Two worlds across a missed flight

Two worlds across a missed flight 

The art lies in the expression, while the background ensures to bring out the fine furrows and bristled brow. To see two worlds you need to miss a flight. Warped in our world, we take flights from one warped reality to another and skip over the multitudes in between. 

Packed schedules, days merging to nights, blurred difference between work - life were seeming to get a respite as Suraj and me were scheduled to travel for work to Malaysia and then Philippines. Encapsulated in our time and zone capsule on a flight seat with headphones playing smooth jazz, pending jobs being cleared off with enthusiastic keypad tapping, no phone calls, no wifi, no need for human interaction and further the zoning with the do not disturb on the screen. The encapsulation offers a great respite where a lot of thoughts get clarified and get translated into plans. With this rejuvenation KL meetings went well, encapsulated again in our sterile hotels, then in the next flight and the next hotel and then the next - life seemed as close to zen as it could. Then suddenly our life crashed - we missed our time capsule. What???

At the KL airport - two automatons of encapsulation technology - Suraj and Sharat got off the plane, gave a casual look at the usual place where the TV scrolls the transfer flights - with a seasoned look they saw their flight delayed. Expressed the displeasure in the protocol as is appropriate in such a situation - slight nodding of the head, cribbing the habitual delays of the flight and the effect on the further plans. The priority pass assured the lounge and made themselves encapsulated again. Overlooking as the planes landed and took off they discussed work and shared a lots of laughs. At the time the flight was due, they got off their pods and made their way to the aerobridge. At the aerobridge they deliberately were the last ones to walk through. Here the horror of the automatons starts. This was not their aerobridge, not their gate, not their flight. 

The flight that was delayed was not ours but another to the same destination. Our flight had already left an hour ago, at the correct time. We ran to the transfer desk and on being told that the flight departed, Suraj extending his movie imagination asked that it departed but is yet on the runway or has flown off. If its on the runway we can yet get to it. But to no avail, it was already airborne 40 minutes ago. Now ? Reality did not sink in as yet, perhaps we could take another flight in the next few hours. But the person on the airline desk informed that only option is the same flight - the next day. The costs would be 400 dollars and we need do it now else tomorrow we would be on stand by. There was no time to think - it was a reaction, we needed to book. Fishing out the wallet that had seemed well endowed until now, seemed cachexic after this new ticket purchase. Next desk we did our check in - the whole situation seemed surreal, not real at all, us missing the flight, not going home for another day, money finished, Suraj insisting for an exit seat for the flight, me asking for a lounge - the people leaving from their desks to go home - all in slow motion. Further still we had weird sense of calm and panic hitting the same head from two sides. While expressing exasperation of how could we do this, frequent flier numbers were added to the tickets. Baggage that was labelled as hot transfer on our previous leg of flight due to short lay over, was now off loaded and to be collected after immigration. Luckily enough we had multiple entry visa for Malaysia and we could collect the bags. The another reality then hit, we had no more money. At the start we had much more than what we needed, but the course of our trip was lavish and many an impromptu events organised that ensured that by.  Now we had none left after the new tickets. The last bits of wifi coverage hung by a small bar on the corner of the phone. Hotels next to the airport were cheaper than our last hotel limo taxi ride, but way beyond our means now. The airport hotel for transit guests was within our grasp but out of feasible approach as we had now done our immigration and collected bags. The next one on the other terminal seemed our best bet - lugging our bags over 2 km, as the choice was a taxi or dinner and we opted for the later. The hotel by its name ran another establishment which was offering the price we had checked - was another 10 km out. Suraj now on his phone found a steal deal - in a airport suburb - with a free shuttle as well. Half way back across we scrambled to get the shuttle. It was a noisy squeaky rough imitation of a bus which in 30 minutes got us to the hotel. Standing in the midst of a dodgy neighbourhood stood a building of Soviet design and proportion. At the check in - the lady reminded the house rules. Our two beds seemed inviting by the time we entered at midnight. The sole apple and a packet of chips we had, made for a scrumptious dinner. Starting the talk and movie we slept at 3 and by when we woke up, we had adjusted well to the bed bugs and the crickets sounding out. We wanted water - but that would be charged extra and way beyond our means. We made our way to the lobby and the return bus and back through the immigration and then to the lounge again. We could see our plane pulling in and standing. It would have been there the previous evening as well, as we sat oblivious to it. 

The hotels at KL and Manila had not seemed extraordinary, they were what hotels are meant to be, the taxis are supposed to be taken, impromptu decision to host dinner for 20 people seemed very justified and most importantly possible. In our encapsulated time capsules we forgot a lot. We re-discovered the satiety of a single apple for two people. The fun of laughing on ourselves in our mistakes and loudly for nothing. An unplanned day. The despairing contrasts between the two halves of our lives. Money and work engagements bring in and take out so much that it had the potential to change our lives. Are we prisoners to our professional and monetary aspirations ? The answer being a resounding yes in my opinion - its a non-brainer.  

The automaton vs the ….. vs the what is what I am unaware - I am so deeply ingrained automaton that I do not even know the other version of reality. In this context my understanding of a work - life balance is skewed. The few days and weeks of living out of automaton world are so precious that its carefully recorded in photos and often remembered. The transient loss of monetary support had a drastic effect on us, what if its not transient ? Its an unknown world the other side where in are we equipped to be anything but the automaton that we are ?