Adventurous Journey 02/03/09.

8:30 am meeting point with Anne at the airport. Super excited and happy about our upcoming trip.

KLM strike had already been announced. Anne is as calm as can be, Luna is a bit panicked.

Instead of departure from Stuttgart at 11 am, departure is at 1 pm.

Connecting flight at 2:25 pm from Amsterdam to Delhi is not possible. It was great to have received direct information upon arrival in Amsterdam, on what our alternative connection would be.

Amsterdam to Vienna

Vienna to Delhi

The plane to Delhi already looks Indian thanks to the carpet and flight attendants in saris, it smells of Indian spices, and Indian music is playing in the background. 90% Indians, rest European-looking people.

Upon arrival in Delhi, our backpacks are not on the baggage belt. We report this to highly motivated and competent (irony) Indian employees. We quickly notice that Indians tend to be more relaxed, as the work of one person is done by 10, with only one person actually working.

Anne, who has already informed herself about our rights and how to get paid for our entire vacation, is completely relaxed. 1 shirt, 2 pairs of underwear for 2 weeks, no problem.

If you have any tips on how to get the most money for a canceled flight and lost luggage, please let us know.

After all the stress, let's get some "fresh air". A wall of humidity, heat, and smog welcomes us in Delhi. Gargi, a friend of Anne, picks us up with her dad and takes us from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2. Soooo kind of them!

Gargi's dad misses the exit on the expressway, no problem, full stop, reverse, take the exit, honked at by 2,847,382 cars. Honking is the favorite hobby of Indian drivers anyway.

From Delhi, we go to today's destination - Goa. We find ourselves in a strange situation on the plane: the flight attendant asks us if we want seats with more legroom - of course we do. She takes us to the seats and sends two Indians from the seats with more legroom away. As the only Europeans, we found that strange. We don't know why it happened in the end.

We take a taxi from the airport to our first accommodation in Anjuna (Goa). Fear for our lives, thanks to the driving skills of the driver. Buuuuut finally saw the free-roaming holy cows and goats (Anne's favorite animals).

In Anjuna, exhausted from the world, we get some essential things, like shower gel, shampoo, detergent (for the 5 pieces of clothing we still have). Negotiating for the first time, we definitely need to practice that.

(New handbag aka plastic bag)

To end the day, we had delicious food (mushroom curry, fried lentils, and chapati - bread). Now we're sitting on our "terrace", being attacked by mosquitoes and listening to the rain (it's monsoon season right now).

See you tomorrow evening!