The Kindness of a Stranger Chiang Shin Mei

We love to travel - visit beautiful places, eat tasty food, experience diverse cultures in far away lands. Sometimes, we also have memorable encounters with strangers whose kindness and generosity inspire us; spare us from embarrassment; and on one occasion even possibly have saved us from a lock up in a foreign prison.

We have always wanted to travel on the Glacier Express, the red train that adorns many Switzerland postcards.  In June 2004, we finally decided to do that. After extensive research on the Internet, it seems that train travel is a fairly easy and comfortable means to see Europe.  So, we bought a ticket for the Glacier Express, as well as a "3 country train pass" to visit other parts of Switzerland, the Italian and French Riviera.

Our plane landed in Zurich ahead of schedule. We breezed through the Swiss customs, and proceeded to the train counter to validate our train pass.There, we were told, that we would have just enough time to catch the next train to Zermatt (this famous resort beneath the majestic Matterhorn would be the start of our Glacier Express trip the next day). This would be a change from our original plan of taking a later train (2 p.m.).  Since we would be saving some time, we decided to do that and rushed onto the train.

The train left the station on time, into the scenic countryside - snow capped Alpine mountains, glittering glacier lakes, and charming villages, spring wild flowers in abundance.  It is serene. This is heaven on earth.  We congratulated ourselves that the vacation had started beautifully.

After two or three hours, the train stopped at a small village. Over the paging, it was announced that passengers travelling to Zermatt would need to transfer to a nearby train station by bus. Before we boarded the bus, the driver asked to see our tickets. We handed him our train pass. But he said, 'Sorry, you need another ticket, because the next segment of the ride is part of the Glacier Express, and is not covered by your pass". (We didn't know that we were going on the Glacier Express. The Glacier Express ticket we had purchased was for travel on the next day, from Zermatt to St. Moritz.) We said, "OK", and pulled out our credit card. "Sorry, we don't take credit card."  At this moment, we realized that in our rush to catch the train, we did not have time to exchange money at the airport. The bus driver kindly told us not to worry, and we could buy the ticket on the train by credit card.

We got on the Glacier Express, and the train continued its journey. We settled ourselves in a booth, sharing it with a young couple from Hong Kong. With our common background, it did not take long for us to strike up a conversation. They told us that they too were going to Zermatt.  Then came the train conductor. We pulled out our credit card. "Sorry, we don't take credit card." "But the bus driver said you do. "He shook his head "Only cash."

"We can pay by U.S. traveller's cheque." "Only Swiss Franc." He shook his head again, this time quite impatiently. "What about Euro? What about Canadian dollars?"  "Swiss Francs only!" "What can we do?" He just shrugged and offered no suggestions.  The husband was trying very hard to plead our case in his now rusty German, unsuccessfully.  I sat there anxiously, fearful of being dragged off the train, or worse, thrown into jail. Seeing our predicament, the young couple from Hong Kong came to our rescue. He kindly offered to lend us the money to buy the tickets. We were relieved and immensely grateful.

The train journeyed on, making its ascent to Zermatt, over hundred bridges and through dozens of tunnels. The ingenuity of the Swiss mountain rail is an engineering marvel. Equally impressive is the panoramic vistas: majestic snow peaks seemingly touching the sky, thundering waterfalls plunging into deep gorges, rushing streams flowing through towering mountain forests, shepherds tending their flocks on the mountain, cows grazing in the meadows and the jingle of their bells resonated in the alpine valley. The landscapes are utterly stunning. We arrived at Zermatt spellbound.

Once walked out of the Zermatt train station, the young couple told us that they wanted to go to the tourist office. They then left us to find the bank in the village.  How trusting.  We could just vanish.  After a trip to the bank, we bid goodbye to our fellow travellers with our heart-felt gratitude. Their kindness would be remembered for many, many years.

Note: Originally, we planned to take the 2 p.m. train, which would travel a different route and cover by our "3 country train pass". It could have saved us from all the embarrassment. But then I would not have this story to tell.

Home | Index