Skip to main content

Day 8: Leaving on a Jet Plane

On an average, I take two flights every 10 days. Atleast. Then there are weeks when I take 4. And if I add in some personal travel on the weekend, then more.
And in all these flights, I have noticed something very peculiar about myself - how I behave when I am taking a flight for official work versus when I am travelling as a tourist. I am two absolutely different travellers, locked in my body.

For instance, lets take baggage. When I travel for work, I pack just enough for me to survive the trip. Its almost a crime to pack anything extra. If someone makes a dinner plan on such a trip, I go directly from office because I haven't got an extra pair of clothes. But when I am a tourist, it is always this case:


And after calculations that almost require an Excel macro, I come to a decision and check in.


Then comes seat selection. I don't know why I do this. But this always happens:


Always. Always. I am always on a window seat in personal travel and always on aisle in official travel. Something to do with wanting to see the sights or the freedom angle, wanting to see sky, I don't know. Its just weird.

Next step is Security check. I always get stopped when I am travelling personal. Its always like this:




On the other hand, in official travel, The security people are almost bored of me. They just wave me by like I could never carry anything dangerous when I am traveling on work. When on the contrary, the chances of being violent are far higher at work.

And the next bit, I swear is what shocks me the most. 



I can literally close my eyes and rattle off the entire menu on Indigo. I know exactly what is available and what is not. And yet, when I am on a personal travel, I waste 10 minutes of the air hostess, asking them why the samosa is served cold, while the upma is served hot. Always. I try things I have never had on the flight, which I know for a fact, will be bad.

And the feeling on landing:



I guess this one explains the whole journey and the differences.

Why am I writing this? Because there's a long weekend coming up and I am off to Goa today with Sherlock. Which means, bye bye Business traveller, HELLO Tourist!

The only time I don't mind the 3 hour journey to the Bangalore airport. Off we go! 

Have a fun long weekend! :)

Cheers!
Preeks

Comments

  1. Birthday celebration!! Yayyyy! Now I know what you were talking about last week when you said you had some exciting things coming up.

    I adore your drawings! Love that hat :D

    I always take the window seat! I just hate getting up for people who want to go to the loo. Why do you take the aisle seat during business trip? Hurry to get down? Are you someone who makes conversation with people sitting next to you? I generally don't, except one fine day when I sat next to a hot South African guy! This was the only time I was not seated next to an old uncle or a woman with a wailing.

    Goa must be fun! Eager to hear more about it in the next posts!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Replies
    1. Yes! In Goa now! :)
      I take the aisle so I can leave early. I generally don't talk to people. But once in a while, I do. Especially when the flight is delayed and there is a general chitter chatter going around! :D

      Delete
    2. I dropped by to check. Where is the post! I feel like a hungry kumbhakaran whose has not got his food on time.

      Delete
  3. Enjoy Goa!
    I usually choose window so no one makes me get up. And I have support to sleep on. I don't travel for work until it is out of the country so that means I am already pretty pissed so I make most of the movies and food! :D
    Are you planning to write from Goa? :o

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hope have a fantastic time in Goa :)
    Given the number of hours you fly overall, I'm sure you've had this post in your head from a while. Great portrayal there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, surprisingly, no! :D
      I figured this out only when I was leaving for Goa! :D

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Them 90s Things - 1 - iTV Music Channel

Starting a random series of all things from a 90s childhood, just so I have a record of these memories for posterity. Do you remember a channel called iTV?  The 1999 Cricket World Cup was when our extremely middle-class, government quarters colony rose to the challenge of cable tv. Till then, we were happily adjusting our antennas and watching wholesome family entertainment on the two channels of DD1 and DD2. Then came the cable wale bhaiya, with his fancy earring, a few TV guides stacked under his arms along with long ropes of cable, promising unlimited entertainment for the entire colony. And just like that, we all got lured. Cable TV bought with it a lot of changes, many of which I assume will get covered in this series. But, today's post is about 1 particular memory which every 90s kid can relate to. A huge letter I revolving on the TV in anticipation of a new song being chosen. Yep. The iTV generation. Not MTv. It was all about iTV. I still don't know what that channel was

Drumrolls and All That

In crass Hindi, this moment would have been aptly defined as "Laut ke buddhu, ghar ko aaye".  Exact translation would mount to "Fools return home" and that's what this post is. So, after taking a break from work, doing a second Masters, getting a job in Singapore and moving countries, I am back on the blog.  Who would have thunk? An year back, I had no idea this is what I would be doing in an year. But then again, do we know what we will be doing an year from now?  Lesson learnt. No planning, no guessing.  Just keep exploring, keep doing new things, keep learning, keep meeting new people. Things will happen. Trust. Like a fool (who returned home!) So, while I discover this part of my life, Singapore, I thought I need the blog more than the blog needs me. Because moving countries is not in the least as glamorous as it sounds.  There's the whole deal with selling all belongings which you have hoarded lovingly over the years. A

Letters to the Upparwalla!

(Wow! BlogAdda made my day! :) ) Prologue: I have been SO so SO so lazy, busy and blank, that I stopped writing posts altogether. But then, on reflection, I thought I owed this one to the unseen forces above. Hence, this post! LETTER #1 To The Gods Above, 1, "All Roads Lead to Heaven" Road, Heaven - 000000 15.06.2010 From Un Faithful Earthling Somewhere on Earth - Does the pin code matter? Sir/Ma'am, SUB: Complaint Regarding Services Rendered             This is to bring to your kind attention, the highly unsatisfactory services being rendered to me, not at all in keeping with the Contract signed during my release to the Earth. Further, I wish to register a complaint regarding the following key issues: Interaction With Irritating People : According to Clause 4 of my Contract which you have also signed, it was mutually agreed by both parties, that during my peaceful stay on Earth, my interaction with irritating people would be kept to as minimum as possi