The World of Flying Tin Cans

By the time I publish this post, I will at the very least be devising a means of curing my stopover boredom. However, what’s important is that if I were to write this post then, this experience may seem altogether different, perhaps trivial, in retrospect.

Not being what one may call a frequent flyer, I could probably count the number of times I’ve flown on my hands. Well, using the fingers that are on my hands anyway. Whilst each experience is different, there are some things that never change: the air conditioning that reminds you that you’re ill, even though you weren’t when you got on the plane; the dull aching of your ears from keeping on the headphones on for too long (though it may just be that my ears are enormous); and, of course, the promise of bodily contact whether it be you or someone else trying to get to the bathroom. Whether or not you think of these fondly (especially that last one) is completely up to you. However, what is true – and has been true ever since I watched a certain episode of 30 Rock – is that, when trapped in a winged can like a merry bunch of snakes, (I just realised why the concept of that movie made remote sense) Sky Law is real. You might say that the power of Sky Law can be attributed to a certain height advantage. Without much consideration – hey ho! – you just paid money to be at the mercy of whoever’s in here and whatever’s out there (see: The Twilight Zone).

It’s here that I’ve decided that flight attendants necessarily make or break the flying experience. On the brink of death through dehydration, they bring me a cup of water. What’s more, still managing a smile of all things, they agree to bring me 4 more cups of water. At the same time.

At the end of the flight, it’s not the smiles or movies that make it, but rather the paid-for human kindness.

Really though, in-flight movies are marvellous, even if the alpha and omega of Gatsby are simply long trailers.

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Now that I actually am stopped over, I've barely had enough time to upload my pictures and post this before boarding, as it took so long to connect to the airport's wi-fi. Hum-ho, there you go, Boredom.

- Charith