<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Dr. Zhivago:
Second worst would be any one of the zillion flights I took from DMO (Moscow Domodedovo) in the days before it was renovated. You can still see the old section of the terminal now from the new bit, and every time I look at it, I shudder from the memory...!
Anyone else?</font>
I laugh now, but at the time....
Yes indeed, the 'old' terminal- due to a snow storm (or some other unknown reason) we landed at DMO, and I was so happy to be in Russia I beamed at the security boys in the frigid concrete cave at 4AM in January- this so alarmed them they decided to send us to the high level security checkpoint- where a few words in Russian by my BF clued them in to why I was acting so 'crazy'.
The outbound leg to Irkutsk however <GRRRRRR!>-
First the complete lack of signage ANYWHERE in any alphabet (thank God our friend insisted on coming with us until we were on a plane!); then the rooster in a wooden cage next to the bonfire on the floor in the waiting room; followed by the really-ticked-at-life female 'agent' for Aeroflot that insisted that our tickets bought in SFO for our flights were invalid because 'they are not the same Aeroflot'!!!!!
By this time I had aclimated a bit, and tangled with some security jerk at the old Intourist hotel in Moscow, so I only TOLD her once that it was indeed one company and she had a legal obligation to give us boarding passes and point us to the correct gate... well, she copped an attitude and said it wasn't her problem and I lost my temper- let's just say that a really mad female suddenly ranting at you in Russian/English gibberish is enough to bring out the babies with automatic weapons from the room behind! I don't quite know what they were SUPPOSED to do, but I just glared at them while still ordering her to resolve the problem at a shout, and they literally BACKED into their room and closed the door all but a crack.....
Next, she furiously stamps everything and points us towards a hallway and says "down the stairs"; so far so good, right? Nope, stairs are completely iced over and lead to the abandoned tarmac at the start of yet another blizzard; we retreat back indoors but she has now vanished too; back to the outdoors and about 20 minutes later a bus appears and the driver demands the equivalant of US$5 each to take us to the 'correct' terminal- I tell him to do unmentionable things to himself and turn around and march back up the stairs; he gets out of bus, follows us, and tells us to board for the trip, no charge; we are now in the 'foreigners' terminal per our friend, which is admittedly a dramatic improvement over the unheated cave with roosters and bonfires on the floor- for 2 hours before the flight time, and 11 extra hours of delay, along with about a dozen other flight's passengers and about 1/2 the seats to make this work; luggage works pretty good as a bed when needed, and those dried fruits and bottled waters came in real handy until 9 hours after arrival when the snack area downstairs opened up and great real food became available.
Like I said, I laugh now, but....!!!
S