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The Italian Job

As written in the previous post, I was scheduled to fly out to a country with 5-digits and starting with an I. €100 to anyone who thought that country was Italy.

Milan, in particular, was the 'next' destination for me. But just a short trip it would be. Left the comfortable confines of Amsterdam for Milan on Saturday morning, scheduled to report to the client on Monday. Sight seeing on Sunday then, right? Wrong. Terrible weather welcomed me to the birthplace of the Congress Party chief and unfortunately, I was confined to my hotel room on Sunday. Many difficult and screwed up things in Italia. First, English language is a 'foreign' language and hence a rarity for any Italian to string a perfect sentence together. Second, taxi fares in Milan start from the time the taxi 'starts' from its location (Linate airport, most times). So by the time you are actually seated in the taxi, you already have minimum €10 to pay. The farther the destination you need to be picked up from, the higher the tab. I have paid (an unheard of) €172 for 2 18 km round trips. Wallet empty, heartbreak full!!

There were at least 5 instances which I would term as "Perilously Close To a Nervous Breakdown" or PCTNB and "So Close To a Meltdown" or SCTM.

SCTM# 1: Traveling from client location to Holiday Inn. Fare total €62. Cash available: €5, Credit Card: Lifesaver. But as my luck would have it, No Englisho, No Credit Cardo, Only Cash. First heart-attack. Had to borrow €65 from the hotel staff to pay the cab driver. Not bad!!

PCTNB# 1: After a quick call with my project supervisor, it is learnt that I need to travel to Munich, Germany and that evening (Tuesday)itself!! Great, I get on the internet, start contacting Travel and Hotel folks for making appropriate arrangements and things looking rosy good. Then approximately at 4:50PM, the ticket arrives, with the original flight timing of departure set at 9:05PM. Just a slight glitch. The flight is from Milan Malpensa airport, roughly 40-50 km away from where I am. Looking at a taxi fare of €100. Politely blasted the travel agent and got the ticket fixed to Milan Linate. Only problem, the flight departs at 6:20PM. Time on my watch, 5:00PM. Second heart-attack. I gather my thoughts and my belongings and contact the travel person to issue the tickets, like RIGHT NOW!!

PCTNB# 2: Here I am at the check-out counter, trying my level best to breathe normally. Hotel fare for 4 days, €415. No problem. There is no money on my corporate card, so I take out my personal card. Swipe. NO FUNDS!! GULP!! Not only am I going to miss my flight, I am going to spend the night in an Italian jail. Third heart-attack.

I use my Amex card, which I have not used in the past 4-5 years and that is my life saver. What a day!!

SCTM# 2: I reach the airport barely minutes before the final check-in time and I hand over the ticket details to the desk and BAM!!, my name is not listed. Fourth heart-attack. After about 4 rounds of checking and re-checking, I am good to go. Heading for the security check point? Nopes. The shuttle driver is waiting outside for me to handover the €65 that I had borrowed earlier in the day. Refer to SCTM# 1.

SCTM# 3: I frantically search for an ATM at Milan Linate, cabin baggage and laptop bag in tow. I find one, in one remote corner of the airport. I try to withdraw €200 and HELL!! not enough funds to dispense. Fifth heart-attack. Flight to catch in less than 20 minutes and a shuttle driver waiting to collect his money. Better sense prevailed and I withdrew €70 to just handover the money to the waiting hands. He wished me luck and I was on my way.

So finally after a day when every second counted, I was on my way out of Milan to Paris and then to Munich. No problems for the next 3 hours. Right? Wrong. At Munich Airport, I am told that my baggage did not arrive from Paris. Great and I am supposed to meet a client first thing tomorrow morning. I need to wear the same pair of T-shirt and Jeans and meet the client. That is precisely what I did.

Travelled through beautiful Bavaria from Munich to Wasserburg in fantastic conditions through a taxi service which cost me €125 roundtrip. Totally valid, when the distance is nearly 120 km.

So here I am, at last, with the trip finally ending (return ticket is 99.99% confirmed), I have completed a really frenetic trip to Italy and Germany.

Back to the homeland this weekend.
Happy Thanksgiving to folks in the USA.

Comments

Unknown said…
Do you think we got time to read this s***...baat karta hai :P

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