Flight to Ahmedabad - Oct 17 2009

Finally managed to get all the things done in time for the departure to Ahmedabad, got all the required vaccinations, managed to get a multiple-entry visa for India, did all of the required pre-studies, handed over the projects, got all the last minute stuff and managed to squeeze it all into the suitcase. So Friday Oct16 2009 10:20pm I am finally 100% ready to go.
Saturday Oct 17 the long awaited trip finally starts - with my alarm clock ringing at 4:50 am :-(. After 2 hours by train I arrive at Frankfurt airport and head for the check-in counter, I am the only one there, so luckily I do not have to wait in line and can check in right away. I am starting to wonder however as to why no one else is there. Then the phone rings, Dominik is on the line, the other German who will be joing the IBM Corporate Service Corps in Ahmedabad/India. A few minutes later we met after having only known one another from the various phone calls over the run of the last 3 months. We take a last coffee at Starbucks before we head for the gates.
As Ahmedabad is located in Gujarat - a dry state, i.e. no alcohol - Dominik decides to get an emergency reserve of whisky while I decide to skip as alcohol permits will be available for tourists.
The flight on Air India is very comfortable. As suspected at the check-in, the flight has plenty of empty seats and the leg space is surprisingly bigger than on the European or other airlines I flew flown with. Apart from a selection of Western moves I can choose from a wide selection of movies either in Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi and roughly 10 other dialects. We even manage to find movies in German - under English, as a subselection next to Classical English movies and Modern English movies.
Service is great, the flight attendant even warns Dominik and me that the Indian style peanuts may just be a bit too hot and spicy for our tongues used to European seasoning. So we skip the peanuts for the moment and take'em along in our backpacks for a later "experiment" on ourselves.
After roughly 8 hours we land in Ahmedabad. Already from the plane we could see fireworks. Once on the ground we hear that we have just come in time for Diwali also known as festival of lights, by far the biggest festival in India, comparable to Christmas in the Western world. But let's come back to the airport. We have to queue in line for immigration, a tiny lady takes our temperature with an infrared thermometer but Dominik and me do not seem to be too "hot" guys as the doctor signs off our 'release' form right away. Another 45 min later and we finally stand face to face with the immigration officer who turns out to be a nice guy and just briefly checks our documents before he lets us pass. Interestingly the immigration officers do not look as grim as in other countries I have been to and they also seem to wear their cilivian clothes as I do not see any uniforms at all. After that our luggage gets screened and I wonder what will happen to my emergency ration of salami but amazingly nothing happens. After a quick money change to a pretty lousy rate I guess, we step out the airport to meet Arjun, the local coordinator who will ensure that we do not get lost on the way to the hotel. He quickly organizes a ride to the hotel and Dominik and me get a first lesson in Indian traffic. But there is more to come later on.