২৮শে জানুয়ারি সোমবার

What am I doing for so long in an airport?

Yes, my flight to Zurich is confirmed. I am flying from Trivandrum to Mumbai, then to Abu Dhabi and then to Zurich.
In Mumbai, I have a layover of 10 hours! What am I going to do for so long? Leaving the airport is not allowed (says the reception here at the hotel). And a ride to the center of Mumbai can take up to 3 hours (according to reviews on the internet!).
However, there is the option to check into an airport lounge (for a maximum of 6 hours). At least there are comfortable seats, internet connection, and food for $45. So, I have already booked this. I will spend the rest of the time shopping in the duty-free shops! lol.
Not really. Because I have already bought nearly 25 kilos of stuff! Gulp! No, I must have a book with me, so I will pass the time. And if everything goes well and there is no sudden heavy snowfall in Zurich, I will land on Sunday morning at 7 o'clock.

So today was the third treatment that I didn't receive yesterday. An ear cleaning. Or something like that. I don't really believe in the success of this method (at least not when each ear is treated for only 2 minutes!). I tried to find a picture on the internet, but unsuccessful. So, I will try to describe it to you: a hand-sized solid metal bowl is filled with dried and shredded coconut husks (the fibrous stuff that protects the coconut on the palm tree). They are lit on fire. The whole thing stays on the ground until only charcoal is left in the container. Then the therapist takes this bowl in her hand and puts a structure over it. This structure consists of: on one side, half a coconut shell with a hole in the middle. In this hole, there is a 60-centimeter long pipe. At the other end of the pipe, there is another half-shell made of metal. It is the same size as the shell where the charcoal is. The metallic side is placed on the fire bowl and the coconut end is held directly against the head. Specifically, so that the ear disappears inside it. Now the smoke flows from the metal shell through the half-shell, into the pipe, and then directly into the ear. At least, that's the plan. Smile
But apart from almost suffocating in the therapy room (because the smoke somehow spreads elsewhere), you don't really feel much in the ear. Anyway, this treatment is supposed to clean the ears. Well, as I said, I'm not convinced.

After the treatment, I went to the room to read the newspaper and then to yoga. Sweaty and looking forward to a warm shower, I jumped out of my clothes and into the bathroom. SCREAM! Oh my God! It was big and fat and its feelers were raised as it hung on the wall in the shower. And I really don't like these things at all!!!! It reminds me of the experiences from my last trip to India. Like when I woke up because something tickled my arm and 2 big things like that were crawling around on me! Just terrible!
So I tried to come up with a tactic: I take the measuring cup (placed together with a bucket in every Indian hotel room bathroom), put it over the thing, then slide a brochure underneath and out of the room into the front yard! Good plan, Daniela! But I had forgotten the lightning speed of these things. Now a chase began through the entire bathroom. The thing hid beneath the door and then desperately wriggled its way up in the corner. It tried several times to crawl into the slit between the door and the wall tiles. Unsuccessfully at first and then whoosh, it actually fit into the gap. Whew! Done. For now. Because now I know where the thing came from. So, I blocked the slit (which used to be a seam left by caulk) with toilet paper. End of story! Sorry, but that had to be done. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to sleep properly. It will definitely find another way out.