Friday, September 30, 2005

Life@Airport

Its been quite a while when I last posted something on this blog and I think, I should better get regular here before others like you stop visiting my realm altogether. Well right now I am sitting at a place, where no one would like to sit and relax until forced to do so. Any guesses…well…before your mind wanders, let me break the silence….I am sitting at an airport waiting for my next connection which will take after 2 hours (hopefully…always to be added when talking about air-travel). There is something strange about an airport. So many people arrive here and leave; so many flights land here and take-off, so many bookstores, cafes, bars, restaurants are full of people here yet no single soul would ever express his/her desire to stay at an airport. Have you ever heard of someone planning his trip and saying lets fly from Atlanta, GA to Denver, CO visiting JFK in New York, O’Hare in Detroit and then San Francisco International Airport in our way ? Well, airports have everything ranging from a McDonalds to posh Sports Bar & Grills, Starbucks, bookstores, restrooms, lounges, wireless connection etc which are essential for one’s life. There is a possibility of meeting strangers and making friends or maybe more than that. I agree that cost of living is a little high at airports and it would be hard to find a place to sleep, but still it’s not a bad place to spend a couple of hours.

I have spent quite a lot of time at airports (my sincere thanks to the airlines and unpredictable weather conditions) and observed them closely. I have spent long layovers at airports which were actually not in my itinerary altogether. While coming from India, I spent 3 days in Boston, where I was not at all supposed to be. Last Sunday while enjoying one layover at Cincinnati airport, I met a guy whom I have met more than 5 years ago for a few minutes during one of my summer internship in India. He didn’t remember me (evident from the big ? mark on his face) and was amazed (evident from the * in his eyes) at my memory (I don’t forget people until I want to). Without digressing from my pont, lest ask this question: Would someone be willing to accept a grand prize of staying at a posh airport for 3 days and 2 nights?
Edited after sitting at this airport for 1.5 hrs: I completely agree with the fact that chairs at airports are not comfortable esp while sitting with a laptop.

3 comments:

Twain said...

Hey, you should see Spielberg's movie, The Terminal, with Tom Hanks. The guy lived in the airport for several months, and he could hardly speak English! Let me know how you liked it.

winterdoll said...

i love hanging out in airports. they make me appreciate the place i am about to leave.

Ruxi said...

i feel safe in airports more than any other mass transit station kinda thing. and i like the big glass and steel structures.
i think airports give a sense of prosperity. by the way Ohare is in Chicago and I used to raom around that airport with my significant other at early hours of the morning like 2-3 am. We were waiting for the hotel shutle.
there were homeless people sleeping there and it was a very odd to see them there. It was virually quiet except for the background music