The transfer

I love to travel. That’s why I spend most of my time checking out airline fares, special offers and last minute deals. However, traveling requires money. Maybe not as much as some might think but it does. Therefore I have always been traveling using the weirdest and most complicated routes, to save money. It was like that this time as well. I have booked my flight to Bangkok, I got a very good deal, but the amount I saved  had to be paid with my time, nerves and physical endurance.

My adventure started by getting to know the villages of Croatia and Hungary (as if I hadn’t seen those hundreds of times, using that horrible train from Zagreb to Budapest). The thing is, Zagreb is not really connected to other parts of the world (even if we’re talking about the connection with Italy,  which could not be closer than it is). It’s always science fiction to get somewhere from Zagreb. Therefore I had to go to Budapest. Luckily I have very good friends there, that can host me and then I am able to fly where I want.

The train from Zagreb to Budapest is slow as a snail. But I did get to meet some nice Indian people and have a nice chat. Still, I knew that this was only the beginning and that I will arrive to my destination in about 48 hours time. I always feel like a gypsy when I travel somewhere. Taking all the means of transport there are, moving from one place to the other, rather than entering a plane, falling asleep and waking up at the chosen destination. But I guess that’s all part of the charm.

After the arrival to Budapest, a nice time with my friends and a few hours of sleep I went to the airport from which I have flown to Istanbul. Now that was something – spending 9 hours at the Ataturk airport. It is huge, it connects Europe and Asia and a lot of people transfer here. However it has a big flaw – no internet access. While I do not mind reading, eating or having a tea, internet access is a pretty crucial thing if we’re taking about airports, especially huge ones, like Ataturk. I’ve entered every bar and every shop to ask for wifi, but without success. Then I saw a lady selling some kind of cards, through which you can connect. One card costs 15 euros! An Italian guy standing behind me told her that for 15 euros we all might as well buy a modem. Oh, what technology did to us! How to survive without internet access?? Desperately, we had to start talking to one another in order to kill the transfer time.

Finally, the plane from Istanbul to Bangkok. 8 and a half hours through which I’ve seen 3 movies, listened to a bunch of music and slept. And then BAM, here I was. I’ve arrived to Bangkok. I had no idea what time it was, which day it was, but the satisfaction of arriving to a totally new and exciting place seemed to wipe out the confusion.

Right there I knew why I’d always choose to be a gypsy again, even if traveling like that is a mess. No train, bus, car, bike, metro, or a plane ride hustle could blur up that amazing feeling of a new adventure waiting to begin.