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Published: April 20th 2007
If a rule is implemented in a 3rd world country and yet nobody knows about it, does the rule even exist???
I know you're waiting to hear all about Everest, but this is story is just too ribonkulous and needs to be written while she's still fresh.
In order to save a couple hundy, I opted to have a 1 night layover in Dhaka, Bangladesh on the way to Nepal and upon my return to Bangkok. Don't feel bad if you dont know where Dhaka is either, I thought it was in India and was made to look like a fool when I went to the Indian Embassy and confidently told the employee that I was going to Dhaka...to which he laughed in my face and essentially said "are you retarded? Dhaka isn't in India"....I reckon my mistake is the equivalent of someone going to a U.S embassy and saying "Hey, I'm going to Toronto, can I get a U.S visa please?"....bless Tim and Justin for waiting for 2 hours outside the embassy for me in Phnom Pen and not bitching about it.
My flight was with a carrier called Biman Airlines which is Nepal's national carrier.....which might as well have been called Muluk Airlines (clowns in Nepalese). I did a little research prior to the flight and read a bunch of user reviews on the airline. One that stood out and I remembered disitinctly was, "no matter how evil the person, I would not wish this airline on my worst enemy!!!"....crrripes.....I was a little worried, but figured that I'd been thru Nam & Cambodia & Laos on the buses, how bad could an airline be?
Well, on the way to Nepal, my flight was scheduled to be @ 5pm. Fortunately I checked my email before I left for the airport in BKK and had an email from my travel agent telling me the flight was delayed 8 hours.....(who delays a flight 8 hours??) I didnt mind too much, since it only meant less time in Bangladesh, and that I could spend some more time with some friends that I met on Kho San Road. Once I got to the airport, everyone else on my flight hadn't been so fortunate as to receive an email and had been waiting upwards of 10 hours at that point and were less than happy.
Anyways, yesterday we're flying back into Dhaka and everything is running quite smoothly. Because we're only here for one night, we get assigned Transit Visas, which are 24 hour visas. Well, we get to the Transit desk, and ask how long the wait will be before we get to the hotel, the guy tells me...."maximum 30 minutes"....sweet.
So, about 30 minutes later he comes and grabs us and we go downstairs to the immigration desk, where a huge argument breaks out infront of us. Ofcourse, I'm not sure if they're arguing about something related to us, or whether or not the one guy is arguing that his wife's rice curry is better than the others.
We get shipped back upstairs and told to wait some more. This time, its for 2 hours before I finally step up and ask what the deal is. I'm told that Immigration has implemented a new policy where each person is to pay $20 for a transit visa in order to leave the airport and stay in the country for 24 hours. The problem is, that they JUUUUST implemented the policy 10 minutes before we landed and told NOBODY about it. They dont have that many computers here, so an email memo update was out of the question, and I guess the old fashion method of running a memo up some stairs requires too much effort. ALthough, we are assured that our airline is not willing to pay for the $20 right now, but is currently negotiating it. "Sooooo, we're suppose to sleep here tonight??" I ask. "no, no...dont worry, we assist you". Looking around, I'm not so sure anyone is going to help us, because effeciency over here isn't a foreign word, its a non-existant one. As more time passes, the prospects of getting the airline to get us out of the airport begins to look bleak and the thought of sleeping in this airport is not exactly a thrilling one. For an international airport, this one definetly ranks as the worst one I've ever seen. Its about the same size as Sault St Marie's airport (not that any of you have been to that one either) and is much dirtier, with far....FAR....more people inside of it. Another hour passes waiting and I just tell the guy that we're all willing to pay the $20 and get to the hotel. So, they take us back downstairs and to the bank to pay the $20. The problem is, that once we get to this bank, (which is just a currency converter place) they dont know anything about this new $20 transit fee and cant accept our money because they cant give us the proper paperwork to get into the country. They keep telling us that the problem is that they've never done this before, which begs me to ask the question "Excuse me, are you saying that we are the first people (ie...Guinea Pigs) to ever have to pay this $20 transit fee coming into the country???", his response was "yea" and then promptly walked away and hid. These employees are big fans of the game hide and seek. Where you ask a question, then they dont really respond, but instead walk off somewhere and hide until you go and find them 2 hours later. You then ask them the same question and the process is then repeated.
All this hide and seeking....(mostly seeking) works up an appetite and we're taken back upstairs and FINALLY given some food to eat. There are 5 of us who are in this precarious position....seems most logical people opted to pay the extra couple hundy to avoid Bangladesh.....good call.
So, after dinner, we were set to check out our sleeping arrangements....actually no we weren't, we were simply left in the airport to find wherever we could curl up. We put together a couple makeshift benches and all went to sleep with whatever luggage we had with us (our main bags were being sent straight to BKK from Nepal) in the middle. Bangladesh isnt the safest place in the world and is currently on Canadas Consolate website advising people NOT to go, but then again, so is Nepal. The first time thru the country, we were bused directly to the hotel and not allowed to leave, with armed guards out front and a gate. So, even sleeping in the airport, we were all on guard and the only thing missing from the scene was a burning fire in a trash bin to keep us warm.
The airline representatives are all pooched, to say the least. They havent helped us once, havent approached as to what the problems have been and get upset when we look for any answers at all. I would snap on them, but I'd be too scared that they would keep me here any longer than I have to be.
We've all been joking about our precarious and unique position and I keep thinking that this is actually all just a reality TV show where they screw over Western tourists.....but the problem is, that we're taking it all way too well, so thats why they're not jumping out yet and yelling "surprsise, you're on Candid Camera!!"
Oh, I failed to mention how long we would be spending in this airport....well, we flew in at 5pm on Thursday and are set to fly out on Friday @ 1pm. Although, we're currently making bets on when we actually fly out and the over/under is currently set at 7:30 pm....(smart money is on the over).
The worst part about this whole expericence is that I still have to fly with them once more...man, I hope the pilot is far more competent than the employees.
If I had a worst enemy (and I dont think I do..aside from Biman Airlines), I would wish this airline upon them... I mean, of all the places in the world to institute a moronic rule like this, then to tell nobody about it, and then I have to fly into this country on that day....10 minutes after the rule is implemented....what are the odds???
Apologies if there are heaps of spelling errors etc, but didnt have the best sleep curled up beside buddy who smells like he was just on a 3 week Everest trek.
So, I've spent the last 16 hours in the airport and if you've seen how bad the movie Terminal (w/ Tom Hanks) is, go watch it again, and again...and then 6 more times and you'll have 1/2 the idea of how bad this is... I HOOOOOOPE to make it to Bangkok later today and will try and write an Everest blog in the next day or 2.
Jez......out
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Heather
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The SOO!!!
I bet I'm the only one reading this blog who knows the exact size of the Sault Ste Marie airport. Although I realize you may have been poking fun at it, it's cool it made the blog. I will be visiting that airport when I finally arrive home on May 8th. Hillary and Aimee just arrived today for an 8 day visit in London and it's been so nice to see some familiar faces after 7 months away from home. What you're plan? Are you ever going home? From the sounds of it you're having an amazing time and you shouldn't go home until absolutely have to. Bye for now.