These are the most irritating times that turn into strange, tiring, surprising, hilarious, and sometimes wonderful memories. It can be annoying to even think about air travel: the preparations you have to make, going to the airport in advance, baggage drop, security checks and all the waiting; and a connecting flight is just a disaster! But it is all worth the effort, not only because you get to the destination, but also you have those weird experiences on the way. Here are some of those experiences…
1) “The Window Seat”
Flying over thunderstorms in the night
It’s not as exciting as the lightening and the thunder that one can witness from the ground, but still mesmerizing. You see twinkling giant fireflies scattered all across the floor, although the sound of thunder is suppressed by the sound of airplane.
Flying over dense clouds during the day
I bet you remember the ‘Ramayan’, ‘Krishna’ or ‘Vikram aur Betaal’ directed by Ramanand Sagar (remember those arrows and faces in slow motion!). Well! In that case you have pretty good idea of how heaven looks like: a floor of cloud (cotton).
Sunrise and sunset
You can enjoy these on most long distance journeys. For both sunrise and sunset, when it is coming from behind the craft, I would recommend taking a seat in front-side of the craft before the wings (got to see the ground too). I just love to see sunrays striking the wing behind me.
Flying over cities in the night
It’s like the city is celebrating ‘the festival of lights’ every day and people don’t seem to know about it down there! The whole city is lit up: the roads, the buildings, the public places. I just love the view of Mumbai. South Holland (the whole province) is also lit up with dense network of roads (cobwebs), and the green houses- it's just breathtaking.
Landscapes
I once flew from Milan to Delft over Swiss alps and got to see Mont Blanc. The pilot made an announcement of it and then took the aircraft from one side of the mountain. You have to be on the right side of the aircraft, literally! ☺, to have access.
It’s nice to see contrasting landscapes, for example, deserts of the Middle East and frozen subarctic landscape of the Quebec.
Tips:
- Always take a window seat that is away from the wing. It is important to check-in in advance to make sure that you have a window seat. Always keep your camera with you.
- Check your route on googlemaps and the website of the airline. If you are a regular traveler, you will soon have the same feeling you have on Indian railways. ‘Hoshangabaad aa gaya bhae, ab ghaat chalu hoega aur phir Bhopal’. The whole journey will become very familiar to you, and you will truly become a global citizen.
2) “Free Holidays!”
At times you might encounter a long halt before a connecting flight, or you might miss the connecting flight. It certainly is an awful experience but this is how you can conciliate it.
Helsinki
I was once flying Finnair from Netherlands to India. I had 5:30 hr halt at Helsinki (Finland). Although the schedule was tight, Samir (my friend) and Sameer (I) travelled 1 hr one-way for sight seeing in Helsinki!! Daring, isn’t it. I am rather proud of Samir who agreed to that crazy idea.
Dubai
I was coming back from India last month and missed my connecting flight from Dubai. I was already tired of not sleeping the previous night, and then standing in the queue and hours of waiting followed. They eventually gave me a flight ticket for the next day, and arranged my stay in Dubai. I was so sleepy the time I got to the hotel, and yet I immediately took off and made a guided tour of Dubai: Al Fahidi fort, Jumeirah beach, Palm islands, Atlantis, ride on Abras, Jewelry market and Burj Khalifa. I never felt so strongly for a city as I felt for Dubai: ‘Diamond in the Rough’. The 10 hr sleep I got that night, just perfect end!
3) “Shit Happens!”
The time I was boarding a connecting flight to Mumbai with a boarding pass to Delhi!
I was flying Alitalia from Amsterdam to Delhi via Milan. I am so used to taking flights to Mumbai that, after landing in Milan, I went straight towards the flight that was going to Mumbai. I stood in the cue at the gate for an hour. When I was boarding the plane, I was told that I should be flying to Delhi! Well! That scared d shit outta me. Moreover, they have facilities to take you to the departure gates but not away from it. I ran like never before, and eventually got to the right gate (on another terminal), stood in the line again and got in the right flight. ☺
The time I missed my flight from Mumbai to Helsinki!
I had a flight from Mumbai to Amsterdam via Helsinki. I confused the departure time from Mumbai with the arrival time to Helsinki! And it was too late when I realized it. I still went to the airport and reached there past the departure time! There is always so much rush and crowd, but I got to see the peaceful side of the airport, and got to visit the airline office there. I later went to Finnair office in Mumbai and booked ticket for another day.
4) “Beautiful Strangers”
Oh! This would take forever. You gotta talk to people in airplanes, so many interesting people with so many interesting stories. I think, an airplane is The Place with people from most diverse backgrounds.
