ANGELS IN UNIFORM

Just to share a traveler's tale, dating back to 1970s....

I was visiting one of the most happening cities in the world -Hong Kong, with its dazzling array of neon-lit and exquisitely decorated departmental stores, shops, hotels, restaurants and nightspots flanking the streets.

But incredulous as it may seem, I was roaming penniless, yes, literally penniless, on these streets totally oblivious of all this grandeur. My state of mind was akin that of the child in the story “Lost Child”, which I had read in my school. In the story, the child, after getting separated from his father in a fair, lost all interest in all the goodies being sold in the various stalls in the fair. In contrast, only a short while back, while happily roaming on the fair grounds with paternal protection, he had clamored incessantly for these very things.

In fact, I had lost my wallet with all my cash, travellers’ cheques and Air ticket to Delhi, between the time of arrival from Tokyo earlier night and the morning of this episode. I had saved these funds from my allowances during my stay in Japan where as a young engineer on a first trip abroad, I had been on a training schedule with a Japanese company. My acquaintances in Tokyo had advised me that if I had to buy things like electronic goods, watches or other gift items, I should skip any shopping in Tokyo and instead take advantage of bargain sales in Hong Kong, which was to be my stop over during the return trip

So equipped with these funds and a free night stay hotel coupon offered by Japan Airlines, I was in a jubilant mood in anticipation of a shopping spree which could also be topped up by a brief sightseeing trip in Hong Kong. I arrived in Kowloon’s Kai Tak Airport at 1 am past midnight and after checking in at the hotel, forthwith rushed to the stores in the adjoining streets, which were still bustling with activity at these nightly hours. I got good bargains and bought a couple of items. Obviously, I wanted to make full use of the less than 8 effective hours available to me in Hong Kong, as my return flight was scheduled for next day afternoon.

I woke up to an exciting morning, packed my baggage hurriedly for the check out, and proceeded to complete the remaining tasks from my shopping list. After a short spell of window shopping, I chose a departmental store and post the usual bargaining, settled for a few items. However, at the cash counter, I had the shock of my life. My wallet was missing, though the pouch in which it was placed with other travel documents was in tact. Presuming that the wallet was left behind in my room, I rushed to the hotel, but to my utter dismay, I did not find it. In desperation, I paced back and forth the streets leading from the hotel to the stores I had visited, but there was no trace of the wallet. I was in a great fix particularly as it was a Sunday and I could not even contact any body back in Tokyo, who could have been of some help in this precarious situation.

The hotel manager expressed his helplessness, but suggested in a casual way that there was nothing much I could do except to lodge a report at the police station. He gave me the directions and there I was, totally forlorn and extremely helpless, at the doorsteps of a police station in a foreign land. I was quite skeptical of any help from this quarter thinking all the time that the officials, would at best console me, write a missing article report and ask me to await the results of their investigations. That is, if there were no language problems.

The inspector, a British officer, looked up sternly. Nervously, I recounted to him the loss of my wallet. I was getting mentally prepared for a barrage of questions as well as sermons for being more careful. But to my utter surprise, he just asked my name. After verifying it from my passport, a smile lit up his face as he pulled out the drawer of his desk, took out my wallet and handed it over to me. I leave it to the readers’ imagination to sense the relief and exuberance felt by me.

Both the inspector and the constable, who had found the wallet earlier night during his beat duty in the streets I had visited last night, were angels in uniform for me.

I had learnt a lesson too, which has stood me in a good stead during my several overseas trips in the last 40 years, with no repetition of any such incident.
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