It is quite an everyday thing to be stuck in a plane on the tarmac at the Denver airport awaiting it’s turn to get on the runway. It is, however, not an everyday thing to have your plane bombarded by huge hailstones while it is there. At first it sounds like some firecrackers are going off in a distance, until you listen closely and realize that the sounds are coming from all over the plane, until finally you look out of the window to witness the scary sight of hail rendering your plane incapable of flying.
This is the second time my flight has been completely cancelled and the first time I had to reschedule one. Having spent an entire night at the airport my back is sore, my eyes are tired, I’m severely sleep deprived and have been sustaining myself on minimally edible food. But I’ve learned quite a few things from this exhausting experience.
The bottom line is this: If you travel a lot you’re bound to encounter several flight cancellations and delays. The key to minimizing them is to
Trying to ‘‘save’’ those extra few hours is not worth the headache and uncertainty that usually accompanies later flights.
On the bright side, spending an entire night at the airport refreshed some old memories of spending hours on railway platforms and at bus stations in India. As there is no uncertainty as to when you’ll be reaching your intended destination, traveling in India is very seriously about the journey rather than the end, whereas traveling in the US is all about getting somewhere as fast as possible. I’m not saying that I prefer the former, I just feel nostalgic about it sometimes.
This has been too dramatic an end to this year’s Mathcamp. For what it’s worth my new flight has finally started to board, 17 hrs later than my first plan, and I’m ready for a warm shower and a nice shitty meal cooked exclusively by me, exclusively for me.