This was my second visit to the US. If I talk about my first visit, well I might be able to write a whole book on how a planned one month internship changed into a 2 day 'touch-and-go' adventure. But that was long back so for now let me talk about the second trip which happened 3 months back.
It was a 9 day trip and the first 5 days passed quite peacefully and I was having a great time. I saw the central park, statue of liberty, wall street, wtc memorial, times square etc etc. Then on the 6th day I decided to visit Macy's for some shopping. One of my colleagues suggested that I should take my passport as there was a discount for International travellers. Sounds good, I thought. So with 200 dollars and 100 pounds and my passport and all my credit cards, I left for Macy's. Ofcourse not knowing that I would be spending 4 hrs in the NY police station that night.
Well I was initially overwhelmed by the vastness of Macy's but finally decided a particular order in which Im going to visit the sections so I dont miss anything. The first section was home n kitchen. I bought some stupid stuff for $74.5 and moved on towards the footwear section. There ofcourse I got excited and was trying out different shoes. Suddenly I realized my shoulder bag was missing. I had kept the bag with the kitchen stuff (that I recently bought) on a sofa. I was walking around the sofa in a new pair of shoes to check how comfortable they were. I could see the shopping bag but not my purse. Still I kept my calm and looked around here and there. I was sure that I had kept the bag on the sofa. I looked under and around the sofa etc but could not find it. Then I informed one of the sales girls and she said if they found anything they are supposed to report it to the lost n found section. I started to search.
It was around 6pm and I traced my steps back to the kitchen section, sort of in panic now but still confident that something will turn up. My bag had all my money, cards, phone and my passport so it was a big deal but I just kept saying to myself that all-is-well. I went to the lost n found section but nothing had been reported there. They said that sometimes the staff returns the items just before they go home which is around 9:30pm. Which means I had to wait for 3 more hours. Then suddenly I remembered I had gone to the restroom after the kitchen section and I was very confident I will find my bag there. I ran there, looked around but didn't find it. I panicked. In those 3 hours, I scanned the shoes section 4 times, the restroom 3 times and checked with the lost-and-found section maybe 10 times. At 9pm, I broke down.
I really could not understand what am I supposed to do now... I had no money, no phone , no passport. Then I noticed the kitchen stuff I had with me. Ok I could return that and get some cash back. I rushed to that section, was crying like mad and asked them to return the stuff. The guy at the counter asked me what happened and when I told him everything, he offered that he would go with me to the lost-and-found section and ask them for the cctv recording. I thought it was a good idea. So I took my 74.5 bucks back and then went to the lnf section. There I was told that to see the cctv recording I had to get the police report and they gave me the address of the nearest preccint. And yes, in between I also went to the visitor section where they had a free isd phone, I left a voicemail for Movin and called up home and told them everything. Then I started for the police station, or the preccint as it was called.
I managed to read the street numbers etc and reach the preccint without my phone, which I am proud of. Anyways when I reached there I came to know that Macy's actually dont record anything. The cameras are just dummy. And for losing the passport they issued me a note which I was supposed to take to the Indian embassy, where they would give me a letter which would allow me to leave the US and enter India (not UK) and then I would have to reapply for a new passport and all other visas. Anyways I decided there is nothing I can do now except to go back to the hotel and prepare to stay in India for the next 6 months or so.
I reached the hotel, completely feeling at loss, very hungry, very tired and terribly sad and helpless. I opened my laptop, started googling for 'lost Indian passport in US' when this mail pops up from the hotel - 'We have got an anonymous call saying if u want ur passport, call this number' and there was a number. This was it! I jumped but how am I supposed to call without a phone ? Somebody had recently mentioned they use Google Voice for International calls and Google gives 10 bucks talktime to all employees. Cool, I thought I would try that! I set it up and then finally dialed this number... I was really really excited. (By the way, network in my hotel room was good only near the door which was far from my bed so I was sitting on the floor just behind the door). So I dialed this number and came a very scary, heavy accented voice of a lady - Hullo!!
I told her about the email I had got and thanked her for the pain she took etc but unfortunately could not understand what she was saying bcoz of the accent. I could only comprehend that she was asking me to come to a particular address in some place called Bronx right then if I wanted the passport. Now I didnt know anything about Bronx but I was really happy and told her that I will definitely come but will call her back as I could not understand the address. I went to the reception, told them the whole story and requested them to talk to her and get me the address. The guy at the reception gave me a scary look. He told me that Bronx was the part of NY where all the criminals live and I should not even think of going there by myself. But he was anyways ready to talk on my behalf. He called that number, the lady gave her address and said she was only available that night. I thanked the receptionist but he still insisted I should not go there and suggested I should report to the police. Then I called 911.
2 policemen came up instantly to the hotel. On listening to my story, at first they started scolding me that this was not really an emergency but I told them that the lady is saying that she is only available tonight so I wanted to do something instantly. They said the only thing they can do is to take me to the police station nearest to Macy's. They refused to take me to Bronx. So I went with them in the NYPD jeep to the same preccint I went before and reported the new development. They told me that it was surely the thief who was calling me as a normal person would either drop the bag at the lost-n-found section or at the police station. They would never take it with them. The police also said that these cases were common and they usually kidnap you or ask for more money in return of your passport. They suggested that I should fill up the report form and then they would send a plain clothes detective with me to Bronx that night itself. It was almost 10:30pm and I was extremely distressed but I thought I would continue as this was the best I can do. I filled up the form and answered to all their questions (took almost 3 hours) and at 1:30 when all the formalities were over, I was told to go home and come tomorrow as there was no detective available that night. I was so angry, I told them that from the very beginning I was saying that the lady was only available that night and now they are saying they can't do anything. Well they just said sorry and offered me to drop me back to the hotel. I was totally heartbroken and physically and mentally exhausted.
I reached the hotel and was much more scared now. I was almost sure that nothing would happen the next day but thought I should at least ask the lady if she can wait till the next day. I called her again, I was crying most of the time. I didn't confront her and obviously didn't tell her that I had informed the police. I just told her that I was new in the US and am not able to figure out a way to come to Bronx at such an hour with no money (although I had around $200 cash in the hotel room) so can she wait till tomorrow. She said she will but I had to come to Bronx to take the passport. I was so so scared because that kindof confirmed that she was upto something bad otherwise why would she lie initially that she was only available that night. Anyways I told her I was really broke and she was the only person who could help me. Then Movin called at the hotel room, I told him everything, obviously he freaked out as well. He said he would take the first flight and come to NY (luckily he had a US visa) and would reach by next day noon. That was a bit reassuring. Then I don't know what came into my mind, I looked for free sms websites and started sending senti sms to that lady, telling her that I was in a very bad situation and literally begging her to be available the next day.
Then next day, obviously I couldn't eat anything and thought I would go to the police asap as they had asked me to come the next day. There was a big queue there and my turn came after an hour. They had apparently misplaced my file and basically after spending 2 hours in the preccint, I was told that there was a big backlog of detective cases and I would be called when my turn came so I may go now. I was so heartbroken, this is what I had been banking on. I told them I have the phone number and the address of a criminal, why can't they help me. But they just said that they had to follow the proper procedure. Well I couldn't do anything. I went back to the hotel and called the thief. (I was very sure she was the one otherwise why couldn't she just drop the passport somewhere instead of insisting to meet me) I tried to say that I had no money left and I cannot travel, but she said it will only take 5 dollars and that I can borrow from somewhere and then she will give me 5 dollars with the passport. ( Sure, after taking 400 dollars, she will give 5 dollars back!) Wow! But something inside me said that I should keep trying and I kept on telling her that I was from a very poor family in India and if I don't go back I would be a homeless in US. Of course I didn't tell her that I lived in London or that I could go back to India by visiting the Indian embassy. I kept on telling her how badly I needed my passport and was requesting her to drop it somewhere. My only motive was to avoid meeting her. But she kept on suggesting me ways to come to Bronx and take the passport from her.
Well then Movin came and we raced our brains. He had kindof lost hope and obviously we didn't want to encounter her. So we thought we'll say that I have fallen sick because of starvation and am in a hospital and Movin was a random guy who is ready to help me and that he can come to collect the passport and then we'll see what happened. So we called her again. (The funny thing was that she always picked up the phone and listened to me). I told her that I was starving as I had no money for food and this guy wants to help me out. And that I couldn't come as I was being rushed to a hospital and some more senti stuff. She initially refused, but then I sounded 'dying' and said she could save my life blah blah. Finally, finally, she said she didn't want to meet anybody else and she would drop the passport at the Bronx police station. And the way we jumped!!! Both of us went almost mad. After about 45 minutes, we got a call from the Bronx Preccint that somebody had reported a 'found bag with passport' and the phone number was written on the hotel room key! (So thats how she called at the first place when I got the email )
Well, we now knew it was a happy ending and I don't need to write the rest of it. We went to the Bronx Preccint, picked up the passport and all the other stuff she had returned (comb, sunglasses, phone charger, lip-balm etc ). Obviously there was no phone or wallet. But I was extremely happy. That further confirmed that she was the thief because the hotel key was in the wallet which means she had the wallet but she never returned it. Also, the police at the Bronx preccint told me that this lady found my bag in the metro train while she had told me on the phone that she found my wallet on the stairs outside Macy's. Well whatever it was, by God's garce, it was over in 2 days (6th and 7th day of my trip). And I enjoyed the 8th day with Movin and his friends in New jersey and finally flew back on the 9th day as planned.
But they were very long 6th and 7th days.....
It was a 9 day trip and the first 5 days passed quite peacefully and I was having a great time. I saw the central park, statue of liberty, wall street, wtc memorial, times square etc etc. Then on the 6th day I decided to visit Macy's for some shopping. One of my colleagues suggested that I should take my passport as there was a discount for International travellers. Sounds good, I thought. So with 200 dollars and 100 pounds and my passport and all my credit cards, I left for Macy's. Ofcourse not knowing that I would be spending 4 hrs in the NY police station that night.
Well I was initially overwhelmed by the vastness of Macy's but finally decided a particular order in which Im going to visit the sections so I dont miss anything. The first section was home n kitchen. I bought some stupid stuff for $74.5 and moved on towards the footwear section. There ofcourse I got excited and was trying out different shoes. Suddenly I realized my shoulder bag was missing. I had kept the bag with the kitchen stuff (that I recently bought) on a sofa. I was walking around the sofa in a new pair of shoes to check how comfortable they were. I could see the shopping bag but not my purse. Still I kept my calm and looked around here and there. I was sure that I had kept the bag on the sofa. I looked under and around the sofa etc but could not find it. Then I informed one of the sales girls and she said if they found anything they are supposed to report it to the lost n found section. I started to search.
It was around 6pm and I traced my steps back to the kitchen section, sort of in panic now but still confident that something will turn up. My bag had all my money, cards, phone and my passport so it was a big deal but I just kept saying to myself that all-is-well. I went to the lost n found section but nothing had been reported there. They said that sometimes the staff returns the items just before they go home which is around 9:30pm. Which means I had to wait for 3 more hours. Then suddenly I remembered I had gone to the restroom after the kitchen section and I was very confident I will find my bag there. I ran there, looked around but didn't find it. I panicked. In those 3 hours, I scanned the shoes section 4 times, the restroom 3 times and checked with the lost-and-found section maybe 10 times. At 9pm, I broke down.
I really could not understand what am I supposed to do now... I had no money, no phone , no passport. Then I noticed the kitchen stuff I had with me. Ok I could return that and get some cash back. I rushed to that section, was crying like mad and asked them to return the stuff. The guy at the counter asked me what happened and when I told him everything, he offered that he would go with me to the lost-and-found section and ask them for the cctv recording. I thought it was a good idea. So I took my 74.5 bucks back and then went to the lnf section. There I was told that to see the cctv recording I had to get the police report and they gave me the address of the nearest preccint. And yes, in between I also went to the visitor section where they had a free isd phone, I left a voicemail for Movin and called up home and told them everything. Then I started for the police station, or the preccint as it was called.
I managed to read the street numbers etc and reach the preccint without my phone, which I am proud of. Anyways when I reached there I came to know that Macy's actually dont record anything. The cameras are just dummy. And for losing the passport they issued me a note which I was supposed to take to the Indian embassy, where they would give me a letter which would allow me to leave the US and enter India (not UK) and then I would have to reapply for a new passport and all other visas. Anyways I decided there is nothing I can do now except to go back to the hotel and prepare to stay in India for the next 6 months or so.
I reached the hotel, completely feeling at loss, very hungry, very tired and terribly sad and helpless. I opened my laptop, started googling for 'lost Indian passport in US' when this mail pops up from the hotel - 'We have got an anonymous call saying if u want ur passport, call this number' and there was a number. This was it! I jumped but how am I supposed to call without a phone ? Somebody had recently mentioned they use Google Voice for International calls and Google gives 10 bucks talktime to all employees. Cool, I thought I would try that! I set it up and then finally dialed this number... I was really really excited. (By the way, network in my hotel room was good only near the door which was far from my bed so I was sitting on the floor just behind the door). So I dialed this number and came a very scary, heavy accented voice of a lady - Hullo!!
I told her about the email I had got and thanked her for the pain she took etc but unfortunately could not understand what she was saying bcoz of the accent. I could only comprehend that she was asking me to come to a particular address in some place called Bronx right then if I wanted the passport. Now I didnt know anything about Bronx but I was really happy and told her that I will definitely come but will call her back as I could not understand the address. I went to the reception, told them the whole story and requested them to talk to her and get me the address. The guy at the reception gave me a scary look. He told me that Bronx was the part of NY where all the criminals live and I should not even think of going there by myself. But he was anyways ready to talk on my behalf. He called that number, the lady gave her address and said she was only available that night. I thanked the receptionist but he still insisted I should not go there and suggested I should report to the police. Then I called 911.
2 policemen came up instantly to the hotel. On listening to my story, at first they started scolding me that this was not really an emergency but I told them that the lady is saying that she is only available tonight so I wanted to do something instantly. They said the only thing they can do is to take me to the police station nearest to Macy's. They refused to take me to Bronx. So I went with them in the NYPD jeep to the same preccint I went before and reported the new development. They told me that it was surely the thief who was calling me as a normal person would either drop the bag at the lost-n-found section or at the police station. They would never take it with them. The police also said that these cases were common and they usually kidnap you or ask for more money in return of your passport. They suggested that I should fill up the report form and then they would send a plain clothes detective with me to Bronx that night itself. It was almost 10:30pm and I was extremely distressed but I thought I would continue as this was the best I can do. I filled up the form and answered to all their questions (took almost 3 hours) and at 1:30 when all the formalities were over, I was told to go home and come tomorrow as there was no detective available that night. I was so angry, I told them that from the very beginning I was saying that the lady was only available that night and now they are saying they can't do anything. Well they just said sorry and offered me to drop me back to the hotel. I was totally heartbroken and physically and mentally exhausted.
I reached the hotel and was much more scared now. I was almost sure that nothing would happen the next day but thought I should at least ask the lady if she can wait till the next day. I called her again, I was crying most of the time. I didn't confront her and obviously didn't tell her that I had informed the police. I just told her that I was new in the US and am not able to figure out a way to come to Bronx at such an hour with no money (although I had around $200 cash in the hotel room) so can she wait till tomorrow. She said she will but I had to come to Bronx to take the passport. I was so so scared because that kindof confirmed that she was upto something bad otherwise why would she lie initially that she was only available that night. Anyways I told her I was really broke and she was the only person who could help me. Then Movin called at the hotel room, I told him everything, obviously he freaked out as well. He said he would take the first flight and come to NY (luckily he had a US visa) and would reach by next day noon. That was a bit reassuring. Then I don't know what came into my mind, I looked for free sms websites and started sending senti sms to that lady, telling her that I was in a very bad situation and literally begging her to be available the next day.
Then next day, obviously I couldn't eat anything and thought I would go to the police asap as they had asked me to come the next day. There was a big queue there and my turn came after an hour. They had apparently misplaced my file and basically after spending 2 hours in the preccint, I was told that there was a big backlog of detective cases and I would be called when my turn came so I may go now. I was so heartbroken, this is what I had been banking on. I told them I have the phone number and the address of a criminal, why can't they help me. But they just said that they had to follow the proper procedure. Well I couldn't do anything. I went back to the hotel and called the thief. (I was very sure she was the one otherwise why couldn't she just drop the passport somewhere instead of insisting to meet me) I tried to say that I had no money left and I cannot travel, but she said it will only take 5 dollars and that I can borrow from somewhere and then she will give me 5 dollars with the passport. ( Sure, after taking 400 dollars, she will give 5 dollars back!) Wow! But something inside me said that I should keep trying and I kept on telling her that I was from a very poor family in India and if I don't go back I would be a homeless in US. Of course I didn't tell her that I lived in London or that I could go back to India by visiting the Indian embassy. I kept on telling her how badly I needed my passport and was requesting her to drop it somewhere. My only motive was to avoid meeting her. But she kept on suggesting me ways to come to Bronx and take the passport from her.
Well then Movin came and we raced our brains. He had kindof lost hope and obviously we didn't want to encounter her. So we thought we'll say that I have fallen sick because of starvation and am in a hospital and Movin was a random guy who is ready to help me and that he can come to collect the passport and then we'll see what happened. So we called her again. (The funny thing was that she always picked up the phone and listened to me). I told her that I was starving as I had no money for food and this guy wants to help me out. And that I couldn't come as I was being rushed to a hospital and some more senti stuff. She initially refused, but then I sounded 'dying' and said she could save my life blah blah. Finally, finally, she said she didn't want to meet anybody else and she would drop the passport at the Bronx police station. And the way we jumped!!! Both of us went almost mad. After about 45 minutes, we got a call from the Bronx Preccint that somebody had reported a 'found bag with passport' and the phone number was written on the hotel room key! (So thats how she called at the first place when I got the email )
Well, we now knew it was a happy ending and I don't need to write the rest of it. We went to the Bronx Preccint, picked up the passport and all the other stuff she had returned (comb, sunglasses, phone charger, lip-balm etc ). Obviously there was no phone or wallet. But I was extremely happy. That further confirmed that she was the thief because the hotel key was in the wallet which means she had the wallet but she never returned it. Also, the police at the Bronx preccint told me that this lady found my bag in the metro train while she had told me on the phone that she found my wallet on the stairs outside Macy's. Well whatever it was, by God's garce, it was over in 2 days (6th and 7th day of my trip). And I enjoyed the 8th day with Movin and his friends in New jersey and finally flew back on the 9th day as planned.
But they were very long 6th and 7th days.....
3 comments:
Oh my God! You are a brave gal! dont knw wht i wuld do in such a situation!
This was like a novel....well written too!!
I have been part of some of this (shall I say, the easier later portion of it) so the story is not a surprise to me. But I must say it is extremely well written, and you should write a novel some day (not about this incident maybe, but you know we have many stories to tell and I'm sure there will be many more ;) )
Can imagine the ordeal you went through. Very glad to see things ended well at the end!
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