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Our flight from Singapore to Mumbai was quite a contrast to our earlier flight. There was not a spare seat on the plane and most passengers were people of Indian origin. The meals were mild Indian food, but many of our team were too tired to eat. Despite the impressively large, clear screens and the good selection of movies and games, most of us managed to catch an hour or two of sleep. We woke as the plane began its descent over Mumbai, flying in over the Dharavi slum made famous in Slumdog Millionaire. It was another trouble free flight and smooth landing.
Entering Indian immigration provided a challenge, as the paperwork was more complex than that for the recent visa applications. You can imagine how much a group of exhausted teenagers enjoyed filling that in. Once we arrived at the immigration counters the first stony-faced official informed us that we had used the wrong form – that there was a new one – and he wanted us to trek back to the entrance and fill out new paperwork. Thankfully one of his colleagues overruled him and waved us on, although I was held up at my counter because they wanted to see written proof that the Indian school was not sponsoring our visit. This I did not have, but he seemed satisfied with the itinerary I produced with the Daly College imprint at the top. He wanted to take this from me, but eventually I convinced him that our tour couldn’t proceed unless I kept our itinerary and he sauntered off to take a copy of it. Ten minutes later we were clear of Immigration, but already getting used to the fascination with red tape they seem to have in this country.
It’s just before midnight as I type this and we’ve found a quiet spot in a well lit area to spend the next few hours. Our flight to Indore does not leave until about 6am, so we’ll stay here for a while before making our way to the domestic terminal for the final leg of our journey. It will be well over 24 hours between the time we left Melbourne and our arrival at our destination. Hopefully we will get a chance to catch up on some proper sleep when we get there.
Everyone has been in good spirits and they’re all getting on really well together. They’ve been really helpful on the flights and in the airports, making the job of the teachers much easier. They’re all sitting around making the most of the free airport wi-fi at the moment. It makes me wonder how they would have got on in the pre-internet era.
… one hour later. Now most have dozed off. The teachers are taking it in turns to do ‘yard duty’ – that is, to stay awake and keep an eye on them. Whoever knew that Year 9 students could be so quiet and angelic!
Ivanhoe to India 2014 