Heylo Heylo
For all those who came here and went off on not seeing a new post, ahh..so sorry..:)I did promise to post the day after Diwali...then, I saw all these people around me in our fair city of Baroda -they had decided to take it easy till Labh Pancham...and, I did too...in fact, it's two days after Labh Pancham, but who's counting? haha.
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So what's been happening since I left from Dxb on 04th late nite? As usual-the fun never ends at the airport. After the traditional rounds I do, of the Duty Free( After all, I don't get my evening walk on travelling days), ending with a cuppa tea at a quaint restaurant(Read that as ' I don't remember the name'- umar ho rahi hai, I guess....ROFL)..people were seated everywhere, and standing everywhere, around the boarding zone. Each time someone went towards the counter in uniform, half a dozen or more people would jump up and move with their baggage.
Ah- they finally announced boarding....and, the sign at the gate said' The flight is 50 minutes late'...people still went down to the hall....so that they could do something with their time, since they'd already purchased all the booze and Tang(I wonder why they buy it there-it's easily available here as well) and 'baba baby maate ni geefts'. Suddenly, one man decided he wanted to form a queue, even if the flight was an hour late...he went and stood at the announcement dias. And, at least a hundred sheep,err, people followed him and stood in the newly formed queue. Requests by the airline staff to remain seated till the boarding announcement, went on deaf ears.
Two Uncles sitting(Ah yes, some of us were sensible enough to conserve our energy) opposite me- both in their Seventies, I guess, got round to talking- one was from US and one from UK..both found some link to each other's ancestry(they all do- such excellent memories!)...one kept grinning and saying' Haaav Gaandaa chhe aa loko-juo ne kevi reete line maa ubhaa chhe'(These people are crazy-look how they're standing for so long in a queue)..after 15 mins, temptation got the better of the two gents, and they also joined the queue.. A few minutes later, they announced that boarding would be Zonewise(It always is)....people still refused to move- they'd formed a huge crowd now- the kind one sees during the Ganesh Visarjan or maybe more- all around the dias. One woman went crazy when her kids began crying and shouted abuses and what not @ how late flights are not good.
We finally boarded at 1115, instead of 1020 PM. I'd taken a corner seat(always do, when available), since the sights of the lit-up cities(Dxb and Abad) are always great from the air. It was a packed flight- everyone from aapro America to aapro UK to my Dubai, seemed to be travelling to Ahmedabad. All 335 seats occupied- I did think I spotted someone standing, as well, but maybe I was mistaken.:) Was just settling down to a nice relaxing flight, when it began. The seat right behind me...BAWWWWWWLLLLLL...went a tiny tot girl...and, didn't stop for 15 mins. I put on headphones and tried listening to music-still no luck..:) And, taking her cue, another 10-12 kids in different seats began howling, too...right from take-off time till we landed-no respite. The one behind me, was being poked by her Mom, while her Dad kept telling her to quieten down. Mommy was competing with her, it seems, saying 'Yeh samajhti kya hai apne aap ko? Oversmart ho gayi hai. Tum chup raho-rone do use'. And, people kept looking at the poor Dad's red face. (I turned to look just once). What makes Moms behave like this, I wonder?
I'd pre-booked a Veg Meal this time, just to see how it is and whether it differs from the non-pre-ordered Veg Meal. And, believe me, it does. They didn't serve rotis. Just a bun. They didn't serve spicy sabzi-instead, it was nice mashed potatoes and some non-spicy Daal. They didn't even serve butter- it was margarine, instead.Didn't even give the 10 gms packet of mixed nuts that they served with the regular veggie meal to my neighbour. It makes me suspicious- why're the two veggie meals so different?(And, no-mine was not a Jain Veggie meal either) Butter bhi non-veggie hai kya?
We finally touched down at Abad airport....as usual, people jumped up and began taking their luggage down, as if the plane would take off again with them in it. I was dreading the jostling, pushing queue at the teeny terminal, which takes 1 hr+ to clear, then, another 1/2-1 hr to get baggage. But, voila- we entered right into the terminal,via the walk-tube, rather than getting down on the tarmac and being crammed into buses. In 5 mins, we were at the immigration, and, in another 15 mins- at the carousel. And, another 20 mins- I was out. How, you ask? The sparkling new international terminal at Ahmedabad airport. I'm impressed. Honestly. Take a look and see.
More pics here:
http://gujaratmoney.com/2010/07/07/complete-album-of-ahmedabad-airports-new-international-terminal-no2/
and, video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwDOTabHmPg
(Commentary's in Gujarati, so sorry, for those who don't grasp the language)
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Till the next update, cheerio and take care.
Oh yes- spotted an innovative guy yesterday, during my walk. A car was standing close to a wall, with both doors open and nearly touching the wall. A guy standing in between. Guess what he was doing? Relieving himself, snug in his pseudo belief that he was an unseen hero.:) A few steps ahead, a pommie doggie was openly doing the same thing- one leg raised as usual, of course- no doors, no car.:)
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So what's been happening since I left from Dxb on 04th late nite? As usual-the fun never ends at the airport. After the traditional rounds I do, of the Duty Free( After all, I don't get my evening walk on travelling days), ending with a cuppa tea at a quaint restaurant(Read that as ' I don't remember the name'- umar ho rahi hai, I guess....ROFL)..people were seated everywhere, and standing everywhere, around the boarding zone. Each time someone went towards the counter in uniform, half a dozen or more people would jump up and move with their baggage.
Ah- they finally announced boarding....and, the sign at the gate said' The flight is 50 minutes late'...people still went down to the hall....so that they could do something with their time, since they'd already purchased all the booze and Tang(I wonder why they buy it there-it's easily available here as well) and 'baba baby maate ni geefts'. Suddenly, one man decided he wanted to form a queue, even if the flight was an hour late...he went and stood at the announcement dias. And, at least a hundred sheep,err, people followed him and stood in the newly formed queue. Requests by the airline staff to remain seated till the boarding announcement, went on deaf ears.
Two Uncles sitting(Ah yes, some of us were sensible enough to conserve our energy) opposite me- both in their Seventies, I guess, got round to talking- one was from US and one from UK..both found some link to each other's ancestry(they all do- such excellent memories!)...one kept grinning and saying' Haaav Gaandaa chhe aa loko-juo ne kevi reete line maa ubhaa chhe'(These people are crazy-look how they're standing for so long in a queue)..after 15 mins, temptation got the better of the two gents, and they also joined the queue.. A few minutes later, they announced that boarding would be Zonewise(It always is)....people still refused to move- they'd formed a huge crowd now- the kind one sees during the Ganesh Visarjan or maybe more- all around the dias. One woman went crazy when her kids began crying and shouted abuses and what not @ how late flights are not good.
We finally boarded at 1115, instead of 1020 PM. I'd taken a corner seat(always do, when available), since the sights of the lit-up cities(Dxb and Abad) are always great from the air. It was a packed flight- everyone from aapro America to aapro UK to my Dubai, seemed to be travelling to Ahmedabad. All 335 seats occupied- I did think I spotted someone standing, as well, but maybe I was mistaken.:) Was just settling down to a nice relaxing flight, when it began. The seat right behind me...BAWWWWWWLLLLLL...went a tiny tot girl...and, didn't stop for 15 mins. I put on headphones and tried listening to music-still no luck..:) And, taking her cue, another 10-12 kids in different seats began howling, too...right from take-off time till we landed-no respite. The one behind me, was being poked by her Mom, while her Dad kept telling her to quieten down. Mommy was competing with her, it seems, saying 'Yeh samajhti kya hai apne aap ko? Oversmart ho gayi hai. Tum chup raho-rone do use'. And, people kept looking at the poor Dad's red face. (I turned to look just once). What makes Moms behave like this, I wonder?
I'd pre-booked a Veg Meal this time, just to see how it is and whether it differs from the non-pre-ordered Veg Meal. And, believe me, it does. They didn't serve rotis. Just a bun. They didn't serve spicy sabzi-instead, it was nice mashed potatoes and some non-spicy Daal. They didn't even serve butter- it was margarine, instead.Didn't even give the 10 gms packet of mixed nuts that they served with the regular veggie meal to my neighbour. It makes me suspicious- why're the two veggie meals so different?(And, no-mine was not a Jain Veggie meal either) Butter bhi non-veggie hai kya?
We finally touched down at Abad airport....as usual, people jumped up and began taking their luggage down, as if the plane would take off again with them in it. I was dreading the jostling, pushing queue at the teeny terminal, which takes 1 hr+ to clear, then, another 1/2-1 hr to get baggage. But, voila- we entered right into the terminal,via the walk-tube, rather than getting down on the tarmac and being crammed into buses. In 5 mins, we were at the immigration, and, in another 15 mins- at the carousel. And, another 20 mins- I was out. How, you ask? The sparkling new international terminal at Ahmedabad airport. I'm impressed. Honestly. Take a look and see.
More pics here:
http://gujaratmoney.com/2010/07/07/complete-album-of-ahmedabad-airports-new-international-terminal-no2/
and, video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwDOTabHmPg
(Commentary's in Gujarati, so sorry, for those who don't grasp the language)
-----
Till the next update, cheerio and take care.
Oh yes- spotted an innovative guy yesterday, during my walk. A car was standing close to a wall, with both doors open and nearly touching the wall. A guy standing in between. Guess what he was doing? Relieving himself, snug in his pseudo belief that he was an unseen hero.:) A few steps ahead, a pommie doggie was openly doing the same thing- one leg raised as usual, of course- no doors, no car.:)
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Comments
crying (shrieking babies on flights are the most annoying thing!!!)
Why do people buy Tang at all?