6 Days In Kakinada and Counting

I’m still in Kakinada 5 days after my last post. How can this be? I was initially supposed to be here for a two day calibration, this quickly changed as I was told to go to the rig on the third day of leaving Mumbai. This was where I finished my last post. One would think that I would on the rig by now, but this is so not the case. The story changes once again. Following instructions from above, I had to go to Rajahmundry where I would meet with the rest of the crew I would be working with on the Rig. There was no car available for the drive from the Kakinada base so the transport coordinator bought us some train tickets. Initially, I was a bit scared of going into a train in India as all I pictured was people hanging out from the sides of the trains. But I was assured that we would be booked into the pretty decent section of the train (three tiered sleeper with AC they call it).

Surprisingly, the journey was a great experience considering that even in Nigeria, I don’t think I would ever have the cause to get on a train. Took loads of pictures as well. On arrival, I met Nidih and Suby who are really cool guys. The chopper would leave Rajahmundry for the Actinia rig on the Indian East coast the following morning so we were all prepared. Around midnight, Nidih got a call from our manager who informed us that the rig is experiencing some problems and we would be delayed another 3-4days so, instead of paying for us to stay in this fancy hotel in Rajahmundry, we were sent back to Kakinada the following day and while we are waiting here for the green light, we would maybe do two more tool calibrations… pretty neat huh? Oh.. and we are staying in the company staff house which is like 100% cooler than the cosy hotel where I done battle with all the mosquito species in Kakinada.

Facny Hotel..

Also, I have completed my school entrance exam. I passed. This means I will definitely be going for the 10 week school in Abu Dhabi starting on 13th Jan. I am so looking forward to this. So right now, I am here at the base, I have been to the workshop a few times, the people here are so much nicer than the ones in Mumbai. Everyone is eager to help, and they definitely have your time. I am starting to wonder which one I prefer, Kakinada or Mumbai?