Getting There

The first time I met Mark Jenkins was on the Uzbekistan Airlines check-in line in Frankfurt - our transfer airport on our way to Tashkent from NYC.  At check-in in NYC, it was unclear whether our bags would go straight through to Tashkent or if we’d have to collect them in Frankfurt, and re-check-in for our flight to Tashkent. We did not have boarding passes for the last leg of our flight. Unwilling to take the chance of loosing our bags halfway through the trip we opted for the latter – a decision we’d made separately. After about 30 minutes of indecision and staring at the departure board for my gate number, which never materialized, I decided to go through passport control and bolted for the Uzbekistan Airlines ticket counter. The line was long and slow. With departure time 40 minutes away I was sure that I was going to miss my flight. I overheard the conversation between the American guy in front of me and the check-in lady. I was Mark Jenkins. We were in the same predicament. After brief introductions, we were face to face with the check-in lady who nicely grilled us about how much our already checked bags weighed. There’s a 20kg (44lbs) limit per bag.  Any overage, and we’d have to pay. We lied and said our bags weighed less. There is also a 5kg limit on hand luggage. Mine weighed in at 15kg. For a moment the check-in lady and I stared each other down, she blinked first and said she’ll indicate in the computer that my bag was indeed 5kg but there’s a risk that I might be stopped, get a re-weigh and charged. “Make it look light”, she said.

We made it to the gate with plenty of time to spare because the flight was delayed. When we finally arrived in Tashkent, a sea of tourists, many of them in groups, descended upon the six passport-control booths. We wondered if our luggage made and was relieved when we saw Mark’s bags materialize on the belt. However, that relief was short-lived. My 1 bag did not make it, only to find out later that it’s scheduled to arrive three days later.