Long time dream come true! (Lots pending, mind it!) :D

Dream coming true can give you such a high. :) Coming to the point, it was a long time wish to do a 1-day flight trip to Chennai. Also, its been a long time dream to fly. :) And these came true on Aug 25, 2008. Details follow.

I got this golden opportunity, thanks to my company. Thank God that everything fell in place and it was a complete fun trip. :) I had to go to Chennai due to combined reasons, both work and personal. I am a travel-alone-phobic. He he. So I ensured that I tagged my best friend along with me on this trip. Come on, my friend gets the privilege of accompanying me on my first flight. ;) This friend would be remembered whenever I recount my first flight experience with fondness at any point in the coming years. ;)

The whole thing started at 3am, Monday and ended on 3am, Tuesday. Exact 24 hours! :) We took the cab at 3:30am till J B Nagar and then boarded BIA shuttle at 4. Reached at 5, on time for my flight at 6:30. I was so much in awe of the international look of BIA. :) I learnt what it is to check-in, security etc. and get a boarding pass. The prices of everything inside the airport got me dizzy. He he. To add to it, I was too excited to have anything. :)

Dad had greatly advised to carry an umbrella and so, I had to leave my bag and send it as luggage. I had heard enough nightmares about people missing their baggage and that set me off. To top it, my friend kept chiding for this smart act of following my dad's advice and mentioned more than once "Unfortunately, we will have to leave the bag in the luggage and collect it later. There are chances of missing it!" I got wild! I was hearing the words that I was thinking! But then cooled off! :D I did not want this minor thing to spoil my excitement and obviously, optimism pays off! And this eased the tiff too! ;)

Blore to Chennai flight was a Jet Airways one. Smooth and pretty comfy. I got the window seat, thanks to my friend's generosity. :D It was so exciting to experience the take-off - similar to the Drop zone effect in Wonderla. Everything outside the window was growing small and then nothing but a white carpet of spuds (small groups of clouds)!!! Sunrise was a sight to see too!

Landed at 8ish and collected the bag. Stepped out to find a city taxi waiting (Thanks to my friend!)... Took that and headed to the office to complete my work! AC made the whole cab journey pleasant! ;)

Then I had to ditch my friend for approx. 4 hours. Poor thing! I got to enjoy the A/C comfort of the waiting hall for most of the time and the whole thing went on damn well! I saw a lot of newly-weds there and it got me a little sad but then, everything has a time of its own. Also, you gotta make things work for you. Women in silk saris in Chennai surprise me always. :) Anyways, I step out of the office and see my friend dripping in sweat and all irritated. There was no respite from the heat. I had already troubled this poor one enough. I was amused that my mood was pleasant and my friend was so irritated. Its usually the reverse. So, I was patient and we headed to Besant Nagar. Autos ask exorbitant rates in Chennai but thats feasible than the cab rates. :)

Had lunch in a place called Karaikudi. My friend gorged on the meals. I stuck to plain rice and fish curry. Food was ok. The group that came towards the end of lunch was quite a sight to see. The leader of that gang was a middle-aged lady and was such a pissing show-off. Hell-bent on creating a scene and demanding unnecessary attention. Her friends (or so colleagues) were one dumb boring group of men and women. Sigh, she was one pain!

I love Chennai for many reasons... its my hometown, all my cousins stay there and last but not the least, the beach. I hate Chennai for its hot and humid weather but it does not stand anything against the beach. :) I am crazy about the ocean, such that a glimpse of it can get me berserk. After lunch, I was so excited to see the calm Besant Nagar. So walked around and did some window shopping in The dollar store, FabIndia and Health & Glow. I obviously did little shopping in Dollar store and Health & Glow, true to my nature. FabIndia was above my budget but I like visiting that place. One tidbit news - Its the one which comes in Mozhi movie. ;)

My friend was still irritated and exhausted after the 4 hour wait and the heat. So, we squatted in Arun's icecream parlour which is just around the corner from the beach. I was enjoying the kids there than the icecream. One of the kid's mom was complaining about her daughter to her friend. It made me wonder why she took the pains of having a kid at such a late age. Its better to have children when a woman is in her mid-20s or late-20s. You would have the strength to run around your lil one! :D Kids are after all meant to fool around and goof up! Ahem, lets see how I react when my little one goofs up and creates a mess! Long way to go, let me first hook up and get married!!! :D

Headed to the beach at 3:30pm and kept strolling till 5:15pm. Was a pleasure to see kids, dogs and people of all ages having fun! The color of the sea here is much more nicer than Marina and its cleaner too! I was so tempted to jump into the sea but then had to head back home that night. So made myself content with letting the waves lap at my feet. The waves are relentless and their incessant lashing is a story in itself! Listening to the waves and watching them always puts me at ease. :) Extremely therapeutic! We had fun making weird footprints and watching tiny white crabs, live shells. It might sound silly but a visit to the beach costs nothing. At the same time, its priceless! :) The ocean makes you realise that nature is mighty and man is so teeny-weeny compared to it. But man tends to forget such things easily. :)

After the fun time at the beach, my friend's mood got better. Thank God! I noticed the famous Murugan Idly shop just around the corner. So, headed there straight and gorged on yummy dosas and also a cup of degree kaapi. Sigh, it was so fulfilling. My friend had to drag me out of the beach. I wanted to literally stay there and could not take my eyes off the ocean. I took a video of the ocean though my mind's eye has captured the beauty better. Watching the video has become my feel-good factor.



Took an auto back to the airport. Flight was at 8:45pm. Air Deccan. My friend teased me saying I get to experience both international and national flight experience on the same day. True to his word, Deccan was a small ATR aircraft compared to the Jet Airways aircraft. Boarded it and got the window seat again. But it wasnt satisfying. I could not ask for more since I was exhausted and just wanted to head back home since the next day was a working day. Some jinxed prayers mine were... the flight could not land due to turbulent weather in BIA. So the pilot (an incomprehensible European) hovered the aircraft for over 2 hours and put us back in Chennai at 11:00 pm. All of us were frustrated so as to when an alternate flight would be arranged and it was so late already. To add to it, we were so hungry. Once we landed, a pleasant surprise waited. We were put in a Kingfisher flight!!! It was such a pleasant experience to see the plush seating, petite airhostesses and the mighty aircraft! Kudos to Vijay Mallya! I am a big fan of his now! I got the window seat again and it was so satisfying. We got to eat small sandwiches and it was just perfect. There was a good-looking but stinking dude sitting next to us and laughing over those recorded videos on the flight. Hmmm, he seemed interesting but was more of an empty vessel. Works in Infosys is my guess. :)

My friend and I were exhausted. So we could not completely realise the Kingfisher comforts but I will rave on about it for years to come. :) Landed at 12:45 and rushed to board the BIA shuttle. Thank God, the cab driver waited for us when we reached J B Nagar at 2. I had done the booking long back for 11pm but he waited for us till 2am. :) God bless him. We reached at 2:35 am and I was so worried about my friend who was dozing off to glory. Thankfully, all reached safe and the whole trip has become a memorable one! :)

I recounted all this to most of my immediate friends and obviously, my family. All of them teased me about my childish enthusiasm and gloating. He he.

No matter what others say, this trip would be recounted for years to come and its my most special one. After all, it has been a long time dream come true! Many would have had their first flight experience when they were much younger but mine was this one. To top it, I got to fulfill my wish of a one-day flight trip to Chennai wherein my whole purpose to visit was the beach. :D Ocean is definitely one of the best creations of God and nature. Sigh!