18/10/2011 Day 20 - Au revoir, França...Hola, España!
Flo took me to the train station in the morning and I caught the 8:20am train to Barcelona. I hated having to say goodbye to him, but it was nice knowing I'd get to see him again in two months.
The train ride to Barcelona wasn't too bad, except for, oh yeah, the screaming toddler sitting across the aisle. Got to Barcelona Sants Station at quarter to 12, and after staring at the maps for a few minutes, went to a machine and got a metro ticket to the airport to see if maybe my bag had turned up. I went to the Vueling desk in Terminal 2, who sent me to Terminal 1, who sent me to information, who directed me to the Vueling desk there, who told me to go to lost and found in the basement, who sent me to baggage claim upstairs, who told me to use the little curtesy phone to call the desk inside, who told me to show my claim form to security, who showed me where the airline lost bag counter was near arrivals, who told me they hadn't found my bag.
*Bangs head against wall.*
I've flown San Francisco to Bangkok, Bangkok to Paris, Beijing to Bangkok, San Francisco to Entebbe, Bangkok to Amsterdam...and my luggage is lost on a flippin 2½ hour trip from Rome to Toulouse. They told me that if it was found in the next week or so they would send it to the Bkk airport, but if I hadn't gotten it in 3 weeks I would have to fill out a form online so they could reimburse me for the bag and its contents. The woman at the desk said she was sorry, and I thanked her, walking away feeling more discouraged than I thought was possible.
"Nothing is irreplaceable..nothing is irreplaceable..nothing is irreplaceable.." But it still sucks monkey balls.
I went back to the train station, booked the 5pm train to Madrid (€118..good thing my trip was almost over) and relaxed on the 3hr journey. They showed a movie (in English with Spanish subtitles) but I couldn't be bothered to pay attention.
Met my couchsurfing hosts, Eva and Hector, outside the Opañel metro station. They're a lovely couple, and have an adorable apt a few blocks from the station. It was late, so they showed me to my room, lent me a map of the city with a suggested route for the following day, and we said goodnight.
19/10/2011 Day 21 - I have nothing left to lose..
Wednesday morning I woke up early, walked with Eva to the metro and as she was off to work, we planned to meet back at the apt by 7 for the film festival that evening. Sticking with my no-museums mood, I simply enjoyed walking all over the city, taking in as many squares, parks, and architectural marvels I could, including the Royal Palace.
I was enjoying the weather so much (a tad bit brisk, but it warmed up as the day progressed) and had seen most of the items circled on my map by about 3:30, so I picked a spot in one of the outdoor plazas next to the grass to catch up on the past few days' journaling. Set my bag down next to me, and started writing. The sun was bright, so I turned my face a bit while I wrote. Finished a page, looked at my watch, and decided it was time to head to one or two more sites before heading back to my hosts. Turned to grab my shoulder bag...and it was gone.
GONE.
And of course, nobody around me saw a thing. I searched frantically for a few minutes, but it was obviously not around. I found two police officers in the square, who said they'd look for it, and directed me to the nearest police station where I could file my report. I followed the directions to the station on Calle de la Huerta; two handsome officers were standing outside talking to some college boys who were passing by. I told one of the officers I needed to file a report for a stolen bag...and he started to respond to me in Spanish. I stared back at him..trying desperately to understand what he was telling me in his rapid-fire espanol..but I had no idea. He seemed to notice after a few moments, and laughed to himself that I didn't speak (enough) Spanish and he didn't speak English..and one of the college boys piped up and goes, "I speak English!" Super. lol So while college boy translated for me and helped me fill out the report, I started checking off the things I'd lost in the bag.
~My War and Peace novel. Great, now I can't finish it, and I have to buy Rani a new book.
~My cash (€30). The cops in the square seemed optimistic that they'd find my bag in the next few days with only the cash missing. I was not. It wasn't a lot of cash to lose, but it was all I had left, as I was flying back to Bkk the next day and was confident that I'd make it til then with that.
~My US credit and debit cards, plus my Thai debit card. This was a bit more irritating than the cash, because now I had no way to access ANY money in ANY of my accounts.
~My driver's license. This was not a major loss, as it was expiring in November anyway, and I'd already renewed it. BUT it was a photo ID.
~My camera. My camera had been in my front jeans pocket while I was walking all over the city for easy access for photo opps, but I took it out of my pocket and put it in my bag when I sat down because it was awkward to sit with and had a tendency to try to wiggle its way out of my pocket. THANKFULLY, like a good planner aheader, I had transferred the pictures from my camera onto my USB every night for safe keeping and to clear the memory card for the next day, so the only pictures I lost were from that morning in Madrid. But..that's why there are no pictures from this city.
~My iPod. My brand new stinking iPod! GRRRR!!! It had been clipped onto my person and in my ears all morning, but I turned it off and put it away in the plaza because there was a street musician playing a lovely spanish guitar across the lawn, and I wanted to listen while I wrote. I should've just turned it off and left it clipped on..sigh. Shoulda, woulda, coulda...but didn't. :(
~My passport. MY PASSPORT. Why I was carrying it around with me, I can't really tell you, other than the fact that since losing my luggage with the airline I was terrified to let anything out of my sight. I know, the irony is mind-blowing.
With each item that I thought of, my face cringed even deeper, and I grew more and more irritated at my carelessness. I finished the report, a female officer took it to make a copy, and then gave me a map(and my copy of the report) to get to the US Embassy. As I was leaving, she said to me, "And you know, be careful out there; there're lots of pick-pockets."
I looked at her, and as the tears rolled down my cheeks from under my sunglasses, I forced a pitiful laugh and said, "Porque? Yo tengo nada ahora..."
I looked at the map they'd given me, and set off in the direction of the embassy. It was closed by the time I got there, and the desk at the front called a number for me, the person on the other end of which told me to come back in the morning when they opened, and they would process an emergency passport for me. I walked down the sidewalk toward the metro..and then stopped. All I had on me was my notepad, a pen, my sunglasses, and my little Thai cell phone in my pocket(of all things not to lose! THAT I could have easily replaced). I had no IDs, no money whatsoever, and no map. I was beyond 'up a creek without a paddle,' I didn't even have a frikkin' string bikini to cover the jewels.
I only knew how to get to Eva and Hector's from the metro, but had no change for a ticket. However, seeing no other option, I walked to the nearest metro station, and went to the machines to see if I could find a nice stranger to lend(give) me €1.50 for a single ride ticket. I did, thank goodness, and I headed back to the apt. Eva was home, and I told her the whole story. She made me a cup of coffee, and lent me their computer to use for the cancelling of my cards and emailing my parents. I no longer felt like going out to the film festival, so I stayed home. When they were both back home, we had a late dinner, and talked late into the night about my day, life, languages, and weird surfers they'd had. Lol. I was glad I didn't have to be by myself that night.
20/10/2011 Day 22 - My embassy kicks your embassy's butt
Up at 6:30, I downed a cup of coffee as I packed up the few things I had left with my backpack(toothbrush, straightener, deodorant, laptop, jacket and scarf), and after thanking Hector and Eva(who even packed me a lunch for later and gave me change for the metro) I went to the embassy, arriving at about 8:25. I filled out a series of forms, took a letter from the embassy SIXTEEN BLOCKS to the *specific* bank location that would accept it to give me my transferred funds from home to pay for my emergency passport, went back, fill out a few more forms, took passport pics(which turned out surprisingly decent despite my complete lack of makeup), paid for my passport, then took a seat to wait another hour for my passport to be processed. When they finally called my name I hurried up to the window, happily collected my passport, and literally skipped and jumped out of the building. I rushed off to the nearest metro station, made it to the airport with time to spare, boarded my flight(next to two adorable Aussies who'd been traveling around for 3 months), and was so glad to finally arrive in Bangkok, safe and sound.
And then it was Hello, Floods.
Fun Facts:
-When I was at the bank with my letter from the embassy, they sat me down with one of their bankers while he worked it out on his computer and waited for it to process and go through. He didn't speak English, but was trying to talk to me, and I managed to hold my own! There were some words I wasn't sure of, but I was able to understand most of the questions he asked me, and tell him what had happened in the last week.
-Although so many things went wrong on this trip, the worst that could happen(other than bodily harm) happened, and I still made it back on time. On the embassy website it says that emergency passports take 24 hours to process, and I got mine in 4½ hours. And that's without any other form of physical ID(good thing I could give them my driver's license, social security and passport numbers all from memory). It's times like this that make me SO GLAD to be a US Citizen, and I won't ever take that for granted. They even made my emergency passport valid for 6 months instead of 3 because Thailand requires 6 months validity on your passport when you enter the country.
-After that last week of wearing the same outfit for a week, I am more than convinced that I can survive with a carry-on only for any future short-term vacation trips. Plus I'm also a bit terrified to ever check a bag again, lest it gets lost.
-Interestingly enough, the train between France and Spain was the only time my passport was checked between countries(other than the flight to France, obviously). And they checked it twice on the train; we pulled up to some station near the border and an army of Spanish officers flooded the train, meticulously checking each and every passport. It was intense.
Flo took me to the train station in the morning and I caught the 8:20am train to Barcelona. I hated having to say goodbye to him, but it was nice knowing I'd get to see him again in two months.
The train ride to Barcelona wasn't too bad, except for, oh yeah, the screaming toddler sitting across the aisle. Got to Barcelona Sants Station at quarter to 12, and after staring at the maps for a few minutes, went to a machine and got a metro ticket to the airport to see if maybe my bag had turned up. I went to the Vueling desk in Terminal 2, who sent me to Terminal 1, who sent me to information, who directed me to the Vueling desk there, who told me to go to lost and found in the basement, who sent me to baggage claim upstairs, who told me to use the little curtesy phone to call the desk inside, who told me to show my claim form to security, who showed me where the airline lost bag counter was near arrivals, who told me they hadn't found my bag.
*Bangs head against wall.*
I've flown San Francisco to Bangkok, Bangkok to Paris, Beijing to Bangkok, San Francisco to Entebbe, Bangkok to Amsterdam...and my luggage is lost on a flippin 2½ hour trip from Rome to Toulouse. They told me that if it was found in the next week or so they would send it to the Bkk airport, but if I hadn't gotten it in 3 weeks I would have to fill out a form online so they could reimburse me for the bag and its contents. The woman at the desk said she was sorry, and I thanked her, walking away feeling more discouraged than I thought was possible.
"Nothing is irreplaceable..nothing is irreplaceable..nothing is irreplaceable.." But it still sucks monkey balls.
I went back to the train station, booked the 5pm train to Madrid (€118..good thing my trip was almost over) and relaxed on the 3hr journey. They showed a movie (in English with Spanish subtitles) but I couldn't be bothered to pay attention.
Met my couchsurfing hosts, Eva and Hector, outside the Opañel metro station. They're a lovely couple, and have an adorable apt a few blocks from the station. It was late, so they showed me to my room, lent me a map of the city with a suggested route for the following day, and we said goodnight.
19/10/2011 Day 21 - I have nothing left to lose..
Wednesday morning I woke up early, walked with Eva to the metro and as she was off to work, we planned to meet back at the apt by 7 for the film festival that evening. Sticking with my no-museums mood, I simply enjoyed walking all over the city, taking in as many squares, parks, and architectural marvels I could, including the Royal Palace.
I was enjoying the weather so much (a tad bit brisk, but it warmed up as the day progressed) and had seen most of the items circled on my map by about 3:30, so I picked a spot in one of the outdoor plazas next to the grass to catch up on the past few days' journaling. Set my bag down next to me, and started writing. The sun was bright, so I turned my face a bit while I wrote. Finished a page, looked at my watch, and decided it was time to head to one or two more sites before heading back to my hosts. Turned to grab my shoulder bag...and it was gone.
GONE.
And of course, nobody around me saw a thing. I searched frantically for a few minutes, but it was obviously not around. I found two police officers in the square, who said they'd look for it, and directed me to the nearest police station where I could file my report. I followed the directions to the station on Calle de la Huerta; two handsome officers were standing outside talking to some college boys who were passing by. I told one of the officers I needed to file a report for a stolen bag...and he started to respond to me in Spanish. I stared back at him..trying desperately to understand what he was telling me in his rapid-fire espanol..but I had no idea. He seemed to notice after a few moments, and laughed to himself that I didn't speak (enough) Spanish and he didn't speak English..and one of the college boys piped up and goes, "I speak English!" Super. lol So while college boy translated for me and helped me fill out the report, I started checking off the things I'd lost in the bag.
~My War and Peace novel. Great, now I can't finish it, and I have to buy Rani a new book.
~My cash (€30). The cops in the square seemed optimistic that they'd find my bag in the next few days with only the cash missing. I was not. It wasn't a lot of cash to lose, but it was all I had left, as I was flying back to Bkk the next day and was confident that I'd make it til then with that.
~My US credit and debit cards, plus my Thai debit card. This was a bit more irritating than the cash, because now I had no way to access ANY money in ANY of my accounts.
~My driver's license. This was not a major loss, as it was expiring in November anyway, and I'd already renewed it. BUT it was a photo ID.
~My camera. My camera had been in my front jeans pocket while I was walking all over the city for easy access for photo opps, but I took it out of my pocket and put it in my bag when I sat down because it was awkward to sit with and had a tendency to try to wiggle its way out of my pocket. THANKFULLY, like a good planner aheader, I had transferred the pictures from my camera onto my USB every night for safe keeping and to clear the memory card for the next day, so the only pictures I lost were from that morning in Madrid. But..that's why there are no pictures from this city.
~My iPod. My brand new stinking iPod! GRRRR!!! It had been clipped onto my person and in my ears all morning, but I turned it off and put it away in the plaza because there was a street musician playing a lovely spanish guitar across the lawn, and I wanted to listen while I wrote. I should've just turned it off and left it clipped on..sigh. Shoulda, woulda, coulda...but didn't. :(
~My passport. MY PASSPORT. Why I was carrying it around with me, I can't really tell you, other than the fact that since losing my luggage with the airline I was terrified to let anything out of my sight. I know, the irony is mind-blowing.
With each item that I thought of, my face cringed even deeper, and I grew more and more irritated at my carelessness. I finished the report, a female officer took it to make a copy, and then gave me a map(and my copy of the report) to get to the US Embassy. As I was leaving, she said to me, "And you know, be careful out there; there're lots of pick-pockets."
I looked at her, and as the tears rolled down my cheeks from under my sunglasses, I forced a pitiful laugh and said, "Porque? Yo tengo nada ahora..."
I looked at the map they'd given me, and set off in the direction of the embassy. It was closed by the time I got there, and the desk at the front called a number for me, the person on the other end of which told me to come back in the morning when they opened, and they would process an emergency passport for me. I walked down the sidewalk toward the metro..and then stopped. All I had on me was my notepad, a pen, my sunglasses, and my little Thai cell phone in my pocket(of all things not to lose! THAT I could have easily replaced). I had no IDs, no money whatsoever, and no map. I was beyond 'up a creek without a paddle,' I didn't even have a frikkin' string bikini to cover the jewels.
I only knew how to get to Eva and Hector's from the metro, but had no change for a ticket. However, seeing no other option, I walked to the nearest metro station, and went to the machines to see if I could find a nice stranger to lend(give) me €1.50 for a single ride ticket. I did, thank goodness, and I headed back to the apt. Eva was home, and I told her the whole story. She made me a cup of coffee, and lent me their computer to use for the cancelling of my cards and emailing my parents. I no longer felt like going out to the film festival, so I stayed home. When they were both back home, we had a late dinner, and talked late into the night about my day, life, languages, and weird surfers they'd had. Lol. I was glad I didn't have to be by myself that night.
20/10/2011 Day 22 - My embassy kicks your embassy's butt
Up at 6:30, I downed a cup of coffee as I packed up the few things I had left with my backpack(toothbrush, straightener, deodorant, laptop, jacket and scarf), and after thanking Hector and Eva(who even packed me a lunch for later and gave me change for the metro) I went to the embassy, arriving at about 8:25. I filled out a series of forms, took a letter from the embassy SIXTEEN BLOCKS to the *specific* bank location that would accept it to give me my transferred funds from home to pay for my emergency passport, went back, fill out a few more forms, took passport pics(which turned out surprisingly decent despite my complete lack of makeup), paid for my passport, then took a seat to wait another hour for my passport to be processed. When they finally called my name I hurried up to the window, happily collected my passport, and literally skipped and jumped out of the building. I rushed off to the nearest metro station, made it to the airport with time to spare, boarded my flight(next to two adorable Aussies who'd been traveling around for 3 months), and was so glad to finally arrive in Bangkok, safe and sound.
And then it was Hello, Floods.
Fun Facts:
-When I was at the bank with my letter from the embassy, they sat me down with one of their bankers while he worked it out on his computer and waited for it to process and go through. He didn't speak English, but was trying to talk to me, and I managed to hold my own! There were some words I wasn't sure of, but I was able to understand most of the questions he asked me, and tell him what had happened in the last week.
-Although so many things went wrong on this trip, the worst that could happen(other than bodily harm) happened, and I still made it back on time. On the embassy website it says that emergency passports take 24 hours to process, and I got mine in 4½ hours. And that's without any other form of physical ID(good thing I could give them my driver's license, social security and passport numbers all from memory). It's times like this that make me SO GLAD to be a US Citizen, and I won't ever take that for granted. They even made my emergency passport valid for 6 months instead of 3 because Thailand requires 6 months validity on your passport when you enter the country.
-After that last week of wearing the same outfit for a week, I am more than convinced that I can survive with a carry-on only for any future short-term vacation trips. Plus I'm also a bit terrified to ever check a bag again, lest it gets lost.
-Interestingly enough, the train between France and Spain was the only time my passport was checked between countries(other than the flight to France, obviously). And they checked it twice on the train; we pulled up to some station near the border and an army of Spanish officers flooded the train, meticulously checking each and every passport. It was intense.
1 comment:
It would be cruel of me to say "I told you so!", so.... I won't. :) Rosa
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