The journey date was May 12,2012. The flight was BOM-DEL-FRA on board Air India. I was getting all set for my Europe trip that included Frankfurt, Zurich and Paris. Along with the excitement one thing started bothering me as our date of journey neared. There was an ongoing strike by AI pilots due to which most of their operations were grounded. Well the strike continued and we were told that our flight was cancelled. The tour managers told us that they were trying for some alternate arrangements. On May 11th around 4 pm, the tour operators told us that they were trying to book us via an alternate route and we may have to leave within next 6 hrs, one full day short!! Suddenly tensions rose to the extremes and we were filling our stuff in the bags.
By 8 pm, they confirmed that we were going to be booked on Thai airways and we will be flying Mumbai-Bangkok-Frankfurt. Well sudden rage kicked in because something completely unplanned was happening. A quick search revealed that I will be flying in airbus a330-300 for Mumbai-Bangkok leg and a Boeing 777-300ER for Bangkok-Frankfurt. My long lasting dream of flying in a 777 was going to materialize. That was awesome. We were ready by 10 pm waiting for their confirmation call. Well we received a call but the lady on the other side said that she wasn’t able to book us on Thai since I had already done web check in for AI flight…..the reason being I wanted a window seat! Tension again….what will happen next? How can we board a Thai flight with Air India ticket? What if others go and we are left out? Are we going to get delayed more? Numerous thoughts increased my heartbeats. It was 10.45 pm and we were still at home waiting for a confirmation so that we can board a 2.30 am flight. Every minute was getting on to my nerves. All others group members except us had got their confirmed tickets .At 11 pm the lady over the phone finally gave up. We were told to request Air India duty manager at the airport to consider our case and transfer our tickets to Thai. The idea itself sounded crazy. But we had no choice left.
We left home at 11.30 pm for a trip to Europe with no tickets. Wow…..what a horror. By the time we crossed Bandra we again got a call from that lady. This time her voice sounded much relaxed. By some miracle, she had managed to book us on Thai at the last moment and told us to collect our ticket print out at the terminal itself from the tour manager. I almost screamed with excitement in the cab. Reached airport at 12 am, took our e-tickets and proceeded for check in just to know that the flight was delayed by two hours!!!
I was at the counter asking for a window seat when the airline staff gave me a look and said “yaar me yaha soch raha hoon tumhe seat kaha du and you are asking for a window”. This statement blew up all my hopes of getting a window seat all through my journey. So obsessed I am for a window be it a train, plane, bus or a taxi!!! After completing the formalities we proceeded to the boarding gates
finally boarding the aircraft at 4.30 am. My excitement didn’t hinder sitting in an aisle seat. Post boarding rituals were quick and we were on the runway at 4.45 am.
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| Meal @ 5 |
As soon as you are in the air, the flying ladies serve you dinner even at that odd hour. For the first time, I was eating a full course meal at 5.00 in the morning. I dozed off after a while and when I woke up the plane had started it’s descend. The layover at Bangkok was over 4 hours so I just roamed around in the duty free area. I had never thought of being in Bangkok in my transit just after a year. The second leg of the journey was going to be a good 11 hrs one. We boarded the big bird at 12.30 pm. While finding my way to the seat I found that the interiors of the aircraft were different to that of the previous one. On the backrest I saw a text written in Hindi…..a Thai aircraft and instructions in Hindi. That is absurd. Then it came to my mind that this aircraft was leased to Thai by Jet airways. Now all things were in place - the different interiors, instructions in Hindi. I was again at the aisle seat with a German couple sitting next to me. In fact all 300 passengers on this flight were Germans with an exception of our group.
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| TG 922 BKK-FRA getting ready for departure.This aircraft was leased by Jet Airways. |
Lunch was served soon after take-off but this time no Indian food was on the ala carte. I was given an option of Thai chicken or Beef. I preferred the former. Everyone onboard seemed completely uninterested in enjoying the views outside. We flew over the Himalayas, Pamirs and Hindukush mountains, Caspian & Black sea slowing entering European landscapes. But they enjoyed putting their headphones on and watching movies on IFE. On top of that they pulled down the window shutter thereby refraining sunlight from coming in. For the next 10 hrs I was sitting in complete artifitual darkness. The air hostess generously emptied half litre of Coke on me while carrying the drinks trolley through the aisle. All she said was I am sorry & my reaction to it was ‘no problem’ although I felt like emptying the remaining half on her pretty silk uniform!!! After coke, the second round was performed by mineral water glass thanks to air turbulence. My clothes, seat and pillow were all wet and sticky. I had to carry myself for 5 more hours.
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| Heidelberg city |
Apart from the funny incidents, those 11 hours were very boring. After landing, we proceeded to our hotel “The Rhein Main”. The next morning we came to know that one family which was accommodated in an AI flight was not able to join us the previous day. Their flight had made an emergency landing at Bucharest, Romania due to which our schedule on day 1 was delayed by a few hours. So we first visited Heidelberg city which is located on the banks of river Necar. It is also one of the oldest city in Germany. The building architectures and Heidelberg castle gave this city the typical ancient looks. After a short city tour we came back to Frankfurt airport to receive the stranded family. They were very much relieved to see us. We were told that their flight did an emergency landing at Bucharest due to a fire in the cargo hold area. They were accommodated in a hotel for the night but their entire checked-in luggage was sealed. So they were left with nothing except their hand
baggage. So far all these incidents pointed that it was going to be a memorable trip.
Post lunch we proceeded to the famous Black forest. Its name derived due to the thick dark pine trees which restricts sunlight thereby giving a dark or “Black” look. By late evening we visited Rhine falls. Missed the boat trip because of delay but the view was mesmerizing. After capturing that natural wonder in our cameras we proceeded to our Hotel Raddison Blu, Zurich. The next morning we proceeded to Engelberg which is located at the foot of Mt.Titlis. A 45 mins cable car ride took us on to the top. Bright sunshine blessed our visit to the top. One can also find a poster of Sharukh-Kajol from DDLJ where every Indian poses for a photograph. Played in the snow for a couple of hours and then headed to a Swiss village farmhouse where a party was arranged.
The famous Rhine falls
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| That DDLJ banner at Mt.Titlis |
We were shown Swiss flag hoisting ceremony followed by a game of archery. Then a DJ party(Indian style) followed by dinner. While the party was on, I along with two friends headed out into the farms to get a village ‘feel’. It was 9.30 pm just after sunset, cold wind blowing, amber sky, stars rising and we were enjoying a chilled Swiss beer. How else could I describe a perfect vacation!! According to me, it was the best moment of the tour.
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| This is Swiss! |
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| At Kleine Scheidegg station |
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| On the way to Jungfraujoch |
The next day we visited Jungfraujoch, highest point in Alps which are served by a century year old Railway line. We travelled from Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch and back to Grindelwald Grund in that meter guage train. At the top, you just see never ending mountains with snow blankets and when sunlight falls, it looks completely creamy. As you descend down the shades change from white to green to brown. The surroundings are so picturesque that every landscape you see is superior to the previous one and they keep changing with a blink of an eye. On top of that, they have maintained it so well that everything looks new. Memory cards would fill but the scenic beauties would never end. Swiss is rightly said to be a paradise. No matter how much you see it never quenches the thirst of your eyes.
After biding adieu to Switzerland, we were welcomed by the fashion capital of the world, Paris. Brands like Dior, Gucci, Fendi, Azzaro, Louis Phillip, Pierre Cardin etc catch hold of your eye. The very next thing Indians do is convert the price tags into Indian rupees. After checking into the hotel we headed towards the city centre. The night cruise ride in the Seine River and the view of Eiffel tower from the boat embedded a glittering stamp about Paris in our mind. Later, we witnessed the twinkling lights show on the Eiffel tower at midnight.
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| Eiffel tower seen through Seinr river. |
The following day was spent visiting and praising the marvel called “Eiffel tower”, Arc de Triomphe , Les Invalides and Notre Dame Cathedral which later ended in shopping along the streets. The next day half of the group headed towards ‘Palace of Versailles’ while the other half went to Disneyland. This was the last day of our tour. According to me this theme park would majorly attract interests of kids. The rides and other
attractions are placed keeping in mind the younger souls. Adults would find their interest in very few slides. I loved the dance by Disney characters like Mickey mouse, mini mouse,Donald duck, Pluto as I could relate my childhood memories.
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| Arc De Triomphe |
As they say all good things end early, it was time to say good-bye and head back to our homes. Our return journey was also booked on AI which was cancelled due to their ongoing strike. AI was operating a single flight to New York, Frankfurt, Paris at a rescheduled time. We wanted a different arrangement as we had a connecting flight after reaching India. Few went to Mumbai and others to Delhi while my family had planned to visit Chennai. The duty managers accommodated Mumbai bound passengers into Air France flight. While we got our ticket transferred to Lufthansa, the Delhi bound passengers had to wait for the rescheduled hopping AI flight back home. Next day early morning we took a cab to the airport. It was a memorable trip for me. It also fulfilled my wish to travel by Lufthansa! Switzerland was ultimate and I look forward to come again to this heaven in next few years.
