The Arrival

Arriving in Ukraine was a bit of a surreal experience. I spent a total of around 24 hours traveling, if you include the time spent on layovers. Actually, it would be more if you count the marshrutka ride from Odessa to my destination city.

I flew a 5 hour flight from a city in the western half of the US to New York City, and slept the entire flight. Something like this is rare, as I always have difficulty with sleeping on planes. I think I nodded off shortly after take-off, and woke up around the time the plane was touching down in New York. I certainly didn't mind sleeping on that flight, but given a choice, I would've picked the next flight.

The flight from New York to Moscow was by far the longest amount of time I've ever spent on an airplane, and probably also one of the worst. The flight was on Russia's state-owned national airline, Aeroflot, as they had the cheapest tickets. I can't say the problem was so much the aircraft, which was an Airbus A330, but damn, the seats were very cramped. Or at least the one I sat in. My knees were pressed firmly into the back of the seat in front of me for the entire flight, and I was unable to sleep a wink. The service by the steward, a burly Russian man with minimal English skills who apparently forgot how to smile sometime prior to the fall of the Soviet Union, didn't so much ask for your order as much as demand it. I will say this, though, they kept the food and drinks coming pretty much non-stop, and didn't charge for any of it. I'll take that over a smiling overweight stewardess asking you to make it rain just to get some water anyday.

Despite the discomfort of my seat, the flight went smoothly, and was made all that much more so by a large video display that showed the progress of the aircraft. That was a nice feature that I'd love to see on more airlines. After 9 hours, the plane touched down in Moscow, and I was able to strech my legs and amuse the customs agents with my horrible Russian while waiting for the connecting flight to Odessa.

Arriving in Odessa was oddly similar to how I imagined it was like flying to the Soviet Union back in the day. The trip to Odessa went smoothly, and my seat was much more comfortable. However, by the time we touched down, I was having trouble staying awake. However, as soon as the plane stopped, we were promptly disembarked from the plane and herded towards a waiting bus, which was to take us to the terminal. After an uncomfo rtably long wait on the bus, we were driven to the customs building and then herded into neat, orderly lines. All of the passengers were deathly quiet, leading to an ominous feeling that was added to by the grimaces of the customs agents.

When my turn finally came, the short but very cute girl behind the desk wordlessly took my passport and immigration card, and spent about 5 minutes doing something that I couldn't discern. Then, strangely, with what appeared to be a smile and a subtle wink, she handed both back to me, and in English welcomed me to Ukraine.