In summary, Jan wanted to take a relaxing
holiday by the beach. So he decided to
go to Australia and looked on line for some flights from Amsterdam to
Sydney. The flights were all quite
expensive until he found a single flight that was much cheaper than the others. Oddly, it seemed to get to Australia in a
very roundabout way. Rather than having
to transfer somewhere in the middle, like Dubai or Singapore, the flight
transferred at Toronto in Canada.
“That’s strange,” thought Jan. “Usually flights from Europe to Australia go
East and South. You have to go south at
some point, since Australia is on the opposite side of the Earth. This one starts by flying thousands of miles due
West. I suppose the inconvenience of
the detour is why it is so cheap.
But at this price I can’t complain.”
Jan packed his bags full of all the correct
gear – sunglasses, shorts, sun block, a beach ball, and plenty of
Australian dollars. Satisfied that he
had prepared for every eventuality, he boarded the flight, and landed some
hours later in Toronto, Canada.
What did Jan think as he waited to change
planes? Did he check his tickets again,
and wonder at the amazingly short flight that was going to take him all the way
around the world to Sydney?
“It says here that the flight takes only
two hours and twenty minutes. That can’t
be accurate. It must be some bizarre
effect of flying through so many time zones.
I’ve heard about that. You can
fly for twenty hours and arrive at roughly the same time you started. Everything’s fine. I can’t wait to see those Aussie
beauties in their bikinis on Bondi Beach!”
Did Jan feel a sliver of doubt as he
saw the plane he had to board? It was
not a huge jumbo jet, but a tiny little plane.
If he did have doubts, he still got on board without questioning any of
the airline staff.
Two hours later he looked down at the icy,
snow covered beaches around Sydney, Nova Scotia. Then the plane landed at the little airport
of the less famous Sydney: the one on a cold, windswept Canadian island, the
one with a population of 31,000. It
began to snow hard, the flakes swirling around in a biting wind.
Well, what would you have done?
Jan looked at his sunglasses, his shorts,
his beach ball, his sun block, and his Australian dollars. He looked at the blizzard which was beginning
to build outside. And he turned around
and took a flight to Toronto, and then another flight back to Amsterdam. And perhaps went to bed, thinking about the
proverb, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
I like Jan.
I’m glad that the BBC article didn’t give his name. I imagine that he will never be allowed to
forget his misadventure. In forty years
his family and friends will still be teasing him about his mistake.
“Hey Jan!
Could you pick up a packet of tissues from 7/11? No need to go to Sydney. The 7/11 at the bottom of the street will be
fine.”
“Where’s Jan. He’s quite late, isn’t he?”
“Yeah.
He probably got on the wrong bus and is half way to Nova Scotia by now.”
Thanks, Jan. I wish you well on your future travels. You put a smile on my face.
Vocabulary:
to save one’s blushes – to prevent one from
becoming embarrassed
due (west) – directly (to the west)
a detour – a long way around; an alternate
route, longer than the originally planned journey
gear – equipment; things
an eventuality – a possible event;
something which might happen
accurate - correct
bizarre - strange
Aussie – slang for Australian
a sliver – a tiny piece or fragment
to swirl – to move in a twisting pattern,
like smoke in a light wind
to tease someone – to make fun of someone;
to laugh at someone
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