Anca Onuta's Blog

Madrid, simple fabulous!

Anck — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 21:18:51 +0000

How was your trip to Madrid?

Fabulous! Was Anca’s classic trip!

I start with clawing the closed gate in Bucharest Baneasa Airport. Begging to get into the flight I just missed, when actually they insist in giving me a ride with the special airport car and ended up in the emergency seats to enjoy a great sleep.

What did you see in Madrid?

Well… Madrid…!!

What did you do in Madrid?

Heheh! Ir de tapas! (“bar hopping”) But ask for cañas.

I have to admit Madrid is simple fabulous! Great social life, unbelievable nice people and super open to adopt you in their lives! GREAT food! Delicious fish! I have not words to describe how great I felt in Madrid.

I confess: is a city in which I’d like to live! (except Berlin, there is no other city from those I’ve been so far were I’d love to live).

Getting to Madrid with Don Quixote de la Mancha. Saying hello to the crowd!!!

How to pick-up your luggage from Cairo even it is checked in till Istanbul?

Anck — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:35:36 +0000

We are sorry, we can’t check-in your luggage till Cairo, you have to take it from Istanbul.

But I called and ask, they told me you can do it.
We are sorry. We don’t have a……
I know the rules, they are right, there is no point of arguing. No agreement, no favour. Contracts are contracts. But what to do now?

We can’t delay the plane for one person, madam.
Give it a try to catch your flight, if you can’t make it, then you have a flight at 9, and pay 50 EUR. There are 2 seats left.

Istanbul, Ataturk airport:
Emirates?
me: No, Egypt AIR!!
Transit desk! Fast!!

Egypt Air transit desk: ticket, passport, credit card.
Ok, all good, madam. Now you can calm down, here you have a glass of water, you catch the flight and your luggage will come with the next flight or latest tomorrow morning.

Ok… that’s it… they will open the suitcase, will take out the pork. You don’t have any valuable things inside.. but anyways you’ll make a fudge drama because theoretically they don’t have the right to open your bag. Then they may say, you are not allowed to carry meat, and even more 10 kg!!! of PORK!!! God damn it lady! you go to Egypt passing Turkey!!! Some respect please.
Yeah yeah… you know… I have some friends who suffer, you know… we are foreigners…..
And… that’s it. Sorry friends, no pork, shit happens.

In the plane: a lady from the airport stuff comes to say to other passenger she couldn’t get their luggage, but it will come with the next flight.
Anca is thinking: what if I ask about my luggage? I know they even didn’t try to get it, the already told me I have to claim it from Cairo, but well… you now…
The lady: Tarom flight right? Yeah, we have your bag.

Anca: ??!!!! What???!!!!! My pink and porky luggage is flying with me???!!! How did you do it??!! Woah!!!
Of course they did not, but since I got my suitcase safe next day, it doesn’t matter.

Now, the learning part: how the system works.
Tarom and Egypt Air don’t have an agreement, and this is easy to check: you can’t buy a linked ticket if the companies don’t have an agreement. But if the flight is operated by Turkish airlines for example, then the things are fine.

My mistake: I bought the tickets separately to save some money. I thought I’m better than the travel companies.
How you should do it: if you have connection flights, buy them all together in one ticket, so the airline will know about you and will take care you and your belongings reach the final destination safe.

How it works?
If you have your flights on different tickets, then they will not know about you and you will have to clear immigration, pick-up your luggage and then check-in. This is very time-consuming, it may bring you additional stamps in your passport, in the happy case you don’t need visa or you can get it from the airport.
There is no way the airline will get to know about you. You can try to call the airline, then you will cannot call to the airport. I tried it, it doesn’t work.

How to trick the system?
Golden Rule: Be fast, push your luck, but don’t trust your life on it.
Go to the transit desk, the airline with which you will fly will have a representative there because there is a flight at that time. They will make your boarding pass and advice you about your luggage. If you run out of time, most probably, you suitcase will fly in a different flight. This is very common, there is nothing to worry.
Be nice to the personnel, they know better than you how to trick the system and what is the best way to get you out of shit.

Extra tips: wrap up your check-in bag or at least have a lock, so they will can’t open it when lost.
Absolutely all the valuable things are always with you! No exception!
In your cabin luggage have enough things to live 2 days without your big luggage.

Enjoy traveling!

Dear Santa, all I want for this December is…

Anck — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:51:42 +0000

Breakfast with the giant Pandas from Chengdu
See the Pink Dolphins from Hong Kong
Get Chinese cooking classes
Escape to Shangri La, so please make sure you clear the road of snow before I go
Trek on Great Wall
Sand boarding in the Black and white desert
Concur the Pyramids
Eat loooots of Chinese food
Get lost in the rice terraces
Win at the casino in Macau
Clear my eyes with the gorgeousness of Li River
Catch all my flights
Stay in a local’s place in China

Don’t bother in checking it, I was a very good girl this year. I even didn’t travel that much.

Only Ukraine, but that was an AIESEC conference, it doesn’t count. England was just a short 4-5 days trip on Easter and was overcrowded because of the royal wedding, I should claim some compensation.

Italy, you know you need a life to enjoy the Italian guys. Then Russia, com’on that was rather friends gathering than a trip. Warsaw and Sofia, you can’t even say I was there, were too short those trips.

Since it has been pending for longer than a year, Madrid is out of the business.

You see, I really deserve a couple of great trips for this December!

Your biggest fan and the most conscious traveler of Romania and the world,

Sincerely, I cross my heart and hope to die,

With love,

Anca

3 weeks is not enough for Chinese Heaven!

Anck — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 23:00:08 +0000

Pandas! Great food! Great wall! Forbidden city! Hakka houses! Trekking! Rice terraces! Tibet! Yangzi river cruise! Sparkling Hong Kong! Amazing Shanghai! Meditation! Lovely kids!

And only 3 weeks… to get the most of one of world’s oldest cultures. more than 4 thousands years of history in 21 days! Oh God! Why didn’t you make weeks longer? Life is so cruel!

The plan for my first trip to China is:

Landing in Beijing, head directly to Donghuamen night market and get lost into the food zoo! Wake up against the time lag and delight my camera with the colors of Panjiayuan market. After this great introduction, Great Wall day trip here I am!!!! I’m coming with all my winter gear to trek the biggest wall China has got to the world!

Before leaving Beijing, I’ll taste the sin in the Forbidden City, purify my soul in Lama Temple and simple breath and feel the joy of being again in Asia!

Xi’an! Terracotta Warriors and more food at Muslim Quarter!

Pandas, now it’s time to introduce myself: Anca, your fan #1! Get ready to pose for me and with me! Lovely teddy bears, book your time to be awake for me!

Well.. they say that if you meet the angels it means you are in the Heaven. And there I’ll be for more than a week: Lijiang, Shangri La, Guiling, Dragon Backbone Rice Terraces and end up with a short visit to Hakka round houses. I’ll trek, get lost into the stunning landscapes, breath fresh air, learn from locals, be with locals, live China!

My trip will end in sparkling Hong Kong. Fireworks over Victoria harbor on New Year, Macau, and more food! Double decker tram! Culinary delights – places of perdition, I can’t wait for you!!!!

China, open well your arms and chest of goodies coz Anca is coming to live you!!!

I miss Asia badly!

Anck — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:48:21 +0000

Walking on a dirty street, under a crazy heavy monsoon rain, with earsplitting honks around me. Sleeping with earplugs. No hair mouse or short skirts. Spicy food, too much good food! Delicious sweets! Jewelries, impossible of being forgotten home. What is normal? What is logic?

This is the life I quit one and half years ago. And now, when planing my trip to China I feel a part of me is there, or a part of it is in me.

I miss Asia badly!

The first thing I’ll do when getting to Beijing is going to eat! Asian food! I know I’ll get lost, I will whine when feeling the smells, but I will feel: God! I so much missed Asia!!!

Then I’ll go to check out the random markets, street foood!!! Food!

Food! Food! People! Smiles! Break my patterns! Forget about what is normal.

Asia, here I come!

I have a dream: quit my job and go travel!

Anck — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:05:02 +0000

I can’t stop thinking about it, every day, every morning when I wake up to go to work, almost every moment of my life. It is what makes me study, run, smile, love life and work hard every single day. I’m like a drug addicted who lives to get her next doses – I live to travel, but with a loooooong life. I already scheduled my trips for the next 2-3 years and I have plans to travel till I will be an old grandma’.

A year ago I said I traveled enough for the moment and it’s time to settle for a while. I truly though I can stop any time. I can manage it, I said to myself. But here I am, spending the 2nd weekend in Bucharest after 3 months. How do I feel? Fidgety! I’m already looking forward for the girls escape on Halloween.

It’s time to face the reality and admited! I’m addicted. I can’t handle it any more. Do I need help? No, thank you, I’m fine with my current doses of trips. Till when? I don’t know, but I know one day, I’ll quit my job, get an one way ticket to somewhere (most probably Latin America) without no plan, live the moment and with no final destination or date defined.

I have a dream: quite my job and go travel with no plans!

Life is short. Travel Often!

Anck — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 09:07:29 +0000

I found this on internet and I want to share it.

For all those who wonder how come I travel so much, for those who complain every day about their job, and the ones who never had the courage to grab their backpack and leave somewhere in the world, for those around me and the love ones:

A must do in Bucharest: Riding on the road!

Anck — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 20:58:00 +0000

Today, after a bit less than a year since I temporary settled down in Romania, I felt the taste of freedom that Eastern Europe gives you. For the majority of the Romanians this taste is very bitter, they hate it, and complain about it. Personally, at the end of today’s day, I LOVE IT!

Even if the cycling paths have a couple of years here, people don’t have yet the common sense to don’t walk on them and not all move apart when they see you coming. Therefore, when I rent a bicycle I always make sure the horn is the great!

Ok, so, we have the bicycle, a good horn and 2 hours in a big park in Bucharest (Tineretului) and after 15 min, Anca: this is getting too boring, let’s move out!

As soon I figured out they open a new center to rent bicycles next to my place, the goal was set: going home by bicycle!

All fine till the cycling path is over. And now I want to complain too. And I would like to know what’s the logic behind this stupid thing. The cycling lanes end suddenly and directly on the street, some borders are super told. Those who do it, don’t they think I little bit? Just look:

Dear Petrom, thank you for making the paths, BUT some logic is getting mandatory.

Done with complains, let’s get to the topic.

If you are coming from the western world, you can’t leave Bucharest without riding on the street! Is awesome! You feel free and the horn is useless. The best thing is when you are taking the left on a 3 lanes roads and there are those old men driving a Dacia who can’t believe you ride next to them on 2 wheels. hahahahah Then there are those basters, daddy’s kid driving a very expensive car who honk. And it’s getting challenging: 2 wheels against 4! In Eastern Europe, this is suuuper fun! Is much better than in London. There the things are too in place, too much peace and order is booorrring!!!

A book I recommend: Just Listen

Anck — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:44:58 +0000

Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone, by Mark Goulston M.D.

This is the name of the last I read and which impressed me enough to can recommend it. It is an easy to read book with plenty of tricks which will make a big improvement in your life. From my point of view, if these small secrets are applied correctly your career will be boosted ten fold.

Each chapter of the book presents a trick of how to get through the others. The main ones are:
1.         Move yourself from “oh F#@& to OK”
2.         Rewire yourself to listen
3.         Make the other person feel “felt„
4.         Be more interested than interesting
5.         Make people feel valuable
6.         Help people to exhale emotionally and mentally
7.         Check your dissonance at the door
8.         When all seems lost bare your neck
9.         Steer clear of toxic people

My key learning points

1. Look interested rather than interesting
Till now I always thought it is very important to be an interesting person and have interesting things to share in order to interest people you are interested in. So, when reading this chapter I had a so called “aha” moment. This is what was missing to “Listen what those around you say”: sincerity! Sincere interest in what are they saying, what they are doing and their lives.
Bottom line: When I feel a person is not interesting or boring, I’ll think on this: “Boredom is what happens when I fail to make someone interesting.“

2. From “Oh f#@&” to “OK”
Reading this book I realized it is actually normal to get angry or to lose control in a tense situation. Therefore the secret is not refraining yourself from these feelings, nor to move almost instantly from attack mode to emotional mode to smart mode.
Bottom line: “The key to wining is poise under stress“.

3. No to Yes?
I put the question mark because even after reading this book I don’t truly believe in this, or at least I don’t know how to make it work. I believe there are situations when people behave reasonable so you can talk to them and situations and even people who just don’t want something to happen. From my point of view it is more efficient bringing logic arguments and proves to convince people than working on their mind or feelings. You may say this is the easy way, but on long term, an emotionally convinced person is more devoted. Com’on let’s be honest, do you still believe “in love” is a forever emotion?

4. Steer clear of toxic people
I don’t know since when or how come I made it working, but for the last months I keep my self away of things and so called toxic people. There are people who give me self destroying energy, feelings and I right now for me am very clear these people have nothing to do in my life.
Of course they are part of our everyday landscape, but we choose if they become part of our lives or not.

About the author
Mark Goulston, M.D., is a business psychiatrist who through his early career intervened with suicidal and violent individuals. This eventually led to his training of hostage negotiators for the police and the FBI.

Want to know more? Here is the link to his blog.
http://markgoulston.com/

From nothing to Heaven!

Anck — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 09:56:55 +0000

In Rome I was quite disappointed of the city and at the end of my trip I realized, it’s not Rome, it’s me. So I told myself: Anca, you have to change your way of traveling or you finish destroying all the good and famous things.

And here we are in front of the plane tickets to Milan and with a disappointing truth: Milan is not a touristic place, there is nothing much to see.

Difficult mission, I think it is the most difficult situation I’ve been into my trips: having the trip tickets to a destination which I didn’t research well before and it turned to be not for me.

With 2 hours of hard, stressful and … complicated research I made an amazing plan to do from Milan!!!

1. Day ONE – Swiss Alps!

All the trip is by train: Milano Centrale – Tirano, Tirano – Sankt Moritz by Bernina Express and return.

Bernina Express is one of the most spectacular ways of crossing the Alps, taking an UNESCO World Heritage route including Landwasser Viaduct, Bergün Local History Museum (with model of the Albula Line), the winding tunnels between Bergün and Preda, the «Glacier Garden» of Cavaglia, the Circular Viaduct at Brusio and the old town of Poschiavo.

Here you can find more information:

http://www.rhb.ch/index.php?id=33?&L=4

Sankt Moritz is one of the most famous holiday resort, the birth place of Alpine winter tourism and sport and I’m sure it’s going to shine even if the weather will not be on its best.

More info here:

http://www.stmoritz.ch/en/summer/village/portrait.html

2. Day TWO – Como Lake

I love the wonderful infrastructure Western Europe has. I couldn’t believe myself when I discovered today I can make Como Lake by myself, easy and cheap.

Looking forward for the weekend!!!