Did you get your passport that very day?
I don't want to point fingers, but they weren't as prepared as we had wanted them to be.
First, they didn't believe we were Americans. They made us stand outside and asked our names and date of birth through a fence. It took them at least 30 minutes to look up our names. It took them at least two-and-a-half more hours to give us duplicate passports, even though we were the only ones there. They told us that they were receiving a lot of calls.
It was getting dark outside and we didn't want to be out on the streets after dark. And we had to pay $200 each for the duplicate passports. They wouldn't waive that fee. Fortunately, John had his credit card. I had no money on me.
They also couldn't waive our visas to India. But they arranged for us to get to the visa office at a police station. The Indian guy -- a young man -- was so quick. We were in and out of there in seven minutes. And he didn't ask for any money. I wish I had asked him his name. He was so polite and efficient.
Where did you spend that night?
We stayed at the Marriott near the airport for the night. It was in the list given to us by the consulate -- hotels that were helping those staying at the Taj. But the room was $450. I didn't have shoes on. All this while I had wrapped restaurant napkins on my feet and I had bath towels around me that were given to us at the President.
And we asked if this was the discounted rate and we were told, 'This is the best we can do'. People there thought we were so weird, because a balloon popped and we hid under the reception desk.
But then they gave us Thanksgiving dinner for free, which was a nice treat. And we met a French couple. When the woman saw me with towels, she went to her room and gave me her long sleeve shirt. I boarded the plane with the slippers from the Marriot hotel.
A week later in Basle, John went to see a doctor. There was a bulge in the front of his left leg. The doctor performed a small surgery. It turned out it was a piece of a bullet that had lodged in the outer skin of his leg during the shootout at the Leopold. I can't believe we came so close to being killed.
Image: A memorial in the Taj lobby as a tribute to those killed in the hotel in the attacks. The hotel reopened its tower section last week. Photograph: Punit Paranjpe/Reuters.
Also see: The other heroes at the Taj
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