scariest flight!

I haven’t really traveled much by air.. and whatever times i have traveled by flight, has been within India, though it has been in one of the longest routes, the delhi- blore route of 2 and half hrs of flight time... So the other day I was traveling from banglaore to trivandrum by flight... for an audit as a part of my work all alone. Since I wasn’t paying for it and was on a official tour, i was quite upbeat!.. I was taking a morning flight of "blah blah" airlines (wont disclose the name) to trivandrum, no wait thiruvananthapuram.. The flight was delayed by over an hour. No probs.. A mallu dude, 1 yr three month old irfan was keeping us entertained!!... With his deafening screams and running from one end to another end with his dad on tow was hilarious!.. He was one handful.. Chubby to the extent of resembling a football and wearing more gold than i have ever worn in my entire life, he was a delight! mmmuuaah! :)... Oh well! blore - cochin flight is announced, i said bye to irfan and started to wonder how his parents are going to hold on to him inside the plane .. hmm my wait continued...

Calling all passengers traveling by "blah blah" airlines to trivandrum- hey that’s me!! Glad, i grabbed my bags and rushed to the entrance-2 as announced... only around 10 people were there, cool I am first! i thought as the line moved fast... ok i get into the bus, and it starts moving.. it goes on and on, and i start wondering ok, the driver has forgotten where our blah blah airlines plane is parked... i look left and right, i can see all planes of different airlines, but not ours... to my confusion the bus stops and all the passengers begin to disembark.. I do to, after the grumpy old aunty with a real poky bag said "eggsguse me"!!... Now what? Where is this plane?? I look here and there in complete bewilderment... excuse madam this way, a smartly dressed pilot? or steward? told me.. To my horror i saw the plane, which would take me to trivandrum!!! It was a small toy plane model!, not bigger than BMTC's jantti vahana! (our public transport with its 2 buses joined end to end).. WHAT THE!! I wont get in that! no way!! i said that aloud( err, in my mind!) any normal plane atleast the one i have traveled in has an average of 20-25 steps from the ground to its entry. This one had just four!! so literally the plane had no wheels?!! And the wings were abnormally huge for its such a small body! and strangely they were attached to the head, rather than the sides.. It also had 2 very HUGE propeller like things below the wings. Now what are they for? to keep the plane afloat when it hits the sea??? AMMAaaaaaaaaaaaaaa :(((((((((((

Something poked me on my back, i turned.. It was the same old grumpy aunty with her poky bag, prodding me to climb those 4 steps.. i gingerly went in.. and stood at the entrance of the plane dumbstruck! WHAT THE!!!!!!!!!! the plane from inside was not even as big as the BMTC's jantti vahana!. it was just as big as a bus! and this thing is going to fly? and i am going to be in it?! NO WAY.. just as i was making my mind on how to run away, the grumpy old aunty with her poky bag probably had enough of me.. she gave me a huge push and I was, I swear literally thrown off my feet.. if I hadn’t got the grip i would have landed next to the pilots in their cock pit! Yes yes, the cockpit was just a stone throw away! This was the smallest and the most congested cramped for space, flight I had ever seen :(... btw, only the name is blah blah ,its actually a plane belonging to one of India’s leading private airliner...

I realized I had 2 choices. 1. Was to go and find my seat and sit in it or 2. Go next to the pilot and make sure he flies this thing well.. Nope i couldn’t go back and run anywhere as by now i was scared of the grumpy old aunty who was by now hissing behind me... i decided it would be 11F- my seat.. i find it easily of course and plop into it with my bag? bag ye i have to keep it in the over head cabinet.. i try, it doesn’t fit!! Nothing in this plane is big except its oversized propellers which again to my horror i realize was rite outside my window, grinning wickedly at me... as if saying i will keep u afloat when the plane hits the sea!! AMMAaaaaaaaaaaaaa :(((((((( ye i did that, called up my amma and started complaining- amma , this is a very small toy plane, iam scared amma , what to do? sob sob!... the other end all i hear is" take care. don’t talk to strangers and don’t wander alone here and there "!! what the!!!!!!!!! what does she expect me to do? i was going all alone, and not talk at all? to strangers? then how will do my work? I am not going to my cousin's wedding!! MOM's.. i think my mom by hearted the dialogue since the time i started walking.. ok so i hung up, before i get more confused, as to where iam going and how not to talk to strangers in a strange land?....

My bag! yeah i shove it under the front seat.. now no leg space!! seriously the sugama, durgamba buses which fly( on road- they are REALLY fast) from blore to udupi are much more spacious!!... by this time a thin lanky fellow comes and sits next to me... i look at him... sigh, so he is the person who will be with me when this plane hits water?? :(... the propeller out of my window is grinning away...

Take off, no problem.. somehow the one and half hr passes.. and have to mention the baby corn fried fingers which this blah blah airlines served was good!!.... trivandrum approaches... the scenery from out the window is tooo good!:) scores and scores of coconut trees and backwaters and sea at a distance! That’s it!! The buildings and roads were somehow masked by these coconut trees!!... i had just begun to relax when the captain announced.. ladies and gentlemen we will be landing shortly!! i jump up from my seat! Landing? where? all i could see was coconut tree tops and water!! where is he going to land? on the water? Then we swim? i don’t know swimming!!.. The plane started to loose altitude.. i started to panic! (when i panic i usually start mssging someone.. when i get no reaction or reply for my panicky mssgs, i get angry and the panic is forgotten).... now i cant do that... mobile phones don’t work high up! and have to be switched off anyways).. NO stretch of land in sight... only coconut trees and water!! the propeller is grinning now, it can actually knock off coconuts from the trees..Maybe it will, and maybe they will give us some each to take home to.

Landing is announced!! Where is the land!!???

My panic increased!! Then out of nowhere i spotted the runway!! land! no water or coconut trees!! :D... lower lower lower and BAMMMMMM the plane touched the ground! The scariest landing i have come across ever!! it was like 1000 coconuts breaking next to your ear!! i jumped! So did the guy next to me, Guruvaayoorappan!!!!! shrieked a voice behind me.. i turned, it was the grumpy old aunty with the poky bag!! That’s it, now even she is scared!!! Stop this plane! I am getting out of it right now!!