So, as some of you may know, since last year I’ve been spending most of my time in Romania on a business project. Despite all the time I’ve been here, I’ve never been to the capital, Bucharest, until last week. Most of the locals here in Transylvania told me it wasn’t worth it, it was a dirty, polluted, ugly city. So, reluctantly, I booked myself a weekend there. I figured I would visit at least once before leaving the country. And wow, was I surprised by what I saw!
Part 1: Getting there
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mooshoo10011, on Flickr
Haaaa, they’ve misspelled Airport!
TAROM RO730 SBZ-OTP
ATR42-500
ETD: 6:00AM ETA: 6:55AM
Booked my tickets in the friendly, if albeit buggy, Tarom website. Smooth process, and even let me select seats during booking! The flight was going to be in the old ATR42, and not in one of their modern 737 winglets, but oh well, it’s a 55 minute flight. No special seats in first class, so I just went for good old coach!
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mooshoo10011, on Flickr
Sibiu, the European capital of culture in 2007, has a small but functional airport. Checked in at 5am, and went to security. No one there yet (come on, it’s early). Waited around for 15 minutes until the security agents arrived, carrying the smallest pistols in the world. The airport has a domestic departure lounge, and an international departure lounge. The international area has a duty free and a nice coffee shop. Well… the domestic area has not one, but TWO bathrooms. Take THAT FCT!
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mooshoo10011, on Flickr
Yeah it's a little blurry. Romanian authorities tend to frown upon picture taking. And by frown upon I mean they make you delete all your pictures and demand a "you made me do stuff" fee.
Ahh, in the distance I can see Lufthansa paid to park their CRJ9 in the spotlight, while Tarom parked in the dark. I must’ve taken this LH flight some 30 times already since 2012.
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mooshoo10011, on Flickr
Boarding begins, and we’re loaded into the bus for the 50 feet ride to the plane (can’t be too careful in an airport that has over 5 flights per day). 5 minutes to get everyone in the bus, and 8 seconds of wheels moving. The funny part: buses are not wheelchair friendly, so whenever there’s someone in a wheelchair, they’ll just push it straight to the plane, and it has never lost a race against the bus. I've been on jetways longer than the distance we were bussed.
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mooshoo10011, on Flickr
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mooshoo10011, on Flickr
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mooshoo10011, on Flickr
Seating is what you expect from a regional jet. A little tight, but fine for a 55 minute flight. Amazingly, they served drinks (including hot coffee, tea, and even beer), as well as a baggie with croissants. Just like United! Hehe
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mooshoo10011, on Flickr
It seems tight, but once you took the inflight magazine out of the pocket, there's and extra 1/16" of an inch to spread out.
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mooshoo10011, on Flickr
Uneventful flight, and landed on time at OTP. Short bus ride to the terminal, and on the arrivals hall we are. Here is where one needs to be prepared: if you just step outside, there’ll be “rapid taxis” parked conveniently in front of the airport. Apparently, “rapid” in Romanian means “you pay 4x as much, and get to ride in a regular taxi”. Luxurious, I know! From what I read, it’s quite common for these taxi drivers to scam tourists too. Now, OTP has a touch screen computer inside the lobby, and you select the kind of taxi you need (a regular, a regular +, a premium or a van), you see the price per Km, and once selected, you get a receipt with the taxi number. Hop on the escalator, and upstairs, in the departure area, your taxi will magically appear! I’ve paid RON25 (roughly $8) for the ride to the center. Not bad, specially considering the “rapid” taxis charge about $40, and it’s the same type of car.
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mooshoo10011, on Flickr
Next, the great Intercontinental Bucharest.