Culture Shock cum Patience Test

So we had a lot to learn. Take this for instance.

We saw this sign amidst the crowd. Take a number to check in? NOW we knew why there were so many people waiting.
We asked and were directed to the queue to get the check in number.

Yes, you read correctly. There was another queue to get a queue number..... So Hubby lined up. That's him in the blue shirt on the right of this picture.
That wait was not too long. He sat himself down, having given the young man all the necessary details.
He then received our queue for registration number - 857. Yes, eight hundred and fifty-seven. I looked at the paper Hubby got and then I looked at the flashing board which would call us to the respective counters to check in.

Yes, there were more than 500 others in front of us.
Folks, we waited for more than 3.5 hours before we were seen to.

Much later, we saw, tucked aside in a small area, some machines which indicated that if you had prepaid you could skip the queue and check in separately.

Now why didn't the young man tell us about it?