The Day of Living Dangerously

TG Airbus A330-300 in Star Alliance Livery BKK-CGK

It’s always nice when you are able to abuse the system by using their own rules against them to get something they don’t want to give you, but are powerless to deny you. Such are the simple joys of the frequent flier. For 35,000 miles, I had booked an intra-Southeast Asia award in Business class through United. This allowed me to use any of United’s Star Alliance partners (pending award availability), have one stopover (stop longer than 24-hours), one destination and one open jaw. Basically, the least adventurous use of this award would be to go from Bangkok to one place, stop, go to a second place, stop, then continue back to Bangkok.

I chose to route my award somewhat differently. As I mentioned, a stopover is a stop of 24 hours or more. I had never been to Indonesia before, and I was able to route my award Bangkok-Jakarta(23 hour stop)-Singapore(stopover)-Hong Kong(destination)-Bangkok-Koh Samui(thanks to open jaw). I like to feel that I am maximizing the segments flown and sticking it to the airline when I cash in my hard earned miles. Plus, the sub-24 hour rule on international connections allows you to check out places quickly, get a feel for them and see if you’d like to return. Jakarta was definitely a place I’d like to come back to.

In my last post, I said that my flight was at 7:30am (or so I thought). There had either been a schedule change, or I hadn’t read my tickets carefully, because the flight from BKK-CGK was actually leaving at 8:30am. I like coming to the airport early, but this left me with waaaay too much time in Thai’s Royal Silk lounge.

The jerk from the Novotel had dropped me at door 5, so I walked back to door one and into the private Royal Silk Check-In. I again selected 11A (old A330 J seats again) and within 5 minutes was through Thai’s private security line and immigration. In and out of the Kingdom in under 24 hours…again.

The lounge had the usual breakfast on offer, so I grabbed some dim sum and a sparkling water and messed around on my computer.

After ages, it was finally time to board. There was a nice sunrise coming up over the field, and I was excited to see Jakarta. The flight itself was a bit longer than I had anticipated, but if you’ve been reading this long, you know that time on airplanes is not something that bothers me. I wanted to watch a movie on my laptop, but decided to wait until after the meal service.

Meal Service:

Fresh fruit

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken and yellow noodles again

 

 

 

 

 

Some nights before, I had downloaded The Year of Living Dangerously from iTunes, as it’s set in Jakarta. Thai’s in flight movie was the terrible Justin Timberlake movie where everyone is under 25 and you pay for things with “time credits.” Did anyone with an IQ over 100 think about this idiotic concept before green lighting the movie? If everyone dies at 25, society would completely breakdown. There would be no older generation to impart knowledge on the younger generation. No one would bother working since they had such limited time, and If all parents died at 25, there would be no one to even raise the children, so humanity would likely be in trouble. It would be a brutal hunter-gatherer, might makes right type of existence for as long as infants could fend for themselves and reach maturity. Stupid, stupid crap.

As you can imagine, I opted to watch The Year of Living Dangerously. It’s about an Australian foreign correspondent covering Indonesia in the run up to an armed coup where the Indonesian Communist Party tries to seize control of the country. Also intertwined with this is a love story sub-plot between Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver and a creepy friendship between Gibson and Linda Hunt who won an Oscar for her opposite gender portrayal of a male midget, half-Chinese photographer. If ever there was Oscar bait, a woman playing the part of an awkward, half-chinese midget, male must have been it.

In case I didn’t mention it, The Year of Living Dangerously was right up my alley and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The running time also coincided nicely with the amount of time remaining in the flight.

As we neared Indonesia, I had a moment of panic. In case you are unaware, they have incredibly draconian laws on bringing drugs in or out of the country, often resulting in the death penalty. I had a tonsillectomy in the months leading up to this trip, and I was unsure if I had painkillers in my toiletry kit. The pills were of course prescription, but I didn’t know what if any documentation Indonesian customs would want, and I really didn’t want to piss them off. I searched through my kit, and as luck would have it, I had anti-malaria pills, but no painkillers. Wheew. I’m sure it would’ve been fine, but why chance it.

Ships waiting to put into port near CGK

After we touched down, I was surprised by how small Soekarno-Hatta Airport is. As the main international airport for the world’s fourth most populated country, I had expected a huge operation. Most of the planes milling around were Garuda Indonesia and Lion, the odd TG or SQ bird, and that was it. Slightly off topic, but if anyone can answer this, please reply to the post…Indonesia is the largest muslim nation on earth by population, yet their national airline (Garuda Indonesia) is named for Garuda, a figure from Buddhism and Hinduism who was Lord Vishnu’s vehicle. Seems a bit odd no?

I had arranged for a visa before leaving New York, so I was spared the visa on arrival queue, and I can’t comment as to how painful (or painless) that process is.

All my worries about customs were for naught, I was through the border and into the arrivals area in under 10 minutes. I walked out of the terminal, unable to find an ATM. I was told there was one of the second floor, so I went back in, and up. I located an ATM, but was unable to get it to work with either my US bank card or my French bank card. I gave up, went back downstairs, found the  money change kiosk (I hate using these because you get a lousy rate and pay fees) and swapped out the Thai Baht in my pocket for Indonesian Rupiah.

One U.S. Dollar is the equivalent of around 9,200 IDR. So when a taxi said he would take me into town for “250″ I immediately said “let’s go.” Once I thought about the situation rationally, I realized he must have meant 250,000 IDR, which is a rip-off price from the airport into town, but I was already in the car, and it still wasn’t a ton of money for a long ride, so I let it slide.

I checked into Le Meridien, which was a perfectly fine hotel. I had lunch at a restaurant called (of course) Garuda. They bring out like 20 little plates and stack them all on your table. You then pick the ones that look good, eat those and you are only charged for the dishes you consume. I had some shrimps over rice with lots of chili sauce and some sort of beef jerky. It was spicy, delicious, cheap and as an added bonus, didn’t make me sick.

After this, I started walking back towards the hotel. I popped into a shopping mall, because I needed running sneakers (size 13US, impossible in Asia). I was shocked by the onslaught of luxury brands.

You never think of Jakarta as being that wealthy a city, but it seems to be moving much closer to becoming the next Singapore than regressing to the level of so many other Southeast Asian capitals. Needless to say, it bore no resemblance to the low rise city freshly cut out of the jungle that was portrayed in The Year of Living Dangerously. 50 years of progress will do that to a place.

I caught a cab to MONAS, the national monument, jokingly referred to as Soekarno’s last erection, as it was the last big thing he built, and it’s a rather phallic obelisk, then went back to the hotel to rest briefly.

I met an Australian friend at Potato Head for drinks. She works as a (non-clandestine) counter-terrorism analyst and was formerly with the intelligence agency of one of America’s allies, so I jokingly asked her if she was currently a spy. She told me she wouldn’t tell me if she was, and I reminded her I have two perfectly good cover careers if anyone is looking.

After a large number of cocktails, we decided to go to B.A.T.S. This place is notorious in Jakarta. It’s an acronym for Bar At The Shangri-La and is of course located at the Shangri-La Hotel. It’s known as a meatmarket and also as a place for old men to pick up Indonesian hookers, but it’s crowded every night of the week, and it was a Monday after all. There was a pretty great band from Canada of all places playing on the main stage and we had a fun evening. Soon enough my 23 hour loophole vacation was set to expire and I had to get back to CGK and on to Singapore…United’s orders.

AHAAA: Airport Hotels Are ALWAYS Awful

It was early evening by the time TG324 landed at BKK. As I mentioned, this would be another sub-24 hour stop in Thailand. I had (what I thought) was a 7:30am flight out of Bangkok to Jakarta. The Novotel Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport is the only hotel that is “attached” to the BKK terminal. I say “attached” in quotes, because there is allegedly a tunnel that connects the terminal to the airport, but for the life of me, I couldn’t find it.

On the arrivals level, there is a kiosk with the hotel name, and an employee who will guide you to the pick-up point for the shuttle. I walked back outside into the sweltering humidity of Bangkok and found the shuttle driver who seemed uninterested in helping me with my bags. Once I got in to the shuttle, I thought we’d be leaving. Instead, the driver remained outside, smoking cigarettes with the van turned off (and thus the aircon off) for probably 15 or 20 minutes until enough other people showed up and the van was jammed to capacity.

After the senselessly long and looping ride around the airport complex to get to the hotel, it was time to check-in. I waited about 15 minutes to get to the desk, before getting my room key.

At this point, I was already not in a super mood. With all the hassle waiting for the shuttle and getting to the hotel, it would’ve been easier to just get a room in the city.

When I got to my room, I was not pleased. I had specifically requested a king bed and instead they had given me a room with two twin beds. Also, even though the room was clean, it smelled like someone had very recently done unspeakable things to the bathroom. I called the desk.

“I specifically requested a room with a king bed when I made my reservation”

*dead air*

“No. It say you want two bed”

“I am traveling alone, why would I request two beds? Would it be more comfortable for me to sleep in a small bed and look at a second bed or to sleep in a big bed?”

“It say you want two beds”

*crickets*

“Let my colleague call you back ok?”

Just when I had resigned myself to sleeping in a twin bed in this latrine of a room, the phone rang, and they said they would send someone to show me to my new room.

It’s an airport hotel, so of course the rooms suck, but at least this one had a king bed and no offensive odors.

After a search around the labyrinthian hallways of this tacky hotel, I managed to locate the gym (near the pool). It was fairly large and well stocked, no knocks on them there. Once back in my room, I realized I was bored. Yes I had to be up early for my flight to Jakarta, but it wasn’t late and there was nothing to watch on TV.

I got dressed and went into town. I had a few beers around Sukhumvit and realized Bangkok on Sunday night can also be rather boring. I decided the night could go two ways. I could go out for real and likely miss my flight, or call it an early night and go home. I found discretion to be the better part of valor, and I hopped a cab back to the airport.

I slept soundly for a few hours and then woke up at 5am to pack and get ready. The jerk shuttle driver again made me wait around while he smoked cigarettes and hoped more people would show up. It was sticky even in the pre-dawn blackness in BKK and I badly wanted to smack the driver in the face.

Once a few stragglers showed up, we were off. I asked him to drop me at door #1, since that’s where I needed to check-in, but this jerk said he only made one stop, and that was door #5. Bastard. I grabbed my bags, hopped out and mentally told the driver to f*ck himself. See you in a few weeks Thailand.

Pros: None. It’s “attached” to the airport, but it takes as long to get there as it would take to get into town. The common spaces are tacky, the rooms are expensive and not particularly nice.

Cons: Lousy common spaces, mediocre rooms, inconvenient to get to from the airport…even though it’s attached to the airport, jerk shuttle drivers who need to have their teeth knocked out, questionably competent staff, way overpriced.

Verdict: Listen, I know all airport hotels are crap. The Sheraton Frankfurt Airport’s sheets were so lousy they gave me a rash. Although it’s tops for airport hotels i’ve tried, the rooms at the Kempinski Munich Airport look into the in-building courtyard. I get it, you don’t stay at an airport hotel for comfort, but for convenience. The Novotel Suvarnabhumi fails at everything. It’s not comfortable, it’s not convenient, it’s not a pleasant experience. With so many options (almost all of them better and cheaper) just a short and inexpensive taxi ride away, I will never stay at this property again. It’s worth the 15-30 minutes of sleep that i’ll have to sacrifice to come to BKK from the city.

Goodbye India, Hello Southeast Asia

TG Airbus A330-300 DEL-BKK

The flight from DEL to BKK was perhaps one of the most forgettable flights I have ever had. Not because of any failings on Thai’s part. I just fell asleep early on and woke up as we were landing, so there isn’t all that much to report.

The Aman’s exceptional service went beyond check-out. They drove me from the hotel to the airport. Once there, I told the crew of two that drove me, that i’d be fine, but they wouldn’t take no for an answer. They insisted on escorting me into the terminal, helping with check-in, verifying all my immigration documents were in order and physically walking me to the immigration queue. It was completely unnecessary, but it’s always refreshing to see people who take pride in their job. They didn’t have to go the extra mile, I even told them it was unnecessary, but they did it because they felt it was their duty. Kudos.

Immigration was again shockingly painless. I have always heard horror stories about Indian airports, perhaps it’s just BOM. I had nothing but pleasant experiences at DEL and VNS.

I had of course arrived at the airport far too early, as is my custom. As you may have noticed, I am a bit of a nut job, and I like airports and planes, so I don’t mind sitting around for an extra hour. Thai uses the same lounge I had visited with my Priority Pass card before my DEL-KTM flight. Again, nothing to write home about, but some food & bev offerings and free wifi…could be worse.

The flight today was again scheduled to be an Airbus A330-300 and I had my fingers crossed for the “new” J seat. I hadn’t checked the seatmap, so I had no expectations other than that I would be in 11A (which oddly is row 1).

Boarding was late (as always with Thai), but I quickly settled in to 11A and was thrilled to find that the seat next to me was unoccupied. Unfortunately, we again had the old cradle style business class seats for this 5+ hour flight from DEL to BKK.

As no mysterious green stuff was on offer, I took the orange juice as my pre-departure beverage. Shortly after we were aloft, the meal service began.

Meal Service:

Pre-departure beverage

 

 

 

 

 

Pumpkin seeds in lieu of nuts

 

 

 

 

 

Seared Tuna starter

 

 

 

 

 

Beef and noodles

 

 

 

 

 

Banana Cake

 

 

 

 

 

It was all pretty good, especially the banana cake. Once the trays were cleared, I put my seat back, eyeshade on, head against the window and drifted off. This time, I awoke not over the red and brown outskirts of Delhi, but the green, wet landscape of Thailand. They even gave us amenity kits (different style than the ones we received on BKK-DEL). I was back in the kingdom. It would again be a sub-24 hour stop in Thailand, I wonder if i’ve made some sort of watch list.

CABIN PHOTOS:

TG A333 old-style J cabin

 

 

 

 

 

TG A333 old-style J seat

 

Aman New Delhi: What a City Hotel Should Be

In case you didn’t gather it from my review of the Amanbagh, I am a bit of an Aman fanboy. For me, they give us a glimpse into the possibility of what hotels could (and perhaps should) be.

I mentioned in my review of the Leela Palace that it is my second favorite hotel in Delhi. The reason for that, is that the Aman New Delhi is my hands down favorite. I understand it may not be for everyone. The physical plant is a former government hotel and is not the most aesthetically pleasing building I have ever seen. The common pool isn’t in a great location and can be a hike from the rooms (same for the gym/spa) and the decor is very modern and minimalist. If you want colonial era grandeur, stay at the Imperial. If you want a standard 5-star experience, stay at the Leela Palace. If you want something unique, stay at the Aman New Delhi.

The same driver who had deposited me at DEL when I left for KTM met me on arrival from VNS and took me to the Aman. I don’t know if I was in better spirits because the sun had broken through the pollution haze that hangs over Delhi, or if the entire city cleans up Sunday before going to pieces for the rest of the week, but everything seemed clean and bright and colorful. It was much more cheerful than my two previous swings through Delhi and it almost made me sad to be leaving in the morning…almost.

Check-in took no time at all and quickly I was in the room. Oh the rooms…they are spectacular. My room had a large living room, bedroom, bathroom (with a long, narrow hallway running between all the rooms) and a sizable balcony with a private plunge pool located on the balcony. There are also long-stay “apartments” available at the Aman. I didn’t get a chance to see these, but if I were ever forced to relocate to Delhi for some reason, I imagine that’d be the best bet for lodging.

The room as I mentioned was spectacular, sleek, modern and extremely comfortable. If anything, the only “complaint” one can have with Aman’s is that their rooms are so nice, you almost feel bad staying there…almost. There was a welcome tray of cookies and such waiting in one of the alcoves along the main hallway running through the room.

The gym is located quite far from the rooms and you have to go down below the lobby and walk along an outdoor corridor. You pass a restaurant and the pool along the way. The gym itself was well equipped with nice, new machines. I’m not sure if they sell memberships or there were lots of people from the apartments using the gym, but it seemed rather crowded. I didn’t have a chance to avail myself of the spa.

I flirted with the idea of going out for a last hurrah in Delhi, but having previously sampled all the “cool” bars and come away thoroughly unimpressed, I thought it might be nice to get on a morning long haul flight without a hangover for a change.

I had my last Indian food from room service (not spicy enough) watched some TV and went to bed. It had been an interesting experience in India, but I was ready to leave. I wanted the heat, the humidity, the beach. I was ready to get off the subcontinent and back to Asia.

HOTEL PHOTOS:

Out front

Hotel hallway

Room entry

Room key

Living room

Living room looking the other way

Bedroom

Main in-room hallway

Balcony

Plunge Pool

Back to Delhi on 9W VNS-DEL

9W 737-700 VNS-DEL

Varanasi was the last “new” stop in India. All that stood between me and Southeast Asia was a quick one night stop in New Delhi.

I saw some amazing things in India. At the top of my list would be the Amber Fort in Jaipur, the ruined city near the Amanbagh in Alwar District, taking a boat up and down the Ganges in Varanasi and of course seeing the Taj in hated, hated Agra. That being said, Northern India was far from my favorite place. Aside from seeing the cultural/touristy things, there is little to do at night (outside of Delhi) and you are mostly confined to your hotel. While I love Indian food, and much of the street food looked very tempting, westerners (who don’t want Delhi belly) are stuck with only the restaurants that have cleanliness standards that won’t lead to gastrointestinal problems. This was lousy, because at tourist restaurants they never believe you when you say that you want your food really spicy (the one exception being the Copper Chimney in Jaipur, where they actually brought the heat).

Beyond these minor trifles, India can just be oppressive. I wrote a note to myself one day saying “Visiting India is like playing Golf. If you manage your emotions and accept and deal with the unavoidable adversity you can slowly improve your score and have an enjoyable experience each time; but it is not set up as the type of sport/country you can ever “win.” I stand by this, and it was more than just the poverty. I’ve seen crushing poverty in the townships in South Africa, slums in South America and the countryside of Vietnam amongst other places, but there was something different and lifeless about India. The red dust hangs everywhere, the smell is relentless and everything seems drab and devoid of color, like the air has already gone out of the place. The further south we got, towards Rajasthan, there was more color. For sure I will return and see if I find the southern part of the country more agreeable, but Northern India is definitely not on the short list of places I’ll be rushing back to.

VNS Terminal

The ride from the Gateway Ganges Hotel to VNS took about 30 minutes over a fairly decent road. As we approached the airport, the driver said he couldn’t go right up to the front of the terminal, so it was a short walk in the scorching sun. Check-in was quick. Security was a hassle and they insisted on opening up and rifling through all of my bags in search of some phantom knife that didn’t exist. Once I was re-packed and had my carry-on tags stamped by security I sat down in the common area. I think VNS was the only airport I encountered that didn’t have a lounge. I had seen an Indian beverage “Thums Up” sold in a few places and I decided to give it a go. It was a bit like Coke with a more cinnamon-y flavor. I rather liked it.

Unlike my arrival into VNS, departure was mercifully via jetway. I had a brief chat with an old Canadian couple who told me I absolutely had to go to Burma immediately. I would later attempt this, but after failing to get a visa on the one available day before the embassy in Bangkok closed for Songkran, it would have to wait for another trip.

The flight on this 737-700 was uneventful. Even though it was almost the exact same flight time as the DEL-KTM flight, this was domestic so there were no printed menus and the service was not as good. Additionally, this cabin had 16 J class seats (as opposed to 8 on the 738 DEL-KTM) and they were not as comfortable as the plush recliners on the 738.

The pre-departure beverage choice was either orange juice or a strange green drink that was a blend of several juices. I opted for the green stuff. It was an odd mix of sweet, bitter and salty. I was repulsed by the first sip, but then found myself unable to stop drinking it. I looked over at the gentleman across the aisle and he too recoiled in horror after his first sip, but then after a brief interlude finished his glass. Strange stuff that green drink.

The meal service was a choice of several types of sandwiches. I was in Row 2 and they were out of my top choice by the time they got to me. I ordered some sort of lousy microwaved wrap. At least they bother with a service on such a short flight.

The flight landed in DEL in the early afternoon and another bus transfer from the Apron awaited. As I was arriving from within India, there was no customs to deal with and I was quickly on my way back into town for my last night in India.

CABIN AND OTHER PHOTOS:

Thums Up

 

 

 

 

 

The mysterious green stuff

 

 

 

 

 

9W 737-700 J Cabin

 

 

 

 

 

9W 737-700 J Seat

 

 

 

 

 

Meal service VNS-DEL

 

 

 

 

 

Druk Air on the ramp at DEL. Don't see them everyday.

Gateway Ganges Hotel Varanasi: “I have abandoned my boy!” -Taj Group

Too sacred to refuse service.

The Gateway Hotel Ganges in Varanasi is a Taj property. However, the overlords at Taj corporate don’t let Gateway use the Taj name. That should really tell you all that you need to know about this hotel.

The Nadesar Palace Hotel was booked, and this was the only option left to me. It wasn’t a “bad” hotel by any means. It was clean, well situated and didn’t have any glaring problems. It was just entirely forgettable. The rooms were decorated as if an aspirational Ikea showroom had bred with a sparsely furnished college dorm room. The furniture was meant to look “nice” and “modern” but in reality the rooms came off as “cheap” and “barren.” My favorite part was the bathroom. I’m not sure who designed this masterpiece, but it was setup in such a way that it was almost impossible to open the bathroom door (and thus enter) because it was placed at an odd angle vis-a-vis the sink. Masterful engineering work India…come on, I thought that was one of your things.

The hotel had a decent enough pool area, and several restaurants I didn’t try. On arrival from KTM, I was still a bit ill and trying to order plain rice and plain chicken was nearly impossible. The concept of plain food is apparently totally foreign and my request for “plain chicken breast with absolutely nothing on it, just a chicken breast” resulted in a sandwich of grilled chicken, cheese, mayo and some vegetables on grilled bread. No point in getting irritated, those are the breaks.

Varanasi was a very interesting place, far better than Agra and much more vibrant than Delhi. Again, there was color here, and water. Those things make for a much more uplifting scene. Especially if you can avoid the ghats where people are burning their dead relatives. That gets a bit depressing.

Varanasi provided interesting experiences, I blessed myself in the waters of the Ganges (don’t think about what’s in it) and took my quintessential “India” photo which is located at the top of this posting. If you pass through Varanasi and the Nadesar Palace is full, at least you won’t get bedbugs at the Taj’s bastard child. Just don’t expect them to get your room service orders right.

Pros: Isn’t a total dump, nice pool, several bars, good location.

Cons: Taj group is clearly ashamed of their Gateway offspring, the staff while well meaning are not super competent, rooms are boring and slightly uncomfortable.

Verdict: The Gateway Ganges benefits from a lack of competition. The only better hotel in town (The Nadesar) has like 10 rooms and is perpetually booked. So unless you plan way in advance, or unless the Taj group opens up a hotel they are proud to call their own in Varanasi, this is your best bet.

ROOM PHOTOS:

Living Room.

Bedroom.

Air India KTM-VNS: Not the best, but I like their livery

Air India Airbus A320.

It was time to go back to India, and time to experience another new airline and visit another new city. KTM-VNS would be my first flight with Air India (AI). As a result of the room service related food poisoning noted in my review of Dwarika’s, I was not feeling in top form before this flight.

The ride to the airport only takes about 15 minutes, as it is located right on the outskirts of the city. There was no dedicated Business Class check-in line for Air India, and I waited about 15 minutes for the group of four in front of me to finish arguing with the agent about their seat assignments. Apparently they wanted to make sure they would be on the side of the plane to best view the Himalayas on our egress.

I guess it is to combat smuggling, but the security checks at KTM are INSANE. My bags were scanned on entry to the airport, then they were checked by normal security, then they were checked again while going from the waiting area to the bus that would take us to our apron position, then checked again after we got off the bus and before we got on the plane. Seriously!? How often do people receive contraband in between security and boarding the plane? A little bit of overkill.

After two of the four security shakedown points, I was in the international departures area. I hadn’t banked on this, but there actually IS a lounge at KTM. What’s more, there are TWO lounges! One is a Thai/Star Alliance lounge and the other works with a variety of airlines. Cheap Air India has no arrangement with either lounge and gave me a voucher for a cup of coffee…jerks. Luckily, my Priority Pass (thanks again AMEX) card worked for the contract lounge. It was mercifully empty and I snagged a Pepsi in hopes of settling my stomach and a couch to lie down on until boarding.

The flight was slightly delayed. On my way through yet another security check points, I saw a Nepalese national team in front of me on line. I wondered what sport it could be, as not a single player on the team was my height and none of them looked particularly athletic. While re-packing the contents of my bag post-security I saw the front of one of their jackets…Basketball. If your national basketball team doesn’t have a single player of even 6’4”, I don’t foresee good things in their future.

The holding pen post-secutiy and before boarding a rust bucket bus to the plane smelled like piss and thankfully we weren’t kept there too long. We were frisked again on our walk out to the jalopy and then driven roughly 10 seconds before being deposited in front of the plane. I’m not sure why they don’t just let passengers walk.

The most intrusive security check yet opened and unpacked both of my carry-ons before letting me pass. When you’re traveling for three months with only carry-on luggage, you go to great extremes to make sure everything is efficiently packed so that you can actually close your luggage and get it on board. Some jerk ripping through things then handing me a messed up bag about made me want to sock him in the mouth.

On board I was surprised by how nice the Air India shorthaul J cabin on this Airbus A320 was. IFE screens in the seatback (non-functional outside of the airshow on this flight), ample pitch, and they seemed to be rather new [CABIN PHOTOS AT THE END]. This flight turned out to be incredibly empty. Maybe 30-40% capacity in Y and once I was seated no one else joined the J cabin. Despite a nearly empty cabin, the service was non-existent and it required a special request to get a beverage other than the water that was served as a default with the meal. As I mentioned, I still felt like crap, so I ended up not eating the meal, but it’s pictured below for your enjoyment.

Meal Service:

Air India J meal KTM-VNS.

 

 

 

 

I nodded off for a bit and then a stewardess woke me and told me to put my seat upright for landing. After landing at the new and modern airport in Varanasi, I was surprised that they forced us to an apron position as every single on of the jetways was unoccupied. After this unexplained annoyance, there was no bus and we walked to the other side of the building to get to immigration. Air India had of course neglected to hand out landing cards on the flight. I almost got into a dust up with some jerk on the immigration line. He was standing near an immigration desk, with no one currently in front of him, filling out his card. I had already filled out my card and when I went to the desk, this guy got in my face as if he had some sort of hold on Indian immigration and everyone else should patiently wait until he filled out his card. I calmly told him that I had filled out my card and he hadn’t finished his. He was not eligible to proceed to immigration and I was. He of course got irate and I just ignored him. Guy was like 65 anyway. What was I going to do? Punch him out in front of his wife and Indian immigration…that’d end well…Welcome back to India.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:

Bus from KTM terminal to AI A320.

 

 

 

 

 

AI A320 J Cabin.

 

 

 

 

 

AI A320 J Seat.

 

 

 

 

 

150 year old extra pilot (not flying). Giving new meaning to "deadheading."