The flight Over

The Trip Over

Nov 3rd, 7:40 pm depart from Trudeau airport. The flight is 100% full, the kids and I have seats in the middle section and Ann is 4 rows away. I thought we would all fall asleep quickly as the past week has been so busy, but this was the first flight ever for Rob and Kathleen, so the excitement of the dinner, mini TV with games and movies, writing in their journals, going to the bathroom, and getting up to say hello to Mom, kept us all awake until breakfast time. The flying time is under 6 hrs and the British Airways service is excellent, considering how many people are crammed into the aircraft.

Nov 4th. 6:45 arrive in London. We have a four hour stopover at Heathrow, most of which is spent getting from Terminal 4 to Terminal 3 and then waiting in a “beastly” queue for security.

I am a bit surprised that the crowd waiting for the 11am Gulf Air flight to Muscat is almost entirely made up of budget travellers and Indian families connecting on to India, Thailand and Nepal. In fact I did not see anyone in Gulf Arab dress. After boarding we sit on the tarmac for an hour and the captain tells us that a container has become jammed in the hold. Already the Asian acceptance prevails and no one seems too upset, but then most of us have long waits in the Muscat transit lounge, so what’s the hurry. Seven hours flying to Muscat, with mediocre food and pleasantly disorganised cabin service. The plane is completely full, but this time we sleep for a few hours.

Arrive Muscat at 10pm local time where there is no walkway so we step outside into the desert heat and walk down stairs and across the tarmac to the terminal. We are the last people to get off the airplane and go through the security check but still the Omani security guards are so friendly they almost seem glad to see us. Upstairs at the Muscat airport is very western with a Duty free boasting hundreds of scotches and a faux Starbucks Coffee Shop. Our flight is due to depart at 1:15 am but at 12:30 it’s still not showing on the screen. The agent assures us it is on time. The departure area is downstairs; it seems less air-conditioned and is crowded with traditionally dressed Afgani and Pakistani guest workers asleep on the floors and benches,

Nov 5th. We are the only westerners on the flight to Kochi. There are a few empty seats and so Ann and I take turns stretching out for a snooze. The meal, curry and rice, smells and tastes fantastic. Once again the kids are wide awake and stay up for the four hour flight. Rob wakes me as soon as it is light to show me the rising sun out the window. After 17 hours of flying, many hours of waiting and 11.5 hours of time changes, we arrive in Kochi at 7am local time.