My life has been a roller coaster from the start of 2020 for a variety of family emergencies that I had to take care of.
It involved a trip to India.
Add to that a once in a century pandemic and it was the beginning of a novella. A thriller by some accounts.
I arrived in India when the virus had no name. Later it did. CDC and or the WHO labeled it COVID 19. Giving it a name was one way to steer public opinion away from thinking the Chinese were to blame for the malady that had befallen the planet.
Above is signage at Mumbai airport on arrival routing people with possible infection to go someplace else. Not the line that would confuse you if you had a non Indian passport (as I did and all windows said Indian Passport).
Since then I quickly realized that there was less we as a species knew about our new nemesis than we know about the Andromeda galaxy. Clueless with a mirror on a stick.
Human arrogance which I discuss substantially on this blog was brought to its knees by a micro organism of which we know nothing.
After attending to all my family duties and there were several from navigating the erratic and confusing banking world in India to a almost defunct phone service provider, it was time to head back to SF.
All the news cycles and click baits later I found myself in a situation wondering if my plane (owned by Turkish government) would take off as planned from Mumbai. Our very own POTUS threw a grenade as I was boarding in Mumbai about all flights from Europe being canceled. Sketchy on detail and guaranteed to cause maximum confusion.
True that.
Then the geography lessons blurred in my sight - is Turkey in Europe or Asia? Istanbul is a gateway city - to what? LOL. I had to laugh at the travesty of it all.
Many on the half empty plane wondered secretly what lay in store in Istanbul. For those that travel extensively - IST or Istanbul international airport is a brand new massive facility on the northern edge of the city closer to the Black Sea.
I kept taking pictures to document this surreal time, (last sunrise over Mumbai), as the marginalized portion of society took a crap outside the airport boundary seemingly oblivious to the looming crisis.
It was like a feeling of escape from what could be prison (Papillon images fluttered) on hearing the jet engines rev up as the 777 nudged back from the gate in Mumbai (possibly the last international flight out)
.. and then through Istanbul; with a stop in the business class lounge that allowed me to satiate my sweet tooth.
Then onto the last and final leg of around 13 some hours to SF. With a minor scare in US customs I eventually got through to home turf. Bay Area!
The air smelled so fragrant - must be the pollen with all that dry air and no rain - who am I kidding?
It involved a trip to India.
Add to that a once in a century pandemic and it was the beginning of a novella. A thriller by some accounts.
I arrived in India when the virus had no name. Later it did. CDC and or the WHO labeled it COVID 19. Giving it a name was one way to steer public opinion away from thinking the Chinese were to blame for the malady that had befallen the planet.
Above is signage at Mumbai airport on arrival routing people with possible infection to go someplace else. Not the line that would confuse you if you had a non Indian passport (as I did and all windows said Indian Passport).
Since then I quickly realized that there was less we as a species knew about our new nemesis than we know about the Andromeda galaxy. Clueless with a mirror on a stick.
Human arrogance which I discuss substantially on this blog was brought to its knees by a micro organism of which we know nothing.
After attending to all my family duties and there were several from navigating the erratic and confusing banking world in India to a almost defunct phone service provider, it was time to head back to SF.
All the news cycles and click baits later I found myself in a situation wondering if my plane (owned by Turkish government) would take off as planned from Mumbai. Our very own POTUS threw a grenade as I was boarding in Mumbai about all flights from Europe being canceled. Sketchy on detail and guaranteed to cause maximum confusion.
Then the geography lessons blurred in my sight - is Turkey in Europe or Asia? Istanbul is a gateway city - to what? LOL. I had to laugh at the travesty of it all.
Many on the half empty plane wondered secretly what lay in store in Istanbul. For those that travel extensively - IST or Istanbul international airport is a brand new massive facility on the northern edge of the city closer to the Black Sea.
I kept taking pictures to document this surreal time, (last sunrise over Mumbai), as the marginalized portion of society took a crap outside the airport boundary seemingly oblivious to the looming crisis.
It was like a feeling of escape from what could be prison (Papillon images fluttered) on hearing the jet engines rev up as the 777 nudged back from the gate in Mumbai (possibly the last international flight out)
 |
| West Coast of Mumbai dropping away as the jet climbs and banks north to its destination in Istanbul |
 |
| Humongous new digs of IST - northern international airport where most of Turkish branded flights operate .. |
Then onto the last and final leg of around 13 some hours to SF. With a minor scare in US customs I eventually got through to home turf. Bay Area!
The air smelled so fragrant - must be the pollen with all that dry air and no rain - who am I kidding?
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