Are we there yet?!

Yay!!! We have our tickets!! After extensive shopping for both the best routes and the best prices we ended up with two options: Minneapolis - Amsterdam - Mumbai or Minneapolis - Newark - Mumbai.

It is a long flight no matter how you go about it, so we opted for as few stops as possible. The Newark route had been highly recommended by someone here in the area who is from India and travels there frequently. However, by the time we had the exact dates of our internship, the flight had increased by $240 (yikes!) so we looked at the Amsterdam route and decided that, because it is such a long flight, we might actually appreciate a break and walk around a little in Amsterdam airport. Money wise, it ended up only being $50 cheaper, which I am sure we will spend in the airport, but the break really appealed to us.

So, we went to book our flights on-line, something we had done so many times before. But, for some reason, whenever we selected any of Amsterdam routes (different layovers), we received a message that basically said: is not going to happen. We were able to select the Newark route, but by now, we had our hearts set on the break in Amsterdam, but were really getting tired of the difficulties with the tickets. We had been shopping for tickets for weeks and just wanted this step to be done! But, we pushed through and went to AAA who came through for us. They got us on the Amsterdam flight, with the layover we wanted and we have our tickets!!!

So, what did this part of the trip cost? $1,530!! Yeah.....

We have an apartment!!

After many forths and backs, ups and downs, and sticker shocks, we have been able to secure an apartment in Malad-West, a suburb of Bombay. We opted for a serviced apartment and will be staying in an apartment with one-bedroom, two bathrooms, living/dining room and kitchen. I just love the specification of "English toilets", something to remember for future visits.

We found this apartment through http://www.dreamhomerelocations.com/. This company specializes in serviced apartments and have been really wonderful to work with. Unlike many places in Mumbai, they communicate via email and are really quick to reply to any questions we had. I will post pictures as soon as I get over there.

Lodging in Mumbai!

When you decide to visit this country and someone warns you that finding lodging in Mumbai will be very difficult (and very expensive), do not underestimate this warning!! It is incredible difficult and you can easily spend thousands of dollars.

There are basically four ways to stay in Mumbai:

1) You can be a "paying guest" in someone's home. This involves renting a room with a family and sharing meals with them. Unless you have a separate entrance, this could be difficult if you are seeking privacy, but it can be an affordable option.

2) Hostels, which are basically dorms for women. All-inclusive of everything including meals, etc. This could work for a short stay when you just need a place to sleep and basic amenities.

3) Hotels. There are plenty of hotels available but if you need to stay for a longer time, this could pose a problem. Some only let you book for 2 weeks and others up to 30 days. If you need to stay longer, you could book two bookings periods, if the hotel has the availability and will let you. You might then just need to switch rooms during your stay.

4) The last option is to rent a serviced apartment for a couple of months. These are fully furnished appartments with some of the amenities of a hotel. There are set up for business travelers who are staying for longer than a week or two and need something that feels a little more like home.

We are still negotiating some final details but I believe we finally might have a place to stay.