I do not like to travel unless there is a specific mission to accomplish at the end of it. And I hate crowds and avoid getting caught in them, unless it is unavoidable. The claustrophobic feeling has made me stop visiting cinema halls. One crowded place during travel is Mumbai's local train. And another congested way to travel is the airplane.
If one has to travel by air, the seats have to be booked months in advance, to get a good bargain.
Since I can just afford the economic seats, I have to tolerate the tiny cubicled seating for the duration of the journey.
The waiting starts at the airport, in the immigration queue. After luggage is weighed and tickets are issued, you have to wait and wait to walk through the check in, where body checks and hand luggage checks are done. Then you check the display board, which shows the gate that you need to match with your flight. And then you walk and walk and walk upto the assigned gate, where the waiting for boarding begins. I must admit that the international airport in Mumbai is very well decorated, with traditional frescoes along the walls, colourful Indian installations along the long walk towards the gates. Everyone stops to click selfies with the aesthetic and colourful decos.
The duty free shops are also very interesting and luring at the Mumbai airport. But the restaurants are not so attractive.
At last it is time to board the plane and the passengers enter the plane, where 2 crew welcome us with bored mechanical smiles. And as I enter the plane, I walk past the business class seats, with extra leg room and softer cushions. If it is the dream liner, then almost 400 people will board, with two aisles and 3+4+3 seats in each row. Hand luggage is stored overhead and we settle down into our seats. If you are lucky, then you will not have a cougher or a sneezer or a wheezer near you. But your luck can still run out, if the passenger in front of you pushes the seat back in recline position. Then you may not be able to enjoy the built-in video, unless you too push your seat in the recline position and then suffer in that uncomfortable position for the next 10 or 15 hours. The other hazard is a howling baby or a very loud conversation between the passengers close to you.
The seat belts are fastened and the plane begins its slow drive along the airport path assigned for it, until it reaches the runaway, where it speeds up and takes off and is airborne. The speeding up invariably is a fist clenching time and so is the landing time. But it is a great lesson in spirituality, because I'm sure that each and every person on the plane prays for its safe landing, at the end of each journey.
What a miracle man has discovered, to be able to fly among the clouds, and visit far off lands. All the petty discomforts are forgotten, once the miracle is done.
If one has to travel by air, the seats have to be booked months in advance, to get a good bargain.
Since I can just afford the economic seats, I have to tolerate the tiny cubicled seating for the duration of the journey.
The waiting starts at the airport, in the immigration queue. After luggage is weighed and tickets are issued, you have to wait and wait to walk through the check in, where body checks and hand luggage checks are done. Then you check the display board, which shows the gate that you need to match with your flight. And then you walk and walk and walk upto the assigned gate, where the waiting for boarding begins. I must admit that the international airport in Mumbai is very well decorated, with traditional frescoes along the walls, colourful Indian installations along the long walk towards the gates. Everyone stops to click selfies with the aesthetic and colourful decos.
The duty free shops are also very interesting and luring at the Mumbai airport. But the restaurants are not so attractive.
At last it is time to board the plane and the passengers enter the plane, where 2 crew welcome us with bored mechanical smiles. And as I enter the plane, I walk past the business class seats, with extra leg room and softer cushions. If it is the dream liner, then almost 400 people will board, with two aisles and 3+4+3 seats in each row. Hand luggage is stored overhead and we settle down into our seats. If you are lucky, then you will not have a cougher or a sneezer or a wheezer near you. But your luck can still run out, if the passenger in front of you pushes the seat back in recline position. Then you may not be able to enjoy the built-in video, unless you too push your seat in the recline position and then suffer in that uncomfortable position for the next 10 or 15 hours. The other hazard is a howling baby or a very loud conversation between the passengers close to you.
The seat belts are fastened and the plane begins its slow drive along the airport path assigned for it, until it reaches the runaway, where it speeds up and takes off and is airborne. The speeding up invariably is a fist clenching time and so is the landing time. But it is a great lesson in spirituality, because I'm sure that each and every person on the plane prays for its safe landing, at the end of each journey.
What a miracle man has discovered, to be able to fly among the clouds, and visit far off lands. All the petty discomforts are forgotten, once the miracle is done.
Posh jet setter has written this post :)
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