Bolting Over The Pacific...

The 12 hour bolt across the Pacific Ocean has just gotten over. And trust me, there is nothing more magical than seeing the sun rise 11 kilometers above terra firma...

This was my third flight on Korean Air and dare I say this is one of the best airlines I have travelled on. That baffles me because it does not figure in the Skytrax list of top airlines. Korean Air isn't really over the top - it is understated yet super efficient airline. The stewardesses are super caring and friendly and the food is great. The seats, even in economy, seem to have a massive leg space.

There she is - the whale that bolted me across the Pacific. My journey from Oaxaca to Incheon took just over 24 hours and I am tired...

But now I am looking forward to my next trip a few weeks from now back home to India and possibly to the United Arab Emirates...

Plane Spotting At LAX ... Part 2

Here's another go at Plane Spotting at LAX after landing in from Mexico City...

And there is a lovely American Airlines Boeing 777 silver bullet taxiing in the golden rays of the setting sun...

And there she is, the silver bullet following an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 and a Alaskan Bombardier Dash 8...

A clearer view of the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737...

And a better view of the silver bullet!

There goes my ride back home tonight - the Korean Air Airbus A380...

A British Airways Airbus A380 in the distance...

An American Airlines Boeing 767 with winglets in the old livery...

Heading to Terminal 2 - the neighbours this evening are a Virgin America Airbus A320, a Westjet Boeing 737 and a Volaris Airbus A320...

The livery of Volaris is striking...

Boarded the Korean Air Airbus A380 - the neighbours tonight are Asiana's Boeing 777, China Airlines' Boeing 777 and Virgin Australia's Boeing 777...

And there's the Korean Air Boeing 777 that just arrived...

LAN's Boeing 767 with winglets...

Air France's Boeing 777...

Can't Wait To Head Back To Mexico...

And so here I am in at Los Angeles International Airport's Tom Bradley International Terminal after the 4 hour long flight from Mexico City. And I still have a few hours to kill before my next flight to Incheon...

And I went into a deep thought about this lovely trip to Mexico. Indeed this was my first visit to the western hemisphere. The stereotype I had so far, was that this part of the world was completely and totally hispanicised, with the local cultures "totally" decimated. 

But as I spoke to people around here, I did realise that Mexicans in a lot of ways were trying to discover their Mesoamerican roots. It is a fact that the Conquistadors brought with them pestilence and violence to this land. They looted this land and stripped it of its cultural heritage, killing an entire generation in the 1400s or 1500s, breaking a vital link that is essential for traditions to continue and thrive. They lost everything - their folklore, mythology, religion, culture, traditions and were reduced to abject poverty.

But despite that vital link being lost and the native Mexicans moving on, there seemed to be an agonising undercurrent for the Mexicans to rediscover their past and their traditions. And that is why they speak of the Conquistadors with a tinge of sadness and end up calling churches as temples!

Exploring Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez at Mexico City after landing there and in between Plane Spotting. And see what I found - a bookshop called Gandhi...

Gandhi Bookstores is one of Mexico's largest book-selling chains. The chain was founded in 1971, by Mauricio Achar. He had a belief that Mexico's problems were due to the lack of reading amongst Mexicans. The name of the bookstore was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and "his influence"...

Snacking at the Aeromexico Salon Premier lounge. I would say this is a rather unimpressive lounge but the waiters here were real good...

A billboard of the British-Indian sculptor, Anish Kapoor at the gates...

Taking off for LAX...

I loved the clouds over MEX...

Setting course for LAX...

A bright afternoon Up In The Air...

The visit to Mexico was indeed a memorable one, and I must say, I can't wait to head back, hopefully sooner than I would imagine! 

¡Hola, Ciudad de México!

I knew I was headed to Latino-land from the moment I checked in my bags for Mexico City at Terminal 2 of Los Angeles. The check-in agent, a burly Latino greeted me with a cheery "¡Hola Señor!" and that made me realise how similar we Indians look to the Mexicans. He probably mistook me for a Hombre Mexicano!

Only when did he see my Indian passport did he switch to English. And he was courteous to offer me a lounge card for the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge in Terminal 2 where I spent some good time Plane Spotting!

Three hours and fifty minutes after liftoff from LAX, we landed at Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez in Mexico City. It was indeed an incredible feeling landing here at MEX - not only did I have a good time Up In The Air, I had a great hot meal and wonderful company - the gentleman seated next to me...

My IFE screen showing the flightpath. But the IFE out of the window was absolutely stunning...

Filling out the immigration and customs forms for Mexico. With a valid United States visa, flying into Mexico is a breeze, you needn't apply for a separate Mexican visa...

Chose to go vegetarian for this meal - Italian cannelloni...

The American gentleman seated next to me and I got into a conversation. He is an airport engineer and designer and is working on the new international airport project for Mexico City. The Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto had announced the commencement of the project two years back and work is currently ongoing.

He told me that he frequents Mexico City once every two weeks to monitor developments on the project. And he had to say that the new airport would like nothing that presently exists in the United States and would be more like the scale and grandeur of Asian airports. He bemoaned the lackadaisical approach that the United States had towards its own infrastructure. I tried to be at my diplomatic best in my response to him... any guesses what that would be?

When we landed at Mexico City, it was getting dark but I did manage to do some Plane Spotting. The airport is named after Benito Juárez, a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served as the president of Mexico for five terms in the 1800s. And yes there is a major road in South Delhi named after Benito Juárez - linking Rao Tula Ram Marg to the Ring Road!

It was a short connection here at Mexico City. I cleared immigration and customs in a jiffy and headed upstairs to check in again for the short haul to Oaxaca. And I had to convert some money into local currency - Mexican pesos!

And now I am waiting at the gate to board my next flight on Aeromexico Connect - an Embraer ERJ190 to head to Oaxaca. This would be my second flight on an Embraer - the first was on Paramount Airways Embraer ERJ170, from Madurai to Chennai in 2007. Sadly, Paramount which was an all business class airline shut down a few years later...

For now, Oaxaca ahoy!

Up In The Air .... Part 38

After a couple of hours at Los Angeles, I lifted off in an Aeromexico Boeing 737 with headings set for the south-easterly direction towards Mexico City. The journey would take us over the city of San Diego, Tijuana, the Baja California peninsula and the cities of Hermosillo and Guajaladara...

Take off from LAX, the city of angels right behind us...

Back towards land, with San Diego on the south...

San Diego below us...

Crossing the slender Baja California peninsula...

This was an absolutely new Boeing 737...

And guess what - they were doing trials of wifi onboard! I enjoyed 3 hours of complimentary wifi catching up with stuff! 

The beauty of Baja California below us was unimaginable...

Crossed into mainland Mexico...

Lining up parallel to Baja California...

I loved the cool blue of the sea...

Setting course for Mexico City...

Lovely clouds as we make the approach into MEX...

Clouds get thicker as we make our approach...

And finally on finals into MEX...