It was 6:30 and my alarm clock woke me up, saying it is time to go. It had been just 16 hours since I came from Germany after leaving my life and job abroad behind. Backpack is packed, new Salomon shoes ready in front of the door and good mood is here and has never left. At 7:49 I took a train towards Prague, sat on the comfortable seat of RegioJet train operated by local private company and enjoyed. Despite the stormy weather and strong wind that was causing a 45-minutes delay when arriving to Prague, the 300 km journey was pleasant as usual. With wifi, notebook, smiling stewards, coffee for free and price 215 CZK (8,40 EUR) the service reached both costs and quality requirements. And regarding time, I do not care so much now, I am homeless and jobless.
I stayed about 6 hours in Prague before taking the bus to Berlin and then further to Copenhagen at 17:15 and enjoyed an amazingly decorated John Reed fitness club, to keep my belly from that beer kind of shape as far as possible. Last weeks were quite hectic and there was not too much time for any sport. My flight to Cambodia started from Denmark and it was nearly 300% more expensive to get there by plane from Prague than taking a bus. So why not to spend 14 hours on the road and experience a boat transfer between Germany and Denmark at 5 in the morning, completely sleepy. And moreover it was a time to start a new book, to read, not to write.
The bus arrived to Copenhagen at 9:00 the day after and with 1 hour delay due to traffic jam. All the city was still sleeping and most of the shops open just at 10:00. It was little chilly here on the north and I felt that winter is coming. After short visit of the city center I took a subway and went to the airport. The way takes about 20 minutes, costs 36 DKK (4,80 EUR) and is operated by an automatic train without a driver.
At 14.20 the plane was ready to depart. It was first time in my life when I saw a notification that departure was scheduled at 14:20, but expected already at 14:10. Ten minutes saved. The journey to Dubai, UAE started. When seeing a huge Airbus A380 plane, I had little doubt whether this monster can really fly but that biggest-in-the-world 2-floors plane was in the air quickly and smooth. I have a feeling that the bigger plane it is, the less bumpy it gets. With comfortable seats, well-working touchable screens, beautiful and pleasant Emirates airlines stewards, wifi on the board and big space for legs I really did not care to flight in economy class with poor people. 😉 But once I am rich, I want to try that upper floor for burgeoisie.
After 6 and a half hours we landed in Dubai, UAE. Having 9 hours layover, I did not want to stay at the airport all that time and wanted to visit a city. The subway does not operate over night, by walk it is too far, by taxi more expensive and thus I went to search for the bus to experience a little local spirit while getting to the city center. In 10 minutes I found a bus stop. The bus was already there, without driver yet, waiting next 5 minutes to depart. I bought a return ticket for 14 AED (3,20 EUR), sat down and read the book. After a while the driver came from outside and asked me to go from the front part of the bus to the back. It took me a while to realize that front section is reserved for women only. Interesting that the ratio between men and women sections are like 5 to 1.
The way took about 50 minutes to get to Satwa Bus Station that was still about 3 – 4 km far from the skyline and Burj Khalifa skyscraper. Even at 3:00 in the morning there are lots of shops opened. The weather was hot and humid and I cannot imagine how it must look like to walk the city during a day when the temperature is much higher. I took few photos and a Burger King menu with Coke and French fries and went back to the airport, waiting my connection flight.
My next plane was Boeing 777 and I must say that it is way less comfortable than Airbus A380. And I am not writing that just because Airbus is cool European company that I worked for. 😊 I felt like a fish in a can, sitting between 2 other passengers, the screen must have been touched at least 3 times before it reacted and thus I better fell asleep for the whole flight, well except time for food. Food is important and I also could not have resisted that steward who woke me up, holding already my dish in front of me. The flight took over 9 hours due to the 1,5 hour stop in Yangon, Myanmar where most of the people left and I got finally enough space and a place next to the window. Within next 1,5 hour, at 20:45 of local time, we successfully landed in Phnom Penh, capital city of Cambodia.
