SAFELY HOME - eventually and eventfully !
Thirty minutes late out of Mumbai - because the plane was late coming in - meant only 90 minutes to complete the transfer at Changi. We had checked the bags through to Brisbane. Unfortunately Singapore Airlines does not recognise / accept baggage tagged by Air India ! So it had to be given new tag numbers. Although we cleared all the baggage details and caught the plane, only half our bags reached Brisbane with us ! Now we are all getting tired and suffering from airline food.
PROBLEM REPORTED.
We reported the problem to the Singapore Airlines baggage staff - who appeared to know already ! We left them e-mail contacts and they assured us they would get the missing bags on the next available flights. One day after I returned (i.e. Weds. 22/10) I received an e-mail from SQ Brisbane to expect the bags on the Thursday flight from Fiji. The seven people with a baggage problem met the plane yesterday and all were happy again - including me. (I don't like having to share a razor !)
LITTLE CHANCE TO ANTICIPATE PROBLEMS !
So now we can look back and see what we gained from the trip. Did we have time to get much impression of India ? My lasting picture is the depressing view from the inbound plane to Mumbai flying low over acres of continuous flat metal roofing, with no gaps ! I tried to visualise what it must be like to live under that, for thousands do. Then we saw similar places from the bus on the road and began to realise a little of what REAL poverty is ! And then someone told us that some of those slum-dwellers are in fact quite rich !! So how much can you judge by appearances.
PICTURES.
To finish on a cheerful note, please see three more pictures of Raobu and our School visit.
Last Modified on 24/10/2008 23:35