Thursday, November 17, 2011

Enroute Hyderabad via Abu Dhabi

My journey in 2009 with Emirates was a good one, so this time when we chose Abu Dhabi, I sensed a photogenic airport. And the better part was, we neared Abu Dhabi just after twilight, so I could see a little sunset too (my favorite part) from the window. While I was hoping to see something like a beautifully lit skyline, nothing was visible that was striking. So, a glimpse at the sunset was all about it. 
The plane landed at International Terminal 1 and the break was for 4 hours. I wanted to sleep off.. somewhere.. just anywhere, in fact. 
The pathway to go to your next gate for boarding is a nice one.. good enough for those who like colors and like to see some patterns. 
The international terminal has been done tastefully, and that is for the eyes to see. I am not sure if the colors or the design symbolizes anything, but the sepal-like structure is surely eye-catchy. 
A blog I read recently, said the perfect way to travel was in a train and not in buses and planes. I so agree to that. Sitting in an airport, as you look around, all you will find is buried faces. They are buried in laptops, books, ipads etc etc. There is no time and space for strangers unlike in trains (I have experienced traveling in train for approximately 30 hours from Chennai to Delhi and believe me, by the time you get down, you know the complete family history of the person sitting next to you, sometimes you also have common friends and relatives!!) But airports are not like that. So we SHOULD have a camera or a book or a laptop to keep you awake. 
As in the rest of the world, there were some American food chains, clothing stores and a coffee joint. And after a cup of coffee, we started off to our gate to catch another flight to Hyderabad. 
I was going to Hyderabad for the first time since 2000 and second time in life. The Rajiv Gandhi international airport is not a very old one. It looks and feels new. Incidentally, the day we arrived, the AP govt. was promoting tourism in Andhra and there were enough activities to keep oneself busy. 

This completed our first part of the journey and we were on a break (from traveling) for about 2 weeks (but that was far more busier time, as we were getting married!)

The October 2011 Vacation

The plan was simple. We started thinking about it in March and finalized it in June 2011. One month. Go to India (Andhra Pradesh) and get married. From then on, all we will do is travel. We will see various places in Andhra and then go to BALI and then come back to India, head to Delhi and go to Mussoorie, stopping in Haridwar for some time in between, then back to Delhi and return back to US.

You know what to photograph in the places where you plan to go, but it is the journey that leaves you with unimagined moments, places and people to look at, and then these journeys become more memorable than the destination itself!