New Delhi, India

We wake up, and clean up as we will need to check out by 12:00. We started packing last night, so this morning should be easier. Sue ran down for a quick bite of breakfast while I finished up in the room.

Check out was quick. We had arranged for transportation to the airport the day before, so now we just have to wait until 5:00 pm. The lobby has plenty of comfortable seats and couches, so we just passed the time away there.

I do have to say, the JW Marriott was an excellent choice for our hotel stays. Being brand new it has all the modern amenities, is spotlessly clean and has some of the best staff we have ever encountered in our travels.

So 5:00 pm rolls around and our transport is ready. It only takes about 10 minutes to get from the hotel to the airport. Once there, we get to wait as the gate agents aren’t open for our flight yet. Security is tight around the airport, in fact we had to show our passports and tickets just to get in. After about a hour, we can check in for the flight.

We passed through passport control and security in no time at all. Since we are flying Business First, we have access to the lounge. It’s great to see how the other half lives. Instead of sitting at the gate, the lounge has comfortable chairs, a small buffet, beverages, snacks, power outlets, computers, and quiet. There are even showers and changing rooms besides the bathrooms. This is a one time treat for us, so we’re going to take advantage of it.

It’s finally time to head to the gate. There is another security checkpoint at the gate. Not sure why there is the extra security or if it is just the way they handle it all the time. No matter, we are through in just a few minutes. Shortly thereafter, it is boarding time. The flight does not appear to be jam packed, there are a few seats open in first class and economy plus. Lots of upgrades available and people are being seated.

Everything is going smoothly except for the Cathay Pacific jet that is stuck and blocking our departure. They should just put horns on these things. It worked in Delhi.

Soon we are off and enjoying a smooth flight. We have a delicious dinner – rosemary lamb au jus and then settle in for the long flight. We both slept for a while, me longer than Sue. I awoke to her watching a movie. I have to say, the flat bed seats were very comfortable. Normally I might doze off and on during long flights, this time I was able to sleep soundly coming and going.

When we arrived at Newark, we zipped right through passport control. They have the new electronic passport kiosks and they really helped speed things up. It took no time to get our bags and go through customs. We actually brought back a couple things this trip, but nothing that required duty.

We had about three hours to kill before our flight to Buffalo. A snack, a beverage and it was just about time to board. The flight was on-time and went fast. Before we knew it, we were landing in Buffalo.

We grabbed a taxi home and it felt good to walk into our own house. It really is true – there’s no place like home!