I have been pretty inactive on social media in the past few weeks because my phone was stolen while I was traveling in Budapest, Hungary. Losing your phone is very inconvenient in this day and age, when so much activity and business has moved to mobile platforms. Not having Google maps in my palm made navigation a bit more cumbersome, and many of my plane tickets and travel information were on my phone. I also couldn’t look up different restaurants to go and compare the reviews. Worst of all, I was cut off from the rest of the world as I couldn’t access my emails, texts, phone calls, social media, etc.
My first impression of Budapest was very positive. I liked how traditional Budapest is compared to other big cities in Europe, and the Hungarian culture is alive and thriving in this city. Many of the restaurants were over a hundred years old, serving traditional Hungarian cuisine the same way they had for centuries. There was a wide variety of meats, including goose, venison (deer meat), wild boar, duck, rabbit, etc., which I really appreciated because those types of meats are relatively rare in America and Western Europe, where people usually just eat chicken, beef, or pork for their protein. Moreover, prices in general were a lot lower in Budapest, although the exchange rate was pretty confusing because 1 US dollar is almost 300 Hungarian Forints (289.22 as of July 14, 2019). I constantly had to divide every price by 300 to figure out how much things cost. Many of the buildings in Budapest were also pretty old, and there’s a lot of history to the city. The area in and around Buda Castle in particular has a lot of history to it. There are a lot of beautiful views in Budapest, especially atop Buda Castle, where you can see the magnificent parliament building, the iconic Széchenyi Chain Bridge, and the splendid St. Stephen’s Basilica.
However, after spending some time in Budapest, I noticed some not so positive aspects of the city. First, because Hungary used to be part of the communist Eastern Bloc during the Cold War, the country isn’t as developed and people are generally less trusting than residents of wealthier countries. The train station in Budapest is pretty backward, and the trains didn’t look like they were made in this century. The rural areas around Budapest in particular were quite backward, with many of the buildings in bad condition and without modern roads and streets. Another thing about Budapest is that many people don’t speak English that well, so there are sometimes communication issues. For example, when I was trying to buy a ticket at the train station, I had to visit three different ticket sellers because the first one spoke no English, and the second one could only speak a little English. Lastly, the city isn’t as safe as cities in more advanced countries. Crime rates are higher and theft and pickpockets are more common.
Which leads to my story of how I lost my phone. After I finished touring Buda Castle and seeing the Hungarian National Gallery, I wanted to go see the Hungarian Parliament. The walk was long so I decided to take a taxi. The taxis that lined up were mostly freelancers, and I asked the taxi driver at the front of the queue what his price was to get to parliament. He replied 3500 Hungarian Forints, which was on the more expensive side. I went to another taxi driver who gave me a price of 3000 Hungarian Forints, which I accepted but since he was not in the front of the queue, he said I should go to the first taxi driver and translated to him that I wanted to go to parliament for 3000 Forints. The first taxi driver accepted and I entered his taxi. When we got to parliament, he charged me over 3800 Hungarian Forints, and said there was a lot of traffic and the taxi meter pushed the price up (which isn’t standard practice because when taxi drivers in Budapest offer you a fixed price, they normally stick to it). Since the extra 800 Forints was less than 3 US dollars, I accepted the charge and paid him 4000 Forints and asked for change back. He gave me 150 Forints back and said he didn’t have a 50 Forint coin and asked if it was alright. I was annoyed but there was nothing I could do so I brusquely left the car. I immediately realized I dropped my phone in the car, and turned around to open the door to grab it back, but when the taxi driver noticed I dropped something, he quickly drove away very fast. I ran to catch up with the taxi, hoping it would stop amid traffic, but it got away. I asked a stranger nearby to borrow his phone to call my own phone, but the call quickly went to voicemail, which meant the taxi driver turned it off (my battery was over 80% so there was no way it died by itself). Thus, I lost my phone. I did make efforts to retrieve it, by first going to the taxi stop where he picked me up, hoping that he would come to the same place after, and later by going to the police, who were not helpful. I had to wait about an hour before I was given a police report form to fill in. After I filled it in and returned it, I had to wait another half hour before they stamped it, gave it back to me, and told me to go to the American Embassy. I did go to the American Embassy but I was told stolen phones are the responsibility of the Hungarian police, so I went back to the police station and told them that they were responsible for dealing with stolen phones. They told me they’ll start a case, but it may take months or years to complete, and possibly the case may not even be concluded. Since there was nothing else I could do, I went back to my hotel and accepted that I will have to go without a phone.
When I first lost my phone I was extremely angry because all my photos were on my phone and I thought I had lost them. However, I learned that iCloud Backup saved my data from my phone, so when I get a new phone I would still have my photos. Since my iCloud Backup occurred when I landed in Budapest, I would lose all my photos from Budapest, but at least I have all my pictures from before. I also had one day left in the Budapest so I could still use my camera or iPad (the photo on this blog post was taken on my camera). I had a new phone mailed from the United States to my hotel in my next destination, Kraków, Poland, so it didn’t end up being as bad as I first thought. I also had my computer and iPad, so I could still access my emails, texts, and social media in my hotel when I have WiFi. It was also a good experience to go without a phone for a few days, as it forced me to be more attuned to my surroundings. I started using paper maps, and interacted with people more often to get directions. Most of all, I learned to be more careful with my phone and wallet, and to always check if I left something in a taxi or Uber before I close the door.