[sup?]

Norway is one of my favourite countries in the world. Their beautiful nature and the egalitarian nature of their society are the closest to an Utopia we have in the world.

[vigsom]

Thank You @mvadg. We didn't face any tourist traps.

Originally Posted by Sreesh1009

The whole experience of visiting a new country is thrilling and leaves an impression

True, @Sreesh1009. First time is always more exciting and memorable.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

have flown those SAS MD82 countless times. As with all twin engines, they have a huge excess amount of power as they need to be able to take off and climb on just one engine. So yes, they can be very nippy

Thank You @Jeroen. Could you enlighten us on this aspect viz. need to be able to take off and climb on just one engine? I'm assuming this is to take care of take off, climb, go around and land on one engine in case the other one fails. Correct Sir?

Originally Posted by Indian2003

I live 130 km from Porsgrunn. I used to drive an 18 wheeler in that part of the country.
My first international trip arboad was to India at age 5 on the SS Rajula and later on on the SS State of Madras and the SS Sydney.

Thank You for all those interesting experiences, @Indian2003. You must jog your memory and pen a travelogue on your adventures. Will be interesting. And yes, I'll definitely trouble you when I come there next.

Originally Posted by GTO

When I flew to the USA for my MBA, 25 people came to drop me, I had forex cheques in my pocket, there was no WhatsApp or international mobile phones (bought a calling card from the airport) and best of all, the ticket from Mumbai to Boston cost 35 - 40k!

Thank You @GTO. The tech. changes in travel commenced sometime in 2008 when decent camera phones (2MP cameras), A4 print tickets, and individual screens for economy passengers became standard. Some airports had kiosks for check in too. I remember paying INR 39,900 for a BOM-JFK- AUH -BOM ticket by Etihad in Oct-2009. This was with a 3 day stopover at Abu Dhabi, visa fees excluded. If I'd come straight, the ticket was only costing me 38k. Unbelievable pricing and top class in flight service. Emirates and Qatar were also offering slightly pricier tickets at approx. INR 42,000. The 14 hour flight from AUH to JFK was quite a strain, but the in flight service alleviated the strain to a large extent.

Originally Posted by sup?

Norway is one of my favourite countries in the world. Their beautiful nature and the egalitarian nature of their society are the closest to an Utopia we have in the world.

Very true, @sup?. Extremely nice people there but communicating with them in English was a challenge.

[abhi_tjet]

Wonderful capture and write-up vigsom. Lovely to see how Norway was almost 2 decades back.

I have lived there for 3 years between 2014-2017 and it was wonderful to get the memory refreshed by looking into the pictures of Gardermoen, Flytoget and Nationaltheateret station.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by vigsom

T
Thank You @Jeroen. Could you enlighten us on this aspect viz. need to be able to take off and climb on just one engine? I'm assuming this is to take care of take off, climb, go around and land on one engine in case the other one fails. Correct

Correct. If you loose an engine on a twin, you loose 50% of your thrust. Consequently, they ensure each engine alone can make up for a vast portion (not all) of that. Conversely, it also means when both engines are working, you have a lot of thrust!

Jeroen

[dragracer567]

Thank you for this amazing travelogue. I have been to Norway, albeit much more recently in 2018 when I had been to Nordland - way up in the north to visit some salmon farms. I must say, it was a very uniquely beautiful country and I distinctly remember being awed by with Fjords. I also remember Norway being quite expensive even by European standards since we had traveled there from Belgium. In fact, train tickets were 50-80% more expensive than in Belgium.

Also, the concept of traveler's cheques and stamping of passport with foreign exchange (I am really curious about the passport stamping, was it really required back in the day in India?) seem very alien to me given that all my travels abroad before 2013 were with my parents who took care of these things

Also, the 747-400s of Lufthansa are really iconic and they were definitely flying around till COVID hit (not sure now). It is really a pleasure to see some of the old photos.

[chennai-indian]

Brought nostalgic memories for me. My first trip abroad was to Philippines way back in 1998 and still remember the Forex restrictions and stamping of the Forex amounts on the passport etc. Filling up customs form for the laptop while going out, ramshackle airports, and marveling at the infra even a small country like the Philippines had at that time.

[Indian2003]

Originally Posted by dragracer567

Thank you for this amazing travelogue. I have been to Norway, albeit much more recently in 2018. In fact, train tickets were 50-80% more expensive than in Belgium.

Also, the concept of traveler's cheques and stamping of passport with foreign exchange (I am really curious about the passport stamping, was it really required back in the day in India?)

Train tickets are much cheaper if you buy the tickets online a few days earlier. I have never heard of banks stamping your passport.

In India I needed an alcohol licence in the dry states to buy alcohol. I remeber you had to show your passport but not sure if they stamped it. Only foreigners were given a licence and you got 1 licence a month. I think i sold it for about 50 rupees. Madras was one such state.

[vjbox]

Great thread and man, look at that neat world we had the pleasure of living then! I so miss travel and really wish the current episode gets over soon and that we are able to travel normally. There is something about international travel which makes it a very fulfilling affair. The mixed feeling of anxiety, fear, excitement, fun, thrill is something to really long for. It helps shaping up ones characteristics and sure has helped me a ton in evolving personally. Once you are used to those frequent business trips, its becomes a very addictive affair and you tend to miss it no matter how much one complains about them.

[snr]

That's a lovely write up! Made me very nostalgic about my trips abroad in the early 2000s. Lovely photos too!

[RGK]

Really nostalgic. When my relatives heard about my 1st trip to the USA (NJ), many of them came to meet me .

I was 300km away from Chennai a day before to seek the blessings from our Lord and did not notice the flight time at all. My presumption was in the evening and realized it when my office colleague called. Rushed back immediately and had to pack everything in a single day .