Let's be honest - I'm dreading this flight. Not to put down the fine Air Canada
staff (Air Canada flight 1 (1!) AirBus A340) but 13 and 1/2 hours in a little tube could
strain any relationship. Not that I have a relationship with anyone on board, but ...
However, it turns out that the plane was less than half-full, so I got a
window-seat section to myself.
Luxury.
We take off on time, and have a 45-minute climb to our cruising altitude of 37,000 feet
(11.2 kilometers). At
this point, Air Canada finally decides to trust us with entertainment, and headsets. After the
first snack, and then the first movie, the first hot meal arrives. And after the noodles
and rice are gone, under the fruit cup is where I find
my mascot for the trip:
Everybody, meet Larry, the Soy-Fish. (You can click on Larry, or any other pictures in the
log, to see them bigger). Larry is not even the size of my thumb, and he's full of salty
soy sauce goodness! I'm hoping to get more Larry's on the trip, 'cause for some reason I'm
delighted by him. The Japanese. Fanciful containers for everyday objects add to
life's' enjoyment.
But why a fish for soy sauce?
I'm not going to do this hour-by-hour, as most of the hours aren't that interesting. We get
fed, and shown movies, and I nap a little, but not too much, since we're arriving at 4:00 in
the afternoon Tokyo time, and I want to stay awake 'till the time zone is sleeping. I also have
a chat about digital cameras with "Smart Jennifer", one of the Flight Attendants. I dubbed
her "Smart" since she was the only woman on the crew with glasses, and if T.V. and movies have taught
me anything, it's that women with glasses are smarter, prettier, and better people than their
keener-eyed sisters.
As an humorous aside, I will note that one of the movies is Steven Soderbergs "Out of
Sight", which I had been discussing with Lori just Saturday night. For those keeping score
the others were "Crocodile Dundee in L.A." (didn't watch), "Spy Kids" (did watch, 2.3 out
of 5), and "Moulin Rouge" (napped through, so I was haunted by Nicole Kidman's face juxtaposed
with the most bizarre images - I gather that is how the movie was received).
The flight was supposed to be 13 hours and 9 minutes flying, but due to traffic we spend an
extra half-hour circling Narita (the airport). Unfortunately, the clouds were down to the
deck, so I couldn't see anything. At 4:20 p.m. local time, 13 hours and 23 minutes after taking
off, we touch down. And now it's Monday, the 10th.
(11.2 kilometers). At
this point, Air Canada finally decides to trust us with entertainment, and headsets. After the
first snack, and then the first movie, the first hot meal arrives. And after the noodles
and rice are gone, under the fruit cup is where I find
my mascot for the trip:
Everybody, meet Larry, the Soy-Fish. (You can click on Larry, or any other pictures in the
log, to see them bigger). Larry is not even the size of my thumb, and he's full of salty
soy sauce goodness! I'm hoping to get more Larry's on the trip, 'cause for some reason I'm
delighted by him. The Japanese. Fanciful containers for everyday objects add to
life's' enjoyment.
But why a fish for soy sauce?