Confessions of a travel dummy
Posted Sunday, August 31, 2008, 8:37 PM by Lonely Planet
Working at Lonely Planet, you'd think I would have picked up a few hints by now on being a better, more independent and well-adjusted traveller. Ha! That's a good one. I am the ultimate travel dummy, and while some of my colleagues don't think twice about going hard or going home, I'm lucky to make it on to a plane without incident.
And so, following my experiences on a recent European trip, I'd like to share my tried-and-tested survival tips for the, ahem, less practically inclined traveller. Because I simply refuse to believe I'm the only one...
1) If you're transiting at Singapore's Changi International Airport, be careful what duty-free purchases you make at your airport of departure.
I'm talking alcohol, specifically. When I saw Grey Goose vodka selling for $10 less than its usual hefty retail price at Melbourne Airport, I did what anyone in their right mind would do: I bought a bottle and popped it in my hand luggage. Ooh baby, I thought, that'll go down nice and smooth once we get to Madrid.
Imagine my horror when I was hauled aside by a customs officer at Changi as I queued to board my connecting flight, and asked to open my bag. 'But it's duty free!' I squawked once I realised he was about to confiscate my precious bottle. 'You should have bought it here and got it specially sealed,' he told me brusquely, before dumping it in a rubbish bin. Further protests on my part got me nowhere, and eventually his scowl shut me up altogether.
2) Upon landing in your destination after a sleepless long-haul flight, it's not wise to hit the town immediately for an all-night bender.
Take it from me - my friend and I made this fatal mistake when we got to Madrid, setting out on a bar-crawl through Malasana the evening of our arrival. Many beers, wines, and inordinately strong vodka-and-sodas later, we staggered back to our hotel at about 5.30am (we only know this because we've got the photos to prove it), to spend the entire next day holed up in our room with life-threatening hangovers, seriously considering calling an ambulance. What a criminal waste of precious holiday time! So much for shopping, sight-seeing and soaking up the Spanish sunshine.
3) Always pack at least one change of clothes and necessary toiletries in your hand luggage in case the airline loses your suitcase.
Guess what? I didn't, and paid the price when Iberia managed to lose my case on the half-hour flight from Madrid to San Sebastian. It soon became evident that a bunch of vinyl records, some presents, loads of unsent postcards and a bottle of vodka (yes, the contents of my hand luggage) were simply not enough to see me through this kind of experience. Luckily, the friend I was travelling with wears the same size clothing as me, and had brought a bathroom's worth of toiletries with her, or I would've been up the proverbial creek without a paddle.
Two hotels, countless phone calls, zero apologies and 36 hours down the track, I was finally reunited with my stuff. Travel dummies - don't let this happen to you!
4) When travelling by train between countries, don't dawdle when you disembark.
Goes without saying, right? Sure - unless you're a travel dummy. We travelled from Paris to Rotterdam by train, but when it came time to battle our way down the crowded aisle, retrieve our bags and get off, we just didn't make the two-minute cut-off point. Our hearts sank as the train started pulling out of the station; no matter how hard and desperately we pushed the button, the door refused to open. "Oh god, oh f**k!" my friend wailed repeatedly - before yanking on the emergency stop lever. Still nothing happened. So she yanked it again. Bingo! Not only did the train grind to a shuddering halt, but a posse of train attendants burst into the carriage to see what was going on. And once they figured it out, they made their displeasure very clear. One threatened to fine us 300 euros, while the others couldn't get us off the train quickly enough. Yeah great, welcome to Rotterdam...
Anyone else out there who's game to share their own dumb holiday hints? Please, spill the beans - we travel dummies need all the help we can get!
- Suzy Watusi
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9 Comments:
Funny experiences, it happens to me too, I am a travel dummy. I had an experience last year that I do not want to happen again, I was humiliated that time. I think I got to stick with your tried-and-tested survival tips to avoid unnecessary incidence on my trips. If you don't mind please send me more dummy tips on my email.
Jhazline
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I am a half travel dummy (I think). I lost my luggage when flying back to the UK from Cape Town.
I landed Saturday morning and on Sunday midnight I was reunited with my case... as it arrived all by it self in a taxi, which leads me to the assumption that my luggage hired a taxi all by itself as BA on the Monday told me that they were still looking for it!
Other than what you've mentioned here, you're also one of the many who manage to miss out on the all-important ñ! It's Malasaña, not Malasana. I hope you didn't go around telling your new Spanish friends how many anos you have!
Travel is my life! But life isn't always a bowl of cherries. I also have the same experience...Virgin lost my favorite Samsonite suitcase last summer:( Thank God...I only packed some clothes and cook ware in it.
My friend was not as luck as I was~~This July, he traveled from Manchester to London by coach, with one wheeled luggage and one huge backpack. When the coach reached its destination, he found all of his luggage disapear in the coach luggage compartment. The truth is someone unloaded his luggage when the coach stopped en route to drop off passengers! Apparently, the coach company does't have a luggage tagging system and the couch crew don't remember who is who...Sooooo it seems that we need to get off the coach and stare at the luggage compartment when it stops on the way~~~A lot of travel tips to share, but have to leave:( Here are some articles talking about travel tips: http://www.luggageguides.com/categories/travel-luggage-tips/ Hope you enjoy them~~
thanks for posting its nice going through the lines
I flew into barcelona on Easyjet with a Ryanair flight booked for a couple of days later into Germany. On the way from the airport to the city i paid close attention to how i was going to get back to the airport a couple of days later.
All this was very useful as i found the right bus and got to the bus stop on time, only to realise half way to the airport that i was headed to the wrong one!
Instead of flying out of Pratt airport i had to backtrack my way to Girona, then instead of flying direct to Hamburg i had to buy a new ticket for a flight to Frankfurt and catch the ICE up to Hamburg. All up about 250 euro!
Im currently 29 hours into a 39 hour transit in Sao Paulo...your dummy comments make me feel alot better about missing my flight when I had ample time to make it.
Damn, i'm sorry to say this but you just sound stupid plain and simple. Any person with a bit of common sense could have avoided those incidences. Pulling an emergency stop just because you were too slow to get your ass of the train is just straight inconsiderable. And you wonder why they got mad... Ignorant
My entire experience studying abroad in France for six months consisted of mishaps with a visa and passport crisis, flights that did not exist, euromullets, strikes, and people jumping in front of trains. Read my blog if you want the details of it all and how I managed to get out of it at nikiinfrance.blogspot.com
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