My first air travel which became an international one! - Part 1

"Sabr ka phal meeta hota hai..." was the first thing which ran across my mind when I was leaving the VISA lobby of the US Embassy at Chennai. The 5 hr wait gained me a VISA to the US!!  I gave my sister a real shock and surprise when I informed her that I would be flying to US in a couple of days. Infact, only my mom and my cousin knew that I am on for the VISA interview. Others thought that this was just an interview for a new job!

The day arrived for my first travel in the wee hours of December 7th. Having done all the packing, I waited for my cab to the airport which is an hour drive from the city. With just a "college" bag and a "more than a cabin" suitcase I entered my cab which came well ahead of its scheduled time. My cousins and some elder relatives wished me a bon-voyage. Very excited, but a bit tensed, I waved to them and I can see their image disappearing as my cab takes a turn. On the way, I was busy talking to my cab driver who was eager to know about my travel and all the while I was busy double checking if I had all the documents for my travel. I had to travel to Chennai and from there to Frankfurt and then to Chicago and then to Minneapolis, these "ands" huh!!

First time in an airport didnt really frighten me, thanks to Suraj, my best friend, who shared his experience going up and down Abu Dhabi and Trivandrum a couple of times and thanks to my friends in office who traveled abroad for project works. They too had their piece of advice for me! Having done with my baggage check-in and security check, I entered the waiting lobby where I could see a whole lot of people waiting for their turn. I had an hour more so just kept on wandering the lobby and done a couple of last minute phone calls.

It was the second time I am seeing an aeroplane real close. (the first time was, when I was 11 years old sitting in the KSRTC bus with my mom and sis at a traffic jam right near the old Cochin airport).

This domestic carrier, (our own Mallya's) Kingfisher was just a small one, but the interiors were well furnished and looked elegant. It took off at 9PM and I was excited at the acceleration it made when it pretty roared through the run-way. The take off was really superb, as it zoomed up I started enjoying the flight more. It was awesome felt when the aircraft tilted towards the left and then to the right until it came to its scheduled path. The tilts were very much felt as the carrier was a small one. The food served by the beautiful air hostess, Shefali was yummy and (hot). In 1 1/2 hour, the caption announced that we are entering the "Chennai sky". Flying low over Chennai took me a few years behind, when we (CA aspirants for coaching in Chennai) used to sleep at the terrace to beat the heat of Chennai and all of them looking at the aircrafts flying overhead and wondering who would be the first to fly over this apartment, and just then I became (a little bit :P) proud of myself and whispered  to myself "yes, I am the first!!"

As I moved to the International Terminal to have my immigration and other formalities, I made a phone call to my mom and to my another best friend, Krishnamoorthy who was in Chennai. He wanted to see me off at the airport. But, I said "no" since even if he had come there I could be with him for not more than 15 minutes. After waiting for an hour or so, I had my turn at the Immigration department. Having done with the formalities, I moved towards the gate where my first Boeing - 747 Lufthansa will be halting for the international travel. I can see a lot of foreigners just comfortably sleeping at the gate premises. May be some are Europeans or some Americans, but, for us, they are "foreigners!" My flight was scheduled at 2AM and I had 2 hrs left. I took a seat at the waiting lobby but wasn't feeling sleepy as the "overloaded excitement" overcame the then sleepy mood. After a while, I saw some passengers moving inside through the gate, just then a sweet voice announced that the aircraft has landed and would be ready in an hour for boarding. Patiently I waited and after about 45 minutes they announced the boarding and first preference were of course, to the business class, they said 'economy class' can wait.

The air hostess and the flight stewards greeted me as I entered the giant aircraft. I put my bag into the overhead cabin and fortunately I got a window seat. Just then an airhostess was hurriedly pushing in some baggages into the cabin and closing them. Yes, its time for the giant to take off. They advised us about the security measures to be taken in an emergency and bla bla bla. Slowly the giant moved on a reverse gear and yes, it is ready for another roar........!! GRRRR.....

thanks for reading...continued in the next post :)