To Travel Like a King

Being busy with work for the past week, and then falling sick for the past few days has kept me away from posting on my blog. Since I'm feeling better, and working from home today, I guess I finally have some time to do some writing.

Well yesterday one of my best friends called on his way to India for a 2 week trip. Since he lives in Cali, his best way to get to India is taking a long sorry ass trip over the Pacific which takes about 13 hours or so to complete. And not only after that, you have about 8-10 more hours of flight to get to India, if the layover (which is usually in Singapore, Hong Kong, or Bangkok) isn't long enough. So all in all you might have a trip that equates to or exceeds 24 hours in total (yuck!).

In the idea of a long trip, you surely would hope to have a bit of luxury. And my friend longed for such (and certainly I would too). We then started talking about our experiences going on first class in the past. For his first out-of-town interview, the company flew him out on first class. I remember how jealous me and our other friends were with him. Lucky dog!

Well I remember the first time when I flew on first class (pre-9/11), a flight from Cincy to NJ. Back then everything for passengers came very easily. I had amassed frequent flier mileage which I could convert into points for a free upgrade. Like nowadays, airlines weren't crying foul, and flying was fun back then.

So I got onto the flight, not knowing what to expect, other than the comfy seats. As I entered, a flight attendant approached me and led me to my seat, taking my coat. She then asked if I would like to have something to drink, and by drink she meant alcohol. I asked her about the wine selection. The options were Chardonnay or Merlot. I went with the white wine. As I was being handed the wine, I realized that the glass size was LARGE, not something I expected. So I felt that for the 2 hour flight, it should be good enough.

Then just before taking off, the flight attendants went around asking each passenger if they would be interested in a 'light snack'. Of course my answer was in the affirmative.

Once we got onto cruising altitude, the 'light snack' came into being served. The snack was anything but and nor was it light. It was a HUGE bowl of Cobb Salad. I was in awe, and was thinking to ask, "Were you guys joking when you said light snack?" And unlike your typical crappy airliner food, it was delicious.

My surprise continued as the attendant asked me if I wanted more of the 'light snack'. I was about to say yes, but realized that the 'snack' would disturb my 'meal' plans with my cousin that night. Then she returned to ask if I wanted more wine. I was shocked to see my goblet empty. I hadn't realized that I guzzled it down. So I thought, free drink, why not more? At the end, I have to admit, I had a buzz.

We were then given some warm scented towels to get refreshed, and some gift pack, which I recall leaving on the plane.

And as I got off the plane in Newark, along with the other first class passengers, I noticed something quite peculiar. There was this distinct difference of look on the faces of the people coming out of coach class versus the ones from first class (which kind of reminded me of the Seinfeld episode, "The Airport"). I kind of felt guilty about my short pleasure trip. But it brought to light the humongous difference between both classes, and the reason for the ridiculous price difference. The treatment was worth it (without me paying).

Post 9/11 I've had the chance to travel via first class a couple of times, but from what I have noticed things have been pared down, and the service a little less. Some people even say it may not be worth paying for first class nowadays due to the cutbacks the airlines have made. Nor do I intend to pay such crazy fees for short domestic flights.

Whatever the case, a long ass trip like my friend's, does warrant some luxury indeed.