Day 1: To India

It's been 7 years since I've been on Singapore Airlines. Things have changed... Raffles class and First class have gotten better, but coach has totally gone downhill. The addition of the Wiseman entertainment system has been great, but you would think that the selection of movies would be better. After the 13 hour trip to Hong Kong, where we transited for one hour before getting back on the plane for another 4 hours to continue on to Singapore, I was ready to stretch my legs. The food was awful, and I even made sure to pre-order indian vegetarian meals. We got into Hong Kong at 5am, so nothing was open in that airport. I did discover something interesting in the bathroom... a spray that you use to personally disinfect the toilet. That is a good idea! They should bring that to the U.S.

We stopped for nearly 8 hours in Singapore. I went out into the city to visit my mom's cousin. We also went to the Jurong Bird Park, which was interesting, although geared more for young children. By the time we made it back to the airport to catch our flight to Chennai, I was totally exhausted. The fligh to Chennai was uneventful, I slept the whole way there.

We got into Chennai at 10:00pm. Chennai airport is still not that modernized. Oddly enough, we had to screen our handbaggage to exit the airport into the baggage claim area. I didn't bother to change into indian clothes in Singapore like my mom did, so I went through security wearing a sleeveless top and skirt, and was stared at like crazy by the security guards. I felt totally uncomfortable, in addition to cranky and tired. The main guard stared so much, he didn't bother to stop my mother, or the guy after her, when they both walked through the security gate and set off the metal alarms. Weird! I have to admit, the staring phenomenom in Chennai has reduced considerably! After we were out of the airport, things got infinitely better.

Our room in the Le Royal Meridian was awesome! It was nice to finally relax, unwind, take a shower, and go to bed, after the 30 hour trip.