OK, so here's what happened. Today Raghavan went to the customs office and was there all day till 4pm or so, so the officials could open random packages and check the contents. Fortunately we knew someone at the customs office in Vizag who was able to pull a few strings and get our stuff cleared thru. As much as i HATE taking advantage of people we know in important positions, I am finding out that without some inside help, almost nothing happens. Anyway, by 4pm they were done checking and we were slammed with a Rs.21,000 duty fee, which i thought was astronomical but learned later on that we were extrmemly lucky to have gotten away with such a small fine. After that our belongings - half of them unwrapped - were loaded onto 3 trucks and along with R leading them in a car ahead, they made they way to our rental house. Along the way, the truck drivers decided to drive thru residential areas to avoid heavy traffic and subsequently got slammed again with a fine for doing so. Another 750 rupees!
By the time they got to Dream Valley (our rental house location) bumping and jolting precariously along the way, it was 8pm. There were 6 guys assigned to unload our stuff, and quickly they had it all done by 9pm. Boxes were placed on the ground floor....for the time being. The plan is that they come back at 10am the tomorrow to unpack and place things in rooms per our instructions.
Meanwhile, while all this was going on, our frig and 2 beds we had bought, got delivered. Now we have a huge task ahead of us unpacking....and to think we'll have to do this all again in about a year's time..... :-(
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