Leaving Honolulu was the usual meticulous, time consuming process at the airport. Despite overpacking, there were quite a few things I ended up forgetting (guidebooks for Kansai, Kyushu, etc. were conveniently in the trunk of my car, parked in the driveway!). I also was reminded that I had not yet signed my passport.
Unfortunately, the gate was all the way at the end of the terminal so by the time I got to it, there was little time to walk all the way back to try get something to eat. The only place that should have been serving food had just finished doing so even though it was only 1pm. One would think that most airports with their painfully inflated prices would also have hours catered to bleeding wallets of the waiting passengers dry. With the only choice of a non-alcoholic beverage or an alcoholic beverage left, I ended up with an $8 Gordon Biersch.
One the plane I ended up seated to what looked like a couple. The man who was sitting next to me was kind of fidgety and was giving off some strange vibes so I did my best to keep to myself. Maybe the impending workweek he would have to face when he landed was already creeping into his mind, especially since this flight left on Sunday and would land on Monday.
As expected, JAL served up some fancy meal: teriyaki chicken, Korean scallop salad and a chocolate cake! Beats the sandwich and chips most airlines serve up. The complimentary beverages are another nice amenity.
Was disappointed to not get the kalua pig curry, but the teriyaki chicken wasn’t bad either.
Somehow, the flight attendants had ESP or something since they asked me if I wanted to move to another seat. Sensing the growing AT Field emanating from the seat beside me, I grabbed my carry-on and moved to the front of the section. Since the front seats had trays and screens that folded out of the arm rests, the seat was narrower, but the seat next to me was partially open. Some girl was crashed out in the window seat and partially into the middle seat, but it was much better.
At first I was semi perplexed by the ‘no laptop’ policy I read earlier, but thanks to JAL’s in flight entertainment system which included several choices for music, video and games, I forgot about it. On a domestic flight where there is only one movie on a central screen or a $15 DVP for rental, a laptop, DS, PSP or video capable DAP would be essential to kill boredom or escape from the (usually bad) movie that is being shown.
Ended up watching ‘Date Night’ and ‘How to Tame Your Dragon’ as well as hearing a few J-pop songs I never heard on a program hosted by bilingual Music Japan host Mari Sekine.
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