October 27th, 2008
In Soviet Russia, baggage check you!
I don’t begrudge a scheduled four hour layover. Why? Because shit happens. An original four hour layover becomes three and a half with boarding time for the connecting flight, three with a changed flight plan, then two-fifteen with three loops over Moscow because there aren’t any gates free, then one forty-five because you disembark onto the runway due to said lack of gate, one-fifteen to line up for a make-to security and customs array full of disgruntled employees, and then just about an hour when you get to your next gate.
Apparently zonno means “this seat is taken” in Russian, as in “my obnoxious, loud middle-aged friends and I are occupying this row with our pink hairstyles and gum.” It’s ok, Moscow’s international airport is a lot more glum than I imagined. It is indicative of similar economies in a state of rapid growth: half-completed and poorly managed construction all over the place, scores of valueless duty-free stores, and a single sketch bathroom. It’s incredibly dark; there is very little illumination and mismatched furniture, it kind of reminds me of old Grand Central– almost as intimidating, but a lot of the people sitting around look like fairly well-to-do Europeans, so I guess nothing too shady goes on. Not a lot of smiles though, unfortunately.
