Heading to Bangalore?

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Dedicated to Jaspreet Laly - RIP!!

Once Balaji said he was visiting his in-laws at Bangalore for the weekend, i decided to join him on this small escapade. The booking for flights was all in the hands of Balaji himself, who reserved my tickets under indian resident status. This ensured a great reduction in price for the flight ticket, comparable to the extortionate prices accountable to NRI's (non-resident indians). The hotel reservation was also booked through Balaji. His university days in Bangalore would offer me a primely located area. Balaji himself, would inevitably be staying with his in-laws, where his wife also awaited his arrival, after leaving 2 days earlier from Chennai.

After finishing at the hospital, i arrived at Balaji's work place in central Chennai, where he showed me the relevant tickets to Bangalore. Problem. The dates were wrong, as the booking had been reserved for the following weekend. I briefly felt the Banagalore trip slipping away... Balaji though somehow managed to reassess the situation, and thus slowly compiled a plan to obtain a ticket for the intended present day. Eventually the debacle was sorted, leaving me to catch a 9:20pm flight.

I was packed and ready to go. Unfortunately, a simple flight can also draft out problems irrespective of perfect planning. This time, an unanticipated amount of traffic on the roads of Chennai seemed to hinder our progress to the domestic airport. Balaji and I were passengers in a rickshaw, with a fully focused and determined driver. However, not even this weaving Schumacher descendant could foil the powers of road traffic. The time was ticking. I looked at my watch to see the hour strike. 9pm. Surely, this flight would be missed!

We eventually arrived at the airport, where Balaji diverted to a separate check-in desk, ready for a Kingfisher Airline 9:30pm flight. I diverted to the Jet Airways check-in, where an attractive lady greeted me personally. "Mr Laly", she stated. Wow, i must be famous! ...Not to be...my late arrival meant i was the only person left to board the flight, leaving T minus 5mins. With some innocent glances, flirtatious innuendoes and gentle persuasion, i eventually managed to get a personal escort to the Jet Airways plane. Lucky.

Arrival at Bangalore left me to call Balaji, where he would meet me at luggage re-claim. I received a call...Balaji missed his flight!!

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Photos

Bangalore Buildings
I finally arrived!