Heathrow Airport may seem out of place among the great cities of the world, but it's actually not. This past Monday, July 14, I spent all day and all night at Heathrow in pursuit of a cheap flight to Moscow. I had heard that some airlines offer a standby option, but this, I think, is only done through prior arrangement, or through a third-party who actually books the tickets. At any rate, none of the airlines at Heathrow with flights to Moscow considered letting me standby. Since you can’t buy tickets through the internet on the same day, and since my debit card was locked up with the +$2,000-deposit-processing-of-5-days-time-policy, I was therefore forced to purchase a flight on Tuesday working off of the airport’s expensive wireless. No matter where you go in London, it eats your money, and I was glad to leave. The interesting thing about Heathrow is that, as I mentioned above, there is a species of traveler who sleeps in airports, not hostels. This is quite common I think and perfectly acceptable to the airport. Something to keep in mind if you're too poor for a hostel; of course, if you're too poor for a hostel, you probably shouldn't be traveling...
This whole affair set me back one day, and since I left my Verizon phone at home, I started to have huge communication issues at this point. My friends in Moscow expected me a day earlier and my family didn’t know where I had disappeared. Well, the pay phones at the Warsaw airport did not work with credit card and they did not have any ATMs, SO: I made quick friends with a Polish Sailor named Dima and used his phone to call Val Spector in Moscow who in turn contacted Anna Bigun (a Ukrainian friend who was kind enough to find me my current lodging). I could not get through to her cell phone, but apparently Val know something I didn’t because he was able to contact her; I called Val back and gave him all my arrival information and Anna was again kind enough to meet me at the airport. It was imperative that I contact her because I was to meet her at the American Embassy earlier in the day, BUT (surprise) our Polish flight was very late getting out of London, and I missed my connecting flight to Moscow. So two lessons I have learned about traveling so far: 1. Travel with at least one other person if you can (they can watch your stuff and give you moral support). Also, you could use them as a pillow in case you have to sleep overnight in the airport. 2. When arranging flights, do so well in advance and try to go the straight route. Connections = delays, especially when working with ignominious carriers such as LOT, ASA, FINNAIR, etc.
Now, I am very comfortable living with the Nabatnikov family in a forest north of Moscow, and am having a great time with my research and with friends.
1 comment:
Phew. I'm glad you had friends that could help you get everything together, and get ahold of. I hear you about the airport thing. I went to Canada,(yeah, yeah, not as difficult or far away as your trip, but still), and took my two little ones with me. It was Hell. Though you'd think you weren't technically alone, because yes, you can at least talk to and listen to your kids, you were. Basically, because if they had to get a snack, go to the restroom, etc., you had to move all your crap, and lose your seats, and go with them. It doesn't sound too bad, but it is. Especially when everything's delayed and confused and canceled and all over the place.
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