To Mumbai No. 2, Part 2

Sleep was quite bad, like how it usually is on my 1st night in hotels. I woke up so many times but at least was able to fall back to sleep quickly. Auntie SL suggested that I should take some sleep aid supplement for my 1st night in the future. That is so clever. 

I woke up at 6am to the gym. #newshoes

I got my 4.5km done. 

I was accompanied by some MTV. Some of them were quite entertaining. 

Bcos I had no morning meetings, I had a relaxed bfast, just that the non-veg spread was so limited and sad. 

I was in the office by 9am and started my busy day. I got the chance to try India milk tea. I don’t like, it is very evaporated milk milky. 

The day went smoothly, except that the meeting room I was in couldn’t get 5G on my phone. So each time I needed to take/ make a WhatsApp call or use the SingPass on my phone, I had to move to somewhere with connectivity. Otherwise, it was an uneventful day. 

I didn’t have lunch but tabaoed 2 slices of bread from bfast. I love bread lah and was happy munching on the bread, dipped in honey. 

Dinner was of course in-room dining. My favourite oriental soup with sweet corn again. 

Sleep was better. I still woke up a couple of times but definitely less than the previous night. I think the bed is too hard for my old bones and I woke up aching in my hips. 

I hit the gym for some HiTT. The dumbbell comes in denominations of 2.5kgs. Nevertheless, all good for me and I rushed back to the room for a meeting at 7am. I took 2 calls in the room, then freshen up, packed up and checked out. There wasn’t time for bfast but I tabaoed bread again. Hoho. 

This time, I bought subway and had lunch together with the colleagues. This is the time that I get to sample real Indian cuisine, coming from the different kitchens. I counted down the rest of the afternoon and fortunately time passed quickly with the multiple meetings. 

My colleagues were rushing me to go to the airport. The monsoon rains are coming in and that creates bad traffic. I left the office at 6ish and arrived at about 8pm. The flight was at 11.40pm and I had a lot of time to spare. I thought that the airport was less crowded than usual.

The Mumbai airport isn’t big. I sort of know what are the different food options and eventually decided on Starbucks. I thought that I could sit in the cafe and burn some time. 

I eventually didn’t stay in the cafe for very long and decided to laze at the chairs at the gate instead. 

I had an hour to wait before boarding. The neck pillow came in very useful as an addition support on the not too comfy for naps chair. I think I dozed off a little. Then saw that Qs were forming to board and I joined the Qs, which turned out to be a very long wait. I think I was in the Q for a good 30 mins before the staff finally told us that another 15 to 20 mins was required. Just when I intended to go find a seat to rest my legs, I met an ex-Keppel colleague! 

Lucky him was flying business class. I met him a year or 2 back too in the same setting and he was also in business class then. Zzzzz. After chatting for a few mins, the staff told us that the flight would be delayed to 1am. He headed back to the lounge and me to the pathetic waiting seat. This time, I really fell asleep. The next time I gained consciousness was when I heard somebody clapping and realised that it was time to board. If I didn’t wake up, would somebody come and find me when I didn’t board? 

I was seated at the row before the toilet, which means that I didn’t have anybody seated behind me and I could fully reclined my seat. 

I am always the thoughtful passenger when I fly but not so for the one seated right in front of me; she was so eager to fully recline her seat. 

The flight was full. I had a lady seated on my right, while bigger size, kept very much to her seat. Maybe she did invade into my space; I didn’t know bcos I was so bloody tired. I slept through the food serving. I usually stirred when the food cart comes along. This time, I didn’t feel anything. The neck pillow came in very useful with the seat fully inclined. I was very comfortable. 

I survived another Mumbai trip! 

Mummy Lim

To Mumbai No. 2, Part 1

I am very proud that I have visited all the countries one round by end April 25 and with that, I am starting my “world tour” round 2. Lol. JB was done earlier this month and while I had just visited Mumbai in early April to onboard a colleague, I am back again. 

The thought to travel to Mumbai is never exciting but at least I have a colleague based in India now and I can do a shorter trip. #happy

This trip had been more eventful than previous ones. Right after I booked the flight tickets, the next morning, the news of the escalated tension between India and Pakistan hogged the headlines. I checked MFA and the travel advisory seems lax. My India colleague said that life is normal and in big cities, the tension/ situation is barely felt. I watched out for the situation and eventually packed my bag and came to Mumbai. 

The flight was at 7.40am. I left the house at 5am and arrived at the airport with a lot of time. I wore my new shoes and they match with my luggage! The little joys of life. Haha. 

I got new shoes bcos my left heel started hurting after workout recently, and the problem started after I changed into the last pair. I was advised by my cycling kakis, who are also jogging frantics, that the shoes is probably the culprit.

Checking in was smooth and I helped myself to the “fragile” stickers that was free for all. 

Then did a lot of shopping, stocking up on makeups that were running out. I got small samples/ freebies from Makeup Forever! I never ever got these in the past.

I bought a new neck pillow too. I lost the last one; I left it on the plane in my exhausted state when leaving the plane for home after one of my work trips. 

The last neck pillow lasted me for a long time. I realised that hard neck pillow that provides support at the side works for me, But this one feels a little too thick plus SQ seats come with this great head support to begin with. 

The flight was very full. I had somebody on my left but fortunately a lady. She did invade into my “airspace” and she kept touching me whenever she was adjusting/ moving in her seat. I could at least tolerate bcos she is a woman. 

Bfast! 

I ate my bfast, caught a movie and took a nap. The flight landed nicely. 

Usually, when I get connectivity upon landing, I will receive a WhatsApp from the driver of the car booked via booking.com. I was surprised that I didn’t get it this time but there was a confirmation email instead with the driver contact details. I exited the airport and couldn’t locate the driver. When I called the number, I was told that they were unable to locate my booking. If they had to dispatch a car, it would easily take another 45 mins. 

Of course I wasn’t going to wait. In Mumbai’s traffic, 45 mins wait is very optimistic and I am sure it would take longer. I was surprised that I didn’t panic. I simply lugged my bags, followed the instructions to go look for an uber. There were drivers who tried to offer me a ride for a lump sum. That one is a little scary and I opted to do the right way and booked via the uber app. It took me a while to figure out but all good. Just when I was trying to get into the uber, the agency called to say that they found my booking and the car was waiting. They couldn’t find it initially bcos it wasn’t from booking.com directly but another agency. 

Whatever the case, I wasn’t going to get off the uber to go find this “car”. I asked booking.com to give me a refund instead, which I duno if it happens. Never mind if it doesn’t, I realised how easy to get an uber from the airport and will do that in the future. 

My day started and I was glad that I was kept busy all the way to 6pm IST bcos I was already starting to zonk out in the late afternoon. By the very last meeting, I can already feel that my processing speed and thought process had slowed down significantly. I left the office at about 7pm and am glad that the hotel was only 20 mins away. 

I opted to stay in the Ramadas hotel again. Though not the most luxurious, I have high tolerance for hotel and the close proximity to the office really made a lot of sense. I ordered room service and had comfort food.

I didn’t do much work bcos I was so exhausted, turning in at about 10pm, which was already past Singapore’s midnight. 

Mummy Lim