First Impressions in Real Time

One of the many things I appreciate about my Gmail account is Gchat. It is simple, fast, and doesn't come with any annoying pop-up ads. And, with Gchat, I can communicate with Martin through his Blackberry in whichever corner of the Earth he may be. So when Martin first landed in Mumbai, to start working and looking for apartments, I could gather his first impressions, just as he was gathering them for himself:

Martin: Hiiii

I just touched ground

Still on the flight


me: yes i know i was tracking it on lufthansa.com

hehe


Martin: My oh my I am excited to see our new dirty and poor home city


me: was it the slums you saw


9:25 PM Martin: The flight was sooo boring and a bit long I think

One thing hit me: how do you change a diaper on a flight?
There is absolutely no other paces then at the seat

Fortunately our trip with turkish air is divided equally into two stretches of 4 hours

We should be fine

Lots of chuildren on this flight

Oh, I did not see anything at all

I'm in the middle row

I just assume its horrible

me: oh like thaaat



(yadda yadda yadda)



Martin: Guess what


me: oh no what


Martin: I already made first friend


me: haha what do you mean by friend?


Martin: Indian guy who has lived in the states for the past 8 years

He is moving back to mumbai TODAY haha


me: haha ok good!

Martin: And his wife and child will join soon

me: hey! just like youuuuuuuuuu


(Blah, blah, blah)


Martin: I'm in the very back of the flight and I can already feel the heat from the front door


me: its gonna hit you like a wall


Martin: Yep

Wow everyone is so polite


me: ok all good things so far!


Martin: I just spoke to a couple about diaper change


me: hahah


Martin: There is a table


me: i looked it up online

9:40 PM Martin: Ok

me: yea it said sometimes theres a table and sometimes the only table is your lap. depends on the plane

Martin: Go to bed love

Omg

me: jamen sveske kan ikke sov (english: yea but prunes- that would be Isabel- can't sleep)

Martin: The airport is shit

me: ta da!

Martin: Lol

Martin: Ok, better now

Lots of aircon free standing types


9:42 PM me: better than nothing


Martin: Oh, and marble floor now instead of dirty carpets

9:43 PM Ok, hit immigration

Right at the end of the escalator

Big disaster


me: your first disaster! congrats


Martin: ;-) I survived it


me: you are through [immigration] already?


Martin: Nope

Looooong queue


me: yea

i figured that would happen

try to imagine everything with me and isabel

Martin: Its not too bad

The luggage band is the fastest ever haha

People have to run to get thir luggage off it hehe


me: oh fun so it's like a game!

and i guess you came through immigration no problem then


Martin: Very easy


me: great :)

now are you looking for someone holding a sign with your name?

or will you soon, rather

Martin: Already found the driver

So easy :-)


me: wonderful!!


Martin: Its like singapore...just 100 years ago haha


me: is this going to be our driver?

lol


Martin: No, he is from the hotel

Standing outside waiting for the car


me: ...so you have a driver but no car? i thought the two would come together


Martin: One in charge of meeting me, one in charge of driving etc

All super inefficient but creates jobs haha

I feel good being back to asia babe


me: and one to fasten your seatbelt, and one to tie your shoes...


Martin: I can't stop smiling

me: really! awww

this is good honey

Martin: Excellent service

Just checking in

The hotel is litterally just outside the airport

me: you are there already! whoa

Martin: Brand new I think

me: haha you could have walked then

Martin: Yes

Then again... Terrible roads

me: is it hot? is it smelly

Martin: Hot

me: unpaved?

Martin: Not smelly

me: ok well thats good

hotter than singapore?

Martin: About the same heat at night

me: ok. i hope your room is nice

Martin: It isssss

I have a 40 inch flat screen

Very nice room

The water looks clean so not too bad like russia where it is yellowish

Oh, I have to tell you...

The room is completely quiet:-)

me: hahah!

i think, so far, it has been a good experience

unless you are saving the theft, elephant trampling, and food poisoning stories for later. wink wink. ;)