Zooming Out

The cab started zooming out of KL, heading fast towards the airport. It was in the wee hours, with hardly two hours of sleep, that we checked out after an adventurous trip. As the car gained speed, the skyscrapers blurred, I tried hard to stop my drooping eyes from closing. We tried to capture our surroundings in our memory, one last time.

‘It was one hell of a ride!’ P said thoughtfully, as we deboarded the cab at the KL airport.

‘Yes, one more story before returning to the mundane’, I chuckled, ‘That was quite a save!’

While checking out from the hotel earlier this morning, the Grab app did not let us book a cab with payment mode as cash. Without OTP availability, we could not add any card to the app at this hour. Upon discussing the issue with the receptionist available at that hour, he explained that this indeed was the case to curb fraud or something.

Clueless about what to do, we asked him to book a cab for us. Apparently, it was outside the hotel’s capacity to book an immediate airport cab, that too at 3 a.m., so after some thought, he agreed to book a Grab taxi through the website, which would allow card payment but only for smaller cars. Tentatively looking at our two large suitcases and adjoining bags, we agreed, hoping for a car that would accommodate all the luggage.

A sedan arrived a few minutes later and thankfully, the driver agreed to adjust the luggage and off we went. Even thinking about the scenarios, my overthinking brain sent jitters down my body.

‘We have successfully reached the airport four hours early as suggested. You can relax now’, said P, watching my face whiten at the thoughts of ‘what ifs’.

‘Yeah, let’s get done with luggage check-in and immigration. It will probably take longer than usual since it’s off-hours, just like how it had happened during our arrival.’

Scanning through the check-in counters, we were finally able to locate the Air India counter at the far end of the building, yes, it was literally Aisle Z.  To our bewilderment, there was no queue. Getting closer, we saw there wasn’t anyone available to attend to the passengers either. The counter was closed. Confused, we looked around. Then we noticed an AI official heading towards the counter. Upon enquiry, we were told that the counter would open another hour later!

Why did they inform us to be there four hours before the flight then?

Dejected, we took seats in the waiting area, fighting the battle of staying awake.

Some forty odd minutes later, when the counter opened, we proceeded with formalities followed by immigration. Thereafter began the long walk towards the security check, which was nowhere to be seen. Walking what felt like miles, we discovered them just before the boarding gates.

Flight back home was spent catching up on sleep, dreaming about the comfort of dal-chawal at home.

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