Air France flight arrived an hour earlier. We get down at the tarmac and go to the terminus by bus. After that it took just 2 mins to get out of the customs. I am impressed. First, I get my Visa in 20 mins and now clear customs in 2 mins. I have yet to see the French bureaucracy. The airport doesn’t dazzle much.
People at the airport know English. For the rest I use my limited vocabulary to form sentences. I have to go to my hotel and don’t know how. I am kicking myself for not finding the directions while in US. I get a Map of Paris, but don’t know which part of Paris to look for. Unlike Chicago, the city of Paris is not a grid of Avenues and Streets. I get the first feeling of being lost. The road Rue Rodier is a small road and nobody ( not even Taxi drivers) knows where it is. I unsuccessfully try to find a map with road index.
Finally, I decide to go to City Center and find the place from there. May be I can find a power outlet and get the number from my laptop. Finally, I have just paid 10% and can give up on that place and stay somewhere else.
Robbed at the Airport:
While looking down for the train station, I feel someone behind me….I turn back and there is nobody. Don’t know why, but I check my things and find my travel portfolio missing. There is not much money in it, but it has my Passport and all the important documents. I can see a man about 10 m from my Cart walking away. May be I have kept it inside the check-in bag.
No, I do remember keeping it outside. EXCUSEZ MOI MONSIEUR - I shout loudly. He turns back and I see my portfolio coming out from under his Jacket. I thank God. Ask him to wait while I check the things – Everything looks fine. I come back to my cart and take out the camera. He hides behind a pillar and then takes a horizontal escalator. I run after him with camera and cart in hand as fast as I can, but he escapes. Anyway at least I got my stuff back.
Moral: Plan ahead and always keep your luggage in sight.
No comments:
Post a Comment