"I don't know if this feeling in my stomach is pre-race excitement..."

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"...or that burrito I had for breakfast"


T-7 Hours.

I got a confirmation for a room on the night of July 25th, which I will spend at the Comfort Suites Airport Bangkok Hotel. I need to get sorted on the packing, pay my bills and do some last minute errands, but all in all nothing to panic about.

As the taxi arrives I am actually prepared to go, and make it without further hassle. Flights are pretty much on schedule too, and it is a sleepy day over at terminal two in Stockholm. Even duller is Vantaa airport, with only one scheduled flight left for the evening. I walk around the concourse for a few hours until it is time to board the plane. This is when things go pear shaped.

I have not been paying enough attention. Even though I had asked the clerk at the check in desk to give me window seats I should have known better when being handed 43G for the transcontinental flight. I guess I have been out of the loop for a while. Not only is a G-seat not a window seat, it is a deadlocked in the middle of the fuselage seat. It is not placed next to a window, but right behind a big wall. And best of all, this section of an airplane is usually dedicated to a certain class of passengers. Yep, you guessed it.

I have been seated for a few seconds when I get a full family and their infant and the associated blankets, toys, foodstuffs, trinkets, clothes and what not all over my left side. It then takes a few more seconds to learn who will be sitting on my right hand side. This I discover when I get my right side swamped under trinkets, blankets, toys, food and what not accompanied by a big unruly toddler. Wonderful. So much for getting any sleep.

I notice that our flight takes us directly over the Aral Sea, and I begin to realize why some people charter their own planes for those kinds of trips. Oh well, bite the bullet and accept the fact that my travel log will be off to a flying start...

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