Up, Up… and Away!!!

As a child, I’d always dreamt of flying like a bird. The freedom to measure the vast expanse of the sky with elan has always appealed to me. And well… I got one such chance recently (albeit for an official trip) when I got to fly the good times with Kingfisher Airlines. It was my very first trip by air and like any first-timer, I was a bit nervous.

I was accompanied by my colleague from office. Now this goes without saying that my colleague was more than glad to fly the good times…literally! You should have seen the look on his face as the pretty, young flight attendants walked past us in their striking red, yet smart uniforms. His eyes twinkled with happiness at the sight! ;)

But, working in the hospitality industry doesn’t come easy. The plastic smile was pasted on their faces for what seemed like an eternity! Made my jaw ache, just looking at them. (Dental care companies must surely be lacking good eyesight…or they’d have spotted their ‘Smile’ model, right here! May be, they need to ‘fly the good times’… more often! What say?!)

Anyways….as I embarked on my maiden journey by-air, I had butterflies in my stomach. Although I do suffer from a teeny-weeny phobia of heights, I had gotten myself well-composed for the journey. Right through the process of obtaining the boarding pass, going through the security check, and proceeding for the boarding, I came across as one awestruck baby! I guess, I was still reeling under the influence of my previous post - it having a definite impact on my thoughts. The child in me was hyperactive at that time. Eager to absorb the on-goings around her, as if it all was all unreal…a dream!

But with every new experience, there comes an attached fear…the fear of the unknown. And so… I harboured a little nervousness inside me.

As we boarded the airplane, my colleague tried exhibiting his courteous self by offering me the window seat, citing the journey as my first flight experience. Very gladly and gratefully, I accepted his offer. (Little did I know, that a similar request from him would come my way on our return flight! Aah! So much for chivalry, haan?!) As the journey began, I plugged my ears with cotton as I was pre-warned by family and friends that the change in air-pressure causes some uneasiness. An already nervous first-time passenger, I didn’t want to take a chance. So all settled, I was raring to fly!

And then it finally happened!

The plane slowly gained momentum and within a matter of a few seconds, we were airborne! The feeling was awesome and unsettling at the same time. A tad bit unpleasant too…just the way you feel when you sit in a Giant Wheel. As if your stomach’s getting churned! As we ascended, the scene that next caught my attention will never leave me. The earth seemed marked in segments. As if someone took a stick and sat making haphazard lines and box diagrams on the face of the earth and placed his game of the building blocks in those segments. So this is what’s called a bird’s eye view!, I thought. As we gained altitude, an ocean of soft, white clouds surrounded us. The Sun seemed like a majestic, commanding source of energy, drenching the pristine white cotton-like cloud-spread in amber glow! Absolutely serene! Absolutely marvelous! This was what dreams were made of!

Beyond this, I was at complete ease and enjoyed every bit of the remaining journey. Even the slight air-bumps were taken in good spirit by me. The occasional flight information flickering on our screens, helped us remain aware of our connection to the ground or else I’d much rather have believed that we were in a third dimension altogether!

Soon we hit our destination and it was time for what my colleague put it as – ‘the scariest part of flying!’ – the landing! So much for moral support!, I thought. As I prepared myself for the touchdown with baited breath, the soft, white cover of clouds, opened up to reveal the familiar scene of random earth demarcations, that grew in size as our proximity to the ground increased. Then the wheels of our aircraft touched base with a little jerk and the plane started mapping the runway with a ferocious speed. For a second, a wave of worry crossed my face and I thought, Does the pilot know that you need to apply brakes in order to come to a halt? Will we be able to stop in time before the runway….umm….runs out?! But soon, my worries were put at ease as the plane lost momentum and slowed itself, coming to a smooth halt.

My maiden plane journey had come to a splendid end!

Although my exciting air-voyage lasted just around an hour-and-a-half, it was indeed a wonderful experience and will always remain etched in my memory with fondness.