I was in the air when Trump was inaugurated on an Emirates 777-300. I had a window seat, so I got to see russia and Scandinavia. We crossed between the black sea and the Caspian, I think, then over Iran and the gulf. The sun rose and the gulf was peppered with hundreds of ships of all sizes and descriptions.
Overnight I slept about an hour and otherwise watched the new Ghostbusters, which was better than expected, and felt more like an homage than a remake at times. I saw Guardians of the Galaxy, which was pretty great. They had an eclectic mix once you got past the new releases, and I finally saw Spinal Tap. I wrapped up with Finding Dory, which was cute.
I had expected to need the dozens of podcasts I had downloaded to my phone, or my kindle, but the entertainment system was amazing. There were 5000 “channels” apparently but once I found the movies I just stuck to that. They had limited live tv, and scrolling headlines, which I was trying to avoid. I think there was Wi-Fi but I only messed with it for a couple of seconds. I still enjoy the disconnection that is becoming increasingly rare and enjoy it when I can.
I took some bad photos and a video from my phone during landing in Dubai, trying to spot the Burj on the way in. It turns out I was facing the wrong way but I saw a landscape totally unfamiliar to me. The airport itself is enormously long, with three matching terminals in a line. They are each giant buildings with floor to ceiling windows shaped like elongated diamonds. I wondered about their AC bill. I did spot the Burj as we taxied.
I cleared security again on the way in, after a brief disagreement about my tiny multi-tool. Then I made my way up the stairs to the main terminal. I put my belt back on and THEN realized I had left my work laptop in the xray tray. I ran back down and it was still in the tray.
With that heart attack averted I went back up, and sorted things back into their various pockets before wandering around the terminal and deciding to go to the other one to kill the next few hours of layover.
Banks of huge glass elevators run constantly down to the train which also bounced back and forth. A woman spilled a drink but somehow had enough paper towels handy to clean it up. Really everything was very clean and organized. The third floor seemed to contain the lounge for those with status, and a hotel. The sides of the huge walls provided views up and down with glass walls serving as balconies.
The thing that struck me most was the amazing variety of dress in the airport. We have all seen the Saudi style of flowing white, but I had forgotten many of the diverse outfits I had seen in various media, and there were many more still that were new to me. I wanted to photograph them all but my agenda was to mind my own business and avoid an international incident. I was particularly aware of the Orange Hitler and wondered how many others had the same thought as they saw me.
I found my gate and verified then looked for nearby restaurants. After wandering past a few places including a steak house with a US style western theme, I sat down at a place called Giraffe.
There were several good meals on the flight, but I needed to kill a few hours so I started with coffee. They didn’t have drip, only the annoyingly named and functionality deficient Americano, so was only after I had a latte that I noticed there was turkish coffee available at a place across the walkway. The attendant there was subtly dancing to the pop music being played as he worked.
I had a Croque Giraffe, since that was a specialty, which had turkey ham, beef chorizo an egg and a ton of cheese over pretty decent bread. The crust was a bit tough and the blunt (but metal!) knife had trouble with it. It was delicious, and the small potato wedges were well seasoned. They had a wide array of condiments in a wooden box with a handle, like a tool box. I chose heinz without looking too much. In hindsight I probably should have been more curious but my overwhelming feeling was exhaustion since it was my bedtime.
I still had some time before the flight, so I visited the restroom. The wooden doors on the stalls reached an inch from the floor so I didn’t spot the squat toilet till the door opened. It was steel and had an automatic flush the whole floor was wet. It is probably TMI but although I squatted my body was apparently not ready to fully unlock this achievement. I spotted a huge Gshock watch hanging on a peg but forgot to bring it to the lost and found. I think I saw the guy before me come back in as I was leaving, so maybe he got it back. I try to avoid eye contact in men’s restrooms, and also in foreign countries, so I wasn’t sure, but I was definitely sure it was not my problem at that point.
I went in again after a while to brush my teeth, not sure of the water quality, but I took my chances and didn’t swallow any. On returning my fellow passengers were lining up, but I wasn’t sure if it was general boarding yet. I got in the back of the line anyway and chatted with an indian guy whose name I didn’t get. He had come from Dallas and his friends had sent him with rupees to exchange for the new notes. We made our way down to the lower level and then into another waiting room, with enough seats for the whole plane as well as a restroom.
I decided to sit near him and we continued our chat. I got confirmation of how to pronounce Hampi, and agreement that it was a good choice, and a good place to bring cash..We talked about the cash economy and while I had heard most of what was going on already, it was interesting to hear about the demonitization. He let me photograph the two “bad” denominations of notes, which I wanted to have handy in case someone tried to pass them off in change.
We went down a long access path to board, but this time first class had their own entrance. The plane was the same type as before, but the entertainment system was different, with an even bigger screen and a game controller which could pop out. I took pictures as we circled, marveling first at the artificial islands, then the Burj and that hotel from the tennis comercial, next at the bustling city, then at the many palace compounds in the desert. The compounds got less palace-like as the dunes increased in size. There were huge areas with removed sand and flat bottoms, and I wasn’t sure if this was a sand mine or something else.
Next we passed over the mountains of Oman, which reminded me of flying to las vegas. I watched the end of the Arabian peninsula go by before turning Captain America, Winter Soldier back on. I pulled out my pillow to sleep, but food appeared so I dealt with that instead. This menu was more limited, with a choice of a curry chicken or vegetarian. I had the chicken and it was good. I avoided the beet based dessert because I think I am allergic to them and didn’t want to test it. They ran out of vegetarian dishes and the guy in front of me had sone extra discussions with the apologetic flight attendant. Emirates sure had a good hiring policy, with very pretty hosts with many different accents. Our french pilot bragged that the crew was from eleven countries and spoke ten languages.
The Bangalore airport was less impressive but functional. I went through security yet again, but the lady running the xray machine wasn’t paying attention and at least 3 bags went through while she was asking one man to bring his bag over. Nearly everyone beeped going through the metal detector and with no attendant there everyone sort of shrugged and kept walking. I didn’t beep but shrugged anyway.
There were plenty of porters standing around though clearly identified by their vests. I ignored them and got my small checked bag and was greeted by name by what I thought was my driver. He brought me about a hundred feet to meet my driver, who had a sign with my name on it. I tipped the first guy with $3 which was probably way too much.
The driver also tried to carry my bag, and both were confused by my small luggage. We chatted as he terrifyingly navigated what was sometimes a 3 lane road (usually with four cars abreast and a motorcycle or two) and sometimes a city street with SPEED BUMPS. I wanted to photograph the many shops but my cell camera wasn’t having it, and I didn’t want to break out my bigger camera.
Nearing the hotel I mentioned I needed a SIM card and the driver offered to take me to get one. We ended up at his “brother’s” shop where I exchanged $40 at a passable rate and fought off efforts to sell me scarves, rugs, jewelry, etc. The SIM guy showed up and took me aside to discuss pricing. The first offer was like 2000 and there was way too much back and forth about minutes and data and I was pretty much done. I realized this deal was turning out to be pretty shady and apologized for wasting his time before jumping back in the car with the driver.
The hotel staff opened the back of the large car looking for luggage and many others tried to help me with my bags. At the front desk I was greeted by name and checked in. I was walked to my room and showed the amenities, including the schedule of every restaurant. I was more concerned with the dance party going on outside and decided I would need to stay up a few more hours.
I had a shower and tried to meet up with my team but settled on dining alone on some excellent italian food after confusing the staff by looking for them. They showed up for a drink and I gave up fighting the Wi-Fi.
After dinner I did get it working and had a call with Jos and fell asleep.