I have a history of being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Take Argentina for example. After several months on the road in Central and South America, we had arrived Chile in January 2002. We had heard of problems in Argentina but we hadn’t paid much attention: we felt invincible after Salvador, Bolivia and other not-so-safe countries. As we crossed the border at Mendoza, we were told the peso, which was pegged to the U.S. dollar on a one-to-one basis, was floated and was suffering a major devaluation. The economy had broken down. By the time we got to Buenos Aires, there were demonstrations everywhere, the peso had lost 75% of its value and people were left out with nothing. However, we got by just fine, minus daily riots.
Remember early 2003, the SARS epidemic? We were in Australia during the outbreak, but I flew back to France… with a stop-over in Hong Kong, in the middle of the crisis. The Sydney-Hong Kong flight was eventless, but as soon as we touched ground, a special team escorted us, the passengers, distributing face masks and small antiseptic bottles. On my way to Paris, all passengers were looking at each other suspiciously and everyone would jolt upon hearing the dreaded chesty cough. Not to mention we were welcomed by the police and a medical team in Charles-De-Gaulle!
But my most memorable “wrong place / wrong time” experience took place in 2001. Most people remember 9/11 very clearly. I remember October 7, when the war started.
In 2001, I was working in Hong Kong for a crazy boss. But early October, I decided to quit and to go back to France to plan a trip to Latin America.
I had bought a one way flight to Hong Kong and to find a ticket back to France was more difficult than planned. In the end, I booked a one-way flight with Gulf Air, one stopover in Abu-Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Given the recent turmoil in Middle-East and the post-9/11 craziness, let’s just say it wasn’t my first choice.
On October 5th, I boarded a plane to the UAE. Bye bye Hong Kong, crazy island. As we took off, I felt free yet lost. I wanted to live in China. I had left with the idea of not coming back. Innocent, as I said. I was a bit less naive but yet full of dream. And I was concentrating hard on my book to avoid thinking too much.
The plane was almost empty and I had a whole row to myself. A few businessmen were laughing behind me. One of the flight attendant was French and when I asked her if she were scared to fly, she replied: “if we have to die, we will. No point worrying about that.” Right.
We arrived at Abu-Dhabi in the evening and all got off the plane. It was cold inside the airport. I still had my “Hong Kong clothes”, a long skirt and a tee-shirt and I felt uneasy. Most women were wearing a veil and I was the only foreigner around. I hurried to the nearest bathroom and grabbed a sweater from my carry-on.
My flight to Paris would leave very late at night and I had a few hours ahead of me. The airport’s main floor was circular, organized around a small café. The few sits were taken by rather large families, feeding kids and entertaining them. I sat on the floor by a window and started drawing. I was pretty much the only Westerner here and definitely the only woman by myself. Come to think of it. Probably the youngest traveler too, not including kids.
An hour before the planned departure, I started eying the information board, looking for my flight. And I saw it: “Abu-Dhabi-Paris: cancelled”. What? I ran to the information desk and was told to wait for me info. People were gathering around the desk, visibly as surprised and lost as I was.
“For reasons beyond our control, the flight itinerary will be slightly modified. A stopover in Peshawar, Pakistan, has been added. The stopover will be only a couple of hours long, then we will fly non-stop to Paris. We expect a total delay of less than ten hours”.
I was trying to process the information. Somewhat relieved that I would somehow end up in Paris, Pakistan was the last place I wanted to be right now. What the hell? Peshawar? I didn’t even know where the fucking city was!
I took a sit and was trying to think straight when a man approached me. “Are you okay?”, he asked, “if you want we have some extra food voucher the airline gave us, my wife thought you might want to have something to eat before the flight”. I looked behind his shoulder and saw a woman holding a toddler in her arms, smiling at me. I asked them where they were from. Iran, in the Gulf for holidays. And why did they think the direct flight was cancelled? “Because the Americans are attacking.” Right. The Americans are attacking. What the hell was I doing here?
By the time I boarded the plane, I had learned a bit more. Apparently, a US aerial bombing campaign was imminent in Afghanistan and commercial flights wouldn’t be allowed over the area for a while. And this was the last flight, the last chance for people to make it by home, bombs or no bombs. I still wasn’t sure where I fitted in the picture though.
I slept through the whole flight and only woke up when we touched ground in Peshawar. We all got off the plane and entered the chaotic airport. We were miles away from Abu Dhabi and its spotlessly clean floor. I walked around the packed terminal. The whole scene was pretty chaotic. It didn’t take long for people to approach me: “where are you from?” When I replied “France”, it made them laugh. No wonder. I asked a couple of guys where they were going. Back home, Kabul. “Are you afraid to go back home?” Yes they were. They nodded, smiling. Yes they were scared. Scared for their family, scared of their country since most of them were long-time expats, working in the Gulf, scared of politics, scared of not knowing what would happen. Yet they wanted to be home. That’s where they belonged, they said.
From time to time, people would go to the Mosque on the first level. Women fed babies. Life goes on but we are all glued to CNN. Operation Infinite Justice, later called Operation Enduring Freedom, would start any moment. It didn’t make any sense. Nothing made sense.
I finally boarded my plane to Paris. The war started. I arrived fine, just tired and confused. I had left these people and their lives behind. I was born on the “good” side of the world. It didn’t make sense. It still doesn’t, to me.
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Hey,
I was a young lad new to the UK when the first gulf war broke out. I had a difficult time understanding it. I stayed in bed glued to CNN for a couple of days, sick to my stomach, and not quite believing what I was seeing. This was my generation. Deep down I knew it was the beginning of something terrible to come! And it did. I still don’t understand it.
BB
Beaverboosh’s last blog post..Double Your Pleasure
All I can say is YIKES!
Madame Meow’s last blog post..It’s The Little Things…
I was watching Unsolved Mysteries and there were a ton of people in the Wrong place at the Wrong time.
it was scary.
I don’t feel old. Just bored. 25 wasn’t as exciting as 18 or 21.
🙂 Wow Zhu,
Outside of the fact that YOU are and excellent writer, I can imagine how, and that YOU are always at the wrong place, but fact is that being on the wong place, is more funny or better ( you see more, you have something different than others, its more interesting, less boring etc…)than being on the right place at the right moment!!! Ever thought of it that way? ❗
Do you want to see my SUNNY weekend , (where I live) I added 10 photo’s to show my sunday walk with Ios in Naarden/Holland.
Have a great week!
JoAnn
JoAnn’s D-Eyes Holland’s last blog post..Holland:JOIN me on a SUNNY-Sunday in NAARDEN
Wow. What can I say? I am impressed at your history of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. For me, the only thing I can say about being at the wrong place at the wrong time was in Vienna, when I was a witness to a streetcar-automobile accident, which happened right in front of my eyes I actually jumped backwards. Nothing exciting as your experience.
Linguist-in-Waiting’s last blog post..Kosovo
Hubby & I were visiting my family in Canada on Sept 11th, 2001. I was home but I wanted to be back in Kansas City. I don’t know why. I can only think that it may be because we were going to be moving into our new house the next month.
Spyder’s last blog post..I’m Baaack!
Wow, you have definitely been in some interesting places at some interesting times.
Man, it’s getting harder and harder to find your comment button.
diesel’s last blog post..The Clay Pigeon has Landed!
Yikes! Makes my 6 hour layover in Denver look tame by comparison! Sorry you had to go through all that!
Art’s last blog post..123 Book Meme
WOW! What a post! Pretty much journalistic experiences.
Wrong places at the wrong times? I wouldn’t say so as far as you are concerned since being a globe trotter is in your blood. It’s been some more fuel for your experience in life. I’m still glad you went through those okay and safe.
Froggywoogie’s last blog post..Stop being naive!
well at least you didn’t die from any of those experiences…
or did you?! 😯
Hi Zhu,
Isn’t odd that things like those events you mentioned seem to follow you around? Perhaps you should consider yourself one of the luckiest people in the world for overcoming all those hazards.
These experiences will enrich your life and would make a great story, assuming there are no traumas that remain as a result. You’re one person I’d definitely want to be with when traveling all over the globe! 🙂 –Durano, done!
durano lawayan’s last blog post..Curtain Call for Castro
Wow, that’s scary. But just think, you have a great story to tell now that it’s over. Why does there have to be a right side and a wrong side of the world? Is it just that people are too stupid to realize that undereneath all the different customs, clothes, etc. we’re all human?
Theresa’s last blog post..Get Some Northern Exposure
Wrong place at the wrong time, perhaps. But think about all you have learned. You’ve learned firsthand that people from Iran can be kind and aren’t all fanatics (not that you didn’t know this already). You’ve learned that bombings in Afghanistan don’t exclusively afffect Afghans, though they get the worst of it. You’ve even learned about hyperinflation. And now we’ve all learned from you. Plus aren’t these experiences part of what makes travel great?
Johnada’s last blog post..CURLING WEEK – Scotties Tournament of Hearts
LOL! I was gonna suggest meeting up sometime, but now I have read this post I’m having second thoughts – with you being in the wrong place at the wrong time and me being prone to accidents…. the whole world would be at risk….lol!!
Isn’t it strange how we all remember what we were doing at specific moments in time. I was in the middle of a presentation at work when the 9/11 news broke. I remember it as clear as if it were yesterday.
Graham’s last blog post..What I am listening to at the moment….
wow ur a survivor! 🙂
talk abt being in the wrong place at the wrong time, I think I was born to do that LOL!
Keshi.
@Beaverboosh – I remember the Gulf War but I was pretty young. I guess 9/11 will be “my” Gulf War… sad. I doubt it will ever make sense.
@Madame Meow – It wasn’t that bad 😉
@sir jorge – I don’t mind actually cause I got to see the world, and hope to see more of it in the future. Yet, you get a different perspective depending where you are. I don’t feel bored… just confused 😉
@JoAnn’s D-Eyes Holland – Thanks! I actually don’t mind my “adventures” because I got to see the other side of the story. Come to think of it it was a good experience.
@Linguist-in-Waiting – Yike, car accidents scare me. We all have had these kind of experiences I guess… We just need to remember 😉
@Spyder – Make sense to want to be home when the world get scary.
@diesel – I won’t move my comment button ever again, I swear 😉
@Art – I travel quite a lot so to me, a regular bus ride is like over 24 hours and a stopover is always over than 10 hrs
@Froggywoogie – So I should say “wrong place wrong time but overall good experience”. I wasn’t scared as I said — it was honest –, after this kind of exp. you see the world differently though. It’s not black or white anymore…
@Jay Cam – I swear I didn’t 😈
@durano lawayan – I never thought of myself as “lucky” — innocent I guess, but not lucky nor unlucky to be honest. I just took it as it came. Glad I was there though, looking back. I learned a lot.
@Theresa – I think we’re all human. It just annoys me that 2/3 of the world are ruled by the last 1/3 – sorry for the Marxist rant! These people were like you or me. We are so close. Yet politics divided us…
@Johnada – I did learn a lot and don’t regret anything. It’s just funny looking back… lately I realized I had quite a lot of these experiences!
@Graham – Let’s meet up in Switzerland, I’ve heard it’s pretty safe! We just have to update our insurance policy before… I read about your freak accident a while ago, but overall you were pretty lucky — like me. We are just about experiences I guess! 😆
oh lol, thats actually sort of funny 🙂 could make a good movie, reminds me of “Meet The Parents”. EVERYTHING he did would always end up in the wrong place or the wrong time 🙂
but hey, youre still in one piece right? so eveyrthing is ok 😀
🙂 Hi ZHU,
Answereing you question on my site , You were asking if there are (and so yes how many) many windmills in Holland, I know there are many of them its even an profession,( my brother in law is amillworker) but I do not know the number that not handy of me right? i am gonna find that out for you thanks for your visit! JoAnn from Holland
JoAnns D-Eyes’s last blog post..ABC….. E = for ENERGY on ABC wednesday
That’s what I’m saying. We’re all the same underneath, so why are we letting politics screw us up?
Theresa’s last blog post..Rolling Stoned’s James Bond Review
Hey Zhu,
Very interesting post, girl! I would say that you have had an extremely interesting life, and you haven’t reach 30 yet lol!
I did enjoy reading about your “short” stop at UAE, it gave me the impression of being extremely clean and organised (which is good), but on the other hand Pashawar didn’t *nodding*! However I could feel the despair of those people involved in a situation that wasn’t theirs (yes, many times we tend to forget that not all Muslims are terrorists, that not all of them were/a involved in terrorism and that they have families just like us).
I often wonder what would happen if Muslims would rise and tell terrorists “Enough! Enough!”…cause they are the only ones who can fight against this in depth…
Latin-America is a beautiful continent, but with serious problems as well *nodding*…you were brave to travel through Argentina in such a difficult time…
Congratulations for this wonderful article, Zhu :D!
Cheers
Max Coutinho’s last blog post..The genesis of sexist remarks
@ammaro – Oh yeah, and I’m glad I had these experiences. Yet looking back… I hope I’m not bad luck! 😆
@JoAnns D-Eyes – Thank you for this interesting answer! It’s always good to learn more about foreign countries, right? 😉
@Theresa – Couldn’t agree more with you.
@Max Coutinho – Thank you! I have heard a lot of Muslims voices saying enough lately. I mean, the fanatics are still a small number of people… and if not Muslims, they would be Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist etc. fanatics. They are just sick… and need a reason to act the way they do. Sad.