In some way, being on a modern jet aircraft is like riding a magic carpet from the Arabian Nights.
No matter how often I fly, I always retain a sense of awe and wonder about the essentially miraculous process of jet travel.
Have you ever wondered how Leif Erikson, Marco Polo or Christopher Columbus might have regarded this modern miracle? Could they have possibly imagined that we would one day sit in comfort and be transported in mere hours over vast global reaches that took them months to traverse?
Unforgettable scenes of earthly beauty often reveal themselves from above. My own mental photo album includes many remarkable vistas: the volcanic Mount St. Helen’s by moonlight … the soft blue waters of the Caribbean … the vast snowy mountains of Greenland.
Leaving Cancun, the glittering deluxe hotels along the beach stands like a row of children’s toys.
Approaching Hong Kong, the jet comes so close to highrise buildings that laundry hanging on the balconies seems to flap in the undercurrents.
On a sun-drenched afternoon over Turkey, a multitude of steely crescents glint like scimitars atop mosques in a multitude of remote villages.
After a long night of travel, the coast of Israel suddenly appears, and the endless dark sea surrenders to the ancient unyielding land of our heritage.
And then there’s Manhattan by twilight: the silhouetted towers a poetic testament of what our civilization has become.
Forgive me: I am writing as if the golden age of jet travel has concluded, and that is not definitely the case. But the smoke and ash that covered lower Manhattan on Sept. 11 has filtered across the planet, in a psychological sense, like the residue of a modern Krakatoa. Not surprisingly, the global tourism industry has started to choke.
Since the American tragedy, aircraft built for hundreds are carrying dozens of passengers, and hotels from Honolulu to Hamburg are reporting dismal vacancy rates. Consumers have been scared away, temporarily at least, from an industry that pumps a huge percentage of the global economy. Perhaps tourism will rebound soon, or perhaps war will intervene.
In any event, it seems insane to write another travel column as if it were business as usual. Let us hope the global tourism sector emerges soon from the aftereffects of Sept. 11. ♦
© 2001
