The long way to India
I only had time to send a link to this blog to exactly 2 people so it is really cool to see 7 comments :) Thank you!
Okay, it's been 3 weeks since I travelled to India but I thought I'd still share some highlights from the flight before I forget...
I took the direct Toronto-Delhi Air Canada flight, the one that goes not eastward but all the way north, over the North Pole (well, that area) , and then over Russia down to India. A few years ago Canada and Russia had a dispute over this flight. Russia didn't want to give Air Canada transit access to its airspace, and Canada retaliated by limiting any flights by Aeroflot (Russian airlines) to Canada to 2 per week. It was a big mess, but luckily things got sorted out since then so that on February 25, 2005 I could to reach Delhi in only 14 hours, non-stop.
Here are some surreal moments and quick facts from/about the flight:
#1: Somewhere above northern Quebec and Labrador I got to see Northern lights from the window of my airplane. The window was of course tinted so I could only see shapes but not colours but it was still pretty exciting.
#2: At just about same time, an old Indian lady moved to the seat next to mine to look out of the window (full moon and no clouds so we could see the whole beautiful Canadian landscape very clearly). We quickly established that she spoke no English and I spoke no Hindi but she must have been pretty excited about the view because she kept talking to me anyway for at least 10 minutes. I just listened to the sound of the language, smiled and nodded (a skill I perfected during my first year in Canada, when English was still a foreign language :)
#3: Air Canada served Indian food but it was bad. I'm sure all passengers appreciated the effort though.
#4: At the airport in India, I got to experience that classic Review Board test situation: "What would you do if there was no one to meet you at the airport..." (My friends Maciek and Kasia, who were supposed to pick me up, were confused about the time of arrival and came an hour late). I firmly rejected any offers by taxi drivers. Some man gave me change and helped me make a phone call, but I couldn't get through. I wasn't sure about his motives so I exchanged some money and called with my own change, still without any success. In the end, I approached a guy from my flight that kept smiling at me and made a phone call from his cell phone (Canadian SIM card, must have cost him a fortune!) and finally got to talk to Kasia. I think I passed the test!
#5. I came out of the airport sweating, only to find Maciek and Kasia wearing 2 sweaters and a jacket each. Apparently, it was 20 C in Delhi (read: VERY COLD) so the airport was being heated. I still made fun of Maciek for wearing 2 sweaters and a jacket in 20C weather. (But Maciek and Kasia were still nice to me after that :) The following day they took me around and made sure my first day in India was eventful (auto-rickshaw, market, motorbike, a trainee party etc.). Thank you!)
That's all about the flight, signing off!
Okay, it's been 3 weeks since I travelled to India but I thought I'd still share some highlights from the flight before I forget...
I took the direct Toronto-Delhi Air Canada flight, the one that goes not eastward but all the way north, over the North Pole (well, that area) , and then over Russia down to India. A few years ago Canada and Russia had a dispute over this flight. Russia didn't want to give Air Canada transit access to its airspace, and Canada retaliated by limiting any flights by Aeroflot (Russian airlines) to Canada to 2 per week. It was a big mess, but luckily things got sorted out since then so that on February 25, 2005 I could to reach Delhi in only 14 hours, non-stop.
Here are some surreal moments and quick facts from/about the flight:
#1: Somewhere above northern Quebec and Labrador I got to see Northern lights from the window of my airplane. The window was of course tinted so I could only see shapes but not colours but it was still pretty exciting.
#2: At just about same time, an old Indian lady moved to the seat next to mine to look out of the window (full moon and no clouds so we could see the whole beautiful Canadian landscape very clearly). We quickly established that she spoke no English and I spoke no Hindi but she must have been pretty excited about the view because she kept talking to me anyway for at least 10 minutes. I just listened to the sound of the language, smiled and nodded (a skill I perfected during my first year in Canada, when English was still a foreign language :)
#3: Air Canada served Indian food but it was bad. I'm sure all passengers appreciated the effort though.
#4: At the airport in India, I got to experience that classic Review Board test situation: "What would you do if there was no one to meet you at the airport..." (My friends Maciek and Kasia, who were supposed to pick me up, were confused about the time of arrival and came an hour late). I firmly rejected any offers by taxi drivers. Some man gave me change and helped me make a phone call, but I couldn't get through. I wasn't sure about his motives so I exchanged some money and called with my own change, still without any success. In the end, I approached a guy from my flight that kept smiling at me and made a phone call from his cell phone (Canadian SIM card, must have cost him a fortune!) and finally got to talk to Kasia. I think I passed the test!
#5. I came out of the airport sweating, only to find Maciek and Kasia wearing 2 sweaters and a jacket each. Apparently, it was 20 C in Delhi (read: VERY COLD) so the airport was being heated. I still made fun of Maciek for wearing 2 sweaters and a jacket in 20C weather. (But Maciek and Kasia were still nice to me after that :) The following day they took me around and made sure my first day in India was eventful (auto-rickshaw, market, motorbike, a trainee party etc.). Thank you!)
That's all about the flight, signing off!
8 Comments:
You must have some amazing stories; I can't wait to see pictures. :)
wishing you all the best in your new journey!
"life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breaths away..."
cheesy, but it helped me when i first touched down in Estonia!
Good to hear that you arrived safely and congratulations on your match! :)
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Best of luck on traineeship!
Holy smokes Zhenia! You're in India!!! (as if you didn't know). That's awesome! I hope you have an awesome experience there. Maybe I'll meet up with you prior to IC 2005 ;)
Haha...no matter what nationality, it can be guaranteed that Air Canada will make the food bad :)
Hi Zhenia,
hope you have an amazing time in Hyperabad! Lookinf forward to the stories and pictures!
wow! have a great time!!
Gees, Zhenia, you're in India! You know that would have been my destination if I'd have gone on a traineeship, because I was certain it would have been one hell of an experience. So I hope we'll hear lots about your adventures and you'll feel 1000 times enriched when you come back!
Waw!!!!
Zhenia!!!! It's really great to be there! I'm absolutely in love with this country!!
I love it!!!
Hope you enjoy your time a lot!
kind regards from sunny Kiev :))
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