The Most Amazing Flight of My Life

November 20th and 21st 2010

The sad, sloppy North American and Australian faces are fixated on the China/Japan soccer game. All of them businessmen, and in their jet lag slump I imagine they are thinking about the only interesting aspect of this game: determining if the players are male or female. This is what is happening in Shanghai’s busiest international airport in the early Saturday evening.
I arrived at Pudong International Airport four (yes 4) hours early in nervous preparation of my journey to Bangkok and then Bhutan. In my free time I wander around the airport and eat crusty airport food that tastes like it was heated up by extinguished cigarettes. Experiencing the airports gloom reminds me of all the shitty flying adventures I have had traveling back to my home country. Luckily, I am not one of the sorry specimens; I am going on the trip of my recent dream.
After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, I boarded a dirty Chinese airliner and took my seat by the window. The stress of making connections withers away as the plane takes off on time. I sleep most of the four hour flight to Bangkok and wake up in one of the biggest airports in the world. In Bangkok I have to get my passport stamped and enter the country with my checked bags to re-check into my next flight on the Bhutanese airliner. As fate would have it the Druk Air check in opened at 5am and it was now close to 2am. I stepped over hordes of sleeping backpackers, found a simple Thai café, discovered the phenomenon of Thai coffee and read my McCarthy western.
After what seemed like a second eternity I was able to check my bags and get my visa OKed. I went through security and fell into a sea of blonde skinned adventurers fresh from their South East Asian excursions. Some more airport wandering and then I confined myself to waiting at the gate about an hour before the flight was set to depart. I looked around at the groups of Bhutanese nationals, Nepalese migrants, American, Japanese and Scandinavian tourists all eager to get to the kingdom in the clouds. Come boarding time, we took a bus to the small Airbus A319 on the tarmac. I took my seat next to the window and met my Bhutanese seat mates who were returning to their country from a telecom convention in Hong Kong.
By the time the plane was screaming down the runway my heart was throbbing with the force of a 367 horse power turbo charged whip, I’m not sure if I’ll faint or throw up or just not make it through customs without a stretcher—I’m too excited. When we are airborne the flight attendants serve me curry breakfast in their traditional outfits. I sleep a little bit but am woken up when the plane begins a descent.
On the ground of the plane’s first stop I peer out into the undeveloped rustic village we just landed in—it looks like Mowgli’s village in Jungle book. I clarify with my seat mates that we are in southern and to my surprise they inform me that Bagdogra is actually in India. I was in India!
After some tourists and Bhutan’s richest man got off the plane we jet into the open air. When the plane gets out of cloud cover I notice out my window that the earth is still above us. The gargantuan peak to the east is Everest!
Soon the plane begins its second and final decent into Bhutan. The pilot seems to search for the right valley mixed up in the jagged, mountainous terrain bellow. Then we fly over the airport about 3000 feet off the ground. We circle once all the while descending in order to approach the airstrip. The airliner nearly scrapes against the trees bellow before touchdown. The brakes slam us to a halt and I have reached Bhutan.
When the flight was deplaned many tourists got out to snap shots of the plane that just made it. I don’t, not because I don’t have a camera but I am eager to get into the country. I get in the tourist line but after an inspector sees my papers I am redirected to the diplomat only section. It takes forever to get through but after a 20USD fee I am in. I make my way through the tiny airport and outside to the greeters. There is this girl with a worried face scanning the recent arrivals when I walk right outside the door I hear ”Oh!” It takes a second to realize the face I have not seen for seven months but when I do Yuri greets me with a long awaited kiss.
I am also greeted by two Wheaton students Devin and Lina. Together we go into the town of Paro, check into our hotel and then we all go out to eat lunch. We spend the day exploring Paro, the neighboring teaching school and the region’s dzong. At every corner I am thoroughly intrigued by beauty and the wonder of a distant and beautiful kingdom. All day long I can’t hide a smile that has been hiding in my soul for too long. I am in Bhutan I kept telling myself.