All seats to Kathmandu on Yeti Airways had been snapped up so we had no choice this morning but to take our chances with Nepal's dodgiest carrier, Ghurka Air.
Confidence wasn't high, and plummeted further when we caught a glimpse of our 16 seat jalopy sitting on the tarmac. Resembling something I'd knocked together in a Metalwork lesson 30 years ago, it looked like it would struggle to reach the end of the runway, never mind lift us above the Himalayas.
Then, when half a dozen blokes appeared beneath the cockpit scratching heads and stroking chins, the alarm bells really started ringing.
A burst tyre turned out to be the problem, and Nepal being Nepal, it took 2 and a half hours to change. Not to worry, we reasoned, it'll still be quicker and safer than taking a bus.
Probably. But when we finally boarded the aircraft I was allocated the seat next to the Tyre Technician (his job description, not mine) and what did he do as we built up speed for take off?
Closed his eyes, put a flat palm to his forehead and muttered a prayer.
Call us a couple of old drama queens, but 3 seconds before leaving the ground, this wasn't what we wanted to see.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment