Shits Happened in Egypt

Have u ever experienced any “shit happened” when you traveled?
On my last big trip, I've got lesson learned that shouldn't be taken un-seriously!

When I was happily landed on Cairo International Airport, I went directly to the immigration counter. Unfortunately, I needed to wait for my passport being further checking. It’s basically common in Cairo although I didn’t know the way they chose the tourists to be checked further. They said I have to wait at the back for 5 minutes. Almost 15 minutes there was no announcement that my passport had been finished checking. Then, I asked the officer, again he just said, “You have to wait for 5 minutes”. The hostel driver actually will pick me up when I arrived, so I called the hostel (yeah I turned on my international roaming -.-) and told him that I still needed to wait for my passport. I asked him the driver number, but he said the driver would come to see me and he asked me what I worn at that day. Because of the miscommunication, I couldn’t manage to meet the driver, and when I called the hostel again, he said better for me to take taxi, he would tell the address to the taxi driver, by the way.

Then I was OK with the deal since I still needed to wait for my passport. Almost one hour waiting, finally the officer called my name and gave back my passport. Fiuh. I directly headed to baggage claim area and it was empty. I shocked for a moment knowing there wasn’t my backpack there. I tried lost-and-found counter, and the officer said there’s no bag from Emirates, yet there’s no solution from them (due to language gap also). I cried like literally tears streamed down my face. Then there was a lady came to me, and asked me what happened. I told her, and luckily she helped me to find Emirates officer.

Emirates officer said that my bag was safe in the Emirates office, but I needed to go to the office in the Departure building. Then I went to the office, it was around 500 meters..Hell ya! When I arrived, the other lady asked me to wait since the physical bag wasn’t there. I was like OMG… where the hell was my bag?? Since I was exhausted I asked the officer for a glass of water, yet she gave me one-liter mineral water for me… Hahaha, felt sorry for me I guess. She called a friend, then told me I had to go back to the arrival building and find the-lost-and-found counter, my bag will be there.

Inhale exhale; I went back to the arrival. Another shit happened when I want to go inside to lost-and-found counter; the officer didn’t allow me for any reason. He said “You have to wait for 5 minutes” (People in here only knew that statement I guess -.-). I walked back and forth, then decided to go inside like innocent people, and it worked! Hahaha.

I grabbed my backpack, and walked outside in hurry. I found one taxi, called the hostel to talk to the taxi driver, and sat safely at the back waiting to the taxi took me to the hostel. Fiuh, I spent more than two hours for this and needed to do a little changes of my itinerary.

There days later, I moved to another country, Jordan. I came so early to the airport that I would have spare time to relax.  Nonetheless, when I checked-in, the officer lady asked me to show the credit card I used to buy the ticket because she needed to check the validity. I showed her my credit card. It took me too long to wait, and then I asked her. Well yaaaa.. It turned out the system was down. Geez!! What would I do? I asked her that I couldn’t wait anymore because I still need to queue for the immigration, It was almost boarding time!  The lady finally asked her friend to copy my credit card and release my boarding pass. It was Royal Jordanian Airlines, by the way. Bear in mind that you need to bring your credit card you used to buy an airlines ticket, incase it’s an airlines rules to check your credit card. I almost left it at home!