Delhi Here We Come

 We said "Sayonara" to the dinosaurs and took a free shuttle to the airport. Security is soooo much easier in Japan. just had to put everything in bins, no shoes coming off, no scatter back machines, just metal detector and on our way to the Tiat Lounge. Much nice and larger lounge than Virgin Airlines lounge in SFO. Had some delicious noodles and Karage Chicken along with some chips and a little cup of ice cream to top it off. They had a nice liquor selection that you self poured and a cool automatic pouring beer machine serving Asahi, it was a little too early for me to drink, hindsight I should've had one or two. 

This flight had us sitting all together in the middle. I did not care for this sitting. It felt like the seats were tighter and my legs actually cramped up shortly after takeoff, something that didn't happen when we sat in the two seats on the side heading to Tokyo. Food wasn't as good for my meal and not surprising the others were not great or even worse just weird. 

9 hours later we landed in Delhi, went through customs where my E-Visas had to be printed and shown to them...Not sure what the "E" stood for, maybe "eejit" (Had to look that one up)!

India's baggage check for customs was....nonexistent. We grabbed our bags and left without anyone asking any questions related to them. I thought this very odd but they must scan them underground before releasing them. 

Once we walked out you knew you were in India! The smell to me is very distinct and all I can describe it as is "India". Unfortunately the Air Quality is REALLY BAD with it hovering in the 490+ range. Back home we've had fires less than a mile away blowing towards my house with lower air quality numbers. And the noises, everyone and I mean everyone driving any type of vehicle honks their horn. Sometimes to let you know they are coming up on you from the left or right, sometimes to tell you that you suck at driving, sometimes to make sure the other guy is awake, and sometimes just because. I'm pretty sure India is the only country that has cars that need their horn replaced due to overuse. 

Next stop Dinner and the Hotel

In Tokyo For One Night

 We had an overnight layover in Tokyo, this guy is too old to stay in the airport for 16 hours so we went through Japan customs and stayed in a hotel. But if you're going to stay the night in Tokyo, you gotta go see it, which is what we did. 

First we collected our things after customs and took the subway which was a little confusing but once we got on wasn't too bad. All the announcements are in to Japanese and English and the digital route map updates after every stop and switches between Japanese and English. 3 stops from the airport and we were near our hotel. Us along with a few other former passengers made our way to the Henn Na Haneda Hotel where we were greeted by two dinosaurs and robotic woman. We didn't get to experience the whole robot "show" as our reservations were not pulling up...realized afterwards the use first name not last to find you in the system. We dropped our bags off in our tiny rooms, got Vatsala's parents settled in and then headed back to the subway. 

Found out for how technologically advanced Japan is they still rely heavily on coins for subway and vending machines. They do have digital passes for subway but for 7 of us setting that up would've been a nightmare. We navigated ourselves to one train to another with the help of the attendants. Apparently each subway line (or at least the ones we used) use different tickets so we had to go to ticket both to exchange our ticket from one line to another. Seems really inefficient of a process but I think that does encourage the digital method of travel. 

Finally made it to Shibuya Crossing station  which is literally right at the crossing and HOLY HELL it was crowded!! You instantly get to experience the stereotypical idea of Tokyo, it's bright, crowded, and loud. 

We walked around and checked out this famous area but everyone was cold and hungry and none of the places we could all eat at could accommodate 7 people so decided to head back toward the hotel hoping to find food. My Brother in Law in his family ended up in what we believe was a Yakitori spot but they couldn't fit us too and there didn't seem to be any vegetarian options for Vatsala so we decided to look elsewhere. Elsewhere ended up being a Mini Mart (competitor to 7 Eleven). I got some Karage and Rice while my son got Cup o Noodles, my daughter bag of chips and a snickers, and Vatsala got a mystery flavored Protein Shake. 

After that it was off to bed, next stop India

Flight to Tokyo

 Flight to Tokyo was uneventful, Japan Airlines (JAL) is supposed to be the leader in Economy Class for space, quality of food, and service. I think they mostly have the service down but space we compared it to Southwest specs was only an inch better in recline and width of seat and the food was okay for myself but the families was less than desirable. JAL gives options for Gluten Free and Indian Meals, Vegetarian Meals, and others we didn't try like Muslim, Jain, and specific healthy meals for diabetics, high blood pressure, etc.  I got Salmon and Rice for my main meal and pizza for the second meal. My wife got steamed vegetables with a side of steamed vegetables. My daughter's gluten free meal was a hard piece of unflavored salmon and my son's was some sort of Indian chicken. None of the special meals come with any descriptions of what the hell they served. 

Other than that I tired a new beer Suntory and Asahi while watching several movies to pass the time. 

I got a wireless adapter that plugs into the audio jack which allowed me to use my AirPods and Beats with the entertainment system but also watch a movie with Vatsala since it allows to headsets to connect. 

You could see Mt. Fuji on our descent to Tokyo which was pretty cool to see. Next stop Tokyo.

Lounging It

 Arrived at SFO a little after 9:00 am. Flight isn’t until 12:50. Went and checked out the Lounges since my credit card gives me Priorty Pass. China Airlines was very warm in the lounge and their offering for food was lukewarm potatoes and powdered eggs and what I think was supposed to be French Toast but was more like hard toast with no flavor. Moved over to Virgin Airlines Lounge and it was much cooler but the staff was less than friendly. You order via a QR code and drinks at the bar. Had a couple Tito's and Cranberries to start the trip off and what tasted like Cup O' Noodles in a fancy bowl. We stayed so long at the lounge we didn't realize we were some of the last passengers to board the plane. 

Going Back Back to India

 It's official we are headed back to India. End of December we leave for India with an overnight layover in Tokyo then off to Delhi, Agra, the family villages, Jaipur, and then Goa. 

Here's the beach I'll be on for roughly half the trip:

I'll post pics of accommodations once everything is set in place and can't wait to share India part 2