Confessions of a Flight Attendant

We did not have many passengers on board on this day of the year which was a relief for the crew but even before securing the cabin a passenger was already fighting with us. A woman was smoking her e-cigarette which while not actually creating smoke it mimics smoke with water vapor. It is prohibited on board my airlines fleet and is stated in our operations manual, the passenger was not having any of the crew and insisted she would continue using the device because it is not actually smoke and she MUST have her e-cigarette. After showing her the policy in the manual and explaining she would be offloaded unless she forfeited the device for the remainder of the flight she relented and we were able to take off.  While I had no problem with the device I think it sends the wrong message to the passengers, I think they might see the e-cigarette and think they can smoke their regular cigarettes or fear it is real etc. so it is not appropriate at this point. The rest of the flight was uneventful as holiday makers are generally happy and excited to begin their trip and not concerned with much except drinks and sleep! Perfection for the crew.  

The hotel room was gorgeous equipped with a huge bath tub, the hotel had provided rose bath salts and bath oil as well as body scrub which is the ultimate luxury after working a flight. The room had its own balcony overlooking the bay. The crew decided to meet for wine and dinner downstairs, almost every single crew had come down but the flight deck crew came ignored us and sat together at a different table which was strange and awkward.  After dinner a couple of us went to the casino to try our luck, in this casino the drinks are free as long as you play which I had never experienced before and certainly did not complain. After we spent most of our rupees we headed back to the hotel around 1am and a few crew made plans to meet in the morning to go to the beach. The next day I decided to venture out alone to the local markets because it was Christmas Eve, this was the highlight of the trip. The streets were absolutely packed with people all shouting at one another in French to purchase all sorts of everything, the market was just local people closing down the roads and selling everything you can imagine in time for Christmas. The atmosphere was chaotic as all that visible in the distance was a sea of seemingly never-ending people however the more people I saw ahead the more I wanted to explore and every few minutes of walking introduced me to new smells and sounds. The fresh cut flowers were being arranged together. A greengrocer was insisting I inspect the quality of his star fruit. I can smell the fresh baguettes but I cannot see them just yet, I finally make it to a densely packed area brimming with local flavor, the food available at the street stalls was incredible because of the rich and diverse cultural mix in Mauritius (Creole, French, Chinese and Indian influences) I had some gateau patat which is like a potato fritter and the person working the stall gave me a free phoenix beer! He insisted I must have the two together which on his recommendation I indulged. After doing some present shopping at the local mall I retired to my hotel room to have a nap before my flight. When we got to the crew bus the captain entered in a Santa hat with a bag of gifts and fruit mince pie! We were instantly perked up because he brought the Christmas cheer with him. One of the crew brought along meters of tinsel which we decorated the galley in, the captain put a picture of reindeer on the cockpit door and made sure to convince all the kids on board he had just talked to Santa and he assured them all the kids were on the nice list, it was very sweet and thoughtful. The cheer in the aircraft was unforgettable. We all wore the Santa hats and reindeer ears in the cabin and took photos with the passengers and kids. The honeymoon couples were all convinced to don the ears and hats while we took a Polaroid of them which they got to keep. It was such a beautiful memory and while I was wishing I could spend more time with my family I felt so lucky to spend my holidays in such a beautiful unique place and be able to make so many passengers Christmas trip extraordinary.

I arrived home and opened the door to my apartment, I could smell nutmeg and cinnamon, I found presents under the tree from two friends and themed candles all over the house. The houseplant had candy canes as ornaments.  I spent the night watching Christmas themed movies and drinking spiced eggnog with my flat mate, I wonder where I will end up this year.

The view from my hotel balcony

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