After almost 2 weeks in Helsinki, today I had the first sight of Helsinki in broad daylight and good sunshine… yes sun shine!!! It is almost very difficult to see sun here… but today it was very nice to see the sun. Now, I feel bad about cursing the sun for heating our cities all these years in India... we don’t realize the goodness of anything until when we actually need it. So, long live our sun and its services to the mankind. Though locals still feel bad they are not having their regular winter with 10+ degrees below zero and snow! I’m enjoying this :-) One more thing I learnt, when there are no big clouds you have a lot of wind and with wind the atmosphere is even chillier than it would be when there is a cloud cover… howzzzzat!!!
Today I also realized how useful the ‘thermals’ that I wear below my dress, though it was shining really nicely, the atmosphere is really chill!!! Today I experimented without them and I could feel the chill encroaching me from every point where I did not have another layer of dressing :-) now that’s really scary to be so vulnerable to the elements without proper protection… so no more experimentation with the thermal wear.
Some things I noticed here… there is no strain involved in being a trucker here. Every truck I have seen in the past days has an electric-operated platform at the rear end of the truck’s payload area. Everything that is to be transported are moved on to this platform when lowered to the ground level, and then the platform as a whole is lifted to the truck level enabling the people to move stuff into the truck. This platform also doubles itself as the rear door… ah yes! I am yet to see any open trucks like the killer “sand tippers” that ply on the Indian roads. Also, most of the traffic inside the city moves very slowly, around 40-60 kmph and of course everyone follows the traffic rules. No one jumps the red signal nor do they do any “theatrics” on the road. Sometimes, people cross the road, only at the pedestrian crossings, when there is no traffic in sight. Accidents still happen though mostly because of slippery roads
I visited the biggest shop in the center of Helsinki – The Stockmann “Kingdom of Shopping” as they call it – and must admit it is by far the biggest I could actually even think of as a single store!!! It is really a ‘massive’ shopping area and everything under the same roof. You can get everything in there and with 8 floors it is really huge. It can be termed as a standalone sightseeing spot in Helsinki. I did not count the number of entrances it has, but I can correctly guess it has at least 6 different entrance/exits. It even directly exits to the underground tunnel station just across the road it is situated. You probably can get ‘lost’ in there… and the ‘pricing’ is in line with is size!!! Am not really sure whether it is economical… but I don’t think it would be, though!
Enjoying my stay here though a bit disappointed that I could not see and play in snow… but believe it would one day happen.
p.s. I shall put up a picture of the Stockmann soon
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
First weekend
After a nice experience of working from a McK office for a week I took the weekend with good spirits and some small plans. As always Saturdays are lazy and got up around 9.00am to answer a call from my mom and brother as we had to finalize the wedding invitation for my brother’s marriage in April. After a good 1+ hour discussion – on phone, on messenger, by email – we finalized the details and ordered for the prints.
At around 12 noon realized I hadn’t had my breakfast yet… so went ahead with the staple diet of couple of toasts and a cup of coffee. Coffee really awakened me to the fact that I had to wash my clothes… now that’s a kind of adventure. The apartment provides a washing machine to use, and it is tucked away somewhere in another block. It was more like a treasure hunt to find this machine and more importantly how does it work?! The machine is installed at the cellar of Block A of the apt. complex and the cellar had a eerie feeling when I walked into it for the first time. Lots of rooms and my key would open only those doors where I have access to.
Came back to my room to pick up the clothes, and headed for a 1 hour retreat under the ground. It was really funny to see the machine wash my clothes without water for around 5 minutes… I got suspicious that something is not correct as the machine did not use any water till now… and realized that the water connection has been closed just above the machine. Tried a couple of times before I opened the valves, and water started pouring in but it wasn’t in any mood to stop… got confused again but luckily the machine took the initiative to do its work properly.
With around 15 minutes to spare, the machine completed its work and went in for spinning and I wished the machine to have “hot air drying” capability as I could see only a few clothes line that too on the terrace of the garage behind my block. How in the heaven will clothes get dry when the temperature outside hovers around 0, continued with my treasure hunt to find another room under the ground which had clothes line under the ground and a machine which blows dry and “hot?!?” air. With a lot of questions in my mind, went ahead and spread my still wet clothes inside the room and waited there for sometime expecting a miracle to happen! All clothes dry in a couple of minutes!!! I had a big disappointment as it didn’t materialize.
Finally made a big decision to go back to my room and come after an hour to see if they are ready to be folded and dumped back into my wardrobe. Disappointment again! Finally after 4 hours inside the drying room, I got most of my clothes dry except a few which were still… wet in parts. Rest of the Saturday was spent indoors due to a menacing drizzle all through the evening.
Sunday
Woke up at around 9.00am with a determination that I would go out to take the tram ride suggested by Cia, today. So the day started briskly and I was out on the roads by noon and when directly to the stop where I have to take the tram. The weather outside was kind of chilly and my hands were getting stiff within 10 minutes of exposure. How can I take pictures when my fingers are not in a mood to move around? Fearing the worst, boarded the tram 3B which takes a circular route within Helsinki’s city center, paid the driver EUR 2 for the round trip and took a window seat on the left side of the tram. The ride took around 40 minutes to complete one round trip moving at the max of 4okmph. Got down where I boarded the tram, and went ahead to see the harbor which I had spotted from the tram and pretty close to where I stay. Clicked some pictures around the harbor with the fingers getting harder by the minute and holding the camera was a task in itself.
Strolled around the harbor area, it looked deserted for a weekend, and headed back to my apartment in around 10 minutes. On my way back an idea struck about having some good lunch at the nearest Indian restaurant to my apartment the Samrat. So, driven by hunger and the thought of good Indian food rushed to the empty restaurant, I was the first and only customer for them until the time I left that place. Went through the menu card with disbelief – you have to pay so much for our food outside India. With no other options but to have food, I went ahead and ordered the “Vegetable Thali” for whopping EUR 20!!! That’s nowhere a justifiable cost for 3 vegetable dishes, one naan, and a cup of rice. Well realized it is not worth the money given as the food was of the “ok” kind and not really a “wow” thing. Nothing to do or see, headed back to the apartment for the evening and now blogging the events for you.
More pitures here:
http://photos-by-sriram.fotopic.net
First week
After a totally relaxing and “to get used to” empty weekend, I got ready to hit the roads of Helsinki all by myself on Monday morning. Remembering the guidance and having walked once, I retraced the footsteps to reach office without asking anyone for help. There are some famous landmarks that “I” cannot get lost! the Stockmann department store, the Svenska Theatre and the Tunnel station, office is right there in this junction on the 7th floor amidst tight security.
Entered the office to be greeted by Cia, from the Admin department at the reception and by Netta and her colleague Mervi. Netta took me on a guided tour around the office and showed me the “pantry” and the coffee corners. Had the opportunity to meet many of the CSS with whom I have spoken on the phone from my office in Trivandrum. I had a 2-day induction program to gain more information about everyone in the office. Had to thank the IT guy – Janne – for he gave me a power cord and a mobile charger which fits the outlets here in Helsinki.
Nothing much to do on the first day than to set things right for my 5-month stay… the system, the phone, and my desk where I would be sitting. Helsinki is not a big office in terms of number of people, and all of them are really kind and caring. I get to see most of them everyday though a few consultants work from the client and are in the office only on Friday. Started doing some jobs for the CSS and hope they like my work.
Entered the office to be greeted by Cia, from the Admin department at the reception and by Netta and her colleague Mervi. Netta took me on a guided tour around the office and showed me the “pantry” and the coffee corners. Had the opportunity to meet many of the CSS with whom I have spoken on the phone from my office in Trivandrum. I had a 2-day induction program to gain more information about everyone in the office. Had to thank the IT guy – Janne – for he gave me a power cord and a mobile charger which fits the outlets here in Helsinki.
Nothing much to do on the first day than to set things right for my 5-month stay… the system, the phone, and my desk where I would be sitting. Helsinki is not a big office in terms of number of people, and all of them are really kind and caring. I get to see most of them everyday though a few consultants work from the client and are in the office only on Friday. Started doing some jobs for the CSS and hope they like my work.
More pitures here:
http://photos-by-sriram.fotopic.net/
http://photos-by-sriram.fotopic.net/
Friday, February 8, 2008
Helsinki – First impression
Thanking Netta for picking me up from the airport…we took a taxi to take us to the apartment they had chosen for me. A serviced apartment provided from Rivoli Jardin. It took us around 20 minutes to reach the apartment from the airport. I was already feeling the ‘chill’ of Helsinki. We first checked in at the reception of the hotel and went ahead to the apartment at the road behind the main entrance of the hotel. Finally we made it to the apartment at the first floor of the block. Dumped the luggage and had a look around the apartment.
A single bedroom apartment with a kitchen which has the basic needs for cooking your own food – a microwave oven, electric stove, coffee maker, water kettle, and a oven/ griller. The bedroom has a TV with a set-top box, and a DVD player. There is a lot of automation all around me here… we have a pass code to enter the building through all gates. The light switches in the common area are also automated… like switch it on and it switches off automatically in 1 minute’s time. This is really good. We don’t need to remember to switch it off J
Netta took me on a stroll around the apartment area, showed me the office and other essential places like the supermarket and ATM machine, the tunnel station, tram and bus stop, and other areas around the place. The city looks clean and traffic “disciplined” and the people are nice. Though English is rarely seen on the sign boards and even inside the shop, people around help us. The office is just 250 meters from my apartment and most of the other essential shops as well.
A single bedroom apartment with a kitchen which has the basic needs for cooking your own food – a microwave oven, electric stove, coffee maker, water kettle, and a oven/ griller. The bedroom has a TV with a set-top box, and a DVD player. There is a lot of automation all around me here… we have a pass code to enter the building through all gates. The light switches in the common area are also automated… like switch it on and it switches off automatically in 1 minute’s time. This is really good. We don’t need to remember to switch it off J
Netta took me on a stroll around the apartment area, showed me the office and other essential places like the supermarket and ATM machine, the tunnel station, tram and bus stop, and other areas around the place. The city looks clean and traffic “disciplined” and the people are nice. Though English is rarely seen on the sign boards and even inside the shop, people around help us. The office is just 250 meters from my apartment and most of the other essential shops as well.
More pitures here:
http://photos-by-sriram.fotopic.net/
http://photos-by-sriram.fotopic.net/
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
The travel - Reaching there
After a few minutes and when fully awake I headed to freshen up myself, yes with the kit of course. Once back to my seat, the next service! Breakfast!! Started with a serving of fruits and continued with the Masala Omelet that I had ordered when we took off, which I washed down with a good cup of coffee. Still some more time to land… my watch was still set in IST (~11.00 am) So, turned back to the entertainment… watched a nice interview of Sunita Willams about her Space endeavor and stay!
In between
Finally, the time had come for me to set foot on the European soil. The aircraft landed 15 minutes behind schedule owing to a queue on the air. Collected my belongings and headed out to catch fresh air through the aerobridge that took me to Terminal B at Brussels Intl Airport. Once into the terminal some ladies were asking everyone coming out of the gate, “Were you flying Business class?” and I happily said “Yes. I did.” One of them accompanied me to the next lounge at the airport… now this is an exclusive Jet Airways B Class lounge at Brussels. You can relax, watch TV or read magazines or get freshened up or browse internet (chargeable) or as always have some refreshments. There was a good collection of croissants, pastries, cookies, and fruits. Coffee, tea, Milk, Yogurt! Sausages, cheese… lots more!
After thanking the lady who accompanied me, I checked with the receptionist at the lounge about my connecting flight to Helsinki. Got the information that flight is scheduled to depart from Gate 56 of Terminal A. She also added that it is quite far and a complicated walk and offered to send me an escort till the gate. I accepted the offer with a thanks and a sigh of relief. Went ahead to relax, which I didn’t know would be costly, as I had around 4 more hours for the next flight. Had a cup of coffee and was browsing through the Times of India. At around 10.00 CET, started towards my final destination at Brussels – Terminal A. As promised one of the lady accompanied me towards the terminal.
As told to me, it was a long and confusing way to walk through. I reached the Immigration department of the Schengen area and a little trouble started here. The official wanted to see my invitation from McK HEL and the letter which stated that my expenses are taken care by them. Unfortunately, I did not carry any copies of these letters. Then he wanted to check my Credit card, then my ID card from office – which I had, a different government issued ID card – I gave my Driving license. Still, the official was not really satisfied with them. He asked me why am so late in moving to the other terminal – I told I was resting in the lounge. Finally, he said please wait at that corner and a his colleague would come to see me!!!!!!! Well, true, in a couple of minutes another official from the Brussels Immigration Police took me to an office and asked me to wait in a hall! My escort left me with the police and left after giving her mobile number – thank you Jet for the care.
After a tense 10 minute wait, a different person came in to call me for “enquiry”. I went ahead, I was nervous, and answered him with courage (!) I told him I did not carry any of the documents, as everything was given to the Embassy when applying for the visa. I offered him to produce an email which confirms my place of stay in Helsinki. So, opened my account and showed him the email, explained him about it. This person looked satisfied and voila! Stamped entry into Europe for me! Really an eventful and unforgettable entry!
By the time I was finished with all these, it was just 20 minutes for the departure of the flight to Helsinki, and honestly I did not know how far I am from the gate!!! Anyway, with a blind courage started walking towards what I thought was the way to the gate… and after around 100 meters realized I was heading out to the city of Brussels and not to HEL! Traced my way back till I found the way to Terminal A! I walked along till I reached the Security check point!
Here, it was really amusing when they wanted to remove my belt for scanning!!!? I placed everything, my purse, emptied my pocket, but forgot to remove the headphones around my neck. Next test to my patience, another officer appeared before me and said he wants to check me! No options but to comply went through with it and he understood that it was just the headphone and nothing else… he let me go!!! Now I added pace to my steps and was kind of dashing towards Gate 56. Yes I did start to walk with good pace on the escalator which moved on the surface, and had a shock when I disembarked… I was moving faster than I thought… I could feel some “g” force when I suddenly slowed down! and Gate A56 was at sight!!!
Onboard Embraer E190
With big relief of seeing the gate where an aircraft is waiting to take me to Helsinki, I rushed towards the gate to be asked by one of the airline crew “Where is your boarding pass?” Now that was a real shocker for me as all through this ~20 minute walk through perhaps the entire airport’s floor area, I never saw a check-in counter for Finnair!!! Howzzat now? But luckily, B Class came to rescue as the seat number is already blocked for me… she printed me my boarding pass – which she took back in just a couple of minutes when we boarded the aircraft Finnair AY 812 Brussels to Helsinki leaving @ 11.40am CET.
Now this aircraft is probably just a quarter of the size that I flew overnight… pretty small but looked clean… 2x2 rows and all seats looked the same no visible difference that I could see of. We headed out of Brussels 2 minutes behind schedule and queued up to take off. When we were waiting I could see 5 different aircrafts from 5 different airlines and mostly different variants as well take off before us. Finally, the captain revved up the engine and took off to take a steep u-turn and sky so clear, I was able to follow 2 other take offs after ours… and one of them a big aircraft. I had the first experience of hearing the “Finnish” language. They speak really fast and it is very difficult to differentiate words… as of now!
After a few minutes we were served the “savory biscuits” now that really did not suit the B Class. I was offered something to drink – Wine, Champagne, Beer, and Juice – I chose Water. We were served food – Asian vegetarian meal for me – a kind of flat noodles with steamed vegetables and salads to accompany. This time I washed them down with a cup of lemon tea. Now I was getting desperate to get off the plane. With 15 more minutes to land, our captain announced that we were put on a holding pattern again a queue on the air.
When we started the descent, we entered a cloud cover which in my estimate extended to at least 5000 feet. That is, when I finally could see the ground – which was covered with snow – we were just a couple of hundred feet from touching down! That’s really a BIG cloud cover. There was a little drizzle when we touched down, and the outside temperature read 2 degrees below zero! Cool huh! The runway looked soaked but the landing was smooth and finally we came to halt at Gate 23 of Helsinki-Vantaa International airport.
Disembarked the aircraft and took a walk to collect my baggage which I last saw when I checked-in at Chennai. Waited for my baggage to reach the conveyor belts at the ground level and there were 2 flights before ours’. One from Milan and one from Amsterdam, so there was loads of skiing equipments that landed into Helsinki. I collected my baggage and headed out to meet Netta Hiiros – my first contact in Helsinki
In between
Finally, the time had come for me to set foot on the European soil. The aircraft landed 15 minutes behind schedule owing to a queue on the air. Collected my belongings and headed out to catch fresh air through the aerobridge that took me to Terminal B at Brussels Intl Airport. Once into the terminal some ladies were asking everyone coming out of the gate, “Were you flying Business class?” and I happily said “Yes. I did.” One of them accompanied me to the next lounge at the airport… now this is an exclusive Jet Airways B Class lounge at Brussels. You can relax, watch TV or read magazines or get freshened up or browse internet (chargeable) or as always have some refreshments. There was a good collection of croissants, pastries, cookies, and fruits. Coffee, tea, Milk, Yogurt! Sausages, cheese… lots more!
After thanking the lady who accompanied me, I checked with the receptionist at the lounge about my connecting flight to Helsinki. Got the information that flight is scheduled to depart from Gate 56 of Terminal A. She also added that it is quite far and a complicated walk and offered to send me an escort till the gate. I accepted the offer with a thanks and a sigh of relief. Went ahead to relax, which I didn’t know would be costly, as I had around 4 more hours for the next flight. Had a cup of coffee and was browsing through the Times of India. At around 10.00 CET, started towards my final destination at Brussels – Terminal A. As promised one of the lady accompanied me towards the terminal.
As told to me, it was a long and confusing way to walk through. I reached the Immigration department of the Schengen area and a little trouble started here. The official wanted to see my invitation from McK HEL and the letter which stated that my expenses are taken care by them. Unfortunately, I did not carry any copies of these letters. Then he wanted to check my Credit card, then my ID card from office – which I had, a different government issued ID card – I gave my Driving license. Still, the official was not really satisfied with them. He asked me why am so late in moving to the other terminal – I told I was resting in the lounge. Finally, he said please wait at that corner and a his colleague would come to see me!!!!!!! Well, true, in a couple of minutes another official from the Brussels Immigration Police took me to an office and asked me to wait in a hall! My escort left me with the police and left after giving her mobile number – thank you Jet for the care.
After a tense 10 minute wait, a different person came in to call me for “enquiry”. I went ahead, I was nervous, and answered him with courage (!) I told him I did not carry any of the documents, as everything was given to the Embassy when applying for the visa. I offered him to produce an email which confirms my place of stay in Helsinki. So, opened my account and showed him the email, explained him about it. This person looked satisfied and voila! Stamped entry into Europe for me! Really an eventful and unforgettable entry!
By the time I was finished with all these, it was just 20 minutes for the departure of the flight to Helsinki, and honestly I did not know how far I am from the gate!!! Anyway, with a blind courage started walking towards what I thought was the way to the gate… and after around 100 meters realized I was heading out to the city of Brussels and not to HEL! Traced my way back till I found the way to Terminal A! I walked along till I reached the Security check point!
Here, it was really amusing when they wanted to remove my belt for scanning!!!? I placed everything, my purse, emptied my pocket, but forgot to remove the headphones around my neck. Next test to my patience, another officer appeared before me and said he wants to check me! No options but to comply went through with it and he understood that it was just the headphone and nothing else… he let me go!!! Now I added pace to my steps and was kind of dashing towards Gate 56. Yes I did start to walk with good pace on the escalator which moved on the surface, and had a shock when I disembarked… I was moving faster than I thought… I could feel some “g” force when I suddenly slowed down! and Gate A56 was at sight!!!
Onboard Embraer E190
With big relief of seeing the gate where an aircraft is waiting to take me to Helsinki, I rushed towards the gate to be asked by one of the airline crew “Where is your boarding pass?” Now that was a real shocker for me as all through this ~20 minute walk through perhaps the entire airport’s floor area, I never saw a check-in counter for Finnair!!! Howzzat now? But luckily, B Class came to rescue as the seat number is already blocked for me… she printed me my boarding pass – which she took back in just a couple of minutes when we boarded the aircraft Finnair AY 812 Brussels to Helsinki leaving @ 11.40am CET.
Now this aircraft is probably just a quarter of the size that I flew overnight… pretty small but looked clean… 2x2 rows and all seats looked the same no visible difference that I could see of. We headed out of Brussels 2 minutes behind schedule and queued up to take off. When we were waiting I could see 5 different aircrafts from 5 different airlines and mostly different variants as well take off before us. Finally, the captain revved up the engine and took off to take a steep u-turn and sky so clear, I was able to follow 2 other take offs after ours… and one of them a big aircraft. I had the first experience of hearing the “Finnish” language. They speak really fast and it is very difficult to differentiate words… as of now!
After a few minutes we were served the “savory biscuits” now that really did not suit the B Class. I was offered something to drink – Wine, Champagne, Beer, and Juice – I chose Water. We were served food – Asian vegetarian meal for me – a kind of flat noodles with steamed vegetables and salads to accompany. This time I washed them down with a cup of lemon tea. Now I was getting desperate to get off the plane. With 15 more minutes to land, our captain announced that we were put on a holding pattern again a queue on the air.
When we started the descent, we entered a cloud cover which in my estimate extended to at least 5000 feet. That is, when I finally could see the ground – which was covered with snow – we were just a couple of hundred feet from touching down! That’s really a BIG cloud cover. There was a little drizzle when we touched down, and the outside temperature read 2 degrees below zero! Cool huh! The runway looked soaked but the landing was smooth and finally we came to halt at Gate 23 of Helsinki-Vantaa International airport.
Disembarked the aircraft and took a walk to collect my baggage which I last saw when I checked-in at Chennai. Waited for my baggage to reach the conveyor belts at the ground level and there were 2 flights before ours’. One from Milan and one from Amsterdam, so there was loads of skiing equipments that landed into Helsinki. I collected my baggage and headed out to meet Netta Hiiros – my first contact in Helsinki
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
The travel - first leg
Chennai to Brussels
Hi,
First of all, I had to apologize since I couldn’t connect to the internet for couple of days, and so couldn’t really blog :-( anyway, here comes the account of my flying from Chennai to Helsinki via Brussels
To start with, I left home at around 10.45 pm (IST) to the airport by a taxi, and reached the place well in time... around 2 hours prior to departure. Fate has it that I met some of my relatives after a long time... I mean it... really a long time almost 6-7 years. They are part of my extended family, cousins' husbands' in-laws' brothers' ... quite a distance huh!!! They were actually flying to the United States via Brussels (?). After the customary inquiries I bid bye to my mom who was there to send me off! and proceeded for check in
Now, starts the fun... flying Business Class is definitely an experience to savor! Well, they had a separate counter for checking in, but unfortunately the entire system was slow so took some time to reach the counter. Before I reach there was this beautiful girl walking around with a laptop on a moving stand, checking the passports and stuff like that. One of the privilege is that when you fly business class, you don’t need to wait in the queue to screen your baggage... the airline staff do it for you and ensure that you get all kinds of tags that ensures that your baggage gets a priority everywhere... I really don’t know where though! After checking in, went through the immigration department and got an "Exit" stamp on my passport confirming am flying out of the country! Next in line was this lounge where you are accepted for free of charge (really?) Actually I forgot the name of this lounge... but man there are at least 5 of them in Chennai Airport, I started imagining how many will be there elsewhere
Had a cup of coffee and a sandwich before I went in for the Security Check. Now, you don’t get any privilege or priority for the security check... and behold there was a looooong queue there... believe it, there are 7 international flights scheduled to leave Chennai between midnight and 2 am. So, I had at least 100 people before me. Finally, after all these things, headed to the aircraft with 15 minutes to spare!
Walked through the aerobridge (Gate 6) to board the Jetairways flight 9W 226 to Brussels. The sight of the new Airbus A330 was really captivating… it reminded me of my office light gray color interior accentuated with dark gray… wow! Found my way to seat no. 2C (aisle) on the left side of the aircraft. Just before taxiing out of Chennai all passengers got two pouches, 1. Body lotion, lip guard, Facial spray, a perfume and one kit to groom yourself. 2. A pair socks with grippers at the sole that u can walk with. Cool!! There were a lot of controls to the seat… you could adjust everything from the lumbar support, leg rest, seat height from the aircraft floor, and even a massaging system for your back. You can change your seat position to cradle (more like our Indian semi-sleeper buses) and then the best part… a full flat bed! The crew was kind to make bed for all the passengers and they did it with a smiling face.
My neighbor was a Doctor based in Chennai travelling to a conference in New York via Brussels and he was a great company! A little talkative though... but was constantly comparing the service between Jet airways and all the other major airlines that he has travelled upon. He rated Jet, far higher than most of the airlines he compared and I had to admit! that the service is definitely good. Watched a couple of movies, wasn’t getting sleep... (Cheeni Kum and Black) and went to sleep at around 4am IST... not really sure which time zone I was in then
Most of the flight time was very soft... you never know you are flying as the cabin is very silent and no shakes as such. Had a nice sleep and got up about 4 hours later... and waited for landing in Europe...
Hi,
First of all, I had to apologize since I couldn’t connect to the internet for couple of days, and so couldn’t really blog :-( anyway, here comes the account of my flying from Chennai to Helsinki via Brussels
To start with, I left home at around 10.45 pm (IST) to the airport by a taxi, and reached the place well in time... around 2 hours prior to departure. Fate has it that I met some of my relatives after a long time... I mean it... really a long time almost 6-7 years. They are part of my extended family, cousins' husbands' in-laws' brothers' ... quite a distance huh!!! They were actually flying to the United States via Brussels (?). After the customary inquiries I bid bye to my mom who was there to send me off! and proceeded for check in
Now, starts the fun... flying Business Class is definitely an experience to savor! Well, they had a separate counter for checking in, but unfortunately the entire system was slow so took some time to reach the counter. Before I reach there was this beautiful girl walking around with a laptop on a moving stand, checking the passports and stuff like that. One of the privilege is that when you fly business class, you don’t need to wait in the queue to screen your baggage... the airline staff do it for you and ensure that you get all kinds of tags that ensures that your baggage gets a priority everywhere... I really don’t know where though! After checking in, went through the immigration department and got an "Exit" stamp on my passport confirming am flying out of the country! Next in line was this lounge where you are accepted for free of charge (really?) Actually I forgot the name of this lounge... but man there are at least 5 of them in Chennai Airport, I started imagining how many will be there elsewhere
Had a cup of coffee and a sandwich before I went in for the Security Check. Now, you don’t get any privilege or priority for the security check... and behold there was a looooong queue there... believe it, there are 7 international flights scheduled to leave Chennai between midnight and 2 am. So, I had at least 100 people before me. Finally, after all these things, headed to the aircraft with 15 minutes to spare!
Walked through the aerobridge (Gate 6) to board the Jetairways flight 9W 226 to Brussels. The sight of the new Airbus A330 was really captivating… it reminded me of my office light gray color interior accentuated with dark gray… wow! Found my way to seat no. 2C (aisle) on the left side of the aircraft. Just before taxiing out of Chennai all passengers got two pouches, 1. Body lotion, lip guard, Facial spray, a perfume and one kit to groom yourself. 2. A pair socks with grippers at the sole that u can walk with. Cool!! There were a lot of controls to the seat… you could adjust everything from the lumbar support, leg rest, seat height from the aircraft floor, and even a massaging system for your back. You can change your seat position to cradle (more like our Indian semi-sleeper buses) and then the best part… a full flat bed! The crew was kind to make bed for all the passengers and they did it with a smiling face.
My neighbor was a Doctor based in Chennai travelling to a conference in New York via Brussels and he was a great company! A little talkative though... but was constantly comparing the service between Jet airways and all the other major airlines that he has travelled upon. He rated Jet, far higher than most of the airlines he compared and I had to admit! that the service is definitely good. Watched a couple of movies, wasn’t getting sleep... (Cheeni Kum and Black) and went to sleep at around 4am IST... not really sure which time zone I was in then
Most of the flight time was very soft... you never know you are flying as the cabin is very silent and no shakes as such. Had a nice sleep and got up about 4 hours later... and waited for landing in Europe...
Friday, February 1, 2008
Realization to be
Finally, the day has come for which i have been waiting for long. An opportunity to see how Consultants - whom i have been working for for the past 6 years - do their work. So, now the time has come for me to see how my work is used by all these people.
Am flying out to Helsinki, Finland tomorrow night (Feb 1, 2008) via Brussels on Jet airways and continue from there on Finnair to Helsinki. Flight leaves just after midnight (IST) and scheduled to reach Helsinki by around 16.00 hrs (EET i.e., 3.5 hours behind IST)
So friends, keep looking at this place to see what i do there... i aspire to post everyday... so keep checking and dont forget to tell me how better i can do this.
Feedbacks are always welcome... look forward to a great experience ahead
with luv
SriRam
p.s.
http://photos-by-sriram.fotopic.net/ for seeing the pics clicked by me
Am flying out to Helsinki, Finland tomorrow night (Feb 1, 2008) via Brussels on Jet airways and continue from there on Finnair to Helsinki. Flight leaves just after midnight (IST) and scheduled to reach Helsinki by around 16.00 hrs (EET i.e., 3.5 hours behind IST)
So friends, keep looking at this place to see what i do there... i aspire to post everyday... so keep checking and dont forget to tell me how better i can do this.
Feedbacks are always welcome... look forward to a great experience ahead
with luv
SriRam
p.s.
http://photos-by-sriram.fotopic.net/ for seeing the pics clicked by me
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