The cost of a Subway sandwich

Holding an Indian passport brings along with it a lot of fuss, especially if one intends to travel to the West. I had a travel coming up to Europe and UK soon and had to apply for both the visas separately. While I did have my Schengen visa with me, this was my second trip to New York from State College to get my British visa. I was already very irritated at the whole process and towards the end of the day when everything was done and I managed to catch the last bus back home, I felt a sense of relief.

It will be worth dedicating a few lines to this last bus that I boarded. The service is provided by Shun Feng Inc, I had booked my ticket from GotoBus.com and the date of my travel was 20^th Sep 2017. Everything was fine during the first half of my travel. Once we had drove past Bloomsburg, I was feeling closer home. The thought of reaching home and sipping in some hot milk (with saffron, honey) while my feet was soaked in warm water calmed me down immediately. It really had been a long day in a longer week.

The bus stopped at a place called Miffinville. There was some announcement in Chinese but I did not ask for an interpretation. I had travelled by this bus before and knew that they stopped here for sometime. Hungry that I was, I decided to deboard the bus and use the restroom and grab something to eat from the Subway. Once I reached the ladies restroom, a co-passenger had already entered the loo. As far as my memory had it, I knew that this restroom could hold multiple users. So I grabbed the door and tried to get in. The door seemed locked from inside. I had no option but to wait for her to exit from that door. I waited long enough and when she did finally come out, she looked a little confused to see me waiting outside. She was seated in front of me in the bus and we had exchanged a few pleasantries in the form of smiles earlier. She said something to me again in Chinese (sometimes I pass off as Chinese, sometimes Spanish and I never understood why) which I guessed was something like, one has to push the door harder or something. I smiled and she left.

As I happen to reach the Subway counter, the staff there was already attending an old man ahead of me and asked me to wait. Very well, I thought and grabbed a few chips from the rack. When my turn came in some minutes later, I ordered for a regular veggie pattie and a coke. This is where it gets interesting. After I grab my sandwich, I exit the doorway to board in the bus and I realize that I don't see any vehicle remotely resembling a bus! The first thought that came to my mind was that maybe I had missed the spot where it was parked. I look around and see nothing in sight. Seeing me confused, a man who was entering the Subway asked what was wrong. It was the first time I realized as I was talking to him, that the bus must have left without me. He chuckled and said “Oh, that will be a nightmare”. I agreed, but in my mind I was already thinking of how to go about dealing with this situation.

I went inside the building and told the Subway man what had happened. He seemed unfettered as if to suggest a subtle “So?”. Almost to get him out of that indifferent state, I offered the solution myself and asked if they have a phone that I can use. Now, it so happens that all of my luggage, including my laptop, mobiles and all the stuffs (including a Korean beauty treatment kit I was keen on experimenting) that I had bought from New York were left in the bus. I only had a small sling with me that included my bus passes and my debit cards. Frankly, I do not even know why I had asked for a phone. I remember none of my friends number and the only number I remember is my own and my home back in India. Both useless. I was pointed to another stall, Burger King and there were a few guys there who happen to show some concern about this whole incident. I tried calling my own number from somebody's mobile hoping that someone in the bus would notice. Did not happen! I called some of my friends in State College via somebody's Facebook messenger application but not a single friend happen to receive the call. In the end, I dropped them a text or two asking them to get back to me in this man's Facebook account. We also tried calling the GotoBus services but to no avail. I knew that was it. It was around 10 pm at night and I was an hour and a half away from home. There was nothing that could be done that night and any attempts to travel should be done the next morning. I was in the middle of nowhere stranded, cold and tired but nowhere close to worried. I asked if there was an Inn nearby where I could put up that night. Thankfully, there was. I walked towards the Inn, thanked those guys for the help and decided to check in the hotel. When I reached the hotel, I asked the receptionist if I could use the internet. She told me that I could but only after I check in the hotel. I did that and went on to use a 1990s computer placed in the hall. The first thing that I looked up was my location from the Hotel address – just for the sake of it. After Googling about ways to reach State College the next day, I was suddenly reminded that my stuffs are all in the bus. (How could the driver not notice a pile of bags in an empty passenger seat is really out of my understanding and especially the aforementioned girl right in front of me with whom I had made some association earlier, not show slightest amount of interference at my disappearance from the bus is something I cannot understand till date!). I had to find a way to reach my friends in State College and ask them to collect my luggage. Frankly, I had lost all my faith in the bus operators.

My Facebook account has remained deactivated for very long. I tried to log in just hoping that I remember my password and viola! It did work. (My gmail uses a double security measure and when I try to login from unknown device, it will send me a code in my mobile number. So of course, that was useless then). I then sent off messages this time from my own account to three friends back in State College. When the first one responded, I asked him for a contact number. It was simpler from that point onwards. I asked one of my friends to collect my luggage from the bus when it reaches State college, which he later told me he did by simply walking inside the bus and grabbing my stuffs from the seat I had specified. No one noticed or cared that!

I entered my hotel room and called up friends in State college. Some of my friends had already called up Handy Delivery taxi services and asked how much would it cost to fetch someone stranded in Miffinville; 500$ was the estimate. Anyhow, since I would be able to best specify my location, I decided to call the Handy Delivery services myself. As soon as I explained the situation, the man on the other side of the phone was “I just received a call about a pickup from Miffinville, Are you the one who is left there on this dark night?”. I laughed and agreed that it was me and that I would give him a call next day if I find absolute no way to reach State College.

So far I had gathered a few ways of getting back home (This whole incident occurred before I owned a car and had a license to drive in the US):

1. Wait for the same bus that MAY stop at the same place after 24 hours.

2. Board another megabus from a Pilot stop nearby where I MAY be allowed to board.

3. Travel through a series of amtraks, bus and train journey next day – included a lot of risk with no Google maps to help me.

4. Go to the nearest bus stop in Bloomsburg and check out options

5. Book a taxi to come back home. 

My plan of action!

When I woke up the next day, I had meticulously ruled out the first three options for each had their own non feasibilities associated with it. The fourth option seemed the most plausible but before that, I had to call Handy Delivery like I had told them I would. It was around 7 am that morning and I told them my situation. Probably a different guy received the call and I asked for an estimate for this situation. He gave the same amount 400-500$ since this pickup would mean that they send a Taxi to Miffinville from State College and bring me back as they did not have a branch there. Since I did not want to wake up my other friends that early morning, I decided to ask the same guy what he thinks is the best option to be back since I could not make contact with anyone else that time. What he said falteringly still makes me smile till date. “Book an Uber”, he said.

I could not book an Uber since I did not have my phone with me. Just for the sake of it, I decided to stroll around and see if there is anything at all nearby that could give me pointers. A few minutes later as I was just lingering on the roadway, a police car stopped behind me. He asked me where I wanted to go, I explained him the situation briefly. He humored my by saying that State College is far and I could not reach there by walking if I intended to do that. Provided me a few alternatives – all of which I had already explored and eliminated. He also warned me that I was not allowed to walk on the freeway like that. I smiled and nodded. Just before he drove off, he flirtatiously smiled and said “By the way, State college is that way” and pointed to the opposite right angled way from where I currently was standing. Both laughed.

I came back to hotel and grabbed some breakfast. The hotel also arranged for a shuttle to reach me to Bloomsburg bus stop. I got down near a Unimart in Bloomsburg and walked in. The store was run by two Pakistani brothers, one of them was named Asif. I explained to him the whole situation and told him that I needed a bus that would reach be to Allenwood, Williamsport and some names in between which I cannot recall now. He paused and asked me where I actually wanted to go. I told him that I need to reach State College but since I want to reach by daytime, I have to make break journeys to reach there. “But there is a direct bus to State College in three hours”, he said. I ignored what he said and went on explaining. “Yes, but I believe the other bus..., oh wait! Did you say State College!” He smiled and said that he could arrange the ticket for me. I thanked him and we chatted for sometime. Then it dawned on me that I should call my friends in State College and let them know of the whole development.

I had three hours to pass so I decided to visit Downtown area. I really needed to get some sunglasses since the glare from the sun was feeling too much to take. I explored around a few places and decided to rest in a park in front of a courthouse. After a while, an old man came up to me and asked if he could sit beside me. Of course he could. We then chatted along – me how I was lost, what I was doing, He – his old days in the army, horses, farms and his knee replacement operation next day. A charming old man, Jim was his name.

After what seemed like an hour or so, we parted ways and I then went on to visit the Bloomsburg University. I entered Columbia hall but could not get through the second gate which asked for card access. I needed to enter the hall so that I could wash my face and get a drink of water. It had been really hot that morning. Soon a sweet looking girl walked towards the hall. I approached her and told her that I needed to enter the hall but I do not have a card and if she could use hers to let me in. Even before I could complete the sentence, she let me in and I later realized that there was probably some religious programme going on there. I loitered around the library inside the hall and when I decided to go back, I was hoping I do not have to swap any card again which would entail asking another favour. It was not required since at the apt moment a man entered from outside and held the door for me. I thanked him and he replied by saying “May you incorporate the lesson you learnt today and may God be with you”. I bowed to him and walked towards the bus stop to catch my bus.

It went on pretty uneventful after that. The bus stopped at Williamsport where I stumbled upon a nice dress shop and bought a few stuffs for myself. On my way back from Williamsport to State College, there was a fire in some townhouse and our bus got delayed for half an hour or so. These were all trivialities now as I pulled down the shade and smiled away when reminiscing the happenings of the previous night.

That was the cost of a Subway sandwich.

Europe/UK 6-17 October 2017

The first six months of my postdoctoral course was pretty typical here: work, weekends, work, weekends. My first out of US travel after May 2017 happen to again revolve around conferences and visits. This time the consortium was in Poland. While I was at it, I thought that I should also visit some old friends in Europe and UK.

English Gardens, Munich

As usual, this trip began with something going wrong. Feeling heavily reluctant to go on with this trip, I anyway checked in to the University Park airport in State college. Half an hour prior to our departure, we hear an announcement that there is a radio failure of the aircraft and the pilot is trying to reboot the plane to check if the signal can be received thereafter. I was amused to begin with. After all, have not all of us tried the method of rebooting when things stop being functional! Then it amused me even further. Is this rebooting a reliable way to test if something is wrong with the aircraft. Anyway, after a few minutes, we were asked to board the flight since the reboot had worked! Well, we did. Five minutes into the plane, we were again asked to deboard the flight since the pilot was not allowed to take off without a maintenance team having a thorough look at the aircraft which could take anywhere from five minutes to an hour. I had a connecting flight from Detroit but could still afford a couple of hours of delay. There were many others who could not! They started to get fidgity and calling the customer care services. I decide to wait another hour. As it happened, in less than an hour, the maintenance team gave off a green signal for take off.

I boarded the flight from Detroit to Munich. It was an eight hour long flight and by the time, it was 1 am in State college, I had reached Munich where the local time was 8 am. Thankfully, I had managed to get a short nap in flight. I had a friend who was coming over to receive me at the airport. We were probably meeting after two years and I was very much looking forward to it. When we did, it was like old times again. We had a lot of catching up to do and did not realize when we had already changed two trains and a tram to reach her apartment. Our conversation did not end there. Once at her apartment, it was way past an hour before I freshened up and gobbled up the delicious lunch that she had prepared. After an hours rest, we went out to explore the nearby areas of Munich. That evening was windy and dizzly, thanks to the storm last evening. We went for a walk to English Garden, Mariannenplatz went past Old Townhouse and grabbed dinner and some beer at Hofbräuhaus am Platzl. Next morning, we left early to her Institute where we spent the rest of the day. Towards evening, I had to leave for Warsaw, Poland. 

Once I landed in Warsaw and instructed the taxi driver where I wanted to go, I realized of a potential problem: language. Thankfully, another friend in Poland had texted me the address of the institute I was put up in. All I did was show the taxi driver the same address. He understood exactly where he had to go and was kind enough to help me with all the luggage till I entered the Institute premises.

Lazienki Park, Poland

Consortium dinner

The room in the institute was warm and cozy with a small kitchen inside it. Jet-lagged that I was, I managed to get very less sleep. The next day few days went by in the meeting very quickly (and emotional rollercoastering, but that is another long story altogether). There was a conference dinner on Wednesday and it is when I could visit a few places in Oldtown in company of a PhD student whom my friend had introduced me to. I was due to leave Warsaw on Friday morning and therefore had decided to stay over at my friend's place the last night on Thursday. After checking out of the institute guesthouse, we dumped the luggage at her place and went for dinner to a nice Polish restaurant. After that began the bar hopping and wandering the streets of Warsaw at night. By the time we were home, we were too exhausted to even talk. Both slept peacefully. The next day I left for Southampton – my first time to the United Kingdom. The co passenger next to me was a chivalrous British gentleman from Winchester. We chatted about each other's work and bid goodbye at the immigration desk. The Border police were very friendly as well. After a few verifications, I left the desk and as soon as I am out, I see my another friend (at Southampton). After we were done enough with crazy greetings, I was surprised to see her acknowledge the same gentleman next to me in flight. Apparently, he had figured out that my friend was probably waiting for me and had indulged in a few small talks with her.

South Sea, Portsmouth

That night, we dumped my luggage at her apartment and went out for dinner to a Greek place nearby (where I had the best white wine of my life – Ionos ). A lot of catching up had to be done (again) and we stayed at that restaurant till it literally closed down. The next day, we had decided to visit the beach, but first things first, we had to get our respective haircuts. On the streets of UK, we stumbled upon an excellent Vietnamese hairdresser where we spent our entire morning chatting and drinking coffee. Once done, we came back to the apartment, had the sumptous meal and dragged ourself to visit the South sea. Unlike any other beaches that I have visited, this was a rocky beach. We had reached just in time to

Meridian Line

enjoy the sunset at the deep horizon.

London's eye

The next day, we travelled to Greenwich via London waterloo station. My friend was down with fever the same day (thanks to the cold breeze last evening) but determined to show me around. We visited the Greenwich Royal observatory and the merdian line ending with a planetarium show. On our way back to Southampton, we also visited the London's eye and manged to get a panoramic view of London in the merry-go-round.

Next morning, it was cold and dark – an effect of the hurricane Ophelia. We went to her University in the morning and after the day was over, came home early to chat. Later at night, we both decided to visit a temple nearby– probably a Jain temple – but realized that it was closed by the time we reached. We still loafed around the premises and came home early to pack since I was to leave the next day. 

Early morning I boarded the flight back via the same route through Amsterdam, Detroit and State college, this time again reluctant but to be back.