Today I flew from Kathmandu to Pokhara on Buddha Airlines. It was a spectacular flight.
It was a 19-seat, twin-prop-engine plane. Eight of the seats were right-side window seats with a stunning view of the Great Himalayas.
On the airport bus to the plane, the competition was stiff. Everybody wanted those eight RHS window seats. There was an Ugly American who announced to the rest of us, "I want to sit on the right, in a window!" and it was clear he would fight for it. There were 4 Aggressive Austrians, with too much carry-on luggage, who felt the same way but tried to remain coy.
I refuse to to participate in such petty competitions. Why? I don't know--pride, or principle, or snobbishness, or something like that.
So, the animals pushed their way to the front of the queue, and of course, the Ugly American was first, but the Austrians weren't far behind. They all sat on the RHS.
I was 3rd from last on the plane; two disinterested Nepali businessmen, who had done the flight 100 times, were behind me.
But where did I sit? On the LHS, of course, but directly across from the Ugly American. When we saw Everest (it was pretty cool!), I leaned across his nose and watched Mt Everest through his precious RHS window. What was he doing? Fussing with his camera. It read "low battery!" So he took the battery out and started shaking it, rubbing it, and blowing on it. Meanwhile, I was watching the Great Himalayas. It's pretty weird to be at high flying altitude and looking UP at mountains.
When the Ugly American finally gave up on his battery pack, he angrily took out his Ipod and started scrolling for songs. By the time he found his favorite song, the flight was descending.
In the end, I got the best seat. Not only did I get to see the amazing mountains, but I also got the cheap sideshow of the Ugly American pressing buttons on his gadgets. Meanwhile, the mountain view that he had battled for zipped by unnoticed!
It was a 19-seat, twin-prop-engine plane. Eight of the seats were right-side window seats with a stunning view of the Great Himalayas.
On the airport bus to the plane, the competition was stiff. Everybody wanted those eight RHS window seats. There was an Ugly American who announced to the rest of us, "I want to sit on the right, in a window!" and it was clear he would fight for it. There were 4 Aggressive Austrians, with too much carry-on luggage, who felt the same way but tried to remain coy.
I refuse to to participate in such petty competitions. Why? I don't know--pride, or principle, or snobbishness, or something like that.
So, the animals pushed their way to the front of the queue, and of course, the Ugly American was first, but the Austrians weren't far behind. They all sat on the RHS.
I was 3rd from last on the plane; two disinterested Nepali businessmen, who had done the flight 100 times, were behind me.
But where did I sit? On the LHS, of course, but directly across from the Ugly American. When we saw Everest (it was pretty cool!), I leaned across his nose and watched Mt Everest through his precious RHS window. What was he doing? Fussing with his camera. It read "low battery!" So he took the battery out and started shaking it, rubbing it, and blowing on it. Meanwhile, I was watching the Great Himalayas. It's pretty weird to be at high flying altitude and looking UP at mountains.
When the Ugly American finally gave up on his battery pack, he angrily took out his Ipod and started scrolling for songs. By the time he found his favorite song, the flight was descending.
In the end, I got the best seat. Not only did I get to see the amazing mountains, but I also got the cheap sideshow of the Ugly American pressing buttons on his gadgets. Meanwhile, the mountain view that he had battled for zipped by unnoticed!
2 comments:
Mick,
I am envious, yet living a long held dream vicariously through your journey. I wonder what was out the LHS of the plane...gentle foothills descending smoothly into fertile farms where local people are smiling while they move through their lives unaware of the unpleasant egos with which you found yourself struggling in that tiny speck of a plane up in the vast Himalayan blue sky. Mick, please pass along many pleasant American smiles of good will on your voyage - I'd like to be there with you. Your buddy, Bill
Bill,
You pretty much described the view on the left. It was the valley, dominated by two big rivers.
The people here are very nice. Believe it or not, I've met some nice Americans, too!
Post a Comment