A journey between hell and heaven to Paris

July 2, 2017

It was an early morning in Barcelona and we had to catch our train to Paris. We scuttled to grab a taxi with our suitcases rolling beside us. Yes, we make it in time and sit down on a pair of rather comfortable seats of the RENFE train. We were excited as we had heard that the view between Barcelona and Paris is spectacular. Despite being very groggy and tired, we were committed to stay up and experience the views – at least to get a few pictures. Little did we know that our journey was about to take a little hit and we would have to between hell and heaven to Paris.

Not long before we were reaching the border of Spain and France, security guards patrolled the train requesting for IDs and passports. We took ours out and handed it to a pair of fairly fit police officers. They took a look at our passports with a slight malevolence. One of the officers then writes down something on a piece of paper. This worried me a little. Kanika told me it would be OK. We didn’t do anything but being from Pakistan, I always worry.

The officers left but within a few minutes another set of them come and ask everyone to show their passports again. We cooperate and this time they look at our passports with even more disdain. One of them shakes his head. By now, I am legit freaked out. They call for yet another officer to come look at our passports. I notice it is the Schengen visa page they are looking at.

What could be wrong we wondered? Our visa is legit. We got it from the embassy of Greece in Bangkok. Did they screw us?

The officers continue to shake their head, seemingly confused but at the same time not really.

Things were about to get worse

Vamos! The officer exclaimed. He asked us to grab our luggage from the back and follow him off the train. On the platform, at least 6 other police officers were standing looking at our passports with sheer scrutiny. They would repeatedly look at the visa using some kind of special magnifying glass. We didn’t want to make a scene with questions. Not that it would have helped since they spoke absolutely 0 English.

One officer comes from the corner and asks us in broken English where we got our visa and where we entered Europe from. We responded that we got the visa from Bangkok and the entry was in Athens. We even showed our continuing tickets to Italy and then back to Bangkok.

They weren’t having any of it. They still couldn’t make out if the visa was legitimate so they took us to their police HQ. Of course that meant our train had to leave us.

ARE YOU SERIOUS???

Did our train really just leave us here? We didn’t even know what town we were in right now. A hundred questions went in our heads.

Were we going to get jailed? Deported? Sent back to Barcelona? How long would this take? Do we get to make a call? No, can’t, because they took our phones away from us too.

We were squeezed into the police car with two officers in front and one in the back with us. By now, we almost felt like criminals without the handcuffs. We already felt so embarrassed and humiliated being taken off the train like that. What would our seat neighbors be thinking?

We reached the police HQ where they stripped searched our luggage. I am groped and searched while Kanika sits in the station next to a handcuffed local. Quite possibly the most scary situation we have ever been in!

So our train is gone, we are in this police station in a city we don’t know for God knows how long. Conspiracy theories are going through my head.

What if they plant drugs on us? Or find something that is not ours in the bags so they can detain us for a very long time. I have no idea how Kanika is keeping her cool because I’m about to go in tears.

Longest day of my life

Ever watched 24? Well today is the longest day of my life. After about 40 minutes, which felt like hours, they finally came back with our passports and cleared us. We have no idea who they called or what they did. Till now, we don’t know what really happened. Apparently, they thought our visa was not legitimate and also the stamp in Athens did not look authentic. At times like this we felt so helpless because of some mistake by an officer in Athens we could have been in big trouble.

Their demeanor towards us eased up a little bit as they took us back to the train station. All they said after was “OK you go Paris, bye”. That was it! We had to figure out on our own how we were going to that since our train already left long ago.

Most expensive delay ever

We go up the ticket station and show our original ticket from Barcelona. No one is able to help us and say that this ticket is now invalid. We have no choice but to buy new tickets to Paris but at a whopping 250 Euro. It also leaves in another 2 hours. Oh and by now we finally know where we are – Perpignan.

Usually I would crib and curse over this but I decide to get past it. It is what it is (which will become my mantra for the entire Europe trip). At least we get to see another city in France, which as not in the itinerary. I decide to walk around a bit and check out the town. Might as well, right? Obviously we could not go far so I only went like a few hundred meters from the train station.

All is good that ends well

We finally board our train to Paris and reach our AirBnb (which by the way was another disaster). We weren’t going to let the crappy AirBnb apartment or the train experience ruin our trip. Paris is known to be a charming, romantic city and by God we were going to enjoy it. Within a few hours after freshening up, we met with a few friends who were also in town and had the best night ever! The next day also was incredible as we explored the streets of Champs-Élysées and visited the iconic landmarks such as the Louvre and Eiffel Tower.

Despite our little ordeal at Perpignan, we were so blessed to be in a city like Paris. It was truly heaven on Earth that words cannot describe. I guess bad experiences make you appreciate the good times more and one really has to go through hell to reach heaven.

In fact when we look back, it probably isn’t as bad or scary as it sounds. At the time though, we were quite freaked out.

All in all, we would definitely return to Paris but never again on a train.

By Shayan| July 2nd, 2017|Europe, Travel|8 Comments

8 Comments

Arun July 3, 2017 at 6:24 pm - Reply

Beautifully written!
- S & K | Dose of Life July 11, 2017 at 10:16 am - Reply
  
  Thank bro!
Ian C July 4, 2017 at 9:22 pm - Reply

Hi Shayan thanks for sharing your story. It’s hard to imagine that you weren’t subject to prejudice due to your passports and nationality. I hope one day the world improves and these kinds of circumstances become a thing of the past. Looks like you handled it like a champ! (PS: Perhaps travel insurance would cover the cost of the train ticket?)
- S & K | Dose of Life July 5, 2017 at 1:48 pm - Reply
  
  Hey Ian. Thanks mate, we hope one day too but as long as those A$$holes are creating terror, this will get worse.
  Yea we have travel insurance, going that route now. Let’s see what happens.
Namrata Gupta July 7, 2017 at 5:15 pm - Reply

Love the article….remember life is full of experiences and the terrorist issues around the world makes it hard for Muslims and south Asians who look like Muslims. We can’t help it, the custom officers and police officers are just doing their job to reassure everyone around us are safe. At least nothing worst happened like being sent to jail. Plus you got to see a new place, which is a plus. As long as you enjoyed your trip,skipping the negative incident thats all that matters.
Your lucky at least you got to go to Europe!!

Anyways, love your writing style. One day you can create a book out of all your blog entries. They are quite interesting!!
- S & K | Dose of Life July 11, 2017 at 10:16 am - Reply
  
  You are so write Namrata. We tried not to let it ruin our trip too much. It did make for an awesome story. And thank you as always for your lovely words.
roxanne bamboat July 10, 2017 at 2:33 pm - Reply

I can just imagine the fear racing through you when all this happens and I really get it. With an Indian passport I am beyond paranoid when it comes to Visa officers and things like that. I’ve had my own nightmares on the trains in Europe but not like this. I’m glad you didn’t let it ruin your trip . I hope you never have to experience this again.
- S & K | Dose of Life July 11, 2017 at 10:15 am - Reply
  
  Thanks Roxanne! I always love your feedback and inputs. Would actually like to hear what you went through on the trains. People actually told us that trains were easy and they never had to worry at all with border patrol.

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