Finally, after many vicissitudes and smoothly I landed in Tokyo on a visa that allows me to stay for 2 years. Hello! :-)
Today, instead of talking about photography I would like to talk about shipping. Why? The reason is as follows. To produce
photography (especially graphics) is not just a camera and a computer but need a range of aids, in my case a monitor 24 "apple cinema in a specific LED.
Has anyone ever tried to carry a monitor 24 "inch heavy 10kg (15 packaged) from one continent to another? I do. This is my story ..
In this month of 2009 I began to ask me a question, how to bring my beautiful display, only bought in March in Tokyo, a city where I was transferred a few months later. The assumptions that were presented were twofold: to sell the monitor even seen watering down its high price or take it with me, send it or take on board the aircraft.
The OUTDOOR BITTER February
For my sake I called three days before leaving for Alitalia. Why have not I done this before? Because I'm a lazy shit, that's why.
explaining to my gentle lady tells me that logistical problem:
not only take on 9.5 kg of hand luggage in Economy Class is not possible, but also the inability to carry on "that" Glass display monitor because of their, or glass. Bring glass on board an aircraft of that size species is prohibited. The reason? PRACTICAL COURSE HOW hijack a plane with an Apple LED Cinema Display 24 ": Step 1 - Monitor the board as hand luggage, step 2 - when the plane took off to retrieve the beam by hand from the compartments above your head and pull the monitor , then with a sharp elbow (if you can) break the glass to create fragments of the size of 15 cm x 3 cm; step 4 - wrap one of the fragments with a cloth so as not to threaten to cut off his hand Step 5 - call the cutest hostess on board, distract her with a stupid complaint and when they least expect it - wham! - Point the fragment of the throat; step 6 - get lead the pilot and choose the destination that you prefer more attention, but keep an eye on the fuel!
Well yes ... no, not kidding, Alitalia has told me that I could break my monitor (list price 846 €) and use the pieces to violent purposes. We fly over.
LIGHTING March
Turning on the internet I found several forums where there were other desperate people who, like me,
had a way of being in questa situazione. Leggendo i vari pareri èra uscita fuori questa parola, “CARGO” , che per associazioni mi riportò immediatamente ad una sigla: Alitalia Cargo.
Quello che feci subito fu di telefonare alla ditta in questione la quale mi subbappaltò ad uno dei loro spedizionieri di fiducia: ISG.
Fatte le telefonate di riferimento la signorina al telefono mi fa il preventivo. 150 euro spese incluse. Ci sto. Spedisco e ritiro il pacco al Cargo gate di NARITA. Niente di più facile…(povero illuso). Imballai il monitor nella sua scatola e mi recai a Fiumicino dall’ISG. Fatto, spedito, pagato. Sarebbe arrivato con il volo del giorno dopo, ovvero would arrive at Narita a day before me, just in time for customs clearance of routine.
almost willfully ignoring the € 120 spent on iLugger brand new and totally useless at this point, I came home with a lump in the throat, the anxiety for my monitor in-flight without me.
THE ODYSSEY Tokyo
arrived at Narita news I immediately asked the location of Alitalia Cargo, but after a lengthy consultation between customs officials puzzled the answer I received was a phone number. After the first moments of sheer desperation I headed for the phones to call Alitalia Cargo at Narita. I received a phone call from the address, nothing easier, and found a taxi driver and delivered the address, loaded it all on taxi pensado that the bulk of the situation had been done.
arrived, 10 minutes by taxi from the airport, opposite the entrance to the cargo area, the taxi driver almost made me fall in the middle of the road, because obviously I was not in possession of the badge to enter. Just uploaded my 30kg of luggage on their shoulders, walked to the booth of the customs / financier / man cargo area in uniform who did not speak a word of English, and after moments of no small embarrassment due to our inability to communicate, I made the badge to enter, almost out of pity ...
Inside the cargo was ... the cargo area. A hell of forklift trucks and vans that sped at full speed to the right and left, hundreds of arms that load and unload boxes of wrapping boards or platforms, sometimes packages that both platforms at the same time, every time somebody threw me a look as if to say " but what we do here in the midst of a bale gaijin load as a mule? How much will the wrong way? Ah ah ah .... " After about three seconds I realized I had seriously wrong address. Needless to tell my ridiculous attempts to communicate with the stevedores, in desperation I stopped the first person with a cell phone and asked him to show me only an office.
... Now, kindness and availability of Japanese history, the fact is that this took me to walk to the tourist information office is located exactly on the opposite side of the area, about one km on foot.
information office were so disponibili che la signorina vedendomi tutto sudato e carico di bagagli mi ha chiamato un taxi per accompagnarmi nella seconda area cargo, a 5 km da quella in cui mi trovavo dove avrei dovuto fare un altro badge, una nuova dogana e poi finalmente andare a piedi fino al gate di JAL cargo dove dopo aver riempito vari moduli avrei potuto ritirare il pacco.
Feci la dogana e l’impiegato mi indirizzò fino all’area JAL dove c’èra l’addetto di Alitalia Cargo con cui avevo parlato al telefono a Narita che mi aspettava fuori dall’ufficio venendomi incontro!
Salto tutte le pratiche burocratiche per dire che il gentilissimo e disponibilissimo Kato-san dopo avermi helped to get my monitor has offered to bring me back to Narita airport with his car!
Finally on skyliner fainted from fatigue.
CONSIDERATIONS Today
The second consideration is that I probably agreed to sell this monitor and buy it again here in Italy ... maybe at a discount and 20% of points on the card Labi.
Sayonara
;)
