It might surprise you to learn that the airport security in Bangalore, India is, well, over the top.
You can’t even enter the airport itself unless you are a passenger. So, goodbyes are handled outside at the glass doors within handshaking distance of the machine gun toting militia member who is checking your airline reservation printouts and passports. That was repeated two more times between the front door and entering the aircraft, complete with separate lines for male and female pat-downs.
Clearly, the travel gods have been smiling on me, getting a surprise upgrade from economy to Business Class on the 8-hour flight out of Bangalore to Frankfurt. With a bit more space and the ability to recline just a little bit more than economy, it makes it easier to sleep. And that’s what my body wanted to do for about 5 hours, dramatically shortening the perceived length of the flight.
The Frankfort airport is large. A lot of walking to get to my connecting flight to London Heathrow. But everything went like clockwork. And after a short visit to the Star Alliance lounge at Heathrow to recharge my iPhone, I boarded the United flight bound directly for Denver. Boeing triple seven. My favorite aircraft.
Following the sun all day, starting at 2:00 AM will turn August 16th into a 36-hour day. In other words, the longest day of my life.
After circumnavigating the globe during the course of the last three weeks, I reach one obvious conclusion: we live on a planet of water. The soil you stand on is actually pretty rare. But then we are too.