I'm Home! - Thursday, July 13
Well, I am finally home! It felt really good to sleep in a familiar bed after being on the road for almost a whole month (June 18 to July 13 = 26 days).
I left the Cummins office in Pune around 4:00PM and was to Mumbai airport shortly after 7:00PM. Although the traffic in Mumbai was heavy there was no rain so it went well. I felt very lucky with the weather during my time in India as the temperatures were very moderate (70's for lows and mid 80's for highs) and very little rain the entire week during the monsoon season. However, the people in India really want and need some rain as the water levels in the reservoirs to supply water both for household and agriculture purposes are very low.
Once at the airport it was time for the waiting game. My flight departure was scheduled for 2:00AM. and they suggest being to the airport 3 hours early for international flights from India. No sense in getting a room so I just hung out at the airport. I flew from Mumbai to Paris which is a 9.5 hour flight. I had a 2.5 hour layover in Paris and then the 8.5 hour flight from Paris to Minneapolis. We left Paris about 30 minutes late because 50 people were stuck in some security line. At 1:00PM (Minneapolis time) I finally arrived in Minneapolis. All in all, the travels went well.
When I booked these return flights, our company policy would have allowed to purchase business class seats. This option would have added approximately $3,000 to the cost of my tickets! The total cost for the rest of the tickets was around $3,000. I could not justify spending an extra $3,000 to sit in business class. Instead, when I did my on-line check-in, I upgraded to the seats that provide some extra leg room - that upgrade was less than $300 extra. Considering the length of these flights, it was worth the extra expense.
Now it is time to unpack!
I left the Cummins office in Pune around 4:00PM and was to Mumbai airport shortly after 7:00PM. Although the traffic in Mumbai was heavy there was no rain so it went well. I felt very lucky with the weather during my time in India as the temperatures were very moderate (70's for lows and mid 80's for highs) and very little rain the entire week during the monsoon season. However, the people in India really want and need some rain as the water levels in the reservoirs to supply water both for household and agriculture purposes are very low.
Once at the airport it was time for the waiting game. My flight departure was scheduled for 2:00AM. and they suggest being to the airport 3 hours early for international flights from India. No sense in getting a room so I just hung out at the airport. I flew from Mumbai to Paris which is a 9.5 hour flight. I had a 2.5 hour layover in Paris and then the 8.5 hour flight from Paris to Minneapolis. We left Paris about 30 minutes late because 50 people were stuck in some security line. At 1:00PM (Minneapolis time) I finally arrived in Minneapolis. All in all, the travels went well.
When I booked these return flights, our company policy would have allowed to purchase business class seats. This option would have added approximately $3,000 to the cost of my tickets! The total cost for the rest of the tickets was around $3,000. I could not justify spending an extra $3,000 to sit in business class. Instead, when I did my on-line check-in, I upgraded to the seats that provide some extra leg room - that upgrade was less than $300 extra. Considering the length of these flights, it was worth the extra expense.
Now it is time to unpack!
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