive but we did end up getting it all!!! As usual we got fast tracked through customs due to young kids sitting on top of the trolleys.

One striking difference I see between two ends of our journey was in the amount of hugs :) After reaching Mumbai, even though we are back with the family, there were no hugs! After 15 years in US I am kind of used to getting a hug or two :) So send me a hug via your comments ;)