Today I just want to tell you a bit more about my travels. I hope this does not upset you or annoy you, and if it does, too bad. I am going to do it anyway! ;p
You see the thing is, not all people are angry and arrogant all the time! There are some really friendly people out there. People without who's help I wouldn't be here right now. Do you want to know about them? I will tell you, without naming names or showing faces, just describing towns and places. The first stop was Dubai International Airport. Going through all of the security checks was fairly routine, nothing to declare and nothing to hide. After a 3 hour stopover I was back in the air, heading to Frederick Chopin Airport, Warsaw, Poland. Over there things were a bit tense. The customs officer at the desk where I had to get my passport stamped wasn't exactly the friendliest or most trustworthy of people. He told the woman in front of me to go and wait at the back of the cue, seeing as there was something wrong with her visa. I wonder what happened to her and her son (about 5 years old)...
When I handed him my passport, he scanned it and checked it on the computer. And checked it on the computer, and checked it on the computer... I started to wonder if I'd join the woman and her son in the back of the cue. At last he asked me to put my fingers on a little fingerprint scanner.
Thumb.
Index finger.
Middle finger.
Ring finger.
Little finger.
He looked at his computer screen. He looked at my visa. He looked at me. He looked at his computer screen. He looked at my visa. He looked at me. Thus the cycle continued until I, with as most self assurance as I could muster, asked, "is something wrong, officer?"
"Yes. I don't find your visa in the computer." His terrifying answer came.
My heart sank to the bottom of my shoe soles, but I kept a calm face. "That is strange," I said.
"How long are you coming to Europe?"
"Three months." Once again confidence personified.
"Three months!?" He asked incredulously. "What are you going to do in Europe for three months!?"
So I told him. Luckily I had a very good plan in mind and a very good picture of Europe, so I explained to him exactly where I was going, how I was going to get there and the activities I would do at each destination. So after a while he said, "Okay," shrugged his shoulders and stamped my passport.
Man was I glad! With a last pitying look over my shoulder, I walked through border control and into Europe.
**Interlude**
**Ladies and gentlemen, the break is over. Kindly return to your seats. Thank you**
Once I claimed my luggage from a very slow baggage carousel, I headed to the ticket office. The lady behind the desk told me to go to the counter next door. The next door counter told me to go to the lady behind the desk. Yes, I was confused. No I did not break down and cry, although I kinda felt like it. To make a long story short, I got a train ticket to Warsaw Central station from the lady behind the desk. The train ride to Warsaw Central was uneventful and went by quickly. On the central station I met a very kind old man, the first kind man since setting foot in Poland! Without his help I might still have been on Warsaw Central! He spoke broken English to me and Polish to the woman behind the bulletproof glass ticket window (I thought they only had those in Africa). With the old mans help, I got on a train to Krakow without too much hassle. I thanked him profusely and went on my merry way when he started asking me questions in Polish. It felt bad, leaving him after he had helped me, but I had a train to catch!
On the train they gave me some free apple juice and a wafer-like biscuit. Just out of curiosity, how many of you have been on the Polish railway lines? There must be a lot of human waste on those railways, seeing as the toilets doesn't have a flush system - it has a hole. You can see the ground speeding past under the train while you are urinating (if you are male). Imagine what that would feel like if you suffer from severe vertigo!?
From Krakow I had to catch a bus to Zakopane (can you believe that my spellchecker tried to change Zakopane to "pancake"!?), and that folks, is why you should write without using a spell-check program. Just learn how to spell, okay!?
Where was I? Oh yes, Zakopane. After walking up and down on the Krakow station, I eventually found myself in the bus terminal. The sky was getting dark outside and the temperature was dropping. Time was running out! Or so I thought... When I looked at my watch it was only 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Coming from Africa, I wasn't really used to the sun setting so early (I'm still not). When I eventually reached Zakopane I didn't have the faintest Idea of where to go. I had a reservation at a hostel close to the station, but didn't have a clue in which direction I had to walk to get there! Slowly I ventured out into the night with a massive suitcase, a backpack and a camera bag. Looking like a proper tourist! After a few circles around the station I decided to go back inside and ask for help.
The person I asked turned out to be one of the friendliest people I have ever met. He also has a very strange brand of religion - Christianity mixed with the Force from Star Wars. Yes. He has this strange notion that he is one of the last Jedi and that he is working for Christ! Hehehee...
That is enough for now.
**Coming soon - The train-station Jedi**
Right now my little finger (the one I had to put on the fingerprint scanner) is cramping very badly. Sorry for this abrupt end to the conversation, but it really hurts...
Have a great time, until next we meet!
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| Me and Vi, playing with a camera and a lighter. Pretty cool, huh? |
Exciting!
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