Saturday, August 11, 2012

Numb, and Planes and Trains (This week's Photo Hunt themes)


There are people for whom transportation is just something that gets you from place A to B.  They are numb to the delights of the journey itself.  For my part, while I do admit to wishing that my current commute to and from work could be shorter than it currently is, there still actually are (many) times when I derive some enjoyment from looking out of the nearest window and checking out the scenery and sights that pass by.  And even while I've been in Hong Kong for more than five years now, I still really do find ferry rides -- across Victoria Harbour, to and from an outlying island, or elsewhere in the territory -- far from mundane.

Still, it's when I'm on planes to foreign lands as well as trains, buses and other above ground modes of transportation that I'm most likely to be eagerly facing a window and avidly drinking in the views and very experience of viewing new and often exotic and cool sights and scenery that I'm going by.  And while my photos unfortunately don't do them justice, I really do count such as the island and ocean views I got while flying out of Okinawa among the valued parts of that holiday I took there this year and the very experience of the train rides that offered up many lovely views of the Rhine when I visited Cologne with my German friend a couple of years back.

But you know who's pretty numb to these travel experiences -- even when she is ensconced in the business class section?  Yes, my Puppet Ponyo (who, by the way, should not be a stranger to fellow participants of Sandi's and Gattina's Photo Hunts by now!) !  In all fairness to her though, it's because most of the time, she's actually inside my backpack rather than sitting on a cushion with a seat all to herself.  (And for the record, I have to say that those Cathay Pacific business class seats with that configuration you see in the above photo are not my favorites since, as may be noticed, they aren't all that conducive to taking in views from that seat's allocated window... :S)     

16 comments:

MaR said...

I enjoy the window seat too, when I am using ground transportation. Lovely shots and darling Puppet Ponyo. Happy weekend!

numb ~ plane

Gattina said...

I love to ride in trains, especially the Eurostar, it runs at 300km/h !

Anonymous said...

Hmmm - those seats might not be great for seeing the views but they are far better than the seats those of us in the back of the plane are sitting in!

Have a great weekend.

YTSL said...

Hi Mar --

So aisle seat on planes but window seats on ground transportation? Interesting! And I'm glad you like my Puppet Ponyo. :)

Hi Gattina --

Wow, 300kmh is plenty fast! I took a train from Paris to Geneva in the 1980s. It was fast -- but I'm not sure if it was faster than the shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) I took from Tokyo to Kokura a few years ago. :)

Hi JDeQ --

Yes, I know I shouldn't complain (too much) about those business class seats. And yes, they are comfy -- and my back is super glad for their being so! :b

sarah bailey knight said...

Hi Ytsl,

Puppet Ponyo looks so cut and hehe... how nice to provide her a pillow to sit on so she can see more when she's not in your backpack. No wonder my trying to entice her to come home with with me failed. Hehe...I should have offered her M's seat on our flight from Okinawa :-)

Carver said...

Great take on the theme.

Trekcapri said...

Hi YTSL, I also enjoy looking out the window on trains and planes for the great views. It sort of helps to make the long journey go by a little bit quicker. And little Ms. Ponyo looks so cute in first class. Lucky gal. :)

Great take on the dual themes. Have a wonderful weekend.

YTSL said...

Hi sbk --

Is "cut" new American slang or were you aiming for "cute"? ;)

In any case, Puppet Ponyo says to tell you that she'd love to meet up with you again sometime but ya, she prefers my home -- not least because it's also home to her beloved sisters, Pirate Ponyo and Stress Ponyo! ;b

Hi Carver --

Thank you! :)

Hi Kathy --

Teehee... Puppet Ponyo says to tell you that she's never been in the first class cabins of planes, "only" business class ones... ;b

Hope you have a good weekend too. :)

Annie said...

I really like the colors and clouds in that first photo. And nice to see Ponyo!

eastcoastlife said...

I would like a window seat on an airplane but the aisle seat is more convenient. :)

I don't take the MRT in Singapore often. I don't consider it a train because I get from East to West in half an hour. And it's not a bullet train, Singapore's just too tiny! :P

sarah bailey knight said...

hi again YTSL,

Yes, I meant cute. And please tell Puppet Ponyo that as much as I would like her company I think the company of you and her sisters is more important.

YTSL said...

Hi Annie --

I like the colors of that first photo too. What struck me most when viewing it again months after I took it is that it looks like abstract art at first glance -- and then one makes out the waves, the corals, beaches, etc.

And yay, another person who likes Puppet Ponyo. :)

Hi EastCoastLife --

Re the MRT: well, I consider Hong Kong's MTR a train -- even though some of the rides I take on it are as short as 15 minutes in length! ;b

Hi again sbk --

Awwww, thanks for your understanding and yes, will relay that message to Puppet Ponyo. :)

Vicki said...

I like how you wove the two themes together.

My numb is at http://hindmarsh-island.com/?p=778

alejna said...

I completely share your love of planes & trains, and the views you can see from the windows thereof. (I think you knew that, though!)

Really great photos of the views (especially that top one), and fun to see Puppet Ponyo make an appearance again. She makes me think I need a mascot for my own travels!

mariposa said...

I enjoy the window seat as well and watch at beautiful places that i pass by.

Mariposa's PhotoHunt

YTSL said...

Hi Vicki --

Thanks. It was a bit of a challenge to do so but I guess the double themes make the Photo Hunt challenges doubly interesting! :)

Hi alejna --

Yep, I know you share my love of planes, trains and the views to be had from their windows. And ya, I think it'd be fun for you to have a travel companion/mascot like Puppet Ponyo. :)

Hi mariposa --

I sometimes like looking at the clouds viewable from aeroplane windows too. :b