Originally Posted by
hserus
You won't be allowed into the international terminal of BOM till like two hours before your flight, so perish the thought of hanging around in the lounge for several hours.
All the literature says that you should be at the airport at least three hours ahead of your international flight. My experience in India thus far proves that to be so. I have no problem at all in hanging around in an airport lounge for four or five hours before my flight.
I would suggest that you leave your bags at your hotel, finish whatever you need to do in bombay, including sightseeing or whatever else - and then take your luggage over to a bar that's close to the airport, get some dinner and a few drinks before you head to the terminal.
My hotel is going to allow me a late check-out of 2 pm on Monday. I'm not doing any more sightseeing in Mumbai
but I do want to hang out after work with a couple of friends who I wasn't able to see when I first came into town before I leave finally. If I had only one carry-on, I would have just checked out of the hotel and lugged it on my back all around town with my friends until I need to get to the airport, but I have two carry-ons unfortunately, so that's too awkward for me to handle. I'm not a fan of eating dinner before taking a flight since who knows if one would need to use the john because of what one ate? I keep it light and snack-y before I fly and minimize the liquid intake as well.
If my hotel plays ball and lets me stash my luggage with them even after checking out, that would be fantastic since I like a stressless life
Crossing fingers!
Edited to add #1: Although come to think of it, maybe I can just wake up early Monday morning, have the (free) breakfast, go into town and do as much of the (in-person bank-related) stuff I needed to do on Monday that I couldn't do on the weekend, come back to the hotel in time for the late check-out, then lug my stuff to the nearest Chayyos, or the nearest mall, and tell my friends to meet me there...then when they close, catch a rick to the airport.
Moral of the story: the less stuff you have to carry around the universe, the easier it is to plan such things
Edited to add #2: Great news: not only is the hotel going to allow me to do the late checkout at 2 pm, they are also going to hold my luggage with the concierge. So I can do all the stuff I need to do in town unburdened, get back to the hotel one final time, collect my stuff, and head to the airport. Amazing what is possible if you just ask for it politely