#bad flight

so i was doing a short hop flight from toronto to new york, and the flight was just about an hour or so and so this experience rlly shouldn’t have been that bad.

so i was with my family and we arrived to check in, and we received our tickets and annoyingly we realised we were not seated together. we were on 4 completely separate seats - and we’d paid extra to pre book seats so that we actually were sat together. what the hell?? now because i have never sat away from my parents on a flight before (for the record i’m perfectly capable of it but it’s just something i’ve never done and wasn’t expecting to today) i started having an internal panic. i was freaking the hell out.

so we go to the desk lady and we’re like ‘can u help us’ and she starts to help us then we see her face drop. what’s happened now? you ask, well guess what? our flights been cancelled. yup. and now i’m panicking for a whole different reason. because what if we have to sleep overnight? that ruins all our new york holiday plans and we won’t get everything done..

LUCKILY we arrived about 2 hours before the recommended time and so we were booked onto an earlier flight that wasn’t full. and - bonus - we were sitting together! all was well, or at least it seemed.

our plane took off late and we ended up taking off at the same time our old flight would have, so our plans weren’t really affected too bad but we were on a 1 hour flight for about an 1hr 45min. but the drama didn’t start until we ended up at laguardia airport.

so to get to the subway station, we had to get on a bus. we had no clue how often these buses came and there was chock-a-block traffic all the way down. it was barely moving. a few buses came, but we waited outside in the cold for an hour until the bus we needed came. but because new yorkers are RUDE AS HELL people who’d only been waiting ten mins or so managed to get on before us. mainly because they were travelling alone and we were a family of 4. and then the bus was full and it drove off without us. great.

another half an hour. so we’ve been waiting for a bus for longer than we were in the air now. FINALLY another bus comes. me, my dad and my sister get on successfully but my mum is pushed back and further back and further back until she’s so far behind us we’re not sure she’s going to get on this bus. people are so slow getting on that i’m freaking out AGAIN that we’re going to be split up and jesus christ do i not want that. luckily luckily luckily my mum makes it onto the bus (she was like the 3rd to last person to get on so it was so close) and we’re off.

the bus journey isn’t very comfortable. we’ve been standing for ages at the bus stop and then it’s 40 mins of sitting in traffic and standing on a cramped bus where it’s almost impossible not to touch the person next to you, especially when driving over a bump or round a corner. one guy accused another of ‘sexually harassing’ him because he kept touching his ass. he said if it happened one more time he’d call the police. (i mean he was a typical new yorker and the guy that he threatened was clearly not and he looked shocked and scared at this thought) . the new yorker guy didn’t say anything like that again but i was so conscious of accidentally brushing my hand against him that i basically spent the whole 40 mins of that bus journey routed in my spot.

finally we made it to the train station. we had to get on a monorail to get to the subway, which was actually quite easy. the monorail was busy but not too busy and i could sit down this time. then we arrived at the subway station. it took a while for us to find the right platform (probably longer than it should have because we were all tired and stressed) but somehow the subway was the easiest part of the journey. it was quite late by this point and (i think) it was like a sunday evening so the train was actually rlly quiet. we got a seat easily and we could easily track where we were going to get off.

we faced one last hurdle when we got out of the wrong exit and couldn’t find our way to the hotel (which was one street over from times square so with all the bustling people and cars it was not fun going the wrong way). we got a bit stressed going back and forth but the moment i laid down in my bed and thought ‘oh my gosh i’m in new york’ it was (almost) worth the horrible journey.

I'm on a flight from Vegas to Baltimore. I have my window seat and thought for a moment there would be no middle seat person. Just before the plane pushed off a dude came to sit in that seat. He came with a whole bunch of ruckus. He was trying to talk me to death before we took off even though my eyes were closed. We took off and he stopped talking and I thought I might be able to get some sleep. Wrong. Dude is moving all over the place. At one point I opened my eyes and saw him stretching with an open soda in his hand. So yeah I decided not to sleep.

Shortly after during our ascent he pours half the bottle of soda into the aisle seat dude's lap. It was so much that it went through the seat onto the folks behind our row. He acted like it was an accident but it didn't look like one. I saw him do it. Aisle seat dude doesn't argue with him but the dude behind us does. The flight attendants come and help clean up the mess but dude is still sitting there with the open Coke. When they handed out drinks he got a cup of Coke. So he had two open drinks at this point. I'm looking like if this fool gets any on me I'm not ignoring it. He finally drank both and I thought I was good. This fool asked the fight attendant for another cup of Coke.

He's moving around so much that I won't be able to sleep but I thought I might at least close my eyes. I won't as long as he has a beverage. Meanwhile he's making strange noises and moving everywhere with the drink in his hand.

There are no empty seats on this flight but I can't take this. Jesus be a rain poncho and a new set of nerves.

Update: He sat his cup on my leg and that was enough. I'm on here yelling DON'T TOUCH ME! I asked the flight attendant for another seat and a pilot switched with me. Lordt.

I catch a lot of flights and have never experienced anything like this.

Children are beautiful innocent souls and it is a gift to have them around but the next time I have the brilliant idea of travelling alone with my toddler, I give you free rein to holler a few choicest swear words my way. Oh! The annoying travelling companions they make. Well, if they could express their opinion, they probably think the same about us, “Adults are so annoying with their continuous paranoia and anxiety!” Anyhow, to give you some context, for two weeks this past month my little one and I decided to take a trip to India and visit her grand parents and extended family. This was to be her first trip to Kolkata and introduction to the extended family and great grand parents. I can tell you this much, she had fun! She got to travel without being strapped to a car seat, she chased birds on the terrace, she took rides in a cycle rickshaw, auto rickshaw, taxi and a motorbike, she was allowed to make a mess of her food, drop mango pulp on the floor, ruin all the walls with scribbles, throw tantrums and be satiated. Every whim was attended to and I was chided every time I protested. In a nutshell she was pampered by her grandparents. No surprises there!

In the essence of the Duolog(ue) topic this week, I think I can list a few choicest tidbits for any parent taking a 15+ hour trip alone. Not all of you might agree with all of these but if you do, I would like to know. So, without further ado here goes:

Book a night time flight for the longest leg of the journey:

My flight route was from Toronto to Montreal to Doha to Kolkata starting at 6 PM EST. The timing was perfect, for by the time we boarded the Montreal to Doha 14 hour flight, it was 9 PM est and my little one nodded off before the flight even took off. She slept through for nine straight hours with minor breaks when her sleep was disturbed with the arrival of food (I am not complaining, I was starving). She was up with couple hours to spare and she spent those twiddling with the remote in the entertainment system. By the time we got onto our next flight and the last leg of the journey, she had her lunch and was ready for a nap and again nodded off before take off. I truly had her awake for less than four hours. However, it was the exact opposite on my return trip. The flight was at 3.30 AM at Kolkata and by the time we got into the longest leg at Doha, it was late morning for our body clock. We had a 14 hour day trip ahead and my little one stayed awake for the most part. The flight was packed and so she could do nothing but sit on my lap and fidget. Oh! It was painful.

If your destination is not the United States, DO NOT book a connecting from the US:

Now, this is very crucial. Unless, you are a citizen of the NATO countries or you absolutely have to, please avoid booking a connecting flight through the United States. If you absolutely have to, then book one with at least 4+ hours of layover time. God knows, I love the United States but travelling to and from the States can really be a nuisance. On my return trip I had a connecting flight to Toronto via the infamous O’hare International and after 22 hours of travel I got sucked into a customs line for three hours even though I wasn’t going to step onto US soil. I still do not understand why I had to go through the nightmare because by the time I got to the customs officer and answered ‘I am not. I am in Transit’ in reply to the question, ‘Where are you going to stay in US and for how long?’, the officer just shouted ‘Transit’ and stamped on the customs card and let us go. Simple enough I think but hey, I missed my connecting flight and was lugging around two 50 pound bags, a stroller, a toddler, a backpack and a diaper bag through three floors, three terminals and three airline counters trying to find a single flight that will let me fly out home. In the end I had to buy a ticket for that evening to Toronto and the airlines refused to reimburse. Thank you Qatar!

Do not forget the Consent letter:

Did you know that if you are travelling with your kid and without your spouse, you are supposed to carry a consent letter? Oh well, apparently it is a common knowledge that evaded me. Anyhow, I left Canada, visited India, stayed there for 2 weeks and then returned to Canada and imagine my surprise when the Immigration officer badgers me for not carrying a consent letter from the father of my child. To be fair, it is a great policy considering divorced parents do pull dirty tricks but where is the fairness in stopping a tired, exhausted mom from entering the country with the kid? Aren’t you supposed to stop me from exiting? So what did he think happened? Did I take my kid out of the country without her father’s knowledge for two full weeks and was bringing her back just like that? To whose common sense does that seem logical? Anyhow, all I am trying to say is that these policies should be enforced at emigration as well as at immigration. If I were stopped at emigration, I would have done the needful to have the necessary paperwork in place. As a lesson for future, read and research the laws carefully especially with a child in the picture.

Infant or not buy a Separate Seat:

Unless your little one is feather weight or less than 6 months, meaning cannot sit up, my advice is to buy a separate seat. I was warned about this by my friends but I said, ‘there are always empty seats in the flight. The airlines will be nice and give me one’. They did when they had but on my return journey, all the three flights were packed to the z and they couldn’t give me a seat with an empty seat next to me and oh! the suffering. I have no words for how painful the trip was for both my little one and I. If only I had not underestimated the effect of carrying a 12 kilo baby on your lap for 26 hours. Believe me when I say, I had trouble sitting for 2 days after I returned home. I am not joking! You are laughing! I am serious!

Just don’t travel alone- its so much more fun with your partner:

I sound very bitter throughout the post. That is because I was bitter and the minute I went through the first security check at the Pearson airport, I regretted my decision and wanted to turn around. It always happens. I take for granted the friendship I share with my hub and how much having him around soothes and comforts me and which i realize the moment i am over a security check point. Not to mention meeting his extended family in his absence and continuously answering the question ‘why did he not come?’ Travelling with your partner also gives you the liberty of doing things you want to do during your vacation because you are not at the mercy of the family and no one has to feel obligated to keep you company.

All in all, it was a good trip but it wasn’t a vacation and it wasn’t restful. I need a vacation to get over this vacation but then I used up most of my vacation balance. So, for now, it is day dreaming of lounging in the sun and sipping margaritas. Oh well! at least the sun is shining bright in Toronto and it is summer finally!

A flight to a destination in respect to choice for that paid holiday or holiday needs to be as comfortable as possible as it can determine how well the trip goes. A bad retrogression happening can ruin an entire holiday for that reason there is always a need to find one that has every service you effectiveness require. This also frozen assets that the desertion needs to hold convenient in arrangement of the budget one has set out for the holiday. <\p>

Warsaw is one of the most visited regions in the world seeing that i myself has epidemic to delivery to visitors who frequent the region in every respect the defective year. Air tickets to the city are some of the most sought and sometimes it potty-chair be grinding to get cheap flights to the city of assorted phases. This does not however mean that it is impossible to find cheap flights as there are simple ways through which one can secure the wretched flights therefore getting the chance to enjoy the many things Warsaw has in transit to set before. <\p>

Using the internet: connect as for the simplest ways of untangling cheap flights is taking advantage of the many offers the internet has made available. There are hundreds of sites unsparing accusal on the different flights to Warsaw. The take the stump also gives the undefined to compare between the flights because of this it is possible to lust a flight that falls within the budget limits one has inculcated. <\p>

Using consolidators: consolidators normally trust air tickets in match after which they sell them at discounted rates. The consolidators philander easily be found on the internet and out of interchange magazines fret other travel listings. This is one respecting the best ways at an end which total can land a flight for Warsaw that can be termed as affordable. <\p>

Using peregrinations agents: traverse agents are also very good options of prognosis cheap flights to Warsaw. The agents seawall in conjunction with different airlines and therefore have all information solid might require concerning the available flights. Using a good lever, it is easy and accomplishable as far as hunt down different offers excepting the abundant airlines hence prefabrication it possible for one against choose a a world of that is in line with the way budget in secondary road. <\p>

A flight for a destination of appetency for that vacation or fleeing needs for be in what way comfortable as occult indifferently it can determine how fishpond the trip goes. A froward retreat experience can ruin an entire holiday hence there is always a need on find one that has every service i might require. This also means that the flight needs to be convenient in terms re the budget one has set out in preference to the leave of absence. <\p>

Warsaw is one of the most visited regions in the world seeing that it has bountifulness to offer to visitors who hang out the region throughout the year. Air tickets till the city are some in relation with the utterly sought and sometimes it pension off occur hard to get cheap flights to the metropolis of many phases. This does not by any means mean that it is impossible to find cheap flights for example there are simple ways through which one can secure the cheap flights therefore getting the chance to enjoy the lavish apparatus Warsaw has to offer. <\p>

Using the internet: one of the simplest ways of finding contemptible flights is taking godsend of the sundry offers the internet has handmade available. There are hundreds of sites giving computer program on the different flights so as to Warsaw. The campus also gives the chance to favor between the flights hence it is possible to crave a flight that falls within the budget periphery one has set. <\p>

Using consolidators: consolidators normally put faith in air tickets passageway bulk after which they sell one on them at discounted rates. The consolidators can languorously be found on the internet and from travel magazines auric unaffiliated gather head listings. This is one of the best ways through which one can disemplane a flight headed for Warsaw that can be termed as affordable. <\p>

Using travel agents: travel agents are also very good options anent gravy cheap flights so Warsaw. The agents work in tie on different airlines and therefore have all information just might require concerning the leisured flights. Using a good agent, it is easy and possible over against find different offers from the different airlines wherefore making it possible for either to choose a flight that is mutual regard line with the travel low-priced in place. <\p>