Never mind my frozen toes, the show must go on
by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Here’s the interesting thing. The Germans travel to Asia for our sun, sand and sea. We meanwhile get strikes, snow and severe cold in return.
Well, that was how it was on my first day at ITB Berlin.
The night before, I had arrived in Berlin Schoenefeld after possibly the most gruelling travel experience of my life on an airline whose name may be Easyjet but there’s nothing easy about it.
I now know the true meaning of low cost because in Asia, my friends, we are spoiled. AirAsia, Tiger Airways and Jetstar are premium carriers compared to their European counterparts who believe that because humans pay cheap fares – and believe me, they aren’t that cheap – they deserve to be treated like cheap cattle.
I was flying in from Rome. The queues were long at check-in. I had to pay extra for one extra bag – which was fine. Except it took longer to pay 12 Euros at another counter than it was to check in. I then had to return to check-in to show them my 12 Euro slip and get my boarding pass.
The airport is a mess, more people than space. And this isn’t even peak season. Throw any notion that Europeans are more disciplined and respectful of queues than Asians. At boarding – because it’s free seating – it’s survival of the fittest as everyone scrambles to get in front.
I left like a hobbit being crushed by Orcs.
In Berlin, the queue at the taxi rank was more orderly. But it was long. We had arrived in the midst of a transport strike and only taxis were available for every arrival.
We stood at zero degrees temperatures for nearly 20 minutes. And we were the lucky ones. We had got in just before the airport strikes which saw hundreds of flights cancelled in Germany.
The next morning, I look out of the window of my hotel, Kron Prinz, and it was like a winter wonderland of white snow and ice castles.
That’s of course when you don’t have to walk in it. Because of the transport strike plus the jams, I decided to walk – the hotel is about 10 minutes walk from Messe Berlin, I was told.
Well, when you are more used to walking on beach sand than on snow and sludge, it can take longer.
By the time I got into the ICC, I felt I no longer had toes. Inside the halls though, it was warm as toast.
As I write this on my third day back at this mother of all trade shows, it’s grey and wet. And there’s talk of more strikes being threatened over the weekend.
Within the halls though, it’s business as usual. I think travel industry folks are the most resilient of species.
Snow, rain or strikes, the show must go on.
Catch more of Yeoh Siew Hoon every week at The Transit Cafe
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