Journey to Antwerp - Part 2 - Mumbai to Zurich

So here I am at Mumbai CSI (Chhatrapati Shivaji International, not the T.V series) airport, with about 5 hours till my next flight.

Getting in at the domestic airport, am amazed at how even well thought out systems can be rendered useless by sheer human laziness (or idiocy, you choose). I need to take the airport shuttle to get to the International Terminal, and am handed a ticket with my queue number neatly printed on it, by the information desk. But when the shuttle arrives, I see a mad rush towards it. Inquiring as to which queue was currently boarding, I'm politely told by the staff that the queue number is not being used, anybody can board any shuttle anytime.

Thankfully I'm able to meet Hrishiettan and Nanduettan like I'd promised, and then proceed to the Immigration after check-in. My heart sank on seeing the Immigration queue at Mumbai airport, the queue was so long! But miraculously, it didn't take me more than 15 minutes! The airport itself is in a big mess though, with renovation and construction all over the place. Half the terminal didn't have any air conditioning and was so stuffy. Boarded my plane on time.

My plane took off about half an hour late from Mumbai, though. The flight itself was super smooth, with clear skies all the way through. I though had a terrible headache by time I boarded, and so slept off right after take-off. But the view from the sky at night was simple amazing. In the distance you could see the flashing lights of some other aircraft (there was not a single cloud in the sky, as I mentioned), and on the ground you could trace the various cities and the roads linking them. The in-flight screens showed our current location, so had a very generic idea of what I was looking down on.

Had a hearty breakfast on the Swiss flight, with normal parathas and chana masala! A small disappointment here, tried the Butter supplied alongside the croissants to get a taste of the famous Swiss dairy product, only to find the label read "Made in Wadala, Mumbai". How could Swiss International Airlines do this to me!!!

Got to see the beautiful Swiss alps from the plane, though they were coated in far less snow than I'd expected. Our plane had to make a few holding patterns over Zurich before landing, so got to see the airport and the beautiful Zurich lake from the sky. Landed at Zurich at 6:15 local time.