The Flight Home to Bombay... contd

Although the flight was full, at my set of three seats, there were only two of us. I was at the window and a guy at the aisle. To add to this amazing luck, the seat in front of me was occupied by a 3-month old baby girl. Babies don't recline but they do cry. However I don't mind their crying, so it was a great pairing. The family with the baby and a young son were nice to chat with. We were all fellow Indians living in America, coming home to visit family and friends so had many of shared experiences.

One of the highlights of the flight was seeing Jupiter right outside my window as we took off. When we reached midway altitude, I looked out to see the big dipper. it was unreal. I just didn't think a view of the stars en route would be so clear. We were truly flying amongst the stars. Earlier this year in May, my parents gifted me a pair of binoculars. Nothing fancy but pretty great. Nikon 8x42 6.3deg Waterproof. I've always been interested in star gazing. Back in school, we used to have pretty clear nights. A friend of mine was good with star maps and she was our guide of sorts. In New York, I hung out with Peter, Charlie and others who usually set up each weekend at top of the big lawn in Central Park, viewing from sunset to when the park closed at 1am.

Peter's starblog http://topofthelawn.blogspot.com/

Charlie's blog (one of many) http://starsights2.blogspot.com/

A friend said view from a window seat at the wing is next best to view from the cockpit... I'd agree. Here are a few photos taken en route...