Off to India after almost 5 years...

So on Thu afternoon we caught a plane from MSP and headed off to the homeland via AMS. It is Diya's first trip to India and I am excited to be taking her altho she is just two and a half and doesnt have a clue. My excitement is tinged with trepidation of being stuck with her in an aluminium tube for the next 21 hrs or so.

The trip started off inauspiciously. At check-in they tell us that Diya and Ajita are in Row 60 on the KLM flight from AMS to DEL and I am in Row 30. We are a lil pissed (more worried) since we had called Delta / KLM at least three times to make sure that no such thing happens...Oh adn Delta cannot communicate with KLMs seat reservation system....so much for the partner airline nonsense they keep talking about

10 minutes later it got worse :)....Something in my hand baggage...perhaps the combination of liquids, AC adapators, chargers, flip flops whatever etc triggered the suspicion of the "einsteins" in the DHS. They proceeded to pore through my luggage like they were searching for Atlantis....Every single item was taken out and scanned, some items were chemically tested. They were particularly interested in my talcum powder that I had packed for Diya subjecting it to several chemical tests and looking at it like an 18 yr old looks at a stripper during his first visit to a strip joint....A large and sweaty 300 lb fat man with large hands and a voice that sounded like when a mob informer goes public and speaks through a voice "garbler" on TV then did a body check including inner thigh patdown...After 45 mins of DHS "security kabuki", they let me go and I was cleared for take off...Even the security officers knew this was idiotic but due process is due process - no exceptions

We boarded the plane and after a lull of about five minutes my daughter informed us that she didnt want to sit in her seat. Perhaps it felt claustrophobic...I dont know. She felt better in the aisle but would start bawling the minute we brought her in....after much soothing talk and distractions toys, games, coloring books etc we got her to sit with us.....