Viewing the mighty Himalayas from the plane

When I had to travel to Gangtok (Sikkim) on a business trip, I was excited because it was my first visit to the North East state.

My onward journey was via Kolkata and my return ticket was via New Delhi. Being a traveler, the Indian map is very familiar to my mind. The thought of flying from Bagdogra (nearest airport to Gangtok) to New Delhi triggered another excitement! Isn't this route runs parallel to the Himalayan mountains? Is there a chance of having a glimpse of mighty Mount Everest?!!!

The sheer imagination of viewing Mt.Everest brought a lot of excitement. I immediately turned to Google to check if someone has blogged about this experience. One person had blogged about viewing Himalayas whenever he flew from New Delhi to Bagdogra.

So now I had to ensure i will get a window seat. I went to seatguru site to get the seat map of my flight. Based on this, I had to book "F" seat to get the glimpse. And I got it. I was praying for a clear sky.

When I boarded the flight, I was all excited. After the plane took off, it proceeded towards South for some time, probably because to avoid flying over Nepal. After 20mins or so, it took the right turn towards West. The sky was clear at the upper region part. After a few minutes, I sighted the tall peaks which looked liked someone has placed something over there! Man! The tallest was none other than the mighty Mount Everest (got verified with Himalayan map)! I could see top portion of the mountain and the rest were covered by the cloud. It was one amazing experience viewing the mountain from above the clouds! The plane must have been flying above 9000 mts.

As the plane moved further, I saw a few more peaks. I took snaps in my mobile but it didn't do the justice. Wish I had a better camera!

Thought of sharing my experience so that if you are flying in this route, do try to get a window seat (if you are flying from New Delhi, get a "A" seat).

Being an Ambulance Driver

Raju is working as a cab driver in Bengaluru. When he was zipping through the traffic on outer ring road, it caught my attention because of his effortless driving. I have seen many drivers driving fast but in all those cases, i felt scared and was not confident on the driving.

When Raju drove by changing lanes swiftly and making himself path so effortlessly, i just couldn't resist and asked "How do you do that?".

Perhaps he understood the essence of my question, and he replied "Sir, in my previous job, I was an ambulance driver".

I murmured "There you go! No wonder he drives so fast but a confident driving."

And I continued "Why did you change your job? How was your experience driving an ambulance?"

He explained "Sir, when I was driving the ambulance, I realized the importance of every minute. Time is so precious. There were times when i couldn't make it to the hospital and patients died. They could be alive had I reached a few minutes early." After a long pause, he continued "It was a huge mental pressure, as it was a matter of life and death. I couldn't take the pressure anymore, so joined as a cab driver".

As we drove past Silk board, an ambulance was rushing behind us and Raju promptly pulled his cab sideways and allowed the ambulance to move ahead. He very well knows how it feels for that ambulance driver and the importance of the person's life inside the vehicle.

When the cab reached my home, I thanked him and wished him the best in his new job.

He is yet another cab driver in the city, but he knows the importance of the time and seen it so closely!