Around the World: Part Twenty Two

In which Midday was spent on Arab Land

Departure from Rome (Leonardo da Vinci – Fiumicino Airport, Italy)

Around 6pm, we drove our luggage into the Airport; then through the lift to the queue of boarding pass of Etihad Airways. We received our boarding pass and checked in the luggage. Then we proceeded towards the security checks and Immigration Counter. The passport was stamped. Done with all this, we reached the Gate no 41, traversing through many arrow signs, escalators and a metro equivalent. First thing was a visit to the washroom. Then some of us went shopping, some got busy in finishing the snacks. At 09:30pm, the boarding started, and we queued up for the scanning of the boarding pass. Then we went one level down through the escalator and into the Etihad Airway.

We were welcomed by the Etihad crew. We were flying to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. I had a window seat. My neighbors were Deepti and Sujata. We got our headphones and security instructions were displayed on the screens. The Etihad EY 84 seats were divided as ABC | DEF | HJK. The screen displayed the map with distance and time statistics and the travel route. After the Islamic prayers, the flight ascended. At 10pm, we took off from the European land. Since it was night, the lights were dim. The meal was served, but it did not receive the same because the meal was not registered against my name. Having an argument with the crew was in vain. Then tomato pasta was served. I listened to some old Hindi songs and then dozed off. My sleep was disturbed by the landing of plane on the Arab land. We landed in the morning at 6am.

We followed the Flight Transfer Way. Security Check In included scanning of the shoes, jacket, wristwatch, belt and the tip top hairpins along with the hand bag. We got the breakfast coupons from Akhilesh. The search for washroom and drinking water was on. We freshened up and got dispersed into smaller groups for the breakfast. I redeemed the coupon at McD, taking a burger and fries. I had my breakfast with Kiran. We had a lot of time to spend on the Airport since our next flight was at 02:30pm. Many got into the shopping mode for buying perfumes and other stuffs. I spent an hour at the Crossword. Finally, we reached the Gate no 9 and had a sound sleep of two to three hours. Then I read a few chapters of the book, The Last Lecture. By 1pm, we all were in the waiting area. On the boarding announcement, we queued up and the tickets were scanned. The Etihad EY 204 aircraft had a different seating arrangement ABC | DEF. Here again I got a window seat, neighbors were Swamini and Ritali. We were in the tail section and on the last seats of the aircraft. As the usual routine, we were given headphones, security instructions followed by Islamic prayers and the flight took off. Since this was a day flight, I could make a video of the takeoff. The meal was served: rice, dal, half roti, sabzi, sweet.

We landed on the CSMIA, Mumbai at 7pm. We were the last ones to get off the plane. After visiting the washroom, we queued up for the Immigration Counter. The passport was stamped. Then we moved towards the luggage belt. We took our luggage from the revolving belt. I waved a goodbye to all my tour mates. My brother was waiting at the rickshaw stand. The temperature here was 32 degree Celsius; a change from 12 degree to 32 degree. I was feeling too hot. We reached Andheri station and I luckily boarded the 08:12pm Ladies Special. I did put on the Facebook about my Europe Tour; the inbox was flooded with messages. There were mixed feelings: I was happy that the tour went successfully, and I enjoyed it to the fullest; but there was also a feeling that I am back to the routine of going to office by catching the crowded trains, and so on. Finally, I got some food for the blogging mind; a lot of stuff was to be penned down. And I started with the series Around the World….