Journey Of a Missing Bag
On a sunny morning, I landed at Moscow airport. The idea of Russia has always fascinated me. So my excitement levels peaked when I set foot on Russian soil, the runway actually. I proceeded to the immigration counter and queued up. My parents and I were allowed to pass but my siblings were told to step aside and wait along with a group of fellow travellers. No questions were asked, no information was passed. It was simply a matter of wait and then wait some more.
Significant amount of time had passed at the immigration counter. And just as randomly they were held back, that easily they were let go. No questions asked, no information passed!! Once my family was on the other side of the immigration counter, I headed to collect the bags. Oh, the wait to walk the streets of Moscow will finally be over! Little did I realise a nasty bump awaited me.
I saw all our bags at the baggage carousel from a distance. Most of the bags had been collected and only a few that remained were circling the belt. As I approached it, I realised that a look alike of my bag had sneaked in amongst the other bags of my family members. My bag was not on the belt. Another wait was about to begin. This time for my bag! I looked around but no new bags were added. Was my bag circling another belt? But all the other bags of my family were placed in this one with the exception of my bag which was nowhere in sight.
My heart skipped a beat. This was not my first baggage mishap. On a previous occasion, the airlines did not load my bag during a transit flight. My bag arrived a few days later. The bag had embarked on an adventure on its own. What if it liked it so much that it decided to go on a solo trip this time?
After shaking my thoughts and fears away, I approached the official at the baggage claims counter and informed him of my situation. He accompanied me to the baggage carousel to look for my bag himself. He then took my baggage tag to check if the bag was on board the airlines. Yes, it was. Surely my bag could not vanish in thin air! He gave me a tour of all the unclaimed baggage to see if by some strange occurrence my bag had strolled there. But it wasn’t there either. The official then asked me to fill up a form with the details of my boarding pass, baggage tag and my bag.
A ludicrous thought crossed my mind. Though initially I tried to shrug it off, I gave in and decided to act upon it. I went for another look at the baggage carousel. The look alike bag remained unclaimed yet. What if my bag had actually landed on this belt, circled it and was carried away by someone who thought it was this look alike bag!
As I picked up the look alike bag, I noticed a name and phone number on the name tag. Much to my delight, it was an Indian name. I was almost blinded by sharp rays of hope.I rushed to inform the official of my latest discovery and also of my hunch. He dragged the look alike bag to the baggage claims counter. In my mind, it resembled a scene where the look alike bag was taken away to be punished for creating this chaos and confusion.
The phone number on the name tag of the bag came to my rescue. The person on the other end was blissfully unaware of the drama he had left behind merely by picking up a wrong bag. He answered the call cheerfully but all that cheer drained away when I told him about the confusion of the bags. He checked his luggage and found my bag amongst his lot. I heaved a sigh of relief after successfully locating the bag. We exchanged our hotel details and it was agreed upon that he will deliver my bag and collect his look alike bag from me.
But it wasn’t a smooth road yet. When I told the official about the conversation with the owner of the look alike bag, I was told to abort the ‘Bag Exchange Mission’. The exchange of bags was to be conducted via airport authorities. My bag will be delivered at my hotel address once the airport authorities receive it and the look alike bag was to be picked up by its owner from the airport. After calling him up a second time, I proceeded on my way to the hotel.
The next day, at the hotel reception I was told to enjoy the city without worrying about my bag. It will be received and kept safely before handing over to me once I am back at the hotel. After being assured and reassured several times, I went out to explore the city. Bless the extra pair of clothes I had carried in my sister’s bag. Well, like I said, this wasn’t my first baggage fiasco at the airport.
The sight seeing really took my mind off the bag for sometime. Once it was wrapped and I arrived at the hotel, I rushed to the reception to enquire if my bag had finally arrived. I got a negative response. I had no other alternative but to wait. So, I waited. A long time. Long enough for my mother to strike up a conversation with a hotel staff member.
And then we waited some more.
The hotel staff member took pity at our tired faces and shared the information that the bag may have actually arrived but there were protocols in place for handing over a guest’s bag. Someone from the previous shift had received the bag and he will have to check with that person. He promised to send the bag to the room as soon as he could. I headed to the room with a glimmer of hope. After less than half an hour, I got a call followed by a knock on the door. There stood in front of me my precious bag!
Like long lost lovers, I hugged my bag. And promised myself to never lose sight of it again. Well, until the bag decides to embark on another adventure on its own!
