We finally received our suitcases – four days after we arrived. The humid weather here prompts you to take at least a couple of showers a day and not having clothes to wear is a real PITA. The wedding we came to attend was a blur, partially due to our jet lag and in part also due to the fact that we simply didn't hae the right clothes to fit into the scene. I looked totally out of place in my flip-flops and four-day old jeans which were starting to walk on their own, if you know what I mean.
The folks at British Airways turned out to be the good guys. I had called them morons before and quite rightly so. The guy who took our information down had told us to call their offices the next day. Delirious from a flight full of screaming kids I couldn't remember what day it was. We flew in on a Saturday and the British Airways offices were of course closed on Sunday. Very sneaky, I thought. But we persisted and kept calling until my wife suggested we call the airport directly and talk to customer service there. We were politely told that their offices were only open on Monday and that too from 9.30 a.m. If we hadn't heard from them by 8 a.m., we were told, then our bags were not there yet. Sigh.
The bags had arrived. British Airways had wrapped them in a plastic bag and sealed it with a tamper-proof lock. I was happy to see that they had taken at least those precautions. But getting the boxes out of Customs was a trip and a half. I must have signed at least six non-descript documents. I was so sick of not having our stuff with us that I didn't bother reading any of it. I was asked by the Customs Agent about what I had in our bags. “Diapers,” I told him. Sure enough when the bags were X-rayed the agent at the machine pointed at the rows of diapers not knowing what to make of them. “Diapers,” I told her. She nodded knowingly and let the bags through.
Apart from the stifling heat, the “power cuts”, the rush of people and the mosquito bites, our 15-month old seems to be doing very well. We are thoroughly enjoying the company of family and friends and the sumptuous and frequent meals. We are off to Bangalore tomorrow for a few days.
More on my impressions of Madras [now, Chennai] in my next post. Some things have changed. Yet, it's mostly the same.
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Lotus says
I can totally relate. Our bags went missing, too (this was the London-Toronto sector). We’ve been home now nearly 4 days and although they (British Airways) say our bags have arrived in Toronto, we still haven’t seen them (apparently a courier service is going to bring them to our door). Thank goodness we don’t need to go to the airport to claim them.
Lotus says
I can totally relate. Our bags went missing, too (this was the London-Toronto sector). We’ve been home now nearly 4 days and although they (British Airways) say our bags have arrived in Toronto, we still haven’t seen them (apparently a courier service is going to bring them to our door). Thank goodness we don’t need to go to the airport to claim them.