Mumbai Trip
I had slept early the previous night. After all the next day was a pretty big day in my life. I woke up at 5 all excited and exuberant. It was the day I was going to travel all alone for the first time.
The weather seemed pleasant and it was a bit cloudy with a hint of sunshine here and there. I got up and dressed way before time. Even though my friends’ plan of playing got cancelled, I was in a pretty good mood. Which is quite rare for me.
I took my luggage to the car and started our journey towards the airport. I felt nothing strange or out of the blue that day.
We reached the airport quite early and there were very few people entering. My parents took a last minute quiz to check whether I still remembered the proper procedure for boarding an airplane.
By the time I entered past the gate, the crowd started to appear. After I was past the gate, I felt a bit alone. I searched the GoAir counter but failed to do so. I asked a person at the information desk who pointed towards his extreme left.
“Counter B, that side.” He said.
“Thanks a lot” I replied walking towards that direction.
I found the counter but was surprised to see a large line in front of most of the counters. I took the one with the least number of people but due to Murphy’s Law our line was the slowest.
I collected my boarding pass and went towards the security check. After my check, I decided to roam around as the boarding didn’t start for another 45 minutes. There were various stores around including KFC and Pizza Hut. I was thinking of grabbing a quick bite but after seeing the large line, I changed my mind.
I was about to proceed towards my gate when I realised I had lost my baggage tag. I tried not to panic and calm down but it’s our instinct to panic in such moments. It’s coded into our systems to think of the worst case scenario that could happen. And in my case it was no different. I imagined missing my flight and staying in Gurgaon.
I tried to use my brains first and retraced my steps but I was not able to find it. I went to the information desk and inquired about the issue.
The person told me to report it to a policeman standing near the security counter. I went up to him and told him the issue. He took my bag and put it on the scanner one more time before giving me a new tag.
I proceeded towards my gate quite mad at me for being so stupid. I bought a coke and waited for another 10 minutes. After this I boarded the bus and we started for the plane. It was quite windy by the time I boarded the flight. I sat on my seat and sent a message to my parents.
The flight took off after another 10 minutes or so. There was a senior citizen and his wife next to me. Their son was on the adjacent seat.
I listened to music and played on my PSP but it became boring after some time. I decided not to sleep as I was afraid to fall asleep and not wake up on time. I was quite mad at the cabin crew as the person in front of me had his phone on the entire flight and that too not on silent.
The captain announced that we were 90 km north of Mumbai and advised us to switch off our electronic devices. I thought we had about 5 minutes before the flight landed but I was wrong. The airport was visible in just 1 minute.
We landed and were advised to let the business class passengers exit first. I went straight to the baggage collection counter. I was afraid someone might take my bag so I stood right next to the starting.
It seemed like forever before my bag finally came. I quickly took it and went towards the exit. I went outside into an extremely hot area and starting sweating almost immediately. I spotted mausaji’s car and went up to it.
This is how my first trip all alone went. It could not have been possible without the constant helping but very irritating calls by my parents.
I was thinking of all the things that could happen like the plane being hijacked, it crashing, me missing the flight, everything but as soon as I left the airport so did the absurd thoughts out of my head.
I had slept early the previous night. After all the next day was a pretty big day in my life. I woke up at 5 all excited and exuberant. It was the day I was going to travel all alone for the first time.
The weather seemed pleasant and it was a bit cloudy with a hint of sunshine here and there. I got up and dressed way before time. Even though my friends’ plan of playing got cancelled, I was in a pretty good mood. Which is quite rare for me.
I took my luggage to the car and started our journey towards the airport. I felt nothing strange or out of the blue that day.
We reached the airport quite early and there were very few people entering. My parents took a last minute quiz to check whether I still remembered the proper procedure for boarding an airplane.
By the time I entered past the gate, the crowd started to appear. After I was past the gate, I felt a bit alone. I searched the GoAir counter but failed to do so. I asked a person at the information desk who pointed towards his extreme left.
“Counter B, that side.” He said.
“Thanks a lot” I replied walking towards that direction.
I found the counter but was surprised to see a large line in front of most of the counters. I took the one with the least number of people but due to Murphy’s Law our line was the slowest.
I collected my boarding pass and went towards the security check. After my check, I decided to roam around as the boarding didn’t start for another 45 minutes. There were various stores around including KFC and Pizza Hut. I was thinking of grabbing a quick bite but after seeing the large line, I changed my mind.
I was about to proceed towards my gate when I realised I had lost my baggage tag. I tried not to panic and calm down but it’s our instinct to panic in such moments. It’s coded into our systems to think of the worst case scenario that could happen. And in my case it was no different. I imagined missing my flight and staying in Gurgaon.
I tried to use my brains first and retraced my steps but I was not able to find it. I went to the information desk and inquired about the issue.
The person told me to report it to a policeman standing near the security counter. I went up to him and told him the issue. He took my bag and put it on the scanner one more time before giving me a new tag.
I proceeded towards my gate quite mad at me for being so stupid. I bought a coke and waited for another 10 minutes. After this I boarded the bus and we started for the plane. It was quite windy by the time I boarded the flight. I sat on my seat and sent a message to my parents.
The flight took off after another 10 minutes or so. There was a senior citizen and his wife next to me. Their son was on the adjacent seat.
I listened to music and played on my PSP but it became boring after some time. I decided not to sleep as I was afraid to fall asleep and not wake up on time. I was quite mad at the cabin crew as the person in front of me had his phone on the entire flight and that too not on silent.
The captain announced that we were 90 km north of Mumbai and advised us to switch off our electronic devices. I thought we had about 5 minutes before the flight landed but I was wrong. The airport was visible in just 1 minute.
We landed and were advised to let the business class passengers exit first. I went straight to the baggage collection counter. I was afraid someone might take my bag so I stood right next to the starting.
It seemed like forever before my bag finally came. I quickly took it and went towards the exit. I went outside into an extremely hot area and starting sweating almost immediately. I spotted mausaji’s car and went up to it.
This is how my first trip all alone went. It could not have been possible without the constant helping but very irritating calls by my parents.
I was thinking of all the things that could happen like the plane being hijacked, it crashing, me missing the flight, everything but as soon as I left the airport so did the absurd thoughts out of my head.
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