^lucky indeed!
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*Originally posted by hskhan: *
I got charged 12 dollars (6ish lb) for a veggie burger in Manchester. Miserable piece of crap. Never flying again!
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oh my god. Nowhere do you get veggie burgers fer £6 like. You got robbed. hahaha
Umer, your story reminds me of my family, everytime I travel with them. Its like a Roller coaster, chaos, anxiety, panic, everyone in a hurry, everything going wrong, everything done at the last minute and funnily enough, right at the end it all comes together just in the nick of time. That is why I would much prefer travelling on my own now as oppose to having a near heart attack before every journey.
in summer 2000 as we all friends at uni of westminster was going away to distant lands we went for a euro tour
all set, booked, arranged, its getting funny on very first day, I booked the van for 8 of us. picked the van from london, as we are going to spain too, so checked with lady, does it have AC, she said no and this kind of car is only. well picked that, cause she didnt know about the car well, it was brand new with AC. :)
one of my frieand who is the finance guy for the tour. :) converted all the money to travel checks. only realised when we hit the france and toll motorways, it wasnt our fault so his card was in out of every toll. to find a bank on motorway is distant thing:) was fun, our first stop was montpillier in south of france. got there at night so no bank open that time. next morning usman in stress went to airport and got all converted to francs without thining that in next 3 hours we will be in spain. it was pre euro era. anyway we managed and enjoyed his stress.
next 2 weeks all in spain, was really fun. been everywhere from barcelona to gibralter, cardoba, madrid,garanada.
for the third week we had plan to go back to paris then to germany and holand.
headed back. safely crossed whole spain. well here it goes more funny. near the french border, our brand new rented van just lost his tranmission at exactly 3000 miles on the clock. Thanks to Ahmed's kick down approach. at 3:00 o clock in the morning. called insurance , they spoke spainish and we all didnt know anything about it. they didnt know much english. as we were near toll, went to toll guy, asked him in gestures, he called and some tow truck came and loaded the car on its back. hey hey, leaving us here???
that guy said he cant take us. so called again , they arranged hotel nearby in Bilbao. stayed there, next morning. no hertx centre near that place so they arranged to reach nearest place, Bairtiz in france.
went to get replacement van, ... :) Now Hertz didnt have same spec car to fit us all in. so we got two small lil cars , new fun started. until Paris.
we dropped the idea to continue to germany and holland in this condition.
so headed back to london. reaching Calais port, told that we cant take these cars to england as its owned by french Hertz. so got on ferry on foot. got to dover. called again AA, they arranged huge van to drop all of us home. finally we were home and all laughing at the fun we had. :)
been there done that
Some really interesting stories.
Well, I got one to tell as well.
Being so fund of travelling and having parents who think its not good for girls to travel by themselves, I decided that I would travel anyways just telling them some excuse.
So I decided to go to Istanbul cuz I wanted it to be a blend of east n west. I told my parents that I was going for field research for a uni project to Germany and would be away for a week. See that was not a problem that I went away for that purpose. But I went to Turkey with my best friend and stayed there for a whole week. We had so much fun there. We went to see all that stuff that the Othomans took with them from Saudi Arabia, like the wooded door of Kaba and the belongings of prophet Muhammad (saw). It was really beautiful to see all those things.
We went to the eastern side of the city as well and saw the difference between the different part of the cities.
The hotel manager and other employees at the hotel were so exited about 2 pakistani girls travelling by themselves cuz they thought that we came all the way from Pakistan:D So they tried to be extra good to us..hihihih..that was fun
And during the whole week I was so scared of getting caught. If my parents found out they would never allow me to travel anymore at all. But what could I do. I had tried to convince them to allow me to travel with my friends. But I don’t know what they were thinking. Its not like I was going to the first night club I would bump into! In fact, we didn’t go to any clubbing at all while we were on our own in Turkey cuz we never liked the idea of it.
And now I am thinking of going to some new place. Though, I am thinking of telling them the truth this time cuz halaat ka kuch pata nahin hota hai.
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oh itni dhair sari angraizi 
… urdu ki bat hoti to hum bhi sunate kissay kahaniyan 
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Haha… thats what they deserved. Taking a walk on Peshawar mor, in Islamabad, sometimes a passer by cycle wala would like to do poondi, my cousin and I always carried rocks in our hands, and we used to practice nishana hurling at them. Fun! Worked both ways!
Thanks for sharing your Kuwait to Karachi trip with us. It must be hard, and it’ll be for a very long while u feeling it happening yesterday. Reading it was splendid. I recall ptv making even a drama on it, with Shabir Jan and actors like that in it.
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^ peshawar more? u live in isb? G9/4??? my husband used to live in that area...the only place i liekd was nazir juice house..yummy burgers!!!
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^Hmm… not really but spent every summer there in G 8/1??? We all used to walk to the markaz (??) at night just to get a soda(which was gross) and chips just to sit and chill on the sidewalk aahhh miss being 13!
hmm… don’t remember nazir juice house, but I remember some ice-cream cone wala and the french fries all spiced up sold at side walk vendors 
Other than that I miss the lambay lambay walks in barsat and water fights feeling all nostalgic and the moonlight picnics at Daman-e-koh. Man I’ve got some real thrill seeker relatives in family.
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lol....yeah the ice cream places was good....i lived there for a summer after i got married..good memories...
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I had to go to Toronto in Emergency & couldn't find a flight .... so bought a flight London Boston, over night stay & then Boston Toronto. Finally reached the destination safely ... did all the business I wanted to do in Toronto & headed back to Pearson for the flight back. Lori (my friend & host) was going to drop me at the airport & due a an accident on the Q.E.W we got stucked & I missed the flight ... irony was that there was no seat available to any flight to boston for three day ... so I decided to take a bus from Toronto to Boston same night.
Lori dropped in at Chapters where I bought couple of books & headed my way to Bus station ... boarded 11 pm bus from Toronto to Buffalo & then from Buffalo a change over for the bus to Boston. My Driver delayed the departure due to a fault in drivers seat & he couldn't adjust the seat. So instead of leaving at 11 pm we left at 00:07 am. Toronto to Niagra Falls & I was falling sleep. Mr. Driver didn't bother to turn towards the immigration booth at the USA/Canada instead passed thourgh the customs & straight to Buffalo bus station .. now people with Philippines & other Visa needing countries started shouting that they need a stamp on the passport so move the bus back to border ... so he did .. I wanted to get off the bus becuase I told him that I have to catch the bus from buffalo to Boston showing him my passport that I dont need the Visa for USA. he didn't agree so we ended up on the border ... back to Bus Buffalo bus station & I missed my bus to Boston ... there was no bus for next 10 hours to Boston & I had a flight in 14 hours so nothing I could do ... I still remember I looked at the sky & ask Allah what is happening & said "Its upto you to" and then I sat in the corner. I was getting married in 30 hours & at that time it didn't seem happening .. because I was sitting in Buffalo not London (UK).
Anyway .... I took next bus to New York instead & ended up in New York in 10 hours instead of Boston ... long story short ... took a Delta (air) shuttle from La Guardia (New York) to Boston for only 89 US dollars & I was in Boston in due time to catch my flight from Boston to London.
When I was sitting in the aircraft to fly to London I was thinking about last unbelieveable 24 hours. I landed in London & straight from Heathrow I headed to Marriage Registry office where I got married in 3 hour after landing. I told me wife the whole story & she didn't believe me ... but when showed her all tickets & afterwards photographs from the film I developed she believed me.
I still have those Bus & Delta Shuttle (air ticket) as a sovenior to keep my memory refreshed.
There are other Travel stories ... more later.
Very Very intresting.
Honestly this was a fiction or reality???:)
Any way i wish such kind of adventure happen with me too.
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Wait, isn’t the Pakistani govt supposed to get it’s citizens out of a war zone? I imagine all those gora countries got their citizens out of Kuwait.
Why did you guys have to go through Iraq? That sounds strange to me, since Iraq was the one attacking. Saudi Arabia wont let non Kuwaitis in?
I imainge you guys were using your passports. What was some other people doing who didn’t have their passports with them?
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...great stories y'all, i'll share mine some time.
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a nugget from my recent travels…
in india i traveled quite a bit by train, i wanted the experience, and it’s said that u haven’t seen the real india til you’ve traveled by train. but i mostly traveled first class AC and by express trains, so overall it was a great experience, no hiccups… except for this one time…
if u read my travelogue from ranthambhore, my train from jodhpur to ranthambhore had arrived late, around 3 pm, so that i missed the afternoon safari… plus i had such a great time there, that i decided to stay a lil longer. so i needed to make new reservations for my train from ranthambhore to jaipur. since it was a last minute thing, the hotel staff told me that my reservation was unconfirmed, but i shd most likely be able to get a seat in 2nd class AC.
well we got to the station a little late… a porter took charge of my bags and started walking at such a brisk pace that i had to run to keep up with him.. we got to my compartment and started to scan the list for my name… my name wasn’t there! the TC said there was no room! i didn’t know what to do… the next train was the following morning, and i had to make a quick decision - travel by “General” or go back to the hotel… i really needed to get to Jaipur that night, so i thought, how bad could it be? maybe i won’t get a sleeper coach, but atleast there’ll be a seat… the porter had already started walking towards General, which was at the other end of the train, we had to move fast coz the departure time was really close… indians may be late lateefs, but the Railways are very very punctual, as i discovered…
we got to General, and i was shocked coz it was packed… ppl were literally on top of each other… and there were like half a dozen lame ppl in the train traveling to who knows where. the porter threw my luggage in, and so i was forced to get in… i was hanging on to the door handle for dear life, when the lame ppl realised they were on the wrong train and so we all had to get off… then they crawled on their hands out of the train… it was fascinating to see how quickly they moved despite having no legs. then once again it was a mad scramble as ppl struggled to get the best spots in the train. this time made i made it a few paces past the door… but in the rush, my chappal broke. ppl were pushing and shoving, elbows in ur face until the train started moving and the door was finally shut. and then suddenly, there was a change in the atmosphere. all those ppl who had been pushing and fighting with each other moments before, they suddenly became good neighbours, making place for each other, making introductions, detailed queries as to who they were, where they came from, where they were going to, the purpose of their trip, how many children… very friendly manner, laughing and joking among themselves… the camaraderie after the fierce struggle for seats was an amazing phenomenon to witness.
for my part, i was still in shock. i’d found myself among the poor masses, these were poor farmers, labourers, etc. i was the only one who was well-dressed, whose luggage was a proper suitcase instead of a big cloth bundle. i also realised that i was wearing my big fancy camera around my neck (which gave many indians the impression that i was a reporter). and so, i was rightly afraid for my safety.
the ppl had made themselves comfortable on the floor of the train, but i couldn’t see myself doing that, so remained standing, and i only had enough space for one foot… the other foot rested on it. so it was rather crazy… i was thankful that i’d worn shalwar kameez so i atleast looked indian rather than someone from outside. for about 45 minutes i stood silent, head down, pretending to read my travel magazine, with gorgeous pics of the caribbean and greece - the only reading material i had on me- realizing after a while how snooty it appeared, coz it looked like most of those ppl couldn’t read/write. then i got tired of re-reading the same old articles, and i dared to raise my head a little to take a look at my surroundings… there was not an inch of space left anywhere. ppl were packed on the seats, and the more enterprising among them had even perched on the luggage racks where even a child would be uncomfortable. the resilience of their spirit, their ability to adapt and take adversity in stride was astounding to me.
there was one muslim family, a man, his wife and three daughters; they were veiled with their dupattas… and the other men were respectful towards them… “bhabhiji aap idhar baithiye”… then the man next to me spoke to me, asking where i was going, etc. i replied guardedly as i didn’t want them to know i was alone. but i’m sure it was obvious. i was shocked that nobody bothered me, harrassed me, that ppl made space for me to sit.. i said, no, i prefer standing, and the man said beta, u will get tired, here sit on my suitcase… i kept refusing, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. indians can be very persistent, as i discovered… in the end, i had to surrender to his hospitality.. i sat gingerly on the strong trunk.
i was carrying my bottle of mineral water in a leather bottle bag, and when an old man began coughing, the ppl started looking for water… did anyone have any? they looked at me hesitantly, and i willingly gave up my bottle to the grandfatherly old man. the give and take was so spontaneous… it was like an unspoken rule that for the duration of this journey, we are all friends, we are all to help each other, no person can be selfish…
and when my stop came 2 hours later, there were willing hands to lower my luggage to the station, and find me a porter who would take charge of my luggage… i hobbled along until i could take it no more. i bade him stop, then i discarded my 50 ruppee chappals, and took out my sturdy, dependable Naturalizer shoes, and finally took a breath of relief…
that 3 hour ride gave me a lot of insight into the nature of my people… those months that i spent there taught me to respect them. yes, they may be illiterate, they may be dishevelled, they may not know etiquette and fine manners, but they had good hearts… that’s the stuff that matters :k:
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He did it a couple of times. Third time, the girl slapped him on the face really hard and lifted her niqab. It was none other than his own SISTER!.
Ouccccccccccccccccch. Needless to say, he stopped doing that and wasn't seen in public for a few weeks.
Gosh I wonder how it all went when they wetn home.. servies him right though. :o
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which airline was that?
Shinoo, love the thread! It's so fun reading everyone's stories. :-)
I don't think I've any out of the ordinary stories to share. I'll just share about my trip to Pakistan. Just things I remembered while reading some of the stories guppies shared.
Reading about lost luggage, I remember the first time I travelled to Pakistan by myself. I was in high school. Very nervous before the trip, especially cuz I had a transit in London, UK. There was this really nice aunty (from Scarborough) who was going somewhere in the middle east. We met her at the airport and she made sure I got a seat with her...cuz my dad told her I was going alone. She told me all about her family and we even exchanged numbers. I had to say goodbye to her when we landed at Heathrow. She had to take a flight to Oman I think, while I had to catch a plane to Islamabad from Gatewick. I was a hecka nervous about changing airports. I kept asking the airport staff if I was going the right way. I had to take a shuttle bus to the other airport. I had about 4 hours altogether to catch the next plane. I got to the other airport, which was filled with desi's. All I had with me was a backpack. No other luggage, as it was supposed to be transferred over. So all these people are staring me up and down, looking at me roaming around. They probably thought I was eloping. :D (Eek, I won't forget the stares.) The plane ride was sort of noisy and annoying. All these aunties sharing their life stories with each other. I even heard a few talk about me...asking each other whom I was with. :-D Then this uncle came and sat on the seat beside me. He seemed very graceful ...probably in his 60s. He started talking to me telling me about his whole khandan who'd be there at the airport to receive him. He kept telling me to eat during our meal. Lecturing me on how I should take care of myself. He also said, if I didn't eat, he'd tell my mom. :D (My mom was already in Pak before me.)
So, we get to Islamabad, and I've no luggage. The uncle stayed with me for a long time, while we waited for my luggage. I felt so bad cuz he was stuck there. I told him he could go if he wanted. He's like Acha beta I'll go and tell my family I'm here...then I'll be back. I didn't expect him to return, but after like 5 mins, he was back. :-) I found out, my luggage had been lost in transfer. The uncle stayed with me until I found my mom and other relatives who were there to pick me up. He even met my mom. (Didn't complain about me not eating.) I had to wait for 3 days before I got my luggage. (Had to go shopping for clothes the day I got there...cuz all I had on me was a pair of jeans and a sweater.) :-D
On the way back from Pakistan, I had to stay a night in London. When I got back to Toronto, guess what? No luggage again! But, like an hour after I got home, they called and said they found it..and someone came and delivered it to our house.
Funny thing is, one of my major concerns for the trip was carrying the luggage. Throughout the whole trip, I never had to even touch my suitcases. Everything was taken "care" of. :-D
I'll be back with more. :-)
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Good read Namkeen!
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which airline was that?
Neera, it was British Airways.
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Neera, it was British Airways.
I figured... apparently British Airways loses luggage for 1 in 7 of its passengers - just heard the statistic on TV today when they were announcing the new Heathrow terminal and how the new facilities will make luggage management more efficient.
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Nice stories all. Here is one...
Our first trip to Italy and I was determined to ensure we were going to have the best, relax and have fun. Had read a lot, probably a bit too much, about the place....so between the warnings about the pickpockets and how some trains can get really crowded....I made all the plans, reservations (which cost a lot more!) and also ensure we had great window seats.
Time came and and we found our train and looked of rour seat. I had just finished lecturing the missus about how beautiful the view is going to be since I had been smart enought get just the right seats etc....As we find our seats there is this elderl woman sitting there and her husband across from her
I told them to get of the seat but they gave me that strange look and acted like they don't understand....I showed them my tickets and the numbers on the seats....now the man understood but smiles at me and points us to the next set of seats...
I am not going to accept that! these are the window seats ...two window seats that I reserved and if we go the next set, I was sure someone else would have reserved the windows and we'll get only one or no window seats! and there goes my entire plan to watch beautiful Italian country side from anice train, sipping a drink and chilling with the lady!
Well, I got a bit red under the collar and my voice was raising....my wife who hates confrontation talks to me ...let it go let it go....it's ok.
No I am not going to let it go and ruin our acation just because some Italian peasant decides his wife gets the best seat even though I reserved it! I am almost yelling now and the old man finally decided they had enough....he tells his wife to move and and he moves too....his wife actually smiles kindly at us as she waddles over to the next set of seat...
I am victorious but with an empty feeling you get whenever you win something by using overwhelming disproportionate force.....we sit there a couple of minutes.....then.....
the conductor comes, closed the door....the train starts moving.......
Except for us and the two elderly couple that we made to move.....
THE WHOLE COMPARTMENT IS EMPTY! We could have 10 seats each ...all windows if want till all the way to the destination! THE WHOLE BLOODY COMPARTMENT HAD JUST US!
.......
........I have felt foolish before but this was unbearable. Those two elderly nice couple no longer looked like seat-stealing monsters but rather like my own gramps....
We had a pack of these great cookies and stuff....we opened one, I went and offered some to them and apologized.....it took a few tries but they understood and the next thing you, the lady who hadn't spoken a word till then absolutely opened up! she called my wife over to sit next to her, showed us all kinds of family pictures, how my wife reminded her of her children, etc.....
We swapped addresses and then even mailed us pics of their home garden etc!