First time on a plane. First time beyond the bye-bye gate of the international airport. These and many more first-times in a span of 25 hours is too much to handle. When I expressed my fears of flying and travelling alone on a plane to my sister-in-law; she very rightly said, "You have enough time to get used to it".
So, fortunately, I did have a few relatives to see me off at the airport. But I didnt really have the energy to shed a tear and the anxiety was over whelming. After saying a few important goodbyes, I entered the airport. And then began the peek a boo with my family. I kept waving my hands to my family every time the door slid open. I did so till the time I was done with my baggage check in. I smiled my way through the check in procedure and got my over weight luggage surpass the eyes of the officer. Addtionally I did have some spurious items I was worried about being side lined. However, this was just a precursor of the good luck that was to follow for the next 25 hours.
I even tagged along a friend who was travelling with me and was equally nervous about his overweight baggage. He was quite a sweet chap and was with me for most part of my journey. Next came the immigration counter; and there began the stripping show. I dont know how I got this feeling that it would be best to dress as simple as I could possibly dress. I was wearing a t-shirt, trousers without a belt and was carrying a cabin bag and a sack containing my laptop and important documents. The wisest thing i did was not wear a belt and shoes. I went for the floaters. I didnt quite look like the best looking traveller, especially the ones dressed for a magazine cover. No jackets for me, no extra layering. Remember, these things have to be removed always. Carrying a laptop was a mistake in itself, especially since i was planning to buy a new one here anyways.
So I board the plane. Meet some fake smiles from the aircraft officers. Jet Airways it was for me. Every pretty face just about looked the same. There were a few foreigners and the one thing I starkly noticed about the crew members was the way their body language and facial expressions changed with dealings with foreigners and locals. Its just the way they suck up to every other white skin and the cold treatment Indians get is really depressing. I said to myself, to hell with the plastic dolls and I gave up my etiquette and gave them the treatment the real Indian gives to waitresses. I was almost ready to call them by a whistle. Besides that the food on an airplane is miserable. Its fancily packed, but just be aware that it doesnt really come from salubrious sources. My friend for years who is a flight attendant tells me about what goes on behind the curtains.
So all that hype about taking off and landing is a waste of an emotion. Its barely anything. You wouldnt even feel a thing if you were as tired as I was. The kiosk is fun. The movies are not for the movie buffs, who might have already seen each of the movies on the list. The soaps are the typical ones which are in and not quite surprisingly if you are that torrent freak, you might have seen them all too. I went for the documentaries and found the one about Steve Jobbs entertaining enough. Of course its a glossy version too obvious to notice, nevertheless what more can you get as entertainment on a flight. The most important aspect of my plane a journey was that I couldnt sleep at all. I doubt if I could get even a minutes sleep. Also the earphones generally give me a headache. So my head was splitting and my eyes were turning red. I tried every method in the book to fall asleep, but it didnt work and that gave me an even more severe headache.
It was mostly dark and I couldnt really see the again popularly described cotton like clouds. I thought to myself, Big Deal. I really could youtube it. After 9 long hours, I was relieved from the clutches of the economy class seating and i stretched myself after long at the Brussels airport.
.. to be continued..
So, fortunately, I did have a few relatives to see me off at the airport. But I didnt really have the energy to shed a tear and the anxiety was over whelming. After saying a few important goodbyes, I entered the airport. And then began the peek a boo with my family. I kept waving my hands to my family every time the door slid open. I did so till the time I was done with my baggage check in. I smiled my way through the check in procedure and got my over weight luggage surpass the eyes of the officer. Addtionally I did have some spurious items I was worried about being side lined. However, this was just a precursor of the good luck that was to follow for the next 25 hours.
I even tagged along a friend who was travelling with me and was equally nervous about his overweight baggage. He was quite a sweet chap and was with me for most part of my journey. Next came the immigration counter; and there began the stripping show. I dont know how I got this feeling that it would be best to dress as simple as I could possibly dress. I was wearing a t-shirt, trousers without a belt and was carrying a cabin bag and a sack containing my laptop and important documents. The wisest thing i did was not wear a belt and shoes. I went for the floaters. I didnt quite look like the best looking traveller, especially the ones dressed for a magazine cover. No jackets for me, no extra layering. Remember, these things have to be removed always. Carrying a laptop was a mistake in itself, especially since i was planning to buy a new one here anyways.
So I board the plane. Meet some fake smiles from the aircraft officers. Jet Airways it was for me. Every pretty face just about looked the same. There were a few foreigners and the one thing I starkly noticed about the crew members was the way their body language and facial expressions changed with dealings with foreigners and locals. Its just the way they suck up to every other white skin and the cold treatment Indians get is really depressing. I said to myself, to hell with the plastic dolls and I gave up my etiquette and gave them the treatment the real Indian gives to waitresses. I was almost ready to call them by a whistle. Besides that the food on an airplane is miserable. Its fancily packed, but just be aware that it doesnt really come from salubrious sources. My friend for years who is a flight attendant tells me about what goes on behind the curtains.
So all that hype about taking off and landing is a waste of an emotion. Its barely anything. You wouldnt even feel a thing if you were as tired as I was. The kiosk is fun. The movies are not for the movie buffs, who might have already seen each of the movies on the list. The soaps are the typical ones which are in and not quite surprisingly if you are that torrent freak, you might have seen them all too. I went for the documentaries and found the one about Steve Jobbs entertaining enough. Of course its a glossy version too obvious to notice, nevertheless what more can you get as entertainment on a flight. The most important aspect of my plane a journey was that I couldnt sleep at all. I doubt if I could get even a minutes sleep. Also the earphones generally give me a headache. So my head was splitting and my eyes were turning red. I tried every method in the book to fall asleep, but it didnt work and that gave me an even more severe headache.
It was mostly dark and I couldnt really see the again popularly described cotton like clouds. I thought to myself, Big Deal. I really could youtube it. After 9 long hours, I was relieved from the clutches of the economy class seating and i stretched myself after long at the Brussels airport.
.. to be continued..
