Walking on the backs of the poor

...and we are darn grateful!

The trip is well underway! Anne, Sam, and I are at London Heathrow which is our home for most of February 4. The flight from Dulles was unevenful - quite an accomplishment with a 10 week old baby. Sam has been a rock solid angel the entire trip (so far). I think it helps that we can take advantage of the business class clubs. We are still spending a lot of time in airport limbo (more on that below), but being in a semi-selective area makes it much more comfortable.

Anne opted to check in as early as possible for our flight from Dulles. That turned out to be the best decision of the trip so far. At 1 pm, the airport was nearly empty. By 4 pm, it was a zoo. While waiting in the lounge, we met a gentleman who works for NATO as a part of the staff from The Netherlands. Obviously, he couldn't tell us much, but he works in communications and technical infrastructure and has been to both Iraq and Afganistan in the last two years. He was also amused by Anne's apology for feeding Sam in the lounge. They aren't so uptight about such things in The Netherlands. I think it help set her at ease for the rest of our trip. Also a good thing, given that it is a bit longer than expected.

Our arrival here at Heathrow was quite pleasant. The security staff were quick to note that Sam was asleep and opted for a manual search. The woman who conducted it was grandmotherly - and I think she enjoyed the fact that Anne and I are still pretty slow at gathering up all the bags, coats, shoes, and everything else that is neccessary for traveling with an infant. She spent more time cooing than searching! The next very pleasant person was the agent at the tranfer counter who informed us that the flight to Dhaka is delayed until around 6:00 pm. Our original flight time was around 10:00 am! The chronic winter fog in Dhaka is playing havoc on the flights, it appears. We've both decided that staying a few extra hours in Heathrow is better than being diverted to Kolcata (the fate of one of the flights this past week). I may have jinxed us, since I was so concerned about having a schedule that would avoid potential missed connections and many hours in Heathrow. I spent most of a day here in 2o01 due to a missed connection. I can say that being in the business class lounge makes a great deal of difference.

I should put in a plug for British Airways here. Despite the fact that the delay is weather related and we get to enjoy unlimited refreshments in the lounge, we each have a voucher for £15.00. Everyone has been very, very nice. That is much more than I can say about some US carriers that need not be named - I have already had the satisfaction of watching them go out of business.

It is now 1:15pm here, so we are on the same side of the meridian as our flight. We've spent most of our time in the lounge. This is not so much to protect us from the huddled masses in Terminal 3, but to protect them from us. We did take a walk earlier. Being addled from sleep deprivation, we bumbled through the terminal aimlessly. There are a few times that Sam may have been in real danger of being smashed into walls! (I should note that, technically, the stroller in which Sam was riding would have been smashed, not Sam himself.) During our time here, we have caught up (a bit) on sleep; discussed the benefits of trying to beat jet lag and adjust to London time (decided that was a no); and we have had time to reflect on the fact that the one time of year the weather is condusive to visit Bangladesh is the one time of year the weather makes it really hard to get there!!

So, we spend 12 hours in the luxurious settings of the business class lounge. At first I felt a bit guilty at the extra attention and care. Now, I do not. I am just very, very grateful!

Photos:

On the Way to Dhaka