Day 11

Fly Me Home

19 hours of flight time and 13 ½ hours of time changes

This is a brutal day. We arrived at the airport with over 3 hours to spare. Good thing it took over an hour to check in. After that I went to find a $$ exchanger as it is illegal to take out Indian Rupees. Hind sight here, I could have kept the rupees as they really don't go through your bags with a fine tooth comb. In fact I had about $100 worth of the script because I could not remember if our tickets included the exit fee that is charges at Delhi International Airport. I guess it did as we were not asked to pony up. We both have been suffering a bit of the Delhi Belly this past 24-36 hours. Mine is under control but RN has had to make a few runs to the loo. They take all our bags and we don't see them again until we hit US soil. nice. Our first flight takes us to the UK.

Getting through Indian customs takes another 45 minutes. Sure glad we got there early. The agent asks to see Anu's sealed envelope for the SU customs agent. He tells me he needs to see it to make sure we can get entry at our destination. He basically checks the sheet of paper that is attached to the front matches what is on her Visa. Dooh, I must have been tired. I should have taken a shot of the envelope “ Warning – To Be opened by US Customs Only” The letter had some basic info about Anu: DOB, My name and addy, a photo of her. Then it is off to x-ray and finally the waiting area. The searches are consistently inconsistent. The women go through one side and the men through another. Sometimes you can bring water sometimes you can't. Today you can't but our breast milk comes though with no hassle while doing the in-country search we were questioned and detained. We settle in for our seats the first half. The plane was late to board but we have ample time at our destination to make connections.

RN is having issues with the fact that Camille Anu is bonding with me and not her. I tell the wife to let's just get home and then deal with it. The worse part is to have a scene for the duration of the flight. Mamma's not happy.

For the first time in my life I am over Russian territory. The display units on the seats give a rough approximation. Brrrr, sure looks cold.

We have a 3 hour layover at Heathrow. Again we go through screening and almost get in without a hitch. One of our dinky water bottles has become unfrozen so is now a liquid. I had fun earlier when they wanted me to pitch out a bottle of frozen water but pointed out that their rules state liquids are restricted. In its present state it is not a liquid it is a solid and therefore allowed, can I speak to a supervisor about the rules of physics. I really hate flying. by the way I can inflict far more damage and harm with this litre bottle of frozen water than when it a liquid but that is besides the point and beyond common sense that is security in the age we live in. Oh don't get me going. Anyway our 2 cups of water is gladly confiscated and we move on.

Once again we are delayed at getting onto the plane at Heathrow but I don't care we are almost home.

So we get a scene with Camille anyway. She is done with mommy and she is done with planes. She wants to return form whence she came. Time to tough it up. An elderly couple, probably in their early 70's are clearly upset that we are in “their upscale section” of the plane but hey I paid full fare too and I cam prepared - I brought earplugs and I know how to use them! In about 45 minutes after takeoff she goes to sleep and all is cool. Of course at the top of descent she starts to cry again. Hey I note to myself I have more earplugs!. So I go to the persnickety gentleman and offer him two sets of earplugs telling him that these might make the rest of the flight more bearable for him and his wife. He proceeds to put them in. The tantrum is over in another 45 minutes.

We land fill out more paperwork for US Customs. Before we can collect our bags we have to go to a special line for new immigrants. What seems like an eternity is merely a formality. The paperwork gets stamped. The officer says welcome to the US. I go to collect our bags and now I now it was not very long because our bags have not yet arrived at the carousel. We collect our bags, and then get them scanned for contraband. Cool all our spices and masala mixes get passed through the machine without setting off the alarms. We hand in our final paperwork and are finally home! Now where did I park the car?

If someone asks me what my impression of India is I would have to tell them that I do not have an objective view/opinion as I was not there long enough to really get a feel for the country. Give me a month or two living there. Usually when I have travelled with the family (the parental unit) we spend a month or two in the country. This way you can really see what living in-country is like. Thus why I did not want to leave New Zealand and could not wait to get back to the states when we visited Italy and Sicily. I would strongly recommend you pick up a book that was given to me before my trip called Culture Smart - India. It is short and was quite helpful in coming to terms with the diversity that you will encounter (poor and destitute people begging for coin when you stop to quite palatial environs). Everyone rubbing elbows, so to speak. There is eons of history there and lots of cultural places for the tourist to see and visit. The infrastructure is what is lacking. We were on main roads between major cities but they were not connected by a substantial road like the US/UK/Europe. I do not know if the main means of getting from city to city is by train as the roads were packed with all sort of conveyance. The electrical grid is not stable as there are frequent brown outs and some appliances are hooked into individual signal conditioners so they don't get fried. The natives do not drink the tap water.

One sentence to describe India.

India has aspects that gives it the identity of a third world country and yet is in the midst of a post industrial economy.

As the Chinese have Yin and Yang, India has Karma and Dharma.

Stats

I have not yet done up the total cost of the adoption, it hurts to think about it. Let's just say the savings account is about empty. I am quite sure that we have hit $35K. We left$2600 in cash in India and the UK. India took $400 for the embassy, $1500 for the adoption agency, another $100 for the airport tax ( converted to INR) so that leaves about $600 unaccounted for and yet I know I have it marked down on paper I just have to tally it.

Here is a good one. From the time that we first started contact with our agency to when Miss C touched US soil we have over 880 emails between us and out adoption agency. It is not over yet as there will be follow ups and frequent check-ins. I don't know about other agencies but we knew that this would be a lifelong commitment between us and the adoption agency. As such we a strong friendship has been nurtured and will continue long into Camille's life. How cool is that?

What is next for the blog

I go back to work in a couple of weeks and so like the first blog it will probably be an update once a month. I have been asked to continue blogging about the trials and tribulations of actually adopting Camille in the state of California. I alluded to the steps required in an earlier entry on the other blog site. Now I just need to figure out if I go back and add to the old site or add onto this blog, Camille's Big Trip Home

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Day -1

The morning started out with an “English Breakfast” The dollar is still in the dumps compared to the pound. About 1.70 to the pound. breakfast as seen in this delicious plate is 8 pounds. Can't wait to leave. Today we were going to hit a museum but the weather was nice so it was a hike of fortitude. about 4 miles.

Started out at Cleopatra's needle on the embankment

Over to Whitehall where the gov buildings are located.

15 years ago you could walk up to 10 Downing Street and take a photo. Those days are long gone and now you can't even see the door from the street because the street is blocked off.

At the Horse Guards Parade - playgrounds we saw a statue of Lord Kitchner. He was one of the players in India at the turn of the last century (1900's) I have part one of his autobiography on my desk at the office. I think he passed before he got to part 2.

Got to hear Big Ben ring out 1100. The wife thought the parliament building was the palace. It is a rather ornate building.

Westminster was closed as it was being invaded by scores of scouts and guides. So I got a couple of shots of the flying buttresses and the gargoyles on one side.

Next stop was Buck Palace. This time the comment to me was good grief they live here. It looks like a government building not a palace. Well rest assured I bet it is palatial on the inside! Queen Vicky has a garish memorial to herself there in the middle.

Met a Bobby from Rosemead. Small world. As it was getting near noon the masses had gathered fro some pomp and circumstance. We waited for the big parade and then continued onward.

Between Green Park and Hyde Park is a memorial to a few wars.

We continued our journey across the full length of Hyde park. At the end of the park, across from the Albert Hall is a monster of a memorial to Prince Albert. Around the four corners are miniatures of key points in his life. Conquering the subcontinent of India, Africa...

Finally at the far side of Hyde is a 1912 sculpture of Peter Pan

The afternoon ended at Nottinghill when the tube stopped running. Not having a compass and getting totally turned around we started walking north instead of south. I knew I was turned around so we hailed a cab and called it a day.

can't wait to leave to pic up our daughter.

Last night the wife commented “Do you know how long it has been since we went out to dinner on a Friday night?” Yeah at least 3 years. Guess what it will be another long time before it happens again. Come to think of it this is the first “vacation” we have had since the kids came. Nice but I am ready to get back to my children.

No update tomorrow as it is a fly day.

Day -2

It started out rough when at 0300 we had to go to the hospital because a certain medical device malfunctioned. I was a bit perturbed to say the least as this device had malfunctioned in the past. It did it again. Unfortunately the hospital does not have the same machine as the wife however they said we could get a manual version at a local 24 hour pharmacy. So a walking we went. plunked down 25 pounds for a hunk of plastic. It works but not that well. Later in the morning we went to an electrical shop and they were able to set us up with a proper transformer, another 25 pounds but the wife is happy.

The plan for the day was to hit the crown jewels at the Tower of London, visit the bones of Sir Thomas Moore. The place has changed dramatically in 15 years. They have tackified it. There used to be a sense of pure historical magic. Now the magic is separating the visitor from his wallet. It faintly reminded me of DizzyLand, where you leave a ride and there at the end of the ride is a souvenir shop. Leave the Jewel Vault welcome to the SS. Finish with your visit to the armoury, here is the SS. Tacky.

Afternoon was spent around Picadilly Circus, most of the old book shops from 15 years ago are gone as are the old pubs. The whole area is undergoing a revitalization and some of the charm is getting lost to the yuppie high end. Ah, we did go down Saville Row where all the haberdasher shops are located, swank. Getting geared up for India we had dinner at Khan's of Kensington.