While I’d like to claim I’m a travel pro, breezing through airports, conversing in multiple languages, and navigating new cities with ease, it’s sadly not the truth. The prompt for this month’s #TravelTuesday themed post is travel misadventures and unfortunately, I have quite a few to choose from!
How fast can you run?
One of my more memorable misadventures took place before I’d even left UK soil. An early morning flight to Geneva saw myself and my travel companions Kate and Ben cutting it a little fine to get to Heathrow. As we were heading away for a few days in the snow at Morzine in France, I’d brought my laptop thinking I’d take advantage of the time to squeeze in some blogging. However, I didn’t pack my checked luggage very smartly, and ended up having to put all the cords for my laptop, camera and GoPro, as well as my laptop, in my carry on. Note 1: packing a million cords and a GoPro stick in your carryon looks slightly suspect to a customs scanner.
Unsurprisingly, I was beckoned aside for an unpack of my carry-on and in-depth examination of each and every cord. This was in April last year, so camera sticks or mono-pods were still slightly new on the scene and my particular customs official was fascinated by the GoPro. He decided to regale me at length with a hilarious video he’d seen on YouTube, while the minutes to my plane boarding ticked away. Note 2: don’t humour a chatty customs official beyond the bounds of what is absolutely necessary to convince them you are legitimate. You might be there for (what feels like) hours.
Released from Mr Chatty I flung my belongings back into my carry-on and rushed to the gate to meet my friends, who had helpfully spent the time buying us breakfast and restorative coffees. Within a couple of minutes our plane was called for boarding and we filed on. Settling myself into my seat I remembered I hadn’t put my laptop on flight mode and reached into my carry-on to adjust it… to discover no laptop! Cue intense panic. I rushed to the front of the plane and, armed only with my boarding pass and passport, was allowed out to check whether I’d left it at the gate. Note 3: if getting off a plane for any reason prior to it taking off, you may want to take your phone. Just maybe. Or wallet. Could be helpful.
My laptop was (unsurprisingly) not at the gate. The lovely lady at the gate lounge was very sorry that she couldn’t radio Customs to see if I’d left it there, but did have the useful information that our plane’s takeoff was delayed. I asked her if I could go back to Customs myself to check whether it was at lost property there, and she said I could. My next question was (with visions of burly security guards flying at me from every angle) “Am I allowed to run?” Her answer: “I advise that you do!” And with that, I was off… sprinting down what was OF COURSE the longest branch in Heathrow from what felt like the furthest gate away. Note 4: if for some reason you decide to put yourself through this kind of hell, make sure you’re currently in training for a race. It helps. But maybe don’t wear boots and jeans.
After parting airport crowds like the Red Sea, I skidded into Customs and unsurprisingly quickly attracted the attention of an officer. He led me over to the Lost Property desk which, luckily was right there, and I calmly explained the problem. Kidding… I was panting and totally stressed! The Lost Property official started looking through the box at glacial speed, before finally pulling out a laptop triumphantly… only problem, it wasn’t mine. Fortunately, the next one bore my flowery laptop cover, and I thought I was good to go. But no. Turns out you have to turn your laptop on and sign into it to prove its yours… makes sense but oh how stressful it was at the time! Once the relevant paperwork had been scribbled on at speed, I hugged my laptop to me and sprinted back down to the gate. The lovely gate lady, bless her kind heart, had come about a third of the distance down to wait for me, and once I could focus my breathing enough to understand what she was saying, explained that we were still delayed and I hadn’t slowed the plane down at all. Hallelujah! I returned to the plane, exclaiming ostensibly to my friends, but in reality to anyone who was within hearing distance, that I hadn’t delayed the plane, and collapsed in a sweaty heap in my seat. Least relaxing start to a holiday OF ALL TIME!
Final note: Of course, many people have pointed out since that I probably could have just strolled calmly to Customs, as the delays that would have been caused by offloading my baggage would have far outweighed the time they needed to wait for me. Not something that occurred to me mid-sprint unfortunately! But I think a more useful lesson from all of this is – count your belongings before you leave Customs… and maybe pack those cords in your check-in luggage!
What misadventures have happened to you on or even before your travels?
