Arriving in India

My jet lag strategy was to stay up as much as possible during the 15-hour flight to Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay.  That way, when we landed at 9PM, I'd be ready to go to sleep and wake up refreshed and back on track!

The guy in the seat next to me is a worldwide traveler, a la George Clooney in Up in the Air, without the good looks.  He asked whether I had a good night's rest the night before.  I told him that I did, in fact, have a great night's sleep.  "You're screwed," he said as he shook his head. 

Undeterred, I stuck with my plan.  Over 15 hours, I saw the following movies:

• Avatar - Stellar enough that I'll probably watch it again on the way back
• Princess & the Frog - I'm such a sucker for Disney movies  
• Sherlock Holmes - Not bad, but glad I saw it for free
• Shutter Island - Okay, I only saw half of it.  I was actually getting scared in my little cubby, holding the blanket up in my face, so I turned it off.  I mean, everyone else is sleeping, it's dark, just the droning white noise of the plane...  Alright, I know it's pathetic, but it's the truth.

I stepped out of the airport, and could immediately feel the beginnings of swelter.  95 degrees everyday for the most part, with high levels of humidity.  Some coworkers also scared me into bringing lots of long-sleeved clothing, “I got Malaria the last time I went!”  

"And for goodness sakes, do NOT let a drop of that Indian water near your lips… And make sure to listen for the cracking of a new cap on a bottle of water."  Didn't they see Slumdog Millionaire?  I'm not sure I even trust that anymore...

"Dress conservatively.  You're a woman, after all, and you don't want those Indian men leering at you."  Conservative dress, 95 degrees...  Conservative dress, 95 degrees...  Would I rather have Indian men leering at me or find myself passed out on the road?

In the end, I found my short time in Mumbai to be lovely.  The 5-star hotel and having a driver waiting with an air conditioned car to whisk us off to wherever we wanted to go at that moment helped.


And my strategy for jet lag?  Worked like a charm.  Can't wait to email my airline neighbor to tell him that...