Saturday 6 January 2007

Mission Possible

This is not my first trip abroad, so packing was easy. Yessir! This is my third trip to UK - so packing was really easy... yeah... took me 4 days, and I'm still not done! I can't believe it! After years of traveling all around Europe and US I still haven't learned to pack properly and fast!

The problem is I am too much of a planner. I draw a list of things to take, estimate their approximate weight, start drawing a model of what will fit where in my bag... I even tried making a scheme in Illustrator :( Oh! How I envy people who put off everything until the last moment, and then jam into the bags whatever fits in and on they go...

So, anyway - I'm going to the UK, you guessed that one right. I'm happy too - 'cause winter in Armenia is not exactly pleasant as my fellow blogger Onnik describes so well in his first Letter from Armenia. I feel a bit guilty when I think of all the people that will be staying in this.... well - WINTER.

I feel double guilty as the most controversial elections in the history of Armenia, as I've described in my post at Blogrel, are coming near... feels like running away from the most decisive battle... but then again, even with all my optimism I can't help but feel, that these elections are going nowhere, just like the ones in 2003 and 2005. All I can do to give me peace of mind is - ascribe all these negative emotions to the late hour and despair over my inability to pack in strict accordance with the self-established packing regulations developed especially by myself to torture the same old myself.

The taxi's ordered for 6 o'clock in the morning - and I'm more then happy to be able to claim, that when it comes to taxi services, UK has a long way to go to compete with the Armenian taxi service availability and unbeatable price with their super-expensive Black Cabs and never punctual mini-cabs. The trip to the airport from the center of Yerevan will only cost me 2000 AMD - that's like - 2.7 UK Pounds!!! And the Black Cab from London Hethrow to the Center of London - can cost an average Armenian salary - 60 or more pounds... been there, done that...

Oh yes, I understand that UK drivers have to cope with higher standards of living, etc... but I sort of like our cheap Armenian taxis better all the same. So, I'm outta here... see ya all in Birmingham, UK!!!

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmm, mini-cabs that aren't punctual? That's my experience more in Yerevan than London or elsewhere in the U.K., but otherwise I'd agree that Yerevan's taxi services are cheaper and in greater supply than cities in the U.K. Indeed, they're probably better than any other city in the world that doesn't have a viable economy for men over the age of 30 to work in. ;-)

Anyways, unfortunately I agree with your feelings about the coming elections. Enjoy the U.K.

6 January 2007 at 15:19  
Blogger Mediapitek said...

Thanx Onnik... UK was ORGANIZED!!! I mean - really organized - everything from the welcome procedures, visas, busses, accomodation!!! I've never seen anything SO WELL ORGANIZED in my whole entire life!

The only problem I did have was - you won't believe it - Internet!!! I couldn't get access to it for one whole day! I nearly died! But oh well - Sunday is not exactly the best day to be stuck in the University Campus without a student ID and access codes...

8 January 2007 at 01:39  
Blogger Mediapitek said...

Still don't have access to the Internet - and that's all because UK is so bloody organized! They won't let just any person to brake into their University network. First you've got to get your student ID. Next you go the the University computer lab and get your username and password. Then you go online their internet service website to register you computer's MAC address... and then you should be in. Now - this sounds easy - but it's been taking 3 days already - and I'm not even half way through it all yet. Plus the bloody campus is so huge - that it takes about 30 minutes to get from one place to another...

10 January 2007 at 02:56  

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