Last Leg to Hyderabad

I was not impressed with flyDubai.

While the flight attendants, male and female, were all young, metro, beautiful and professional, most of the TV screens didn't work -- making Rose a little irritable. The ones that did had instructions that were not very intuitive, and the programming was prohibitively costly.

The food was extra as well. Lax and I discussed the menu in detail. We both decided on a 'masala wrap', but there was only one available, so I switched my order to the scrambled egg wrap. They came to us in little boxes (a la Mickey D's hot apple turnover of old) and were scorching hot. There were no utensils available, so Lax grilled her fingerprints off breaking her wrap in half to share with Rose. I tried to share mine with Lax, but she declined. In retrospect, I'm glad she did.

Mellissa and Yesh were two rows back on the opposite side. Mellissa had originally been seated across the aisle from us, on the aisle and next to two young men early 20's. Lax didn't want her sitting there with the men, and I offered to switch, but Lax had Mellissa move to a seat next to Yesh which was conveniently empty.

(At twelve-almost-thirteen Mellissa is a typical American pre-teen, anxious to spread her wings and feel a sense of independence. Lax was raised in a traditional Indian home, where she was sheltered and insulated. Lax enjoyed a long, safe childhood. While she is very American now, she has no point of reference to Mellissa's excitement to become an adult and be in charge. The disagreements from this disconnect are just starting. I understand from my girl friends who have daughters, this will be a decade long battle royale.)

Mellissa was not happy making the shift.

A half hour after I finished my egg wrap, a fire began in my stomach. I can't describe it, but I couldn't straighten up and had to bend over when I stood. It lasted for hours.

We began our descent to Hyderabad. When we touched down I looked back to Mellissa and we both grinned.

We were in India.