Ever since the whole Japan thing has come around, I had planned on beginning with this travel blog where I would jot down the minuscule details of my trip, as a memoir! But as life has it, things don’t always pan out as we plan. I was stuck without Internet, was exhausted and drained, and even felt too depressed to do anything in the past 2 days. So my amazing plan went down the drain! But here I am, trying to compensate for my loss and resurrect my travelogue! My day 0 went something like this!
Starting off early in the morning from home, I had a flight to catch to Mumbai. It was difficult saying the goodbyes to family, but let’s not get into that. On boarding the flight, I was looking forward for a quick nap until I met this lady next seat. Some people are just so, who come in with swish and make you feel good. A quick conversation with her made me feel excited about the trip. Mumbai was an icing on top! Having heard much about the Mumbai local trains, it was always on my bucket list. The pace of the city never stops to amaze me, nor does train journeys. After a quick meal, I headed back to the airport with suitcases full of excitement! Divya was already waiting there, and Saikat joined us soon. Along with the three other students from the University, the six of us headed towards immigration. My first international trip was just a couple of hours away! The 7th of April was almost ending. I wouldn’t have quite realised it had the gentleman at the counter not wished me, “Happy birthday, five minutes in advance!”. Small things make huge impacts.
My Day 0 doesn’t end there. It extends to the 8th of April, for that’s when the journey really began! Getting into the flight, I drifted into a settling sleep. I was woken up multiple times, but only to be greeted with a glass of juice or a meal. My last Indian meal for the next 3 months had Upma and Sambhar Vada; can’t complain! Alighting at Beijing for a lay-over was very exciting. It’s two countries in a go! But then, having no WhatsApp, no Google, no Facebook and no mode of communication to the rest of the world (obviously, since we didn’t care enough to get an international SIM) was frustrating! It was a moment of realisation that survival is near impossible, off-the-grid! It was more of the anguish of being unable to contact family, than anything else. Time ticked away, and the next flight took off. More meals to come, but this time to my dismay, things got stranger! I wasn’t sure if I wanted to even touch my food. Perils of a vegetarian! But again, it was my day; how could things go bad! Air China came in with a sweet surprise and made my day, all over again!
Japan, here we come! (Rest of the trip, on the next blog. Keep reading!)
P.S. A trip to Mumbai cannot be a part of another. The ordeal of getting my luggage from the railway station calls for a blog in itself. Durai and his timely help and a lot more; some other time, some other day!
The Last Straw 