Europe Trip Frenzy

The past two weeks I was on a quest. Now that Roo is old enough to travel, MY man and I agreed that we can take that long-dreamed of trip to Europe. So I took on my mission with great excitement. Whatever free time I had in my hands, I was either on some airlines' website clicking on their promotions, or straining my eyes to see the microscopic travel packages on the classified ads. Singapore Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, et.al. could have earned fortunes from my frequent visits had they charged me per page load. Our telephone bill this month will surely be higher as I had to call several travel agencies to inquire about airfares and taxes, and whatever else that make up an airticket. To say that I got all dizzy is an understatement. Destinations and their corresponding costs were constantly swimming in my head, my insomnia got worse. I couldn't sleep until late at night. Where do we go? How much would it cost if we go there? Which neighboring countries will we visit? How far is it from here to there? Da da da da da.

When I finally found one good deal to Paris, I could hardly believe my luck! Almost all the airlines have skyhigh fuel surcharges for April which is when we're planning to travel. But Etihad Airways has a cheap promotion til June 09. Bkk-Paris-Bkk for only Bht.29,700, and that's all-inclusive! With other airlines, the fare starts from 25k up, PLUS fuel surcharge and taxes, total airfare amounting to about Bht.4ok. Not wanting to lose those cheap seats, I lost no time making reservations for the three of us.

Off to French Embassy website I went to check out the requirements for Schengen visa. Oooopps. No changes there. They're still as meticulous as before. And as slow. 'Twill take one to six weeks to get a visa. About eight years ago, I had a bad experience with the French Embassy. They promised me a visa within one week, and had me go back and forth for three weeks since it was impossible to contact them on the phone. I cannot understand why they would tell you to call them then nobody from their end picked up the phone! The visa did come, when my vacation was over. Then to add insult to injury, they asked me for my airticket before they would give me the visa! Who in their right mind would buy an airticket without knowing when and if they'd be issued a visa?!

So we decided to take the advise of a friend. She said it's much easier to get a visa from the German Embassy. I went on the German Embassy website and found out that they can issue a visa within 3 days. Good. I called the travel agent and booked a flight to Munich, Germany. The fare, it turned out, was even cheaper than going to Paris. Yey!

With that done, I proceeded to check out hotels. One requirement for the visa was the hotel vouchers. Whoah. They're not cheap. Two to three-star hotels start at 60 Euro/night, that's about Bht.2,700. And they don't provide airport transfers. We'd still have to arrange for airport transfers to and from the hotels which are like 50 Euro. Per person! The trains are more affordable, and they say everybody takes that, they cost about 18 Euro/person. If we buy Eurail passes from here, we get access to all the train systems, and a 5-day visit to three countries costs 225 Euro/person.

The more I research about the trip, the more I appreciate my life here in Thailand. Life in Europe seems to be so expensive and so hard. Here I can get to places so easily. I can either drive, or take public transport with a wide range of choices: the bus, the tuktuk, motorcycle taxis, river taxis, or the taxis at a very affordable price. Going to and from the airport is not much of a problem. Food is cheap and found everywhere. You want cheap accomodation, you can find as low as Bht.80/night at KhaoSan Road, or Bht. 590/night at Nasa Vegas ;D I was talking to some people who've been to Europe and they were saying that people there don't really look happy. Well now I understand why so many Europeans come to Thailand and stay here for like three months at a time. Life here is so much more pleasant!

As much as I am excited to see all the sights and finally get to see the famed scenic landscapes in Europe, I'm not exactly looking forward to all the hardships that I now know we will have to go through travelling with Roo (leaving him at home is not an option). For those who have kids, you know it's like next to impossible to travel light when you're with one. How do you travel on the train with luggage and little ones, I wonder? Will the train wait til you get on and be seated? Then if we want to spend less, we can avail of a free fare for him on the trains, but we'd have to sit him on our lap the entire time because he won't get his own seat. That arrangement is ok for short rides, but what about the length of like Munich-Paris? Hmmm.

Oh well. I think I've seen enough of Europe for now ;D My virtual tours have brought me exploring in the castles of Bavaria, and I've sang my way through the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, Austria. Right now, I don't mind waiting a lil longer til my boy can pull his own weight. Then maybe I'll be more smiles as Roo snaps a picture of me sipping hot choco while trying not to freeze in the Swiss alps.