It was back in 1996. I was flying to Bangkok with stops in Moscow and somewhere in India. When I got on the plane in Moscow I was tired and drunk and fell asleep instantly.
From the dark, drunk depths of sleep i became aware that i was adjusting my pillow.
Making it more comfortable.
Then I remembered that I was on a plane and didn't have a pillow.
I opened my eyes and saw a Sikh man in the seat next to me. We had been sleeping with our heads side by side and I had used his turban as a pillow and sleep-drooled all over it. Quite heavy drooling if I rembember correctly.
I sat up and acted like nothing happened. Within half a minute the Sikh woke up and noticed that his turban was in a bad state. He seemed embarresed and ran to the toilet to
put his headgear back in order. He actually thought that he was the one that slept on my shoulder and messed his own turban up. Denial 4 the win.
The rest of the flight was a litte bit awkward. Just a little bit.
Looking back I wish that I had told him that I was responsible for the mess that was his turban. And it was a mess.
I now know that the turban is a thing of great importance to the Sikhs and I am sorry for the embarrassment that i caused
But most of alI I am sorry that I said nothing when he woke up.
The lesson to learn from this must be: Avoid Sikhs when you are heavily drunk and tired.