Sunday, December 16, 2007
Stardust
I feel like the worst fan in the world. I watched all of stardust on thie airplane, thoroughly enjoying the movie, and wondering what was so familiar about it… and at the end: Neil Gaiman. Doh! Just my favourite writer and one of my favourite books by him!
Once again, a journey would not be a journey if it wasn’t for misadventures on my part. Right, so all my flights were between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5.50 a.m. What does this mean? No shops, no banks open, no duty free shopping. Also, my card from Australia suddenly stopped functioning – I figure my bank in Australia thinks that my card has been stolen due to the sudden peak in internet transactions involved in planning my post Tanzania trip. So whilst there is money on my account, I am unable to withdraw it.
So I got to Madrid airport and managed to withdraw from my almost empty Finnish account an amount of 20 Euros after walking around for an hour looking for an ATM to add to the 23 something I had in my wallet (40 was overdrawing it!). The visa in Tanzania costs US$50 on arrival. So my next mission was to find an exchange and hope that 43 Euros was enough for US$50! But when? Madrid in the middle of the night was impossible. And the check-in lady said I had 25 minutes to make a transition to my next plane.
I spent a few hours in the plane to Amsterdam honestly wondering how I would get it communicated to my father that I was stranded in Dar Es Salaam airport without money to get out…. I had considered already writing him an e-mail from Madrid, but you need to pay for internet view credit card… so that wouldn’t have worked either, my credit/debit not functioning… I thought if I waited long enough, my dad would surely find some way of finding my whereabouts (Daddy can do anything!!)
For once, I am grateful for Dutch efficiency. I think the lady was trying to freak me out, because the truth was I had a little over an hours to make it to my gate… so having reached the general vicinity, I managed to find an exchange and still have time to practically fall asleep at the gate waiting for boarding to start!
How much did it cost me to get US$50? 40.17 Euros. I can’t believe how lucky I am. After watching Stardust, I am convinced that I’m also protected by some magical charm…. One that allows me to sort things out almost by accident when I screw things up (screwing things up is a daily activity for me). Emma has been known to call it serendipity on many occasions.
Anyhow, don’t want to say I’m at my parents’ place until I actually am, even though I’ve gotten as far as flying over Sudanese territory. If this is published, it means that I’ve survived my insane journey.
*** Yes, I've survived!***
And it's a good thing I exchanged the Euros for Dollars.... cos the rule here is 50 dollars or 50 euros... Doh!
fon @ 5:19 AM link to post * *