I used to like flying back in the day. I remember as a kid, I used to be thrilled every time I had the opportunity to fly – excited that I would get to meet the pilot, excited to get a glimpse of the cockpit. There used to be this concept called “Kids Club” or something by the airline GulfAir and if you signed up you get to see the cockpit. One day I did manage to get sent all the way up the plane and i momentarily stood at the cockpit door and saw everyone sitting in the cabin, quickly glanced at the console and was out of there. You cant even imagine anything remotely close in a commercial airline these days.

But then things started to change. As a movie enthusiast I watched a good share of movies even the ones involving airplanes (yes I saw ‘Snakes on a Plane’). I’m really not sure if it was the constant barrage of Hollywood heretic propaganda or the insanely tragic events leading from 9/11 or the fact that last year every other day had a tragic story of some airline not having the perfect takeoff/landing but somehow over the years I started to dislike flying. Perhaps it was my insistent need to have my foot planted on the ground, or the ridiculous screening laws or the cramped seats in economy. I might never know.

But then again airline travel is not without its good points. There is still a little enthusiasm at the thought of being in an aircraft powered by powerful engines and lifting off the ground and soaring into the sky – watching the city shrink through the window panes. And if its at night, the lights all lit up and arranged in somewhat haphazard symmetry. Airports are still a collage of people from everywhere you can imagine and from every walk of life; old/young, rich/poor – the airline industry has indeed brought the world together.

Some airports are better than others. I just walked through what appeared to be 100 blocks of Dubai airport to get to my gate. Had I not be slowed down by groups of people hauling way more baggage that regulated, I would’ve made it here in record time. I climbed 2 flights of escalators, descended one, passed through miles of steel and concrete, watched people stock up on confectionery and alcohol from the duty free stores, watched golf carts whisk people away to their gates as quickly as possible (but always being slowed down by the chaotic flow of people), smelt cheese burgers from the airport Burger King joint, passed a 300 square foot plot of man made shrubbery and a small waterfall (clearly a ‘get out of hell’ / ‘go green’ symbol in an attempt to make up for the tons of steel and concrete used to make the structure) and made my way through a long line of people (i never thought my city was this popular with the tourists). So much so that the gate doesn’t have the required number of seats to seat every passenger on the plane.

After being sequentially boarded though, I don’t recall very much besides trying to drown the baby cries. During the 4 hour flight, I pretty much dozed off for about 3 and woke up solely to chow down on the breakfast (and entree of scrambled eggs, with mushrooms and a chicken sausage). Not the best tasting meal I’ve had on an airplane but none the less I thank you airline industry for providing a meal at a time when even going to the bathroom is a priced activity. All in all it was a very pleasant flight (except for this one lady in my row a couple of seats apart who was coughing soo bad I thought she would cough out blood at some point).

I leave you with these 2 very important notes while traveling.

1. If possible avoid taking anything but a carry on bag as this saves you tremendous amounts of time in getting out of the airport. I was the first one out in a record 10 min (including all procedures)
2. Don’t wear a belt (clothes). You have to take this off at every screening and frankly its just a pain. Then again if you are traveling from the USA, maybe you want to irradiate yourself or not wear anything at all.