Rx Project HOPE: Travel Summary: Dulles, VA to Vijayawada, India (May 29th to 31st)

May 29^th.

The journey was about to start! I arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport about two hours before the 10 hours flight to Istanbul. I checked my luggage, received my boarding passes and went through the TSA control. Everything went swimmingly. Then, I met Tom in the restaurant facing our boarding stand. Our seats in the airplane were far apart. The flight was not as exhausting as I was expecting it to be, aside the crying of a baby during almost the entire flight.

May 30^th

The view of Istanbul, Turkey from the airplane was mesmerizing. In contrast, their airport or precisely the waiting area did not impress me, and was well congested. We even saw a group of people openly drinking alcohol near the boarding area. The airport had an old fashioned appearance.

The flight from Istanbul to New Delhi went well apart of a child crying incessantly, again. The served meal was tasty. I met an old gentleman in the plane. He was fluent in French yet he could not understand any English. I ended up being his “interpreter” during the flight. I helped him order his meal as well. He was grateful, and it was a pleasure to me conversing with him in French.

May 31^st

We landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport around 4 AM, and the temperature outside was well over 30 º C. However, we did not feel it because we stayed inside the whole time. Their airport was clean, gigantic, and modern. We found our baggage ok.

Tom and I exchanged our US dollars to Indian Rupees. Then, we walked to the other side of the airport to access the local airplane transfer zone. It was interesting to come across a pharmacy chain in the airport, which led me to talk to the pharmacist. He told me they offer general medications, and patients do not need prescriptions to buy their products. It was a bit intriguing to find that a medical clinic incorporated in the airport facilities.

There was a striking military presence at the airport. Travelers were checked many times. I felt much secured. Then, we encountered a self-motivated “entrepreneur”. We were in line at the entrance of the domestic transfer area of the airport when this young airport employee approached us and asked us where we were going . He asked for our boarding tickets and passports and cut the line to go talk to the officer checking passenger’s papers. I was a bit uncomfortable. He rushed us through other checkpoints even though we told him we had enough time before our next flight. We finally stopped at the food court, since we had plenty of time before our next flight to Hyderabad. He made 500 Ruppies (a bit less than $10) that morning.

We went back to the shopping area for Tom to purchase a charger for his Samsung Tablet before we headed back to the food court. I had a McSpicy Paneer meal, which I was told was very popular in India. I did not regret it. It is definitely a sandwich of choice if aspiring for something different than the chicken or the beef at McDonald’s. As the time permitted, we visited several stores in the airport until we were tired and decided to proceed to our terminal. There, we found relaxing seats, which is often rare in most airports. We lied down comfortably for about an hour trying to recover before our next flight to Hyderabad.

Tom enjoying the relaxing seat (New Delhi, India)

My seat in the airplane was a bit too rigid to provide needed coziness compared to the previous flights. I was not able to close my eyes even though the jet lag was kicking in seriously. On the bright side, I had a window seat for a great view of the town from the air, friendly passengers to talk to, and no crying children around.

We were pretty tired by the time we reached Hyderabad. The transfer time (230 minutes) felt like an eternity to me. The sequel of lack of sleep was getting unbearable. I was so tired I found myself going into deep sleep repeatedly while seating on a rigid chair.

I slept most of the 50 min flight to Vijayawada. A heat wave filled with humidity welcomed us . The transfer bus had no AC, yet the ride was short. Vijayawada has a very small airport and old looking compared to Hyderabad. Anyway, I was happy to be on the ground, and that we recuperated our luggage without any trouble. I was even more delighted to see our welcoming staff.

Tom provided a vivid description of our ride from the airport to the NIR Academy.

It is fascinating to realize that activities were going smoothly in this apparent chaotic picture that we witnessed riding through the towns.

Tom and I will be staying at the NRI Academy of Sciences General Hospital.