@Peter Shaw: Thanks. It wasn’t our intent to fuel the fire of the flying-haters, but that’s what happens when you tell a story.

@Christoffer: “Better safe than never.” — that sounds like a quote from a road sign in Ladakh.

@Yeison: Remind me to step out of the cabin if it comes to that.

@Varya: I can imagine the flight between Calcutta and Siliguri. That route is dangerous enough on the ground. And as for landing in Ladakh in the snow, I cannot even imagine!

At some point, if we hope to travel long distances quickly, we must trust.

@Katie: Interesting you make the distinction between dying and knowing you are going to die. I think I went through a similar rationalization when I imagined seeing penguins.

@Arun: I didn’t mention the airline as I didn’t think it germane to the story. Nor did I want the comments to devolve into a discussion about the airline. It was IndiGo.

@Leyla: Stay cool and hope for pleasant weather.

@Mikeachim: I know exactly where are you are coming from. I thought about you when I wrote this.

@the_goat: I know the wind danger you speak of. A flight we took in Tajikistan flies (or not) dependent on that weather coming from the mountains. I now completely understand your avoiding airspace around India during the monsoon. Even our flights out of Mumbai to Tokyo was rocky for a good hour.

@Kim: Ugh, I don’t think I could manage hearing all the mistakes pilots are making. Like watching sausage being made.

@Sutapa: Some people did. In fact, our plane was delayed for another 45 minutes because they made their decision at the very last minute before taking off to return to Srinagar. Then there was the whole thing about identifying bags for security purposes. Was a mess.

@Mark Hughes: Thank you! Love that quote, too.

@Erik: Kashmir and Ladakh both lived up. More stories coming up.

@Jenn: Wow, it must have been bad to pull up and take an eight hour bus instead. Knowing that area, I undertand.

@Lola: Thanks for the tip! Will do.

@Mariellen: Oh, the buses. Don’t get us started. We took a 2-day bus to Ladakh, a “Super Deluxe” that will be featured in our next post.

@Soness: Post-mortem…love the word choice!

@Victoria: Thank you. It’s nice to live up to one’s self-titling every once in a while.

@Mark: I didn’t mention the airline as I didn’t think it germane to the story. Nor did I want the comments to devolve into a discussion about the airline. It was IndiGo.

@Gabriel: I honestly was not particularly focused on the beauty of the clouds. However, this one that I took of a similar monsoon storm around Mumbai might come close:
http://instagram.com/p/adIUrCuWQ4/

@JoAnna: I did my job, apparently. I really wanted to put people in that plane with us, for better or worse.

@Chris: See Mark Hughes’ quote above.

@Bama: It was an IndiGo flight.

@Paivi and Santeri: I know that landing in Schiphol very well. One moment, you’re in the clouds, the next moment, you are touching down. A victory for IFR (instrument flight rules, when you cannot get visual orientation).