Here I am, back again in USA. This was an unexpected trip, and I was not in the right mindset for travel. To add to that, I had to work the two weekends prior to my travel and as if that was not enough I acquired cold and throat infection a week before my travel. Fortunately the cold subsided by the time that I had to travel but the throat infection was lingering around. I was traveling by Qatar Airlines, again, the airlines chosen by God out of the love he has for me and the things I say.
It all started with the security at the airport in Hyderabad. Out of the blue they decided to follow the security protocols followed by the airports in USA. So the lady officer asked me in a threatening tone to remove the laptop from the bag, if there is one and then my jacket and then my shoes. I saw where this was going and emptied my pockets and put everything into the tray including my passport and boarding pass. She was offended and called me back, and said take your passport and boarding pass with you and added "Do I have to tell everything???" to which I really wanted to say " No, I will just read your mind". I gathered enough courage to tell her that this was not how it was done earlier. In all that hurry, while collecting my things from the tray, I left my pen in the tray and the tray went back to that security officer by the time I realized. I didn't have the guts to go back and ask her to return my pen.
Now there is something everybody should know, I have to have a pen when I travel, I don't know why but I get paranoid if I don't carry a pen during travel. It really doesn't serve any purpose other than filling landing and customs cards. One could say I can borrow a pen from somebody beside me or from the air hostess, are you crazy!!! weren't you reading what I wrote above, I have to have a pen, I don't borrow pens. There are times when I entered a bank found that I didn't carry a pen, went out to a shop, bought a pen and went back to the bank. I remembered that there was an Odyssey store (store that sold books and stationery) inside the airport so I went inside confidently only to find out that they have closed the store to open a liquor store in that place. I couldn't see, but I was sure the big guy upstairs was smiling at my predicament.
I tried to divert my mind by calling and talking to people in USA starting with East Coast and ending with West Coast and devised a secret plan in the back of my mind. So I got into the plane slept through the flight and landed at Doha. I had two hours and I knew I had to pass through a special security check for USA bound flights and for that I have to be in the line for security at least one and half hour before the boarding started for that flight. So I raced through the shopping area, found a "I love Doha" pen and when I checked the price at the counter, the sales guy said 5 Dollars with a smug smile. I could hear God ROFL... but I went ahead and bought the pen anyway. At least I have peace of mind. The next stop was Restrooms and there was a queue, that is one place where I hate to wait in a queue.
I stood in the line for security clearance still wondering why do we have to do it, even after clearing security, traveling International and going through security clearance to get into Doha airport. I heard the guy at the security shouting , no liquids, no sprays, remove laptop from the bag, empty your pockets, remove your belt, remove your shoes, pass through the metal detector and stand still while we grope your body parts. Suddenly our eyes met and we had this telepathic conversation.
Me: Yeah we will remove everything including our dignity and self respect along with other items!!
Security Guy: Would you rather have yourself blown to pieces in mid air by some lunatic psychopath??
Me: Ummm, Do you want me to go for the Full Monty!!!
After clearing the security, I joined the queue for boarding with only 10 minutes left, where they herded all the passengers to ground floor where there was no air conditioning and no provision to sit. Another long wait there and then the bus arrives and takes us to the plane, the plane is not ready and they make us wait in the bus which reminded me of a freezer. The cold and throat infection germs which were slowly withering and dying got their energy booster from that air conditioning and I started to sneeze and cough in the flight. Fortunately I was carrying all the medication with me in my pocket, so I took out a pill each for cold and throat infection and sent them down my throat for the battle. A girl , was sitting beside me with the same problem, so I gave her the medicine so she could stop coughing and I could go back to my sleep. The rest of the flight was uneventful, and I landed in Washington D.C where I had to recheck-in my luggage for the local flight to Denver. When I got to Denver, out of the three bags that I checked in, one did not arrive, and that was the bag with all my clothes and essentials.Needless to say I could hear more ROFL in the background. I got my bag delivered the next day to the office. This is what happened so far... Will be back with more
It all started with the security at the airport in Hyderabad. Out of the blue they decided to follow the security protocols followed by the airports in USA. So the lady officer asked me in a threatening tone to remove the laptop from the bag, if there is one and then my jacket and then my shoes. I saw where this was going and emptied my pockets and put everything into the tray including my passport and boarding pass. She was offended and called me back, and said take your passport and boarding pass with you and added "Do I have to tell everything???" to which I really wanted to say " No, I will just read your mind". I gathered enough courage to tell her that this was not how it was done earlier. In all that hurry, while collecting my things from the tray, I left my pen in the tray and the tray went back to that security officer by the time I realized. I didn't have the guts to go back and ask her to return my pen.
Now there is something everybody should know, I have to have a pen when I travel, I don't know why but I get paranoid if I don't carry a pen during travel. It really doesn't serve any purpose other than filling landing and customs cards. One could say I can borrow a pen from somebody beside me or from the air hostess, are you crazy!!! weren't you reading what I wrote above, I have to have a pen, I don't borrow pens. There are times when I entered a bank found that I didn't carry a pen, went out to a shop, bought a pen and went back to the bank. I remembered that there was an Odyssey store (store that sold books and stationery) inside the airport so I went inside confidently only to find out that they have closed the store to open a liquor store in that place. I couldn't see, but I was sure the big guy upstairs was smiling at my predicament.
I tried to divert my mind by calling and talking to people in USA starting with East Coast and ending with West Coast and devised a secret plan in the back of my mind. So I got into the plane slept through the flight and landed at Doha. I had two hours and I knew I had to pass through a special security check for USA bound flights and for that I have to be in the line for security at least one and half hour before the boarding started for that flight. So I raced through the shopping area, found a "I love Doha" pen and when I checked the price at the counter, the sales guy said 5 Dollars with a smug smile. I could hear God ROFL... but I went ahead and bought the pen anyway. At least I have peace of mind. The next stop was Restrooms and there was a queue, that is one place where I hate to wait in a queue.
I stood in the line for security clearance still wondering why do we have to do it, even after clearing security, traveling International and going through security clearance to get into Doha airport. I heard the guy at the security shouting , no liquids, no sprays, remove laptop from the bag, empty your pockets, remove your belt, remove your shoes, pass through the metal detector and stand still while we grope your body parts. Suddenly our eyes met and we had this telepathic conversation.
Me: Yeah we will remove everything including our dignity and self respect along with other items!!
Security Guy: Would you rather have yourself blown to pieces in mid air by some lunatic psychopath??
Me: Ummm, Do you want me to go for the Full Monty!!!
After clearing the security, I joined the queue for boarding with only 10 minutes left, where they herded all the passengers to ground floor where there was no air conditioning and no provision to sit. Another long wait there and then the bus arrives and takes us to the plane, the plane is not ready and they make us wait in the bus which reminded me of a freezer. The cold and throat infection germs which were slowly withering and dying got their energy booster from that air conditioning and I started to sneeze and cough in the flight. Fortunately I was carrying all the medication with me in my pocket, so I took out a pill each for cold and throat infection and sent them down my throat for the battle. A girl , was sitting beside me with the same problem, so I gave her the medicine so she could stop coughing and I could go back to my sleep. The rest of the flight was uneventful, and I landed in Washington D.C where I had to recheck-in my luggage for the local flight to Denver. When I got to Denver, out of the three bags that I checked in, one did not arrive, and that was the bag with all my clothes and essentials.Needless to say I could hear more ROFL in the background. I got my bag delivered the next day to the office. This is what happened so far... Will be back with more
