Eight hours in transit...

It wasn't a very nice feeling to know that my co-counsel for the competition (a student of National Law University, Jodhpur) would not be accompanying as she had some problem with her passport and could not apply for the visa on time...After getting selected, I had left no stones unturned to make sure that we go for the competition and this was a huge disappointment.Now, the question looming large on my mind was whether the organizers would allow me to moot alone...

So, as I went through the briefs sitting in the waiting lounge of one of the departure terminals, I had more than a few things to worry about.

However, the state of the art Hong Kong airport was vibrant enough to help keep my spirits high as I dug into the briefs. My connecting flight to Brisbane was scheduled to take off from HK around 11 in the night (HK time is two and a half hours ahead of Delhi). In between the preparations, I did find some time to check out the amazing shopping arcades. A 200 ml bottle of water cost me 15 Hong Kong Dollars (around Rs.105)...the City of Life as it is known as is one of the most expensive cities in the world and I was at its airport...for dinner, I had the cheapest meal available in the cafeteria (Chicken Curry and Rice...was very non-Indian in taste and quantity, in spite of the name) and it cost me 55 HK$ (around Rs.380)...Of course, I didn't have water.

Thankfully, the 15 HK$ phone card was a value for money purchase as I made a few phone calls back home and was still left with few minutes worth of balance. I boarded the flight around 10:45 PM and was tired enough to fall into a slumber as soon as the flight reached a designated altitude. The Chinese fellow, sitting next to me was certainly not as engaging as the Sardarji on the previous flight (read the previous post).I got up only around 1:00 AM when the dinner was served to have a 'Chinese main dish along with a continental dessert'. Being too tired for any kind of 'in-flight entertainment' I resumed my sleep after spending few minutes in admiration of the left wing which dazzled like an enormous sword in the moon lit night against a pitch dark sky...