Watching the Planes at the Airport

By Christina Kim - October 28, 2015

What do you do when you are waiting for your flight in the airport?

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Enjoy a drink, or a cup of coffee; maybe smoothie or a juice, while flipping through the pages of the gossip column/sports/business section?

Rushing in and out of the duty free shops to get your supplies of perfumes, alcohol and maybe those last minute gifts?

Roaming around the airport aimlessly, checking out their facilities and offerings?

Lazing out at the lounge, sneaking in that time to catch forty winks?

Perhaps none of the above, if you are still stuck in the line at the immigration counter.

I don't know if you've noticed, but it seems that the immigration has been taking a much longer time than before these days in their processing.
More stringent?
I'm not sure, but even with that overly early timing I usually have, I still find that the immigration is taking up most of the time I have; that is, if I'm lucky to have completed my checking in really quickly.

I'm serious, everything is just twice as slow these days.
It doesn't matter if I have already checked in online; because I STILL need to queue to go through the check in line to drop my luggage.
That makes absolute no sense, and definitely no difference for me to check in online, or not.

I am usually early, and I adhere to the golden rule of two hours before the flight departure time.
It used to be a good estimation with that excess time left over, following manual check in and immigration checkpoints where I would always have more than an hour to while away before my flight.

Nowadays, I would be lucky if I could even have time to enjoy a good cup of coffee, or even just to sit down and relax before I rush to my gate.

Well, not always, as there are times when I am really lucky.

Still, I make sure now I buffer even more time, if I want to just have some time to myself to enjoy before my flight.

I am really one for lots of solidarity; you would have known if you've been following my blog or if you're a personal friend of mine.
I like to spend time on my own, and just get lost in my own thoughts.

Perhaps you could call me weird, or just reserved, but it is just part of me.

Back to that free time we have while waiting for our flights, I think there is at some point or another, we would be doing any of the earlier mentioned.
It is just part of the routine, especially when you're transiting from a long overhaul flight or even had a really hectic business trip.
There will be times when we will just feel like lazing and just getting that rest, while there are times we need to buck up on that shopping list which we have neglected while rushing through meetings when in the city.
Then there is that time, when you're just awfully hungry because you've not managed a bite due to again, that hectic schedule, and you just need to grab something to fill your stomach to avoid it making growling noises (that would be extremely embarrassing) on the flight.
Or perhaps, you just need that cup of coffee.
No justification needed.

Everyone has their own preferences and perhaps, that routine they would love when it comes to killing time at the airport.

It really depends on one's mood or needs, at that moment and of course, the airport itself too.
(Some of the airports are killers at shopping offers; dazzling and beckoning avid or even non-shoppers towards their alluring realms).

As for me, I do all of the above as well; usually depending on the airport or my mood.

However, there is perhaps one staple I always try to squeeze some time for.
Well, it can be an early check in to my departure gate or just sitting at a cafe, or really, just anywhere I could find with good lighting.

I would sit by the window, overlooking the runway, or even planes parked at the gates.
Anywhere, as long as I can have that glimpse of the plane.

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I know everyone does that, and there are those who would just flip out their cameras and snap away, non-stop at the planes as they stand at the window.


Hey, look, Malaysia Airlines meet their neighbor; Singapore Airlines!
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You would think that frequent travelers would be bored of the sight of the planes and would not even bother to give them that second glance.

Not for me.

Unless I am really tired and about to bonk off, I typically would still try to catch that glimpse of a plane, once in a while, or whenever I could.

It is just an old habit that never dies.

If you ask me what it is that is so attractive about these planes, since I see them so often.
I would say, they really do fascinate me.

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Perhaps it is the way they resemble a bird, or there is just that something about planes that could just captivate me and lead me into deep thoughts.
Just looking at a plane, it could really make me conjure up so many different types of thoughts, and they differ each and every single time.
It is interesting, and that is the reason why I am just so enthralled by the sight of planes.

Sometimes I could just catch that glimpse, then focus my attention back to my book.
Sometimes I could just stare into a seemingly blank space; distant and lost in my own thoughts while planes land and take off before me.
It would seem like I am staring at the planes, but really my mind is already in a far away place.

One of the things I could tell you is how similar our lives are to these planes; taking off, landing and just parking in their lots.

I have shared my thoughts on one of my recent Instagram post; on how these planes bear the resemblances to our lives.

We are just like these planes, in many ways.

We take off when we are ready, or when we grow up in our lives.
We soar up high, leaving all that we have grown up with behind
(The maintenance engineers and technical staffs who have checked the conditions, are in some ways like our parents, family and people who always make sure we have enough and are fit to take off on our own).

Of course planes only fly a certain designated hours in the air; but symbolically, it can translate to our time spent on the journey as we learn to balance ourselves, in new places.
Planes continuously flap their wings to maintain their balance and just like us; it is all about adapting.
There is always new things and new places to explore.
There is no two routes that will be completely similar.
We will always have to choose the route and then navigate ourselves through; following our beliefs and what we have been taught to maintain the balance.

We can soar high and fly in the skies, and it is a delightful feeling when we are right up there.
We can see the entire world, and there are times when we feel like we are just on top of the world.
We could easily forget how the ground feels like, and how it used to be like standing on the ground.
The wings could have that effect.
It elevates us to our highest point of our emotions and make us believe that we are capable of anything, and everything.
It is that feeling of achievement and of ambition.
It is the sense of pride, which left uncontrolled; could lead to arrogance and complacence.

Flap our wings if we have to, but never forget our grounds.

Never forget our origins; where we came from and how we got to where we are from before.
It is easily said, because we could always say we will remember our origins but it was never really done.
There are many of us who could have lost ourselves; our true characters and that person who we really were before as we trudge through the different paths of lives.
Of course it is inevitable, because it is also a required process that we do grow and change along with experiences and the education we have been exposed to.
However, it is also important to be mindful.

It sounds complicated, but the key lies in one word; Balance.

It is all about striking that balance.

We can often dream high and aim for the best things in life.
We can work hard to achieve that dream and pave our own journey to success.
We define that success, and that success is perceived by us.
No one could tell us what success really means, except ourselves.
Our success is our own perception; and by our own definition.

Ambitions are great motivators to move one forward.

It can also be misleading when one could do just about anything to achieve their ambitions.
This is when one loses themselves.

They forget that sense of reality and that person they have become or who they used to be.
They lose touch with those around them, becoming more and more malicious as time goes by.
It could be that, or they could just lose track of other things besides their ambitions.

It is just like losing that sense of reality.

Imagine what would happen if a plane is to continuously fly on its own, without any contact with the ground?

That ground represents reality.

That reality is about staying grounded.

We can always dream big, and even beyond our capabilities, for there is no limit to possibilities to what we can achieve.

However, are they realistic?
Can we handle disappointments?

It is all about the Balance; maintaining that equation between reality and aspirations.

Dream if you have to, but always stay realistic at the same time.

It sounds easy, yet complicated but really, it is often overlooked in our pursuit of passion.

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Flying in the skies may be a wonderful thing, but there will be a time when we need to come back to the ground, to land when we reach our destination.
We need time to recuperate, to take that break and most importantly, to just refuel to prepare us for another journey, to another destination.
Perhaps, a longer journey.

It is important to make the most of our time at each point; be it to fly, or to rest on ground.

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We probably couldn't wait to take off again, excited at the prospects of heading to another new destination that we could often neglect that feeling and that reality on the ground.
If you didn't think that the time on ground is that enticing, ask a flight attendant or a pilot, and you will learn that true value of ground time.

It is not about how much time we spent flying, or how much time we spent on the ground; but rather, what is the real take away from each of these points?

It is about making the most of each and every one of them.
It is about enjoying that process, and making the most of the journey.

Life is always a journey.

It is not only about ambitions and making it a priority to just achieve the dreams, but there are just so many things in life that we ought to look forward to.

There may be no limit to the possibilities we could see out there, but there is always that time limit to our life journey.

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There is always that expiration date, that is stuck on the label of our life.

We just could not see it.

We will never know.

So, don't waste any of the time obsessing and lusting over staying high, because you could lose your grip and fall.
If you do fall, don't despair, because we need to fall to realize how important it is to tighten our grip.
It is about building our own experience.
If we never fall, we would never know how much it hurts and how safe we are when we stay within the boundaries.

Enjoy the journey; every step is part of the journey and every obstacle is just part of the learning.

Just like the planes; we will always have to take off, land, and rest.

Most of all, it is that view outside the window that we see endless possibilities and enjoy making those dreams as we are on the flight.

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That, is the journey that I am talking about.

So sit back, buckle up, and just enjoy the journey.

It is your journey.

You have the power to make the most of it.








*Author's Note: 
This is not a sponsored/promotional post, and solely based on author's personal expenses, opinions and preferences and do not represent the general public. 
Experiences vary from one individual to another.
You do not have to agree with me.

This is based on my personal experience and is told in a subjective manner, entirely from my perspective.

Photos all belong to me and are copyrighted.





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