So when I left for India on December 8th, it was definitely a pleasant journey. My route was from Austin-Atlanta-Frankfurt - Mumbai. I flew by Delta all through out...and was surprised that they charged $4 for every alcoholic beverage that I ordered. Damn it....I was really disappointed at this stinginess and cost cutting strategy by Delta and unless they revise this, I am not going to fly by Delta again :-) Anyways, I liked the food on Delta very much. It was good or may be I was very hungry or it was just the thought of going home that made everything better. Mine was the 2nd seat in a 5 seat row in a 2-5-2 seating aircraft. On my left was a huge German who looked like a Hippi, red faced with brown long hair and big earrings (the kind that a genie from Alladdin's lamp would wear). But then to my right was a Spanish trio from Argentina. The best thing was their kid, a 8 year girl was the only one who could speak English, as she was taught English in her school, while the mother and granny did not know any at all. Since I had taken introductory Spanish in the previous semester, I was their official translator with my broken elementary knowledge of spanish!!
So after the obvious 'Pain-in-the-Leg' journey from Atlanta to Frankfurt, I had to board another flight from Frankfurt to Bombay. At the boarding gate, I spoke to the German check-in agent who surprisingly pronounced my Indian name just perfectly, and requested her to give an aisle seat for this six-footer. She checked into her roster and took my boarding pass and gave me a new one and said "OK Sir, you are seated in the Club Class of this flight and would you like a window or an aisle seat". YooooHooooo!! Of course a window seat!! Thus the remaining flight was just absolutely cozy...I spent the first 30 minutes checking all the gadgets popping out of my magic-seat. The LCD monitor, the dining table/rack....or what ever it is called, the reading lamp and of course all the various comfort positions that my seat could give me....as it almost turned my seat into a bed! Then I took out my camera and shot a
few pictures of the Frankfurt airport from the plane, an aerial view after take-off, some clouds and some snow-capped mountains in Zurich. Besides me was a Gujju who owned several motels and inns all over the US. He said he was visiting India after a gap of 16 years. He was totally enjoying the Club class courtesy and after a few vodkas he started explaining me how beautiful Shilpa Shetty is and the 'n' number of reasons why he likes her so much and why is she so talented!!! But all in all it was a very comfortable journey. The ice-creams were the best on this part of the flight! And all this ended with the best sight in the whole wide world....
THE AERIAL NIGHT VIEW OF MUMBAI at around 11pm. Sadly the picture I took didn't come out that well... :(
My next post will be on my harrowing experience with custom officers at the airport! Coming very soon. Hope you like the pictures at the above link.
CURRENT MUSIC: Bulla Ki Jana Kon : Rabbi
Thursday, February 10, 2005