For those of you who are not on Facebook (Really!? I mean, really!! Come on!!) Anyhow! I am copying and pasting my husband's most recent Facebook post because quite frankly I couldn't have written it better myself. So, without further adieu, please welcome my husband, Matt to "The Block" :0)
You know you have entered India when:
1) gassed in the plane as mandated by India authorities for the alleged purpose, get this, of pest control - no joke!
2) asked for your boarding pass getting OFF the plane,
3) kids are nearly trampled to death at the escalator,
4) asked at random for your registration papers at customs even though you have a valid visa,
5) asked by the guy standing right behind customs to show your visa stamp - the very same stamp that was put on your passport not more than 10 feet from where said man is standing,
6) right after customs, you are made to go through a baggage screen to get OUT of the airport - the same airport that you arrived at ONLY AFTER going through a baggage screen to get there, and they know that. The man behind the baggage screening display is picking his nose and talking with his friend – not even making at attempt to look at the screen – and there’s a line of 100 people. If you attempt to circumvent the sleeping man at the outgoing baggage screener, a security guard will shoot you dead,
7) walk into duty free - guy in front of you is returning one item at a time until the total bill is reduced to the amount of money in his hand. He proceeds to ask for a dollar by dollar recount of his final purchase. When you step up, the cashier asks for your passport and plane ticket. You tell the guy you don't have a ticket. He refuses your purchase. You then proceed to show him a ticket from Boston to Paris, which he accepts as valide proof that you have a right to shop duty free in India. You then attempt to pay in rupees - he demands dollars. You give him a credit card - the cc machine breaks, and you wait 5 min for the restart. When complete, he hands you three, not one, receipts. You sign one - he instructs you to sign all three and takes them with a snarl!
8) before exiting the airport, you are asked to hand over tickets from your customs declaration form stating the number of bags that you are bringing into the country. If you don't have the ticket, the police will not let you out of the airport. If you write "Moses" on the ticket and declare 50 bags on your 5 yr old's form, they will smile and let you through. Oh yeah, and it’s 2:00am!
Seriously, I love living here, but there are those head-scratching moments when you wonder out loud..."WHY??!!"
Yep. And so concludes my husband's rendition of our first few moments back on Indian soil! Let the good times roll! Here's to YEAR TWO in Bangalore :0)
As a sidenote he just hollered out in horror from our bathroom and when I asked, "What's the matter?!" He said, "Ack! I SWALLOWED IT?!" "Swallowed what?!" "Out of habit I just brushed my teeth, took a huge cleansing gulp of water from the faucet and then I SWALLOWED it!!" Oh yeah. He's gettin' sick for sure! Welcome Back to Bangalore, Babe! :0)
You know you have entered India when:
1) gassed in the plane as mandated by India authorities for the alleged purpose, get this, of pest control - no joke!
2) asked for your boarding pass getting OFF the plane,
3) kids are nearly trampled to death at the escalator,
4) asked at random for your registration papers at customs even though you have a valid visa,
5) asked by the guy standing right behind customs to show your visa stamp - the very same stamp that was put on your passport not more than 10 feet from where said man is standing,
6) right after customs, you are made to go through a baggage screen to get OUT of the airport - the same airport that you arrived at ONLY AFTER going through a baggage screen to get there, and they know that. The man behind the baggage screening display is picking his nose and talking with his friend – not even making at attempt to look at the screen – and there’s a line of 100 people. If you attempt to circumvent the sleeping man at the outgoing baggage screener, a security guard will shoot you dead,
7) walk into duty free - guy in front of you is returning one item at a time until the total bill is reduced to the amount of money in his hand. He proceeds to ask for a dollar by dollar recount of his final purchase. When you step up, the cashier asks for your passport and plane ticket. You tell the guy you don't have a ticket. He refuses your purchase. You then proceed to show him a ticket from Boston to Paris, which he accepts as valide proof that you have a right to shop duty free in India. You then attempt to pay in rupees - he demands dollars. You give him a credit card - the cc machine breaks, and you wait 5 min for the restart. When complete, he hands you three, not one, receipts. You sign one - he instructs you to sign all three and takes them with a snarl!
8) before exiting the airport, you are asked to hand over tickets from your customs declaration form stating the number of bags that you are bringing into the country. If you don't have the ticket, the police will not let you out of the airport. If you write "Moses" on the ticket and declare 50 bags on your 5 yr old's form, they will smile and let you through. Oh yeah, and it’s 2:00am!
Seriously, I love living here, but there are those head-scratching moments when you wonder out loud..."WHY??!!"
Yep. And so concludes my husband's rendition of our first few moments back on Indian soil! Let the good times roll! Here's to YEAR TWO in Bangalore :0)
As a sidenote he just hollered out in horror from our bathroom and when I asked, "What's the matter?!" He said, "Ack! I SWALLOWED IT?!" "Swallowed what?!" "Out of habit I just brushed my teeth, took a huge cleansing gulp of water from the faucet and then I SWALLOWED it!!" Oh yeah. He's gettin' sick for sure! Welcome Back to Bangalore, Babe! :0)
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