Hello Delhi
I arrived in India today, after spending most of the day flying, and in the lounge at the Mumbai/Chennai airport. Generally, all the travel time was useful – I managed to get most of my presentation done, and during flights, I got to catch up on much needed sleep.
At Mumbai, where I cleared customs, I got hassled right after going through immigration, but right before walking out the green lane. The bloke sitting at the x-ray machine decided that I could only carry one laptop, as opposed to two. He wanted to tax me. I refused, and said that it’s all coming back with me, and while they may impose this on Indian nationals, I’m a foreigner. After much arguing, he let me through, without any cost.
The Habitat World at the Indian Habitat Center is not too bad a hotel. Minus a fridge, and a working Internet connection, its a great place to be. Big room, CNN and HBO on the television, pricey food, but everything self-contained within the center. Haven’t seen any sign of LinuxAsia folk (lack of Penguin label-based t-shirts), but am all excited to see what’s shaking tomorrow.
I also remember what it was like to be on dialup. The silly system here costs lots of rupees to be online, so I picked up a 2-hour prepaid card, that lasts for 24 hours. I can’t use both laptops at the same time (lacking a cable to do proper NAT), so I’m learning to be more resourceful.
