Going on the Flip Side

Today I embarked on a two week trip to India on business to ignite our cloud automation efforts in AT&T hosting and align our processes.  I am also going partially for "softer" reasons such as camaraderie and team building.  I am optimistic that this trip will be beneficial for the company, but will also be impactful to me personally.  So, unfortunately I am sidekickless this time.  Don't question it, it's a word.

The first leg of my trip was rather uneventful.  Two hours of clear skies and zero turbulence made for a very comfortable and easy trip.  The gentlemen next to me adorned his headset as soon as we boarded and didn't speak the entire flight.  He was evidently well-travelled as I spied him flipping through his passport and recording each entry stamp on a piece of paper.  I estimate there were over a hundred in all.  Later when he retrieved his bag, it had a "Diamond Medallion" tag on it, which is obtained by flying 125K or more miles with Delta in a year.  Wow, that's a LOT of travel!

Descending into Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta surprised me.  For reasons I can't explain, I expected it to look something like Dallas -- mostly dry, and packed on all sides with manmade structures.  However, what I discovered was a city lush with vegetation that clearly dominated the landscape over anything else.  Lovely.

After deplaning, I made my way to the international terminal where I had about an hour to kill before boarding for my next flight.  I entered the Delta Skymiles club and booted my laptop to get some work done.  After a short time I noticed an outdoor porch area that soon began calling my name.  Packing up my things, I grabbed a Chardonnay and made my way outside to a comfy chair overlooking the busy tarmac and watched the sunset fade into the horizon.

Dusk from the Delta Skymiles porch

We boarded the plane at 9:15 (Eastern), and I quickly oriented myself to a flight environment I have certainly never experienced.  Business Elite on Delta has seats that would be more accurately described as "pods."  Though the seat itself does not appear much wider than the typical seat, the ability to stretch out and lay completely flat is truly awesome.  There are little "hidey holes" ;) here and there to store a few things, but not much.  A dedicated power outlet (oh no, I just realized I don't have a power converter) is a big plus as well.

The service was truly excellent on the 14 hour flight.  We had a meal shortly after takeoff that was delivered promptly and for the most part very tasty.  Unfortunately I do have to give a big thumbs down on the Mahi-Mahi.  I am not too picky of an eater, but it was just plain yucky yucky.  I rarely leave food on my plate, but this was one such exception.  There was a nice wine selection, but I passed as I just took two tylenol PM for an upcoming nap and wanted to avoid liver failure.

Prawn appetizer with grilled pineapple.  The sauce was yummy

Salad with fantastic tomato basil soup

Ugh... I'd like some CLEAN silverware, please.  Nasty.

Main course was not good.  The rice thing was the only saving grace on this plate.

Wine menu!

India is 10:30 ahead of US Central during daylight savings, and my last flight arrives in India at 2:30 AM local time.  So, I had a fairly challenging task to adjust.  My strategy was to take three lengthy naps, one at the start and one at the end of the long flight, and hopefully that will leave me tired enoguh to snag another few hours of sleep when I arrive at the hotel.

At midnight (Eastern) I converted my chair into a bed, set my alarm for 4 AM, and fell asleep with no problem.  Perhaps my strategy is a bad one, because when I awoke everyone else remained sleeping for hours.  We'll find out.  In minutes the flight attendants were at my side with coffee and Bailey's and a perfectly-sized continental breakfast.  I give the staff a thumbs up for being so watchful and hard working.

I retrieved my laptop and began working when Whitney Houston's "I Want to Dance with Somebody" came on the headset.  Instantly I was transported to our family room in Dallas, TX when I was knee high to a grasshopper.  My sister, Kristin, was present, along with a miniature trampoline that was recently acquired from a family friend, if I recall correctly.  A yellow Sony "Sport" boombox is faithfully playing, rewinding, and playing again a seemingly neverending backdrop of "I Want to Dance with Somebody" as Kristin honed her skills as a children's trampoline dance choreographer.  In hindsight, I was so passionately focused on delivering a solid performance that I struggle to remember how it was received by our audience -- Mom and dad.  I'm sure they were very impressed.  Thanks for the memory, sis.

My layover at Dubai was quick and uneventful aside from nearly missing my plane.  I went to the gate a little early and the agent looked at me like I was crazy.  No one else was there, and the agent told me I should just go relax in the Emirates club and wait for them to announce boarding for our flight, which I did.  Unfortunately, I heard no such announcement until "Baaron, Bailey, please come to gate B15."  I ran to the gate, and the agent admitted me.  Unfortunately, past the gate agent was a bizarre series of stairs, glass walls, dead ends... it was terrible.  So much glass everywhere, it was like a hall of mirrors, and I even ran into a wall at one point (hard enough my head still hurts a little)!  Beth you wouldn't have stopped laughing the entire flight had you seen it.

Really cool series of perhaps a dozen elevators at Dubai airport
with a huge cascading waterfall behind appears like a black wall

Sideview of the waterfall.  Perhaps 150 to 200 feet long and 2 stories tall

Anyway, the flight to Hyderabad was fine.  The staff was extremely well trained and pay attention to every last detail.  At the start of the flight they walked down the entire plane spraying air freshener, there were fresh flowers on the walls of the plane, and everything they did was out of luxury and a desire to please.  I wish the U.S. airlines were ilke this.  One fun thing was one red wine they were offering was a St. Emillion Grand Cru!  It wasn't our Chateau, Beth, but it was still fun and yummy!  Everything about the airlines had luxurious touches.  I can't wait to see the city on my way back!

Anyway, it's about 4:30 AM here, and I need to log a few hours of sleep.  I'll try to get some pictures uploaded tomorrow.  Ciao for now, Arizona.  I mean, Daddy.  ;)  Love you guys