Flying business class has its own style — and yes, it can feel a bit snooty. Boarding before most others who may have reached before you but are now wearily and probably enviously looking at you as you saunter nonchalantly into the short Business Class line. Little do they know that this is actually a destination which has been reached after years of prudent savings and as a deserving gift to oneself.
The push back, the taxi, the announcements, the take off and the familiar sights as the lights of Bangalore drifted away reminded me of the numerous flights I had taken from the airport. But this was different. I was actually going to be more in the air than on the ground in the next 24 hrs, flying to a strange new land.
As the seat belt signs came off, the glass of champagne I had asked for was brought in a jiffy with a small bowl of warm nuts. I settled back to the luxury of the flight and started tapping on my personal entertainment screen for a movie to watch. The funny part which I have noticed is that I scroll through the entire selection and land up seeing a movie which I probably have already watched earlier. I was lucky this time.
Managed to find the new Captain America movie and started watching it. I must have nodded at least 5-10 times before I realised it was time to switch it off and sleep for some time. I had been studying about jet lag and having taken advice from my friend ChatGPT, knew that I had to sleep for at least three hours or else I would feel half deranged when I land at Hong Kong.
With the press of a button I started slipping as if on a water slide in a theme park and in seconds I was in a fully prone position. I put on the eye mask, the ear plugs and covered myself with the soft blanket and was knocked out in no time. Since I had requested the crew not to disturb me, no one shook me awake and I probably slept like a baby. I don’t know if I snored. Even if I did no one complained or gave me the look when I woke up at 5.45 India time. As I was looking at my mobile checking the time that I had slept, the clock changed to 8.15 am. Whaaat? I thought. With bleary eyes, I look around disoriented to see most other passengers in upright position. Curious about the world outside, I raised the blinds — only to be hit by a wall of blinding sunlight.
I quickly closed the blinds again, already shaken up and saw the toilets were occupied. The human body system is so well trained. Get up and rush to the toilet. I gritted my teeth and waited and luckily found one of the passengers contentedly vacating one of the toilets. I jumped up and rushed before someone else did. Ah! The relief. Washed my face and asked for a cup of black coffee. As I was enjoying the aroma and the taste, the captain announced the descent into Hong Kong.
As the geography changed below me, from the flickering lights of Bangalore to the vertical jungle of Hong Kong, I felt myself inching into a liminal space — neither home, nor yet there. I wondered about my wife if she was asleep back home as I watched the clouds shift outside my window and that thought too slipped by. Flying into Hong Kong provided a sight very different from so many others places I had gone to. The touchdown was smooth and I mentally ticked another country (city state??) I had come to.
The airport is huge and after landing it took us nearly 10 minutes to reach our gate. I had a three hour layover and I rushed across the aero bridge after the smiling stewardess bid me goodbye, wondering how far I needed to go to for my connecting flight. The signs were very well marked and in less than 10 minutes I had cleared the transfer gates and security. The airlines had provided us options to use any of the four complimentary lounges in the airport. I chose the one overlooking the boarding gate for my next flight, settled down , connected to the lounge wifi and started sending out the ‘Landed in Hong Kong’ message to all those eagerly waiting at home. Made some WhatsApp calls and very soon 2 hours flew by. In order to take full advantage of the services, went for a bath and spent the next 15 minutes enjoying a hot shower and came out refreshed for the next flight.
I looked out and saw passengers already milling around the gate for my next flight. It was time for me to get up leave. As I sauntered out, I imagined what the next 13 hrs were going to be like floating in the air, flying further eastwards over the Pacific Ocean as the earth continued to rotate at a much faster speed than we could fly. Somewhere during the flight it would overtake us bring darkness much faster than if I had stayed in one place on the ground. As I reached the gate, I realised that even after flying for more than 18 hrs and staying on the ground for 5 hrs, I would still be landing on the same day I had started thereby giving me an additional 14 hrs of the day to live. That’s one long day of my life. I am sure it would be as wonderful as every day of my life had been till now.
As I reached the gate, I realised that After flying for more than 18 hours and waiting 5 more on the ground, I would still land on the same day I started — gaining an extra 14 hours of life. One long day. One more wonderful day in life.
Check out ----------------------> Transit 2 - US Trip
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