travelling the world on a uni bums budget

The train had come to an abrupt halt. Someone spoke over the pa system in about every language but english.I turned to the girl next to me, hoping and praying she could speak english. "Umm.. Excuse me but do you speak english?" She just looked at me for a bit then replied. I made out train, broken and hours. Great I thought to myself we will never make it back to Antwerp in time. Just after about forty minutes my phone went off, tragic news from home. Could my day get any worse?

After about twenty more minutes we started moving again, finally I thought, the days starting to look up. However when the train docked at Köln, I had realised that my connecting train had already left. Frantic and stricken with fear that I wouldn't be making it back to Antwerp tonight I searched for the next train that was heading in that direction… The Thalys fast train to Brussels.
I jumped on unaware of what I was about to face.

We had just passed into France and I was on the home straight, one more hour and I'd be back where I started my two week trip. "Tickets Please" I heard a man with a french accent say. Getting my eurail pass out the train had pulled up at station and two policemen stepped on. I handed my eurail pass to the ticket master.. "No" he said as he passed it back to me. I looked up at him with the biggest puppy dog eyes. The cops eyes firmly planted on me. "Sixty-Two Euros" the ticket master grunted at me. I handed him my master card. "NO" he yelled. "Don't take card. All this was happening whilst then lady next to me just paid her fare with a master card. "You pay or you get off now" he sneered at me. The police now taking a very nice liking to me. Oh no this day has just gone from bad to worse I thought as I started to grab my bags to depart the train, then… just as I was about to step onto the platform a voice came from behind the ticket master. "Here, I'll pay for her". The ticket master was far from impressed as he took her money and passed me a ticket.

I learnt two lessons that day, one that there are still actual decent people out there and two, to always read the small print.