Getting To Canada

I'm back in Canada now...

This time, I maintained a sort of a blog on my BlackBerry, where I kept a "blow-by-blow" account from the point I entered the lounge at the Karachi airport, up till the time I retrieved my baggage at Pearson. I thought it would be interesting to document the things I experienced as they happened on my way there...

So, without further ado, here it is... Happy Reading!

Note: Times are in the format "Karachi/Toronto".

6.39am/9.39pm: Sitting in the airport lounge now. Getting through all the airport procedures and stuff was, like always, a bit of a hassle. I should realize by now that it's all part of travel... Sunrise is looking beautiful from where I am sitting right now...

7.02am/10.02pm: Sudden change in departure gates... Yeah, thanks a lot PIA. From being at the forefront of the gate, to being pushed to near the back of the queue. Thankfully, was able to make my way to the front again, so I was one of the first few to board the plane... Now, seated in 24D, as comfortably as possible in an airplane...

7.09am/10.09pm: Just like last year, there seems to be quite a lot of people on the flight...

7.21am/10.21pm: The passengers are mainly students and hyper groups of kids with seemingly irritated moms...

7.43am/10.43pm: In-Flight Catalog = Can barely pass 5 minutes of your time... Oh yeah, the announcement just came, we are getting ready to depart!

7.53am/10.53pm: "... Umeed hai kay aap ka safar khushgawar rahay ga... " Plane taxiing now...

7.55am/10.55pm: Why is the background music on PIA so oriental, like something out of a Chinese restaurant???

8.00am/11.00pm: Fourteen and a half hours, 12250km to destination...

8.03am/11.03pm: Why are the innards of the plane creaking during take-off???

8.18am/11.18pm: Sooo... we are up in the air... And I'm already starting to get bored...

8.25am/11.25pm: Okay, so I thought I should check out if any movies or anything are available on the flight... Well, the entertainment system doesn't seem to be working yet... The pilot's going on and on about "how" we'll get there...

8.33am/11.33pm: Just got a pair of headphones and a smelly "blanket"... The latter is only suitable for use as an alternate cushion...

8.43am/11.43pm: In-Flight entertainment is on... A couple of movies are probably worth watching... Even if I might have seen 'em before... 

8.49am/11.49pm: Watching "The Mechanic"

9.00am/12.00am: Breakfast here... Let's check it out... Though this time, I brought my own sandwich, thanks to Mom, like Ron Weasley; difference is that I actually look forward to eating the sandwich instead of the airline food...

10.27am/1.27am: Breakfast was the usual omelette that didn't really appeal to me beyond a couple of bites. Ate a bit of the strange kebab they had provided with the omelette, along with a croissant with strawberry jam. Was still hungry, so turned to my real meal: homemade hunter-beef sandwiches... Thanks a lot, Mom! Now, movie's over, and on a full stomach, I'm feeling a tad bit sleepy. Might as well try to nap while I still can...

1.27pm/4.27am: Past 3 hours were spent fidgeting about in my seat, trying to make myself comfortable enough to sleep. I guess I might've gotten about an hour or two's worth of napping. Right now, wide awake again, will watch Russell Peters on my laptop, which will hopefully take care of another couple of hours, that is, if the laptop battery keeps up... Eight and a half hours, 7123km to destination...

4.10pm/7.10am: Had a good laugh with Russell Peters latest show. Didn't have any other movies on the laptop, so spent the remaining battery time on a few games of Minesweeper. It's strange how a game that I didn't get at all a year back can be so addicting. The ride over Northern Europe was rather bumpy... The seat belt sign hasn't switched off since. Will check out the In-Flight movies again, to pass some time. Six hours, 4900km to destination...

6.00pm/9.00am: Watching "Gladiator"... Felt hungry, so ate my second sandwich. Soon after, PIA served dinner/lunch. Didn't feel like eating much of it... I just hope the next few hours pass by quickly...

7.16pm/10.16am: Starting to get tired now. Tummy acting up. Plus, the air-conditioner seems to be down, starting to get warm. Still, three hours, 2200km to go...

9.12pm/12.12pm: Another hour still to go... I've had enough of the flight...

10.03pm/1.03pm: Descending, gonna land in 20 minutes...

10.24pm/1.24pm: Touchdown!

11.02pm/2.02pm: Waiting for baggage... This is gonna take a while...

I had intended to properly conclude the memo on my BlackBerry when I got my stuff... Unfortunately, by the time my bags came around, my patience had thinned out considerably... I rushed out like a maniac... And totally forgot about my writeup until later during the day...

Re-activated my phone, and begun and search for residence as soon as I had freshened up a bit... Unfortunately, still looking... most of the places I had listed earlier, before leaving home, are no longer available...

Gonna head to UW tomorrow... Especially looking forward to seeing the Mathematics M3 building, which now houses the ActSci and Stats Departments...

So, this culminates my blog post for today... I hope I can maintain the blog a bit more regularly... :P