It seems somehow appropriate that the song on the radio when we pulled out to head for the airport was "Learning to Fly," by The Foo Fighters. I did learn something today. I learned that it is possible for me to fly halfway around the world with no anti-anxiety medication. I'm not sure how much of that to attribute to being in premium economy, and hence having less claustrophobia, but it was pretty much a revelation.
My flight from Seattle to London-Heathrow was on a Boeing 777, in the bulkhead row of the premium economy section. This was surprisingly spacious. You get your own leg-rest, which was a nice bonus. There is the down side that all of your bags have to go in the overhead bin, so you have to be careful about what you choose to stuff in the magazine holder.
I ordered the low-lactose meal. My memory of the last time I did that was that the food was the blandest bland that ever blanded. I was not expecting anything better, so I was pleasantly surprised. Now, mind, I can't actually tell you what I ate. The only identifiable ingredients were green beans and water chestnuts. They were served on noodles, which looked like what would happen if you blew spaghetti up to the size of earthworms. Aside from the mysterious nature of the food, it was very tasty. I'd read that airlines have discovered that umami, or savory, flavors perform the best in the sky, and I am pretty sure that's what they were going for, to which I say, success!
Heathrow was a madhouse. Spending six hours there seemed like it was going to be torturous, but I discovered the "Quiet Area," which had a bunch of recliner seats with power outlets. Hooray! Napping was had, and it was glorious!
The flight from London to Delhi was on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. I did notice that it was quieter than the 777, and less dry. Overall, very nice.
Delhi is a very polluted city. When we flew in, the smog was so thick, and the sun so bright, that we had to abort the landing about 10 feet above the runway and try again, because the pilots couldn't see the runway. Thankfully, we did succeed in landing on the second try.
Time for me to try to stay awake until 8:00 PM. That will be . . . interesting . . . given that I'm now 13.5 hours ahead. Go, go magic time zone adjustment skills! (I have those, right?)
More later!
My flight from Seattle to London-Heathrow was on a Boeing 777, in the bulkhead row of the premium economy section. This was surprisingly spacious. You get your own leg-rest, which was a nice bonus. There is the down side that all of your bags have to go in the overhead bin, so you have to be careful about what you choose to stuff in the magazine holder.
I ordered the low-lactose meal. My memory of the last time I did that was that the food was the blandest bland that ever blanded. I was not expecting anything better, so I was pleasantly surprised. Now, mind, I can't actually tell you what I ate. The only identifiable ingredients were green beans and water chestnuts. They were served on noodles, which looked like what would happen if you blew spaghetti up to the size of earthworms. Aside from the mysterious nature of the food, it was very tasty. I'd read that airlines have discovered that umami, or savory, flavors perform the best in the sky, and I am pretty sure that's what they were going for, to which I say, success!
Heathrow was a madhouse. Spending six hours there seemed like it was going to be torturous, but I discovered the "Quiet Area," which had a bunch of recliner seats with power outlets. Hooray! Napping was had, and it was glorious!
The flight from London to Delhi was on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. I did notice that it was quieter than the 777, and less dry. Overall, very nice.
Delhi is a very polluted city. When we flew in, the smog was so thick, and the sun so bright, that we had to abort the landing about 10 feet above the runway and try again, because the pilots couldn't see the runway. Thankfully, we did succeed in landing on the second try.
Time for me to try to stay awake until 8:00 PM. That will be . . . interesting . . . given that I'm now 13.5 hours ahead. Go, go magic time zone adjustment skills! (I have those, right?)
More later!
Have tons of fun, make lots of memories, & take pics of everything! You can always edit later!!!
ReplyDeleteMichele Simdars