Hey there!
This one’s a personal essay on my struggles with travelling in UK.
My jinx with travel
It’s been over two months since I moved to the UK and started my job at Ticketmaster. Despite the challenges of adjusting to a new country, I've had a major jinx with travelling within the UK. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. But I am happy to report that my jinx has finally been broken.
I visited the office on my first day to submit documents and collect the laptop. I met my manager and one of my teammates. I flew to London that day, and my flight was delayed by an hour. I was supposed to return to Glasgow on the same day, and thus, I planned my commute from the office to the airport carefully to avoid any transport disruptions. I arrived at the airport 3 hours before my flight but found out that it was delayed only 20 minutes before departure. After an hour of waiting, I saw on the flight tracker app that the flight would land after an hour. The travel time between London and Glasgow is an hour. So, my flight finally departed after a two-hour delay. I arrived in Glasgow in the middle of the night.
Next week, I was to revisit the London office to meet a colleague who was visiting from the US. I arrived on time at the airport for my flight to London. After standing in queue to enter security for an hour, the airport was now crowded with other travellers waiting with me to board their flights. We were asked to leave the airport and move to the parking lot without any explanation. It turned out there was a bomb squad on site checking a passenger's luggage, causing the delay. With my meeting in London only an hour away, I, along with hundreds of others, was left waiting in the cold at the airport parking lot. I informed my manager of the situation and decided to join the call remotely from the hotel.
It's worth mentioning that I moved to the UK during a difficult time with a struggling economy, high inflation, worker strikes, and harsh weather. All of this was evident, if not entirely, during my starting days. Anyways, after that incident, I decided I would only take the train. Although flights were cheaper, the cab fare to reach and leave the airport in Glasgow and London makes flying less lucrative. Apart from that, you already know what my experience has been so far with flying. Delays, bomb scares, whatnot.
On a trip to see Christmas lights in London, my wife and I took the train instead of flying. To no one’s surprise, the train was again delayed by 2 hours. On the return journey, our train was cancelled, and we had to book an earlier one for the same day. We arrived at Kings Cross station at 2:00 pm. The scene there was a bit chaotic. We found that another couple occupied our seats when we entered the train carriage. We verified our tickets as well. Everyone was extremely confused. After some time, the train staff announced that the train was later declared unreserved. Further delays and track closures due to heavy rain and flooding led to our train terminating in Edinburgh, with no replacement bus services available. We were stranded and eventually took a bus to Edinburgh airport, from where we took another bus service to Glasgow, finally arriving home at 1:30 am.
Last week, when my wife and I visited London, our trip was filled with anxiety due to previous travel mishaps. We booked overnight seats on the Caledonian Sleeper from Glasgow. We thought we booked a sleeper cabin, but then we realised we had booked seats. I tried to call them and ask if any cabins were available, but they were fully booked. To our surprise, the journey was smooth, the seats were comfortable, and the train departed and arrived on time. Our return journey was also smooth, with only a minor delay. Yes, nothing dramatic whatsoever.
Despite the challenges, I have learned to navigate the UK's transportation system and have successfully made it to my destination. My jinx with travel has finally been broken.
Good Reads
Why the super rich are inevitable - Many of us assume it's because some people make better financial decisions. But what if this isn't true? What if the economy – our economy – is designed to create a few super rich people?
A meet-less diet - Funny how it’s the end of January already. However, it’s never too late to nourish your calendar with fewer, more meaningful meetings.
Five steps to starting your product-led growth motion - An in-depth guide to getting started with product-led growth.
Computers and Creativity - How can digital creative tools become better co-creators with human beings?
Interesting tools
Screen Studio makes it easy to create beautiful, professional screen recordings. No video editing skills required.
Give this tool some info about your trip and the tool will instantly create a travel plan for you, using AI.
That’ll be all for this one. Hope you enjoyed reading this. Share it with someone who you think will like Hyperlink by clicking on the button below👇 . Stay safe and see you'll in the next issue!
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