Today I arrived in Kyoto, Japan, and during the flight I thought more about why I like flying so much. Because I actually do like the flying itself. And why would anyone like being trapped in a noisy, confined space for more than 9 hours, being served more or less disgusting food, having to go to tiny bathrooms, putting up with sulky stewardesses and other passengers who are always standing in front of the movie screen (where they always show the movies that I did not want to see)? It doesn’t really sound like something anyone would do unless forced under threat.
For me one reason is the fact that you are trapped without any contact with the outside world (unless in the new planes where they have internet connection). You have no choice but to just take it easy, read your book, listen to your favourite music or watch a movie. Normally I tend to be very efficient and use my time in the best possible way, which eventually results in exhaustion when I isolate myself from the world for a day or two. On the plane I am forced to just sit there, think about everything and eventually allow myself to be bored.
Although you might think that all flights are the same, you get the same safety instructions, the same drinks before dinner, the food tastes the same and the same message from the pilot, they all are different. The passengers are not the same, sometimes you’re lucky and sometimes not. The weather is different and you fly on different times of the day.
This time I left Sweden in the afternoon, saw the sun set and moon rise, saw the lights being turned on in the cities below and the stars coming out. As the moon was rising it was very hard to see the horizon, it was all just different shades of blue. It did in fact look like the moon was rising below the horizon. It was absolutely beautiful. And there I was watching the sky, sipping my wine not having a very bad time at all.
Also you can learn that “määränpää” means destination in finnish. I would never have guessed that you could fit that many “ä” into one word.
