Story Seven: "WE WILL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS"
From the Diary of Jennifer Li
I will NEVER go on a cheap tour EVER again. EVER!!!!
Do you know what I am talking about here?
You would have to wake up at an un-holy hour to catch an
early bus ride.
You could barely think straight, and none of your eyelids
would be working at that time.
Your mind would still be lingering in that warm comfy bed,
along with a dream that you were enjoying before that annoying phone rang to
make sure that you were REALLY AND TRULY AWAKE. Or else, they would just keep
ringing every 5 minutes.
People tell me that the worst thing about getting up from
bed IS actually getting out of bed. But once you are out from bed, you’ll be
fine. So NOT true!
But you know what’s the worst thing about getting up THIS
KIND of early? It’s that bloody cold shower you know you MUST take, because it
was too early for the hot water to be fully conscious and running!
And to top it all off, YOU
ARE ON A FUCKING HOLIDAY!
Never again.
NEVER AGAIN.
That’s what I keep telling myself. I don’t care how cheap it
is. I am not falling for it ever!
There is a GOOD reason why it is so bloody cheap!
All basic human sensibilities would be stripped and tattered
by the time you’re dragged through their crammed itinerary of cities, sights
and monuments. Some of which you would not be able to remember, because you are
still too jet lagged coming in from the last city.
And please do not even get me started on the food, or hotels!
What is it with these tour companies? Do they like have a
special deal with the worst restaurants in every city of each country? They are
like a natural magnet for the worst restaurants and hotels on the entire planet.
Thankfully, I had brought along my own biscuits and cup noodles on that “wonderful” (hiss, hiss) tour of Switzerland.
On that particular trip, I had the utter bad luck of getting
the rooms with the “best” (hiss, hiss, hiss) view. Allow me to recount the
ways -
1) In Lucerne, my hotel room window opened to a brick fucking
wall!
2) In Zurich, it faced the alley of the hotel’s back
entrance!
3) In Lausanne, there was no fucking window – just a picture
of a painted landscape. And it was moldy.
4) In Basel, I could only see the greasy neighbour who lived
next to the hotel. From my window to his, we could have shook hands. But he was
far from a Swiss stud muffin – more like an over-aged Swiss cheese.
Finally, saving the best for last…at our final stop in the
picturesque country of Switzerland – Geneva, I managed to get a room that has a
view of the famous lake. I could only actually see the lake, IF I had a pair of
binoculars! Just fucking great, I thought.
To this day, I have strong suspicions that the tour guide had
deliberately chucked me into the worst room in all the hotels throughout that
Swiss tour. I am certain it was because at that time, I was the youngest
traveler in the group and I was single. I had no pressing demands of a spouse,
or screaming kids. Most of all, I did not have the audacity to bribe him into
giving me a better room - like everyone else did in the group! So, I was
assigned the nightmare of rooms in every city we had visited.
THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK: "LIFE IS A JOURNEY - A SYMPHONY OF SHORT STORIES".
THE BOOK IS BEING PUBLISHED AS WE SPEAK, BOTH IN HARD COPY AND E-FORMAT.
HOPE YOU LIKE IT ENOUGH TO BUY THE BOOK WHEN IT IS OUT. I WILL UPDATE AGAIN.
THANKS :)
