In which I am a lucky bunny...
Jul. 12th, 2011 03:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranSo... I did make it to Finland on Saturday after all, and it was indeed an adventure. First of all, I'm not sure if it was the flight from Singapore or the "full English" breakfast I had at Heathrow T3 (on the assumption that I might not get any lunch), but I ended up feeling quite sick while waiting for the next flight. Terminal three was a bit of zoo and any space to sit was at a premium. I elected to save my laptop battery (this point will become important later on) and walked around for a bit, in between trips to various mens rooms.
At last the flight was called and I was off to Helsinki. Now, I had made a decision on this trip to try wearing layers instead of my usual travelling jacket and T-shirt. T3 for some reason, seemed to be either unbearably hot or cold, so I kept on taking my jumper on and off. Once in the plane, though, I soon realised it was actually really hot (and it wasn't just me, lots of other people were complaining). So, I was down to my outer shirt and T-shirt, taking the outer shirt off as well, eventually. This point will also become important later.
To Finland! The flight was smooth, we got lunch after all, and I was soon back in the rather style Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Now all I had to do was collect my luggage, catch a bus to Turku, then another bus to Naantali, where I would get in around twelve hours later than expected.
So, first the luggage. Um... Yes. It would have been nice if my luggage had actually arrived on the same flight as me, but not to worry, at least this will make the bus trips a bit easier. A whole bunch of other people had also lost their luggage, so I joined the queue, filled out a form from the friendly baggage staff (but, crucially, don't recall getting a reference number) and then headed out to catch the bus.
As it happened, the bus was just about to leave when I reached the stop, so I didn't have to wait very long at all. And, since I know a bit of Finnish, I was able to follow at least some of the announcements, including how long the trip was expected to take (almost three hours). I didn't really catch the one where the driver announced that the engine had died two hours in, but at least there were friendly Finnish passengers there to explain it to me.
So, we wait on the highway between Salo and Turku for another bus to come and take us onwards. Sure enough, it turns up and we proceed. In Turku, one of the locals tells us where to get off to catch the next bus to Naantali, but unfortunately once we get there, no-one knows where to catch it from (I found out later it was actually across the road from where we were looking).
But, not to worry, I know that the bus should be catchable from Kauppatori (the market square) and everyone knows where that is, so I head off with another delegate in that direction. We're one corner away from Kauppatori and we see a sign for the number 11 bus to Naantali and then sure enough the bus turns up. The driver doesn't recognize the name of our hotel in English (actually, it was more likely my accent), but I attempt the Finnish name and he recognizes it. Turns out there's a stop right outside. So, we make it into the hotel at around 10 pm, I get some food and go to bed (after another adventure involving someone else's suitcase and belongings still being laid out in my room when I arrived).
Right, so now all I have to do is wait for my luggage to arrive the next morning, right? Except, unfortunately, the next morning it hasn't turned up. Or all the next day, in fact. And there are no clothing shops in Naantali that are open on a Sunday. So, I decide to go back to Turku for some emergency shopping.
Now, at this point I'd be out of clothes normally (I always carry one change in my carry-on, but because of the delay in Singapore and the hot flight from LHR, I've already used up both T-shirts. However, I do have my outer shirt, which is not too disgracefully smelly (yet), so I head in to Turku on a nice sunny thirty degree day. Only to find the shops don't open till midday.
Clothes bought, some sights seen, back to the hotel where I'm pretty sure by now my luggage will have turned up, just to punish me for buying extra clothes. Except my prudence has gone unpunished...
Furthermore, I've also left two crucial items from my carry-on. My phone charger and my power adaptor. Luckily, my laptop still has enough power to last for some essential email and I make it through the next morning before it's another trip back to Turku to buy some more gadgets. Fortunately, it was a Nokia phone and this is Nokia-land so it wasn't hard finding the phone charger. Also, luckily I did remember to pack the laptop transformer in my carry-on and not my suitase, so I only had to worry about buying a 4 Euro travel adaptor and not a Dell power cable.
After all that, I'm pretty confident that I'll make it back to find my luggage has finally arrived, but, no, still no sign of it.
Ah well. All up, things could have been a lot worse and at least I'm set for clothes, power and comms for the rest of the trip. And I've learnt a new phrase "Suomalaisella sisulla", "with Finnish determination".
Onwards!
At last the flight was called and I was off to Helsinki. Now, I had made a decision on this trip to try wearing layers instead of my usual travelling jacket and T-shirt. T3 for some reason, seemed to be either unbearably hot or cold, so I kept on taking my jumper on and off. Once in the plane, though, I soon realised it was actually really hot (and it wasn't just me, lots of other people were complaining). So, I was down to my outer shirt and T-shirt, taking the outer shirt off as well, eventually. This point will also become important later.
To Finland! The flight was smooth, we got lunch after all, and I was soon back in the rather style Helsinki-Vantaa airport. Now all I had to do was collect my luggage, catch a bus to Turku, then another bus to Naantali, where I would get in around twelve hours later than expected.
So, first the luggage. Um... Yes. It would have been nice if my luggage had actually arrived on the same flight as me, but not to worry, at least this will make the bus trips a bit easier. A whole bunch of other people had also lost their luggage, so I joined the queue, filled out a form from the friendly baggage staff (but, crucially, don't recall getting a reference number) and then headed out to catch the bus.
As it happened, the bus was just about to leave when I reached the stop, so I didn't have to wait very long at all. And, since I know a bit of Finnish, I was able to follow at least some of the announcements, including how long the trip was expected to take (almost three hours). I didn't really catch the one where the driver announced that the engine had died two hours in, but at least there were friendly Finnish passengers there to explain it to me.
So, we wait on the highway between Salo and Turku for another bus to come and take us onwards. Sure enough, it turns up and we proceed. In Turku, one of the locals tells us where to get off to catch the next bus to Naantali, but unfortunately once we get there, no-one knows where to catch it from (I found out later it was actually across the road from where we were looking).
But, not to worry, I know that the bus should be catchable from Kauppatori (the market square) and everyone knows where that is, so I head off with another delegate in that direction. We're one corner away from Kauppatori and we see a sign for the number 11 bus to Naantali and then sure enough the bus turns up. The driver doesn't recognize the name of our hotel in English (actually, it was more likely my accent), but I attempt the Finnish name and he recognizes it. Turns out there's a stop right outside. So, we make it into the hotel at around 10 pm, I get some food and go to bed (after another adventure involving someone else's suitcase and belongings still being laid out in my room when I arrived).
Right, so now all I have to do is wait for my luggage to arrive the next morning, right? Except, unfortunately, the next morning it hasn't turned up. Or all the next day, in fact. And there are no clothing shops in Naantali that are open on a Sunday. So, I decide to go back to Turku for some emergency shopping.
Now, at this point I'd be out of clothes normally (I always carry one change in my carry-on, but because of the delay in Singapore and the hot flight from LHR, I've already used up both T-shirts. However, I do have my outer shirt, which is not too disgracefully smelly (yet), so I head in to Turku on a nice sunny thirty degree day. Only to find the shops don't open till midday.
Clothes bought, some sights seen, back to the hotel where I'm pretty sure by now my luggage will have turned up, just to punish me for buying extra clothes. Except my prudence has gone unpunished...
Furthermore, I've also left two crucial items from my carry-on. My phone charger and my power adaptor. Luckily, my laptop still has enough power to last for some essential email and I make it through the next morning before it's another trip back to Turku to buy some more gadgets. Fortunately, it was a Nokia phone and this is Nokia-land so it wasn't hard finding the phone charger. Also, luckily I did remember to pack the laptop transformer in my carry-on and not my suitase, so I only had to worry about buying a 4 Euro travel adaptor and not a Dell power cable.
After all that, I'm pretty confident that I'll make it back to find my luggage has finally arrived, but, no, still no sign of it.
Ah well. All up, things could have been a lot worse and at least I'm set for clothes, power and comms for the rest of the trip. And I've learnt a new phrase "Suomalaisella sisulla", "with Finnish determination".
Onwards!
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no subject
Date: 2011-07-12 08:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-12 10:08 am (UTC)Sounds like a bit of a nightmare. I do hope your luggage turns up soon, though it sounds like you have it all under control in any case. Kudos.
no subject
Date: 2011-07-13 09:55 pm (UTC)