There's a series of stories that I've been reflecting on... that make me Mr.Lucky!
Among others... not getting stabbed or seriously hurt while at the Rolling Stones concert! What exactly was I going to do if I actually managed to get to those two big guys who had my camera? And what are the chances that I managed to get home without incident while being totally bare-foot, after pushing, shoving, jumping, walking for over three hours through the throngs of people (estimated at 1.5 MILLION people) and their broken beer bottles etc on the streets and sidewalks.
And against the odds, managing to sell a single 'abada'(party ticket) in Carnival for the price that I paid for it.Considering most people go to Carnival in groups, the fact that I managed to find a single traveler who wanted to go the following day to Carnival in the evening (and I didn't even need to go o\ut and sell... he asked about it when he checked into the hostel!)
Oh... and I can't leave out this one... Some of you know my nickname in Doon School... Tam-Tam. I know you're thinking... why that??? Here is the link to that question.... yes... the geeky fat kid in the middle is me!!! :) But anyways... there is a Brazilian Airline named TAM and all their staff wear these really cool TAM pins which are in the shape of a heart with the Brazilian colours in the background and the letters Tam embossed in bright red on top. Quite striking and I thought that that would be the perfect pin for my travel hat. I searched through SIX airports and two TAM regional offices with no luck.My last hope was Sao Paulo airport where I was assured I could buy this pin (can u tell I was not gonna give up!).Long story short... that specific pin is not for sale and its for employees only!So, I had to give up. The day before I left Brasil, I was on a local bus heading back to a friend's place and was asking for directions from this young woman sitting next to me.In the course of conversation I found out two things... I was on the right bus and she worked part-time for TAM. I was in the middle of my complaining session and she opened her purse and presented me with the pin and would not accept any money for it. Minutes later, she got off the bus while my jaw was still hanging open!There are so many other examples of this type of thing through out my journey... but I guess the reason I started contemplating this now was in my search for a new digital camera (upon my return to Canada).Getting a camera that has a swivel head didn't prove to be easy as there are only 2 or 3 models out there that have a rotating head (important feature for solo travelers and for taking funky angled shots) and all of them were quite expensive.I took the chance of going to the store where I had bought my old camera and he said that they haven't stocked that camera for two years.I asked him to check it and to humour me... he did.Long story short... we found one camera (missing a battery, hence not sold and 60% off the sale price!).So, now once I buy a battery, I am back in action! And his parting words to me... you must be Mr. Lucky!
:)
