A Fool's Journey

We left our apartment around 9:30 on Thursday, April 1st for our 12:20 flight to JFK. I officially hate that airport. We had to ask three people how to get to a specific terminal, then, we had to leave security to get to the correct terminal which meant that our dining options were pretty scanty. What was even scarcer, however, was seating. We ended up perched on the edge of a railing by an elevator eating Chinese food made by Indian women. We had a 5 hour layover. Part of this was intentional. We were changing airlines at JFK and Ganga had previously had issues getting his luggage transferred over.
As a side note, I have tons of issues with security at airports. For instance, I am sure that flip-flops do not pose a threat to national security. I do not believe that forcing people to walk barefoot over extensively traveled paths is conducive to safety or to good hygiene. I would love to see someone try to hide a box cutter or an explosive device in a flip-flop. TSA would be able to spot these would-be terrorists because their FEET WOULD BE BLEEDING. I have also inadvertently and sometimes advertently taken items through security without them being noticed: lighters, matches, water bottles that were full, a metal nail file and a handcuff key. I genuinely believe that the reason another September 11th won’t happen again has nothing to do with increased security, rather, Americans would kick someone’s ass before they let them highjack a plane. A perfect example is the guy who tried to light his shoe on fire in Atlanta – who lights their own shoe on fire as a weapon?—the other passengers stopped him from doing anything. Putting aside my inherent bias against TSA’s effectiveness, the agents at JFK are particularly truculent and very uncommitted. I was getting on a plane with enough fuel to fly to Mumbai without stopping, with nine seats across each row. These agents were not that interested. So, again, TSA, kind of useless.
One we got through security though…
The flight attendants on Air India have the cutest outfits. They have an option of a long red and white tunic with navy pants or a red, white, and navy sari. On our flight to Mumbai, there was a judicious mix of both outfits. By the time we left Mumbai for Hyderabad, almost all the (all female) flight attendants were in saris.
On the plane, I was struck by the fact that the seats were gold and red, what one typically thinks of as Indian.
The food and drink on international flights are plentiful. Right after we took off, we were served chicken curry and bendhi masala (okra curry). Ganga had two whiskey and sodas and fell asleep. Somewhere over the Atlantic, breakfast was a Danish and bowl of fruit. Later, they served chicken korma (a creamier curry usually with cashews and raisins) and dal. The flight was one of those great ones with the individual TV sets for each occupant and they had great shows like Big Bang Theory available. Our flight left New York at 9:30 p.m. on April Fool's Day. We arrived in Mumbai around 10:00 p.m. on the 2nd.