Travelogue: Madison To Mumbai

After two trips to the airport, three airplane rides, and more than twenty fours of travel I finally landed in Mumbai on the night of Nov. 10^th. I was supposed to fly out of Madison on Nov. 8^th, but the airline crew refused to let me board the aircraft. They had their reasons, the aircraft was turboprop and only way to get in was through stairs as it was too small for a jet bridge. I don’t know how this happened because I called Continental Airlines multiple times about my needs and they assured me that it will be ok. We had to wait on the airport for another four hours as the airline staff worked on my reservation. Finally they booked my mom and me on bigger planes for the next day. We returned from airport by late afternoon, but we left our luggage and my wheelchair at the airport as everything was nicely packed and we didn’t want to carry them around.

Next morning we were back at the airport, and this time there were lot more people at the airport to help us out. We boarded our first flight out of Madison at 10 am to St. Louis. The way boarding works for someone like me is by means of two transfers. Initially airport staff wheels me in a regular wheelchair till the aircraft door. Then I’m transferred to an aisle chair and wheeled into the aircraft and then transferred to my seat. The first couple of transfers were rough, but we got better at it with each transfer. We then boarded our second flight to Newark. By the time of boarding the third flight from Newark to Mumbai, I was so exhausted that I wanted to cancel my trip. Anyways I boarded my sixteen hour flight around 8:30 pm. The moment I was transferred to the aircraft seat I felt a sense of relief. It could be because the first class seats were wider and more comfortable or because I knew I can now finally take rest. After the aircraft took off I had some food and then slept for about 10 hours.

I reached Mumbai on the night of Nov. 10^th and was really elated to see my dad and three cousins who were there to receive me. In the end the pain and exhaustion that I endured was worth it as I knew this was my only chance to meet family and old friends. As the mastercard tag line goes:

Cost of flight tickets: $$$$, Total travel time: more than 24 hours, Pain and exhaustion from the trip: enormous, Joy of meeting family and old friends: priceless!