Friends For Life?

Who was the first person that came to your mind when you read that subject line? I would be surprised if there were more than a few names that popped up. I am sure all of us have been told or have read or have heard the line - ' The Friends you make in school would be your best friends'. True? May be, May be not. Its possibly a majority view. I would like to believe that, the friends we make in school have the best chance of being our best friends.Here is why -
I am guessing that as a kid until you finished school( this if for my generation, these days kids grow faster :-)), you tend to not seek much but are happy to contribute and share in a relation called 'Friendship'. Beyond your schooling days, as the mind gets corrupted( some call it growing up) the whole thinking of Pro's and Con's of making friendship with a person comes about. And we all know, such relations last only until the Pro's outweigh the con's.
Now Coming back to the 'Childhood friends' - are they really 'For Life' ? I am sure, each one of us can think of a few names who were close pals in nursery, Primary schools but you don't know where they are right now. Then there are another set, whom you were in touch but not on a regular basis and when you met up with them after a long time, you didn't have much topics to converse on after you had exhausted the mandatory pleasantries. I believe, this happens when two people grow up to different beliefs , lifestyles . From my personal experience I can say that, I started to wonder - if this was the same guy I had been so closely bonded with in the past.

So, If you have a set of friends or just 'A' friend with whom you have a rocking bond - don't let them go and make an effort to keep in touch . Not everyone have many - 'Friends For Life' .

Travel Tales

I have come to terms that every time I travel by Air, there would be some sort of 'action' whether in airport or mid-air. I am sure many of you can relate to some of these or have your own experiences to share. At least some of these would serve as a do's and don'ts list.So buckle up and Enjoy the Ride -

Airtight Packing
The very first flight I ever took from Bangalore’s Old airport, my check-in baggage was stopped by the security guys @ the x-ray machine. As soon as I told him that the Duct tape wrapped package was nothing but rasam, sambar and other powders enthusiastically packed by my dad and that I was a IT guy going on a 6 month 'Onsite', he smiled at me and cleared the bag.

Pirates not allowed

In this day and age with heightened security, you cannot complain of take offence on what you are put through. My wife was made to 'Surrender' her 'Pirates of the Caribbean' key chain which she had fondly brought @ the Paris Disneyland, by the Security officer at the Charles de Gaulle airport. And the reason- the key chain resembled a miniature pirate gun :-).

Absent Minded Professor
On a visit from Bangalore to London via Mumbai, I had a 7 hour wait in Mumbai and I should have read each newspaper and magazine that was available in the vicinity. So I was the happiest when check-in opened, and probably was the first in line to board the aircraft. while everyone was settling down - there came a announcement for my name and I was asked to identify myself to the staff. Then I was made to walk half way across the airport to the security who had found some objectionable items in my bag. while I kept insisting that I knew no item which had wires coming out of it, his voice kept getting sterner with every question. finally when he opened the bag, i realized it was a hard disk of a computer which a friend had asked me to bring along from his home. Since it had completely missed my mind - I was not able to answer the security guy's probing questions.

Sweet Smell of RevengeIf you have to settle a score with the airport security guys, then here is a good approach. Wear something which will beep when you pass the gate, you are sure to be asked to take off your shoes(if they have not already done this). Make sure you have worn a really smelly socks for this right moment. I have seen this work wonders, when one of the guys took off his shoes and the security literally ran helter-skelter until one of them came back with air freshener.. for all the souls who have been harassed by them - it was a sweet(smelly) revenge...:-)

First Time/Nervous Travellers
One look around the airport and you can almost spot the first timers, most of them are fidgety/nervous or too eager to do things(Alas, some of them continue to be like that on all trips).  On My first trip, when asked for passport and tickets at the   counter - the guy in front of me opened up his cabin baggage, which was locked and then searched through the inner secret pocket and produced the same. The interesting part was - he did this routine at the immigration desk and the security gate. I could only imagine his parents had told him - 'Be careful with your valuables'!!

There are days and then there are Days
You have done you checking in and security checks and are waiting to board the flight, what’s the worst sight you could see? 'Delayed'/'Cancelled' written  against your flight. Once this happens, you are at the mercy of the cancelled flight's ticketing agents to book you on the next flight. While me and my wife were stuck in London Heathrow because of a similar situation, the ticketing guy with Lufthansa promptly booked us on 'Jet Airways' 12 hours later on the same day. And as I was thinking, the ordeal at the airport was nearing an end - there was more drama. When I presented the Jet- tickets at the check-in desk - the ground staff gave me a blank look and then told me that while Sumana's tickets were confirmed - mine were not and since the flight was full she would not give me a seat on that flight. And after running between the Ticketing desk and the Customer care for JET, the lesson I learnt was- all flights are always over booked by about 20%. So its our responsibility to make sure we have 'a confirmed ticket' and just not 'a ticket'. There was happy ending after all after the customer care manager helped us get that one ticket when some of the booked in passengers failed to turn up. But all in all 31st Jan 2008 was a pretty long day spent at London Heathrow.

Caveat Emptor
How many of us have the habit of checking all details on the ticket? I did not have it until the above happened. For starters- now i make sure the ticket is confirmed and then the dates are correct. In the above scenario when the Lufthansa guy booked us on a London-Mumbai...Mumbai-Bangalore ticket.  He had misrepresented the date on the ticket for Mumbai-Bangalore. This was caught by my ever vigilant wife, to which he tried to tell us it was OK. But Sumana would have none of it and got a new ticket issued with correct dates.

We Will Pay for you not to fly!!!!

Surprised? Well, I have been offered the full price of the ticket to forego travelling on a particular day . In other words, the Airline was ready to put me in a hotel and pay for my Board and londge until my next flight and then pay me back my ticket amount if I were to let go my ticket. If you dont have any pressing engagements(which unfortunately I had) then do take up the offer and enjoy the excess cash.

Up In the Air
I am sure frequent travelers are always faced with bad weather hindering their travel plans. And especially now if you travel to India in December-  January, be aware of the FOG situation. On one such trip to Bangalore(not known to be affected by fog until last year) the BA flight was promptly taken to Chennai since it was deemed unsafe to land. And since our port of landing was not Chennai, we were not allowed to disembark the flight. so effectively we are on the tarmac - not knowing what the next step would be. After being seated for 2 hours, the Pilot promptly says- 'We hear that the weather has improved in Bangalore but health and safety rules does not allow us to start our flight again since its already 13 hours from the time we took off from London' Now the crew and the pilot would have 12 hours of rest before they are deemed fit for flight again'. In short, what he was trying to say was- find your way back to Bangalore or wait for us to sleep, eat bathe and then we will decide when we will take u to Bangalore. I took the first option, i am sure many people did take the 5 star accommodation given by BA and enjoyed half a day of Chennai hospitality.

So In summary, there is never a dull moment. This coming from a guy who does not consider himself a 'Frequent' flier. I am sure many of you have many more tales to share.