Ok, so, a trip to the Island nation of Cyprus ended for me, and so, a short report.
First of all, some of you might recall that I always say there's 2 kinds of baggage, "Carry-On" and "Lost". For this trip, I, unfortunately, HAD to check a bag, as it would have been exceedingly expensive ($200+) to ship my bags through to Cyprus.
So, I packed as much as I dared in my carry-on bag, and, with some sense of worry, watched as the bag containing my work clothes was digested by the x-ray machine at Kennedy International.
My scheduled departure of 11:30 PM for a KLM Flight to Amsterdam was immediately posted as "Delayed" the moment I gave them my bags. Not good.
My 11:30 flight finally got off the ground - at 1:05 AM.
Despite a valiant effort by the pilot, a 747-400 has a top speed for passenger use, and we landed too late for me to make my connection via Cyprus Airways to Cyprus - we arrived 13:10, my flight to Cyprus was scheduled for 14:00 - but Shiapole airport is MASSIVE and the gate agent told me there was no physical way for me to make it from where I was to where the plane was in time. Oh no.
Well, then, let me get the next flight out, right?
OK, the next flight out direct to Cyprus is MONDAY.
Uh-oh. I have to teach a seminar MONDAY at 8:00 AM - in Cyprus.
OK, now what? Well, turns out there's a flight from Amsterdam to Budapest, and then a flight from Budapest to Cyprus. Arrival time? 3:30 AM Local time Monday. Oh boy.
At that moment, I knew - I just knew - my bags were NOT going to arrive with me. It was now about 14:30 in Amsterdam, my flight to Budaopest was 16:40, so I had time to buy new clothes. $400 later, I had work clothes that were not quite "me", but the shopping experience was fun...a direct "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" experience. Pink shirt, black pants, funny tie.
Amsterdam to Budapest was uneventful, flew in on Malev airlines, the national carrier of Hungary. A long, boring wait at the airport, and then finally, a flight to Cyprus boarded. And then we sat on the ground for a while, because it was snowing and the de-icing crew was the same crew that loaded the baggage. In fact, I watched the baggage loading from my seat, and didn't see my bag go on...I was very glad I had my backup clothes.
We landed late, at 3:30 AM, and of course, my bag wasn't there. It took 45 minutes to fill out the forms and so forth., and then it was a 45 minute cab drive from Larnaca to Nicosia. I arrived at my hotel utterly exhausted, and facing an 8:00 AM Seminar start time, decided it would be best NOT to sleep. A cold, cold shower and shave, plus about 32 ounces of black coffee helped me look presentable to the audience, and the seminar went off fine.
STUFF I HAD THAT MADE THIS ORDEAL BETTER
1. Money. I mean, really, that's what you need the most of on trips like this. Stores are open late at international airports.
2. A Book To Read. I was quite happy to have a copy of "Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds" in my bag, it made the hours pass faster.
3. A Universal Outlet Adapter. I was in 4 countries in a period of 24 hours. Each of those 4 countries has a different standard for their electrical plugs. I got one like this:
You can get them from
Compusa If you carry a laptop, like I do, you can't live without one.
4. WATER. 1.5 liters in 1/2 liter bottles. Man, that was good to have.
5. A SMALL TOWEL. It was a pillow, it kept the food off me when I ate, it was just handy.
THINGS I WISH I HAD THOUGHT TO BRING
1. More clothes in my Carry-On.
The biggest "DUH" moment for me was the inexplicable failure to pack at least one "Business-Ready" outfit in my kit. I ALWAYS carry at least a clean shirt, skivvies and socks in my carry-on, and for some reason, I didn't this time. Bad, bad, bad failing.
2. An international (GSM) Cell phone or phone card. I spent a small fortune in phone calls that would have been much cheaper if I had remembered to pick up a calling card. AT&T has non-expiring minutes, which is important.
http://www.consumer.att.com/prepaidcard/fy/pao.htmlThe GSM Cell phone option only works with "unlocked" cell phones, and even then, only if your phone has the right combination of frequencies and technologies.
Other than that, I had what I needed. My leatherman Wave saw occasional duty, my GPS got coordinates of locations where I was, which was fun, and I even had a small ham radio with me and made a QSO with some locals on 2M!
But basically, the rule remains the same: Carry on or Lost.
My bags showed up at the hotel Wednesday. They were in Zurich, Switzerland. No explanation of how or why they went there.
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