The plane ? Oh shit, the plane !!!

Trip Start May 01, 2008
1
48
Trip End Ongoing


Loading Map
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow

Flag of France  ,
Monday, May 5, 2008

I thought I'd have a few hours sleep, but I ended up sorting my stuff and papers, copying data and music to bring over, till it was 5 in the morning, then I made coffee for my mum who had insisted she could take me to the airport that early.
I rushed to take a shower and prepare my suitcase: a few days clothes, one suit, a pair of shoes, some books and electronic stuff (camera, hard disk, mp3player), and off we went to the airport, totally late on schedule. I still managed to get my plane to Roissy Charles de Gaulle, of which I don't remember much as I certainly felt asleep between one runway till the other.
 
In CDG I had to switch over to the national airline of UAE: Etihad. There were already over a hundred persons queuing, arghhh!!! I was not in a very good shape, longing for even a second of sleep, and I could not imagine queuing for who knows how long. I did not even have luggage to check in, as it was carried over directly from my Air France flight. Finally I chatted up the "protocol" personnel and got onto the red carpet leading to first class check-in. All good!
 
A big A330-200 plane, almost full, quite comfortable, children crying, a mix of Emirati and Thai flight attendants... I found out that most of the passengers were headed to Bangkok, after connecting in Abu Dhabi. The girl on the seat just before me had the "yellow bible": the LP South-East Asia on a Shoestring guidebook...and she looked very excited with her upcoming trip... I was gutted, didn't even want to talk to her! The French guy sitting next to me was headed for a one month holliday in North Thailand, before heading south to work on the tourist islands.
 
And what about me then? Well as usual, dare I say, I was just moving. For years now I have had this: when on a means of transportation, eve more so in a plane, I find myself out of time. I am not there anymore, not there yet, but neither nostalgic or excited. I like this time when you are not conditioned by who you are and where you are. You are nowhere, time does not matter, and you can just slip into boredom until you reach serenity. Being totally shattered helps a lot.
Print this entry Paris hotels