So a lot of times, airplanes on this side of the world have been purchased second-hand from the states. They are serviceable but older. More recently, I have been on several newer planes that were made for Asia. This has led to some interesting observations.
On a flight this past week, I walked RIGHT past my seat on the plane... I was searching for row 15... and had 3 more steps after I passed row 12, right? WRONG!
Row 15 is right after row 12 on this plane specifically made for a South East Asian audience, because not only is the number 13 unlucky, but I understand the the number 14 is unlucky well. Looking into this further, it seems that any usage of the number "4" which I think is supposed to sound like "death" in Chinese, is bad luck. There are supposedly whole buildings that don't use any combination with the number 4.
This is the first time I had seen this in Indonesia, though. On the return flight, I sat near a couple of Muslim men that chanted/prayed through the entire flight. They were friendly, but scared to death of flying.
It was interesting, and made me think about what crazy and over the top wives-tales we still believe in the states. Or about people who confess they are Christians but remain fearful of what will happen them.
The important thing, of course, is to realize that God is sovereign, and my life is not my own. I will live every second God wants me to live on this earth, and not one second more.
If you look closely in this photo, you can see rows 12 and 15 laid out beside each other.
