Flight or Fright !!!

Afraid of those freaking rides ? Free-fall, Shoot up, Giant wheel in full speed. Try traveling Air-India or Indian Airlines. Fasten your seat belts, remember your near and dear ones and take off !!!
You’ll start loving roller-coasters !!
Trust me it works.

Air India and Indian Airlines
These are so special Airlines that they definitely deserve some place on my blogs. (I have finally started having some fun in theme-parks because of them).
Unfortunately sometimes I have to “ride” in these, I am remembering one such incidence, we entered the flight and the whole flight was so full of mosquitoes that I am sure they had just taken it out from a dungeon or some garbage bin.
They had to spray (I’ll prefer the word “pour”) it with some insect killer for about 2-3 rounds. After that though the mosquitoes were killed, the aircraft started stinking, then there was another round of room freshener. Finally after 20 minutes of circus the flight took off (20 minutes is nothing for getting delayed). I am wondering why dint they do this before boarding the passengers ?
Then came the “welcome” speech and GOD !! they speak it so fast (atleast 5 times faster than I do) that you can’t differentiate when they completed it in English and switched to Hindi. I don’t know what flight they have to catch ;).
After 3-4 hours, I started getting water droplets from the top of my seat. I called the “crew-aunty”, she stared at me (Oh yes I got scared) and then said, may be the AC duct is leaking, the flight is full we can’t accommodate you anywhere else. Please “co-operate”.
We just can’t think of comparing it with other south-asian airlines.
I remember flying in another airlines where instead of booking “Indian vegetarian” they booked “Asian Vegetarian” and for that mistake (which was actually mine) they were eagerly offering me 50USD !!! Our National Airlines, I am sure would never ever have even accepted their mistake.

On a lighter note, I have heard, none of Air-India planes have ever crashed… Wonder why ??

Commercialization ?

Got a chance for another trip to Ooty. Last one was about 4 years back. I thought everything will be a repetition but wow !!! you think you have seen it all but its never so…. Nature’s beauty is un-matched. Prefer day time traveling. There are n number of tourist points but the trails leading to these places are the real beauty… Oh no !!! what am I doing ?? Writing a travel log… No no…

I'll get back to what I actually wanted to say, while going to one of these points, as last time, I thought of having masala tea, sitting amidst clouds and un-manageable but refreshing cool breeze, I was so prepared to see the tea estates all over from one of the highest points there…. but as soon as I reached there, I was dumbfounded !! I saw a lot of shops everywhere (and many more under construction)… obstructing that amazing scenic beauty…. The view could only be seen from a small point… which was chocking with tourists…. So much has changed in last 4 years. Call it commercialization ?
All I could see were shops selling hats, spices, home-made-chocolates, SOFT TOYS (??) etc.
Shouldn’t we spare atleast these places from all these “convenience stores”?
I guess having some tea stalls and onion/capsicum “bajji” won’t harm… well after an 8 Km trek you are hungry…. but fancy garments shops there befuddles me.

If our dear government can take pains to put boards at these places about how much did they spent on “renovating” these places, they can for sure spend some more time on having a check on these shops growing faster than mushrooms at these beautiful view points.
(Constructing a good road won’t harm either :) ….)
What say ?

PS : For those curious people, I am talking about dolphin nose in Conoor.