What is your most bizarre flight experience?

I've only once been given a woman's phone number unsolicited, and it was from one of the flight attendants on a flight between Kazakhstan and Tajikistan on a local carrier. It was a weird flight all round, many of the locals on board were visibly excited (or scared) to be on a plane, which made for an odd atmosphere. As often seems to happen to Western tourists in such places, I was given the exit row. The two men next to me were not Westerners, but were clearly of high status, and more conservatively dressed than the other passengers. It turned out they were from Afghanistan, and we exchanged plenty of nervous smiles despite being unable to understand a word spoken. The younger one was plainly terrified of flying. The two Afghans spent much of the flight demanding extra food, which they then proceeded to stash in their luggage for dinner later (this being during Ramadan). Meanwhile I got stuck in one of those awkward queues at the engaged lavatory, and went to wait in the kitchen area, where I was engaged in conversation by the very pretty Tajik flight attendant. I think we must have been the only two people on the plane who spoke any English - she had spent a month in London and was surprised to find a Brit visiting her home country. We only talked for about 5 minutes, but at the end of the trip after the final safety check she came back down the aisle again and thrust a green post-it into my hand, and (in English) told me to stay in touch. This interaction certainly attracted the attention of the Tajik men opposite, although I doubt they had any idea what she had said. Anyway, I walked off the plane feeling several feet taller and ended up meeting her the following day for coffee. Nothing more came of it (not least because I had to leave town that night), but it was a really cool way to meet a local person my age, and we're still friends on facebook.

/r/travel Thread