Being far away from your own country and in a foreign land
with different languages and cultures is not easy. The first days, you could
feel that sometimes you have missed food and places that you used to go if you craved for example
‘Maggi Goreng’ in the middle of the night especially going to mamak restaurant
that opens 24hours.In Europe, there’s no such thing as 24 hours restaurant.
Shops or Tabaks and restaurants closed as early as 5pm and the only food that
you could get was either a piece of giant pizzas slices or perhaps some Doner
kebabs that cost around Euro 5 or 6(MYR20-24!). Not to mention, all off the
shops closed in Sunday.
I’d remembered the first day of my journey; it was on 23rd
June 2014. I had a flight from Kuala Lumpur via Hanoi and a direct flight after
to Frankfurt. It was the cheapest flight I’ve got to go to Europe for one way
ticket. I was so excited about the trip that I hardly get enough of sleep or
rest the day before. I make sure that I arrived early at the airport and do the
check-in on time. Luckily, the check-in counter staff was really friendly and
she actually gave me the window sitting instead of aisle. The Vietnam Airlines
offers long-haul direct flights to Europe and there’s no sitting numbering
unless once you have checked-in. It was a 3 hours flight from Kuala Lumpur
International Airport (KLIA1) to Hanoi international Airport before took off
for Frankfurt. The Hanoi International Airport doesn’t seem like what I’ve
imagined before, that is modern and sophisticated instead, it reminded me of
the old Ho Chi Minh International Airport. I was back on the plane 1 hour after
that. The journey went smooth and the steward & stewardess of Vietnam
Airlines were really helpful and friendly throughout the 13 hours journey.
As soon as I reached Frankfurt Airport; went to the
immigration counter. I was impressed by the immigration systems they use for
the EU (European Union) citizen. Just a scan and they are ready to go and
collect their luggage. As for me, I have to queue and get my passport stamped
and so does the other passengers especially from Vietnam. I smiled at the
officer and I have in my hand my return flight ticket from Europe just in case
if the officer asked me. My instinct is right. The officer asked me few
questions:
Immigration officer: Do you have return flight ticket?
Me :
Yes! (And I gave the officer the copy of flight itinerary)
Immigration officer: What’s the purpose for your stay and how long you
will be here?
Me : Holiday and for 2 months!
The officer looked at me and finally she stamped my passport. I feel
relieved and picked my backpack from the conveyor belt and walked through the
security and left the arrival hall.From then on, I knew that a new adventure awaits
me as soon as I stepped outside of the airport.
It’s windy and chill outside of the airport (Flughafen is in German
language). I waited for the bus for my Berlin trip. First time booking a bus in
Europe and unsure what to expect. The bus came on time. I was amazed when
everything is punctual as scheduled. I could see from far that a green color
bus call Meinfernbus (www.meinfernbus.de) approached and stopped to pick up the passenger. It was 9
a.m. bus. The bus driver, clad in white colored shirt and a green and orange color
tie came up from the bus with a blackberry in his hand. He asked one by one and
finally scanned the bar code on my printed ticket. After that, I put my bag in the
bag compartment and went up on the bus and get a sitby the window. Another awkward moment
was that the driver drives on the left hand side. The bus is fully equipped
with WIFI, electrical sockets, food and hot drinks and also the toilet (WC). After everyone went on board, as schedule the bus depart on time. We passed through Frankfurt and make our way to the auto bahn towards Berlin. More adventures awaiting for me!
