Nikhil Kini's Blog

Nov 2nd, 2006 - I guess 2nd November 2006 just fell off the face of the earth for me. By the time I woke up the next morning, it was already 3rd November where I was. We had crossed the International Date Line along the way. I had a good sleep in the
bassinet. My parents could also sleep a little without worrying about me because
I was safely locked in the bassinet and there was no chance of me falling out. The
only problem for them was they had to take me out of the bassient during turbulence.
For the rest of the flight I pretty much drank my milk, played a little and slept.
It was a long long flight.  My parents took me to the back of the plane once in a while
to entertain me.

Sitting next to me was another baby. Her name was Roshni and she was also going to
India. Her mother and my mother grew up in the same colony in Mumbai. Its a really
small world.

 Nov 1st, 2006 - The day has finally dawned and we were almost ready to leave to India. I was all excited as this would be my first trip outside the US. We had a lot of
packing done, but some last minute things were still pending. More than half
the luggage consists of my baby food, diapers and clothes. My parents want to
be very careful that I don't have any problems in India. 

We spent the morning putting all the last minute items in the suitcases and my
father and I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to get some locks. Finally at 4 PM, we
were all packed and ready to leave to the airport......... 

Nov 1st,  2006  - India....Land of Mystery, Land of my Parents and all my ancestors. I am going there and I am only 9 months old. My parents tell me that all our
family is awaiting my arrival and that there are a number of functions
planned. I am a V.I.P.

My father called for a taxi cab and they said that taking me in a taxi cab
without a car-seat is considered a violation and that my father may be fined
if a traffic cop pulls us over. My father asked one of his friends Paul to
drop us to the airport. We stay very close to LAX and reached in about 20
minutes. Although it took a while to finish, the checkin process was relatively
smooth. We went through the security check and we had to declare all the
baby food that was in the diaper bags. Also, my mother had smartly put all my
soaps and lotions in a Ziploc bag, so we went through the security check also
relatively smoothly. Finally, we boarded the plane at around 7:30 PM at Gate
101.