Airbnb to the Rescue

I am a huge fan of Airbnb.   Having been a host and guest within the system for over 3 years now,  I can honestly say I have never had a bad experience with Airbnb.  As a guest, it is so wonderful to stay with locals who are helpful and know the area.  As a host, it is really neat to have people who are visiting stay and the extra income it provides is quite nice.  The review system and insurance policy keeps everyone in check.  The people who use Airbnb are a certain type of people.  They tend to be people with a sense of adventure who are open-minded and flexible.  No one has ever expected my place to be a hotel or a B & B.  I have used Airbnb in both the US and Europe, but as I began to search for places to stay in India, I wasn't sure that Airbnb had made it over there yet.  I, first checked out Delhi and there were a ton of places there and a range of different types of accommodations.  I then checked for Patna.  There were only a couple listed, but there was a serviced apartment that sounded quite perfect.  I contacted the hosts, Satish and Pratima and negotiated a price for an extended stay and booked it.

I have committed to staying in Patna for a month.  Adam and I will fly out on July 17th to arrive in Delhi on the 18th.  We will fly to Patna on the 19th.  Adam will stay for at least two weeks.  This will be important bonding time with Anjali and hopefully we can get some progress made on our case by being there.  Some people have asked why we don't take her to where we have family in Pune, but I think that it will be better to be in Patna.  I have a feeling we are going to have to advocate strongly for progress and will need to be there.  I also think it will be a wonderful transition from the orphanage.  We can spend time alone with her and get to know her and the city where she was born.  Unless we can get everything processed quickly, Adam will go back to the US and then my parents will come to India to help.  After a month, we will decide where we should be.

I am really excited about the "serviced apartment" we will be staying at in Patna.  It is in a quiet residential neighborhood called Shastri Nagar and the lower level of the house where our hosts live.  It is a spacious two bedroom, two bath apartment with kitchen, lawn and terrace.  Our hosts seem like really wonderful people and I know it will be invaluable to have contact with locals who can help us navigate the city. I spoke extensively with Satish, who actually attended college in Florida, via Skype and everything is set.

We are coming to get you soon, baby girl!