Aisle Be Damned and the Art of Air Travelling

What have I noticed in all my not that frequent and extravagant but still give-or-take average air travelling hours?

Definitely, I have learnt a lot through frisking, re-frisking, picking up thrice in a single day for (again) frisking, left and stamped bag tags, check-in queues, aisle, window and security door seats, hot and cold meals, coffee and a glass of water calls and what not. Then came to my delight this book “Aisle Be Damned” and I realized there’s still so much to learn about the Art of Air Travelling!

Aisle Be Damned!

Written by an over worked and over traveled Corporate Executive Rishi Piparaiya that too while waiting to catch the flights, clicking the tiny keys on his BlackBerry, the book talks about the nontraditional anecdotes to fly safely, arguably intelligently and luxuriously. Though, I haven’t tried any of it, and too shy to apply, some cheat-codes are reasonably tempting to be learnt and applied while choosing the right queue with right move to win a last minute Business class seat free on one’s economy fare ticket.

Trivia
Book's Title: Aisle Be Damned
Author: Rishi Piapraiya
Page Count: 214
Price: Rs 250 (Rs 188 at Infibeam)
ISBN: 8184954654

Ideas like carrying a machine oil, spare wheel, jack and jumper cables will for sure ridicule you a bit; but as you go through the text you will be highly convinced to pack all these for all your next air journeys. Methods to win a Business seat are no doubt one of the USPs of the book. Rishi takes the reader on a real flight with talk that starts from standing at check-in queues, frisking, boarding, deciding on window or aisle (by the way, I am an All time Window guy), explaining routine flight safety jargon, in-flight booze and food, striking conversations, idea of being picked up at airport and finally putting a long list of references and acknowledgment (that itself was an interesting read).

This is certainly a light conversational book, for everyone to read, irrespective of whether they travel or not. In fact, it gives an amiably pleasurable viewpoint to the things we do notice but fail to acknowledge. I really loved the non-complex flow of language and the fun of reading the text was certainly multiplied with the apt images. It’s a must read at an airport lounge, and for those who are planning to read it in their couch at home – mind it, you won’t regret it, the book is in itself a complete journey.

(My sincere thanks to Sudarshan and Anjali from Rishi's team to offer me this wonderful Book to read and review. I regret not to able to attend the Launch Party, but that's another story.)

P.S.: Would like to add at least Three advices to the fellow air travellers. First, if you are an Indian – do carry Tabasco sauce, it’s a divine remedy to tasteless continental. Second, dear Vegetarians, on an abroad trip (esp South East Asia) – do pack dozens of Maggi 2 Minutes, it’s better to have something than nothing. Third, always be an hour before the boarding time; not like me who reached the Launch party of Aisle Be Damned, just 24hours late, yupp just 24hrs!

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Prasad Np aka desi Traveler10 December 2013 at 12:16
Looks like an interesting read...
Punit Dubey17 December 2013 at 01:26
Yupp @Prasad Np aka desi Traveler it's certainly a nice little read...a 2hrs air journey would be sufficient :)

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