Lost and found
When travelling, one of the biggest fears one has is that one’s luggage will not reach or get lost mid-journey. This happened with Ali who was travelling from Canada, “I was on my way to Pakistan for a cousin’s wedding and had brought two big suitcases with me, which contained all of my clothes including my (designer) suits, shoes, shirts, cufflinks etc. I reached Karachi after a long and turbulent flight but my luggage was nowhere to be found as it had been left in London where I had a stopover of four hours.”
“I filed my complaint and went to my aunts’ house where I was staying but did not have anything with me except the clothes I was wearing. My luggage came after eight days but my cufflinks, colognes and the suit and shoes I was planning to wear at the wedding were missing.”
Round and round in circles
Foreign airports are huge and confusing, and it is easy to get lost. Saima has lived through such an experience, “I travelled on my own for the first time when I was 14 and was so scared and nervous that I could hardly think straight. I had a stopover at Taipei airport where I got utterly and completely lost and started bawling loudly and hysterically.”
“Everyone who passed by me was staring and seemed at a loss of what to do or say, until finally a woman came up to me and offered to help. I ended up handing my passport to a complete stranger who helped me find my gate and showed me what to do.”
Wasted time and money
Naureen was travelling to New Jersey on a Fulbright scholarship and missed her connecting flight from Dubai to Washington, therefore meaning that she missed her flight to New Jersey as well.
“I called United Airlines but they could not help me because my ticket was restricted as it was bought and paid for by the United States Educational Foundation of Pakistan. The only flight that I would not have to pay for would get me there on August 27 which was too late because my reporting date was August 24. It was a horrible experience but worked out in the end.”
Nothing to lose
“My mother is very big on respecting one’s elders and keeping up family ties so before heading back to college, I had to say goodbye to all my relatives. I had one call left and the day of my flight had arrived so we decided to stop by on the way to the airport. I had my suitcases with me and my laptop bag with my research papers that were due when I reached back. This was years ago when e-mail and flash drives were not common so all the research which I had done was on my laptop. I went in for 15 minutes and did my duty, but came out to find the car window broken and my laptop bag missing.”
Published in The Express Tribune, July 2nd, 2010.
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