 17. RETURNING HOME
Nov 10 - '94
I run to the bank to collect a few hundreds of Dollars in Traveler's
cheques with my
VISA-card. It's easy to cash the cheques on the black market. It saves me 2 Rp per $. Now
I can go souvenir-hunting for the last time.
We are taken to the airport with a minibus and I start to
feel depressed. Our 5 PM flight to Delhi passes off quietly, but then we fly with Royal
Nepal Airlines. Because our plane to Frankfurt leaves only at 8.40 next morning we take a
pre-paid taxi to a nearby airport hotel 'Ashoka Palace' in New Delhi. The
rooms are in a terrible state, the electricity-wires hang out of the walls, unprotected,
and the personal is terribly obtrusive and hungry for Dollars...
Nov 11 - '94
7 AM : We're back at the airport, departure hall, waiting at the check-inn... and yes...
our Air India flight is indefinitely delayed. Waiting and not knowing why takes more than
two hours and not one member of the staff answers our questions...only, "No problem
Sir !"
Eventually they inform us that our expected flight will not arrive today. Totally
unexpected we are put on a plane to LONDON, but before this, all tickets must be manually
changed which results in long waiting times.
Boarding at 11 AM. The plane looks much better than the one we had a month ago and that's
quite a relief. Our luggage would be sent straight to Brussels.
Because of a technical problem we are delayed again until 11.55 AM and this means that
we'll never reach Brussels in time. Our friends will be waiting for us there. Naturally
they will expect us to come from 'Frankfurt'. So everything went all wrong again.
But that's not all ... some people decide to start smoking in the non-smoking area because
the "NON-SMOKING"-lights are defect and the stewardesses only show themselves
when the time is there to serve the food ... they don't really care !
We arrive in London totally knocked-up. Again our tickets
have to be changed because our connecting British Airways flight to Brussels (which was
reserved by Air India), has already left. Fortunately the helpful personal of British
Airways quickly arranges a seat for us on the next flight.
When we arrive in Brussels I notice that my carpet, which I bought in Nepal, is missing. A
short panic... the personal of 'Lost luggage' advise me to wait for the next flight. And,
Eureka!... an hour later my carpet arrives.
I guess I don't have to repeat that Air India
is history for us till the end of times... |
N E P A L
[ Nederlands ]
Nepal pictures | Borneo | Nepal | Links |
