Day 0

Flight SQ412 to Mumbai was delayed by 20 minutes due to a missing passenger. They have to offload the passenger's baggage and the delay was inevitable for security and safety reasons. The arrival in Mumbai was as scheduled, fortunately.

Immigration clearance was surprisingly fast moving unlike in Bangkok. I expected slow transfer of baggage to the belt but my thoughts were wrong. Immediately after clearance, a wait of 15 minutes was all it took for me to retrieve my baggage from the belt.

My next worry was the transfer to the hotel. Will there be someone waiting for my arrival? I had a bad experience in Bali once where the hotel representatives didn't turn up and I had to take a taxi and was conned by the driver! Anyway, all was well. A driver transferred me to the hotel and I was whisked away far from the crowded Shivaji Airport. Seeing India for the first time was a real eye opener. Do people really sleep on the walkways? We don't get to see that in Singapore!

I had to use my credit card for my stay. The receptionist told me that the credit card secured by Citibank was just a guarantee for my room reservation. Yikes! There goes my bill next month for my credit card! Wonder how Citibank will work out for me regarding the reimbursement.

I was totally exhausted by the time I got to my room. It was 30 minutes past midnite. I unpacked the necessities and ironed up my crumpled shirts and pants for work tomorrow. I was told to be at Infinity Towers in Malad by 9.30am. I didn't even know where that was and how long it will take me. By the time I got everything ready for tomorrow, it was already 2am Mumbai time! I fear that I may just not be able to wake up tomorrow!!!