This is, chronologically, getting to be old news, but it took a few days before I really felt up to rehashing and writing it all down.
On my way to Bangkok - actually, on the bus ride from Phuket to catch the train in Surat Thani, I was robbed. It is unfortunately a well-known scam, apparently, where whilst I rode on the bus above, the bus workers climb in with the luggage, go through your backpack, and steal anything of value.
Objectively speaking, I didn't lose that much, and certainly I didn't lose more than I could afford to - in reality, I lost what I had placed in my backpack as back up, in case I lost my real valuable items that I carry with me always. So while I lost some emergency funds, it does not derail my finances. Nevertheless, these guys were thorough - they went through every pocket of every pant, every pouch, pawed through my underwear, unrolled my little stash of Ziplocs, and essentially left nothing unturned. They missed nothing.
I was devastated when I discovered the treachery, and since then have pretty much done the stages of grief - though maybe am still a bit hung up on the anger part. But all in all, it's an important and unfortunate lesson.
In the scheme of things, I am traveling a long time and though a lot of countries, and in the end I don't think this will rate more than an unfortunate blip, but it does have consequences. For one, it's caused me to give up my planned trip to Cambodia and Angkor Wat to see the temples. Getting to Cambodia from Bangkok involves either quite expensive flights or a protracted series of bus/tuk tuk/cab haggling and riding, long travel, and taxi drivers and border agents who are all, apparently, famous for ripping people off. Frankly, I am not up for it right now, and while I can be quite certain that nothing of value remains in my backpack any longer, the thought of putting it back on another bus for someone else to make SURE there's nothing valuable in it makes me a bit ill. So I am not going. It makes me sad, and back to the angry again, but it's what I have the wherewithal to handle right now.
I am trying not to let it, too, color my opinion of Thailand, but it is hard. It is a poor country, one overrun by tourists and travelers, and people adapt in many ways - many more speak English than I might otherwise expect, there is much more of an structure in place to sell tours, food, souvenirs, clothes, and services to travelers. And unfortunately, there are many, many, MANY people in Bangkok who have adapted by becoming scam artists. Every time I step from my hotel, I am pursued by tuk tuk drivers, even though I am clearly not looking for one. I have stopped answering the oft-asked question of "Where are you going?" because I am invariably told that it is closed (it never is, they just want to take you shopping somewhere they get a commission). Yesterday at Wat Pho, no fewer than four people told me it was closed for a ceremony for the next few hours, when in fact the entrance was just around the corner. No one told me that; I just went to find it. I have lost count of how many times my unsolicited directions have pointed me in a way different - and presumably wrong - from the way I was told to go by maps, guidebooks, the hotel.
I am trying to ignore the scams and the ripping off, and not let it shade what I think of the place, but between getting robbed and getting it in tiny forms, it is hard. I have one more week in Bangkok, and I am determined to enjoy it. But while travel is amazing and illuminating and interesting, not all of its lessons are ones I really wanted to learn.
Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts
April 16, 2008
February 21, 2008
what have you got to lose?
First, I lost February 20. I left on Tuesday afternoon for my flight, and landed on early morning on Thursday. And Wednesday was my sister's birthday to boot; that's totally an excuse not to have to get her anything, right?
I got to Auckland ridiculously early yesterday, just after 6:00 am, after some barely sufficient sleep on the plane. But I had just over 12 hours until my flight down to Christchurch, so the plan was to enjoy Auckland for a day. Unfortunately, by bags just did not want to leave home, and they - along with those of about 40 others - didn't get on the plane. I was told that they were being rerouted, and would be here...eventually. So I still had 12 hours in town, but now I had them without a toothbrush or a pair of non-yoga pants.
If you're ever in the same boat, it's really easy to get into town from the airport, and then back again. There is a hop on/hop off airport shuttle that goes all around the city center and requires no reservations, so I tooled into town and went for pretty much the only sight in town that was open at 8:15 in the morning, the Auckland Sky Tower (New Zealand has adhered to the international law that every city have a really tall thing for tourists to go up and look around; the Sky Tower is very, very tall). Normally, I am not the first one to go up the towers because I find them expensive and interchangeable after a while. From up top, all cities are just rooftops, right? But since I had one day, it was a great way to get my bearings and to "see" all of Auckland. Plus, it was still barely 9:00, so it was really quiet, and lovely to look around on a clear day. Auckland is a booming port, and seems to be an immensely liveable city. And because they are ridiculously addicted to adrenaline activities here, I also had the option to either walk around the outer walkway of the tower (!) or jump off it (!!). I did neither. It does not seem a good thing to try when one has nothing to change into. Should one, hypothetically, soil oneself at hurling own 90 stories. I had a hard enough time with the disconcerting glass floors in the observation deck. I am not scared of heights, but we were REALLY HIGH.
Auckland was gearing up for the Chinese New Year festival with all sorts of Chinese lanterns all over town. Albert Park had these massive displays of really elaborate lanterns and...papier-mache sheep (?) that were lovely and cool. I wandered through Auckland University an over to the Domain (big, gorgeous park). In there is the Auckland Museum, and it's Maori exhibits. New Zealand is a fascinatingly young country. There were no mammals here save bats until man brought them over; their idea of historical objects date back to 1860. I am from California and that seems...really new to me. But the Maori artifacts were really, really cool. I can already tell I am going to go to town on the souvenirs here.
I walked up Queen Street, the main drag (also decorated with Chinese lanterns) and to the Quay and the waterfront (and marveled at the QEII in dock for the day). It was not a lot of time, but I think I got a feel for Auckland. Very clean, very accessible, very lovely city.
When I got back to the airport, no dice on the bags. I have to say, I have had three major legs on my trip thus far, and have had major problems with every single one of them. I hope this is not a trend. By the time I made it south to Christchurch, I was exhausted, cranky, smelly and at the end of my rope. I had only the overnight emergency pack with its odd assortment of toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrush and shampoo were all very appreciated; soap or face wash or moisturizer would not have gone awry) and my carry-on to my name. I showered (which was lovely) and put back on the clothes (less lovely) and slept hard.
I like New Zealand already; I lost a lot getting here, though.
February 12, 2008
Just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in
One thing I know about travel, especially international travel, especially international travel to places that do not have the ultra-polished infrastructure in place for the tourist set, is that it teaches flexibility. I knew this would be something it would teach me, anyway, because it really is not innate for me to just go with the flow and take what happens.
So, yeah. I am writing this entry from home. As in, California. As in, the US.
It's a really long story, and it involves two and a half or so days of the longest, most miserable, most impotent-feeling, most depressing days ever.
But no, the trip is not off. It's just now my round-the-world trip includes a mini stop in California. I go to New Zealand next week.
OK, so for the full version: When I first arrived in Argentina, during that rough start that involved my late flight into Buenos Aires, I went back to ask the flight attendants about my flight on Aerolineas Argentina, one of them got a big,, wide-eyed look and said, "But Aerolineas is on strike. There were riots yesterday." Well, it turned out that it was a strike that only lasted a couple of days, and it only affected international flights anyway. I didn't worry about it too much, especially since they were able to help me get to Ushuaia only one day late.
Turns out I had reason to worry. I have since learned that Aerolineas is a fairly dodgy airline. I was pretty ready to get out of Buenos Aires, and really eager to get to New Zealand, from at least Friday on. Saturday went pretty quickly, and on Sunday I checked out of my hostel and spent the day wandering about the city - my flight was originally scheduled to leave just before midnight, but was pushed back before I reconfirmed, so was now leaving at 1am. When I came back to the hostel to pick up my bags before taking a bus to the airport, the guys at the desk told me that Aerolineas called that morning, and my flight was pushed back another 8 hours, and was now supposed to leave at 9am.
I was not happy, and a little skittish about the 2 delays before the flight was even supposed to depart, so I decided to go to the airport anyway and try to suss out what was going on in person. The trip to Ezezia airport was miserable - it took an hour for the bus to come, and then it took ages to get that far out of town, but I made it. And apparently, sometime in the 3 hours I took to get to the airport, my flight was cancelled.
There was a long line to speak to an agent about the flight, and when I did, there was not much information. While one woman ahead of me was told that a strike was back on, the ticket agent I spoke to denied it, said the flight would definitely leave tomorrow, they just didn't have a time yet. For now, they were giving us taxi vouchers, hotel vouchers, and covering our food costs. They would contact the hotel tomorrow with a departure time, and bring us back in time to check in.
Really worried, irritated, and feeling pretty trapped in Argentina, but nothing to do at 1am, I went ahead to the hotel, and chose to have faith that everything was as they told me. By the time I got to the hotel, the airline had even already called with a departure time of noon - they would pick us up at 9am.
It was late enough, and between my nerves and calling home, I barely got any sleep (though it was in a hotel room, where I got to watch Fight Club and fall asleep in front of House). The next morning, I woke up and showered, repacked, and went for breakfast. But when I stopped by the front desk, apparently Aerolineas had already called, and the flight was once again cancelled. No departure time was on the table. But have a good breakfast!
I called Aerolineas myself, and the official answer I got as to what was going on? We don't know. We don't know why the flight is cancelled - though they did claim there was no strike, that other flights were taking off just fine, OURS just wasn't for the forseeable future. And he was also very confused why it was not enough that they were putting me in a hotel - it occurred to no one that the hotel was on the WRONG CONTINENT, and perhaps I made reservations to fly to Auckland because that was where I wanted to be. No one, at the airline, the hotels, anywhere seemed to grasp this.
I called my travel agency next. At this point, I needed to get out of Buenos Aires, however I could. I had done some brief research before, when I was worried about the rumored strike, and sure enough, there were two options - fly LAN through Santiago, or fly any number of airlines. Through the US.
The front desk called with even better news - we had to check out of the hotel, as we were being moved to a different one. Awesome. I got a voucher for lunch at a mediocre buffet, where I met the others from my plane who were housed at the same hotel, and we chatted there and then back to the hotel, sharing what we knew and what we were trying to do.
There were two Swedish backpackers, who were actually ok with having to stay in Argentina, though they didn't like having to stay close to the hotel and on standby all the time. They were told that the plane was in Auckland and broken, so it needed to be fixed and flown here, and that is why we were cancelled.
There was a woman from Sydney who needed to get home for business reasons, and she was the one told that the pilot strike was the reason we were not flying.
There was a guy from Melbourne who had been living in London for six years, and who did a bit of travel in SA before going home. I think he was the one who was told that the pilot was sick and that was why we couldn't go.
There was a guy from Wellington who was in Argentina hiking for a couple of weeks, and who was supposed to be back for work. He wasn't told anything.
And there was another couple, I think she was from Britain and him from Spain. He was the one who spoke to our shuttle bus driver to the other hotel and learned #1. that the airline needs to give 12 hours notification to the hotel, so the absolute soonest we would leave is 1:30 that night, if we got word as soon as we reached the new hotel; #2. that the reason was a mini-strike. Apparently, Aerolineas is not in the habit of paying their pilots on time, so thy keep striking, then the airlines freak out and vow to negotiate, and then the negotiations are bad or they don't really negotiate, so they refuse to fly again, but they are not a full-fledged union walk-out, so they keep it under wraps and there is no news on it; and #3. that we were going to a rather sketchy area, better not to be out after dark.
Aaaaaawesome. We also exchanged many lovely tales about Aerolineas - their domestic flights being 5 hours delayed for a 90 minute flight; the Melbourne guy had been on four flights on the airline, every one of which was delayed from between 6 hours and now more than a day; the British girl said their flight from Madrid was supposed to be 12 hours - how it was listed, what they were told. But then it stopped in Rio for two hours, which they apparently knew they were going to do but opted not to tell anyone. Then they proceeded to circle the Buenos Aires airport for 2 hours because they hadn't paid for a gate. She also knew of a planeload of Auckland folks last week who were kept waiting in Buenos Aires for 5 days for their flight.
All of this strengthened my resolve to get out of there however I could. Back on the phone with the travel agent, I got to work on getting a refund from Aerolineas (which I will evidently get, thank god, without penalty) and got to looking at flights to New Zealand. The cheapest option? Fly to San Francisco, then fly to Auckland. No joke.
So that is what I am doing. For a couple of reasons, I decided not to try to do all the flying back to back. One is that spending time at home will help me recoup the money it cost me to get a new ticket; one is that the shitty days I spent trying to get out of Buenos Aires wore me down; one is that I was already watching my days in New Zealand shrink down to where I know I will not have enough time to do what I want to do, so I knnow already that I will have to go back.
So I am essentially skipping the North Island only. I am not thrilled about it, naturally, but it has its upsides. I have already had a diet coke (FANTASTIC) and Mexican food and played with the beagles. I will go to New Zealand in the next few days, and pick up my itinerary where it was supposed to be, just without going to Auckland and Rotorua.
I know this was ridiculously long, but I left out a lot, if you can believe it - trauma with the refund, the new ticket, getting to the airport a second time, and then some. It's been brutal.
But take from this a couple of things: If you ever fly in South America, avoid Aerolineas Argentina at all costs; from everything I have heard, this is absolutely indicative of their business practices. I flew LAN from Buenos Aires to Miami today (yesterday? I don't even know), and they are lovely. Fly them instead.
Once I know when I go to New Zealand, I will let y'all know so you know when you want to start reading again.
As for Aerolineas, last I heard they had scheduled the flight again. It is currently 5:30 in California; I got here just before noon. If they actually did fly when they claimed this time, then the group I was with was just picked up an hour ago to go to the airport, and the flight will leave in two hours. If they actually fly when they say they will this time, it will have been just over 2 days late. I personally would not place any money on them actually flying when they claim they will, but for the sake of the other 7 people at that scary hotel, I hope they do.
The only other funny thing, that I cannot possibly explain: As I was traveling, I was dreaming a lot more than normal, unsurprisingly. The weird thing is that I had a similar dream, with different details, three separate times. In that dream, for different reasons, I came home briefly, and always specifically between Argentina and New Zealand. Weird, no?
So, yeah. I am writing this entry from home. As in, California. As in, the US.
It's a really long story, and it involves two and a half or so days of the longest, most miserable, most impotent-feeling, most depressing days ever.
But no, the trip is not off. It's just now my round-the-world trip includes a mini stop in California. I go to New Zealand next week.
OK, so for the full version: When I first arrived in Argentina, during that rough start that involved my late flight into Buenos Aires, I went back to ask the flight attendants about my flight on Aerolineas Argentina, one of them got a big,, wide-eyed look and said, "But Aerolineas is on strike. There were riots yesterday." Well, it turned out that it was a strike that only lasted a couple of days, and it only affected international flights anyway. I didn't worry about it too much, especially since they were able to help me get to Ushuaia only one day late.
Turns out I had reason to worry. I have since learned that Aerolineas is a fairly dodgy airline. I was pretty ready to get out of Buenos Aires, and really eager to get to New Zealand, from at least Friday on. Saturday went pretty quickly, and on Sunday I checked out of my hostel and spent the day wandering about the city - my flight was originally scheduled to leave just before midnight, but was pushed back before I reconfirmed, so was now leaving at 1am. When I came back to the hostel to pick up my bags before taking a bus to the airport, the guys at the desk told me that Aerolineas called that morning, and my flight was pushed back another 8 hours, and was now supposed to leave at 9am.
I was not happy, and a little skittish about the 2 delays before the flight was even supposed to depart, so I decided to go to the airport anyway and try to suss out what was going on in person. The trip to Ezezia airport was miserable - it took an hour for the bus to come, and then it took ages to get that far out of town, but I made it. And apparently, sometime in the 3 hours I took to get to the airport, my flight was cancelled.
There was a long line to speak to an agent about the flight, and when I did, there was not much information. While one woman ahead of me was told that a strike was back on, the ticket agent I spoke to denied it, said the flight would definitely leave tomorrow, they just didn't have a time yet. For now, they were giving us taxi vouchers, hotel vouchers, and covering our food costs. They would contact the hotel tomorrow with a departure time, and bring us back in time to check in.
Really worried, irritated, and feeling pretty trapped in Argentina, but nothing to do at 1am, I went ahead to the hotel, and chose to have faith that everything was as they told me. By the time I got to the hotel, the airline had even already called with a departure time of noon - they would pick us up at 9am.
It was late enough, and between my nerves and calling home, I barely got any sleep (though it was in a hotel room, where I got to watch Fight Club and fall asleep in front of House). The next morning, I woke up and showered, repacked, and went for breakfast. But when I stopped by the front desk, apparently Aerolineas had already called, and the flight was once again cancelled. No departure time was on the table. But have a good breakfast!
I called Aerolineas myself, and the official answer I got as to what was going on? We don't know. We don't know why the flight is cancelled - though they did claim there was no strike, that other flights were taking off just fine, OURS just wasn't for the forseeable future. And he was also very confused why it was not enough that they were putting me in a hotel - it occurred to no one that the hotel was on the WRONG CONTINENT, and perhaps I made reservations to fly to Auckland because that was where I wanted to be. No one, at the airline, the hotels, anywhere seemed to grasp this.
I called my travel agency next. At this point, I needed to get out of Buenos Aires, however I could. I had done some brief research before, when I was worried about the rumored strike, and sure enough, there were two options - fly LAN through Santiago, or fly any number of airlines. Through the US.
The front desk called with even better news - we had to check out of the hotel, as we were being moved to a different one. Awesome. I got a voucher for lunch at a mediocre buffet, where I met the others from my plane who were housed at the same hotel, and we chatted there and then back to the hotel, sharing what we knew and what we were trying to do.
There were two Swedish backpackers, who were actually ok with having to stay in Argentina, though they didn't like having to stay close to the hotel and on standby all the time. They were told that the plane was in Auckland and broken, so it needed to be fixed and flown here, and that is why we were cancelled.
There was a woman from Sydney who needed to get home for business reasons, and she was the one told that the pilot strike was the reason we were not flying.
There was a guy from Melbourne who had been living in London for six years, and who did a bit of travel in SA before going home. I think he was the one who was told that the pilot was sick and that was why we couldn't go.
There was a guy from Wellington who was in Argentina hiking for a couple of weeks, and who was supposed to be back for work. He wasn't told anything.
And there was another couple, I think she was from Britain and him from Spain. He was the one who spoke to our shuttle bus driver to the other hotel and learned #1. that the airline needs to give 12 hours notification to the hotel, so the absolute soonest we would leave is 1:30 that night, if we got word as soon as we reached the new hotel; #2. that the reason was a mini-strike. Apparently, Aerolineas is not in the habit of paying their pilots on time, so thy keep striking, then the airlines freak out and vow to negotiate, and then the negotiations are bad or they don't really negotiate, so they refuse to fly again, but they are not a full-fledged union walk-out, so they keep it under wraps and there is no news on it; and #3. that we were going to a rather sketchy area, better not to be out after dark.
Aaaaaawesome. We also exchanged many lovely tales about Aerolineas - their domestic flights being 5 hours delayed for a 90 minute flight; the Melbourne guy had been on four flights on the airline, every one of which was delayed from between 6 hours and now more than a day; the British girl said their flight from Madrid was supposed to be 12 hours - how it was listed, what they were told. But then it stopped in Rio for two hours, which they apparently knew they were going to do but opted not to tell anyone. Then they proceeded to circle the Buenos Aires airport for 2 hours because they hadn't paid for a gate. She also knew of a planeload of Auckland folks last week who were kept waiting in Buenos Aires for 5 days for their flight.
All of this strengthened my resolve to get out of there however I could. Back on the phone with the travel agent, I got to work on getting a refund from Aerolineas (which I will evidently get, thank god, without penalty) and got to looking at flights to New Zealand. The cheapest option? Fly to San Francisco, then fly to Auckland. No joke.
So that is what I am doing. For a couple of reasons, I decided not to try to do all the flying back to back. One is that spending time at home will help me recoup the money it cost me to get a new ticket; one is that the shitty days I spent trying to get out of Buenos Aires wore me down; one is that I was already watching my days in New Zealand shrink down to where I know I will not have enough time to do what I want to do, so I knnow already that I will have to go back.
So I am essentially skipping the North Island only. I am not thrilled about it, naturally, but it has its upsides. I have already had a diet coke (FANTASTIC) and Mexican food and played with the beagles. I will go to New Zealand in the next few days, and pick up my itinerary where it was supposed to be, just without going to Auckland and Rotorua.
I know this was ridiculously long, but I left out a lot, if you can believe it - trauma with the refund, the new ticket, getting to the airport a second time, and then some. It's been brutal.
But take from this a couple of things: If you ever fly in South America, avoid Aerolineas Argentina at all costs; from everything I have heard, this is absolutely indicative of their business practices. I flew LAN from Buenos Aires to Miami today (yesterday? I don't even know), and they are lovely. Fly them instead.
Once I know when I go to New Zealand, I will let y'all know so you know when you want to start reading again.
As for Aerolineas, last I heard they had scheduled the flight again. It is currently 5:30 in California; I got here just before noon. If they actually did fly when they claimed this time, then the group I was with was just picked up an hour ago to go to the airport, and the flight will leave in two hours. If they actually fly when they say they will this time, it will have been just over 2 days late. I personally would not place any money on them actually flying when they claim they will, but for the sake of the other 7 people at that scary hotel, I hope they do.
The only other funny thing, that I cannot possibly explain: As I was traveling, I was dreaming a lot more than normal, unsurprisingly. The weird thing is that I had a similar dream, with different details, three separate times. In that dream, for different reasons, I came home briefly, and always specifically between Argentina and New Zealand. Weird, no?
January 16, 2008
travel 2, me 0
Rough, rough start, y'all.
My flight was delayed 3 minutes when my parents left me at security. No big deal at all - except, as my mom says, once delayed, more delays likely. By the time I was heading to the gate, it was pushed back from 12:45 to 12:54. I sat down, wrote a bit, and went to double check - there was no plane yet, see. It was now slated for 1:10.
I checked on the arrival time, and the gate agent told me a lot of people were making the Buenos Aires connection in DC, so I shouldn´t worry. So I didn´t. We took off, late, and landed, late. I had a brisk walk through Dulles, and got to my gate with 15 minutes to takeoff. They told me that there was no time for me to get something to eat, but it´s ok - there is food on the plane! (eyeroll).
So I board, lovely plane, empty seat beside me, blah blah blah. The line to take off is long, so we are in it for like a half hour. Suck. Then we pull out of line, because BOLIVIA HAS CLOSED ITS AIRSPACE. It means we need a reroute, and more gas, so back to the gate we go.
We took off about 2 hours late, made up some time and landed about 1:20. I was not going to make my 2:05 flight, from another airport, to Ushuaia.
As we were at the gate in DC, I borrowed a US cell phone from the couple behind me (I thanked them profusely, and felt a bit like I was on the Amazing Race), so I called my mom and had her cancel my first night at the Ushuaia hostel. I cajoled and finagled, and got a flight tomorrow afternoon to Ushuaia, despite most of them being very full. So I am in Buenos Aires now, winging it at a hostel and no idea what to do.
Now, my only stresses are: that this is an indication of things to come. I still have to get buses out of Ushuaia, which may not be easy. Also, Aerolineas? Is on strike. Domestic flights are not affected, but international ones are cancelled. Guess who I fly to get to Auckland in a few weeks? Yup.
I am exhausted. Stressed. Disoriented. A little overwhelmed. I will be better tomorrow, but I don´t think I should try to be too touristy today - it might kill me.
My flight was delayed 3 minutes when my parents left me at security. No big deal at all - except, as my mom says, once delayed, more delays likely. By the time I was heading to the gate, it was pushed back from 12:45 to 12:54. I sat down, wrote a bit, and went to double check - there was no plane yet, see. It was now slated for 1:10.
I checked on the arrival time, and the gate agent told me a lot of people were making the Buenos Aires connection in DC, so I shouldn´t worry. So I didn´t. We took off, late, and landed, late. I had a brisk walk through Dulles, and got to my gate with 15 minutes to takeoff. They told me that there was no time for me to get something to eat, but it´s ok - there is food on the plane! (eyeroll).
So I board, lovely plane, empty seat beside me, blah blah blah. The line to take off is long, so we are in it for like a half hour. Suck. Then we pull out of line, because BOLIVIA HAS CLOSED ITS AIRSPACE. It means we need a reroute, and more gas, so back to the gate we go.
We took off about 2 hours late, made up some time and landed about 1:20. I was not going to make my 2:05 flight, from another airport, to Ushuaia.
As we were at the gate in DC, I borrowed a US cell phone from the couple behind me (I thanked them profusely, and felt a bit like I was on the Amazing Race), so I called my mom and had her cancel my first night at the Ushuaia hostel. I cajoled and finagled, and got a flight tomorrow afternoon to Ushuaia, despite most of them being very full. So I am in Buenos Aires now, winging it at a hostel and no idea what to do.
Now, my only stresses are: that this is an indication of things to come. I still have to get buses out of Ushuaia, which may not be easy. Also, Aerolineas? Is on strike. Domestic flights are not affected, but international ones are cancelled. Guess who I fly to get to Auckland in a few weeks? Yup.
I am exhausted. Stressed. Disoriented. A little overwhelmed. I will be better tomorrow, but I don´t think I should try to be too touristy today - it might kill me.
January 12, 2008
an open letter
Dear fates:
I understand that people get sick. I also get that no one likes it, that everyone wishes it would go away and never come back, and that I am not an exceptional case.
But if we could, say, not have a repeat of yesterday any time between now and July, that would be awesome. I will even be more specific: yesterday morning, I was fine. Yesterday when I went to bed, I was ok. Feel free to continue those. It's the in between. Don't do that.
Yesterday was not fun - clearly, the pinnacle was me getting ill on the lawn of a strip mall, a particular incident I would care not to repeat on ANY continent. But the pervasive, violent vertigo/nausea/vomiting/clamminess that hit like some evil marriage between sea sickness and food poisoning? Please, please don't let that happen while I am gone. I so rarely get sick. Let this one be my turn for the next few months, eh? See, I won't have my mom on hand with tepid ginger ale, a sofa to lay on and moan/nap/watch TiVo, and a supply of bland, digestible food that requires no trips to the market on my part.
So until I have those things back going for me, I would really, really appreciate it if we could not repeat yesterday - or invite any of yesterday's friends over to play - whilst I am on my own and on the road.
Thanks and kisses,
annie
cc: immune system, karma, viral and bacterial nemeses
I understand that people get sick. I also get that no one likes it, that everyone wishes it would go away and never come back, and that I am not an exceptional case.
But if we could, say, not have a repeat of yesterday any time between now and July, that would be awesome. I will even be more specific: yesterday morning, I was fine. Yesterday when I went to bed, I was ok. Feel free to continue those. It's the in between. Don't do that.
Yesterday was not fun - clearly, the pinnacle was me getting ill on the lawn of a strip mall, a particular incident I would care not to repeat on ANY continent. But the pervasive, violent vertigo/nausea/vomiting/clamminess that hit like some evil marriage between sea sickness and food poisoning? Please, please don't let that happen while I am gone. I so rarely get sick. Let this one be my turn for the next few months, eh? See, I won't have my mom on hand with tepid ginger ale, a sofa to lay on and moan/nap/watch TiVo, and a supply of bland, digestible food that requires no trips to the market on my part.
So until I have those things back going for me, I would really, really appreciate it if we could not repeat yesterday - or invite any of yesterday's friends over to play - whilst I am on my own and on the road.
Thanks and kisses,
annie
cc: immune system, karma, viral and bacterial nemeses
January 11, 2008
upswing
Fortunately, this week has been (mostly) much better. I had my last day at work on Tuesday, which was very busy and surprisingly sad. For a place I was so done with, it was somewhat difficult to actually be done with it. But now I am.
And then Wednesday, my parents and I sat down and planned out our holiday in Greece. It's far away, but it will be lovely - both to soak up the blue blue water and white white buildings of the islands, but to see them. They come at essentially the halfway point of my trip, so I am sure I will be lonely and glad to see them. And then its al downhill from there.
I also got my Egypt tour sorted out - and once I got my tour booked and the tickets to and from, I just let it all go. It will be good. It will be amazing. And I get to go to the Dead Sea, which is a nice bonus.
(It's funny - as I do all of my planning, I realize how little "completion" in my travel I will be getting to check off. I know I will have to go back to Australia, to see the West Coast and Ayers Rock and the like. I am not going to Vietnam, so at some point I will be back in Southeast Asia. Every region - if not most countries - will not be done for me. But between Petra, the Dead Sea, Amman, and the ruins there, there's a good chance I will be done with Jordan, and probably Egypt as well. So it's nice to have that checked off m lifelong to-see list).
I have done all my errands (said goodbye to Target, gotten a last dental cleaning before losing my insurance, done one last-ditch presentation for my second job because at this point I will take any little bit of added income I can get, gone to the bank, etc), I have steam cleaned by bathroom (next up: bedroom. Yowza, I am a slob), and I have put away all of my books and plans and budgets, and am basically ready to head out. I think.
OK, so I am still a little baffled that this is real and I am doing this ON TUESDAY, but at least my mood is way better about it. I have lost the GOD I am so TIRED of this I don't even want to GO feeling, which is good.
I still want to go.
And then Wednesday, my parents and I sat down and planned out our holiday in Greece. It's far away, but it will be lovely - both to soak up the blue blue water and white white buildings of the islands, but to see them. They come at essentially the halfway point of my trip, so I am sure I will be lonely and glad to see them. And then its al downhill from there.
I also got my Egypt tour sorted out - and once I got my tour booked and the tickets to and from, I just let it all go. It will be good. It will be amazing. And I get to go to the Dead Sea, which is a nice bonus.
(It's funny - as I do all of my planning, I realize how little "completion" in my travel I will be getting to check off. I know I will have to go back to Australia, to see the West Coast and Ayers Rock and the like. I am not going to Vietnam, so at some point I will be back in Southeast Asia. Every region - if not most countries - will not be done for me. But between Petra, the Dead Sea, Amman, and the ruins there, there's a good chance I will be done with Jordan, and probably Egypt as well. So it's nice to have that checked off m lifelong to-see list).
I have done all my errands (said goodbye to Target, gotten a last dental cleaning before losing my insurance, done one last-ditch presentation for my second job because at this point I will take any little bit of added income I can get, gone to the bank, etc), I have steam cleaned by bathroom (next up: bedroom. Yowza, I am a slob), and I have put away all of my books and plans and budgets, and am basically ready to head out. I think.
OK, so I am still a little baffled that this is real and I am doing this ON TUESDAY, but at least my mood is way better about it. I have lost the GOD I am so TIRED of this I don't even want to GO feeling, which is good.
I still want to go.
January 07, 2008
disenchanted
(and it don't feel so good.)
I've had a very long, pretty disheartening weekend. While it was lovely to spend it all inside while the Storm of the Century (tm every local weather station) raged outside, it was NOT refreshing to spend so much time with nitpicky foreign transportation logistics.
I don't know if it is a result of growing up in car culture, some result of privilege, or my own preference for urban environments over remote, but the concept of not being able to get from place a to place be is just...foreign to me. But it comes up A LOT when you are trying to navigate the fine points of place to place travel.
I spent hours and hours Saturday night online, trying to find reasonable flights to and from Egypt for my tour there. I went to every single budget carrier in Europe (note: there are many, many, many budget carriers in Europe) to get to and from at reasonable time and price, and essentially came up empty. The only one that had a good fare left at 2am from Cairo, when my tour ends at approximately 6pm in Dahab, on the Sinai peninsula. So, assuming nothing went awry, I could totally make the bus-flight-flight that it would take to get back to Europe, but I don't really feel like basing my entire schedule on the assumption that nothing could possibly go wrong crossing from Jordan to Egypt earlier that day. That is a recipe for a world of hurt. And all other flights either didn't leave for several days, or were upwards of US$400.
I gave up on Sunday, but was not in that much a better place trying to figure out where I want to go in Australia. The country is so damned big that it's a huge pain in the ass to go anywhere, and everything I do will involve some contortionist combinations of planes, buses, and a river of tears. I ended up completely scrapping my earlier plan of either Great Keppel Island or Whitsundays, and now I am going someplace totally different. But how did I arrive at that choice? Yup. Hours in front of my computer at every airline site I could come up with.
It was even more disheartening that I started the weekend with a dawning horror that I am going to go way over budget. I am terrible at spending money and I am a saver at heart, so this is really hard for me, to just be in spend-spend-spend mode with nothing coming in, but it's also next to impossible to accurately budget for 6 months on the road in such varying economies as Cambodia and Denmark. I will just have to have faith that all of my buffers will come through, and that everything will not cost as much as I fear.
One thing came of the weekend, and yes, this is me trying to silver lining a tiring weekend of planning:
I got so tired of planning where I may want to go and what I may want to do that I keep reverting to "Maybe I will just stay here that whole week..." instead of going other places. If I get this exhausted reading about these places, I can't imagine what it will be like to be going to them all. I will probably be very, very thankful for the "stay here a week" mentality come a few months in. So getting tired prepping could save my ass later.
Also, I am quite sure that when I do return home, I will never, ever, ever want to figure out how to get from where I am to where I want to be again.
I've had a very long, pretty disheartening weekend. While it was lovely to spend it all inside while the Storm of the Century (tm every local weather station) raged outside, it was NOT refreshing to spend so much time with nitpicky foreign transportation logistics.
I don't know if it is a result of growing up in car culture, some result of privilege, or my own preference for urban environments over remote, but the concept of not being able to get from place a to place be is just...foreign to me. But it comes up A LOT when you are trying to navigate the fine points of place to place travel.
I spent hours and hours Saturday night online, trying to find reasonable flights to and from Egypt for my tour there. I went to every single budget carrier in Europe (note: there are many, many, many budget carriers in Europe) to get to and from at reasonable time and price, and essentially came up empty. The only one that had a good fare left at 2am from Cairo, when my tour ends at approximately 6pm in Dahab, on the Sinai peninsula. So, assuming nothing went awry, I could totally make the bus-flight-flight that it would take to get back to Europe, but I don't really feel like basing my entire schedule on the assumption that nothing could possibly go wrong crossing from Jordan to Egypt earlier that day. That is a recipe for a world of hurt. And all other flights either didn't leave for several days, or were upwards of US$400.
I gave up on Sunday, but was not in that much a better place trying to figure out where I want to go in Australia. The country is so damned big that it's a huge pain in the ass to go anywhere, and everything I do will involve some contortionist combinations of planes, buses, and a river of tears. I ended up completely scrapping my earlier plan of either Great Keppel Island or Whitsundays, and now I am going someplace totally different. But how did I arrive at that choice? Yup. Hours in front of my computer at every airline site I could come up with.
It was even more disheartening that I started the weekend with a dawning horror that I am going to go way over budget. I am terrible at spending money and I am a saver at heart, so this is really hard for me, to just be in spend-spend-spend mode with nothing coming in, but it's also next to impossible to accurately budget for 6 months on the road in such varying economies as Cambodia and Denmark. I will just have to have faith that all of my buffers will come through, and that everything will not cost as much as I fear.
One thing came of the weekend, and yes, this is me trying to silver lining a tiring weekend of planning:
I got so tired of planning where I may want to go and what I may want to do that I keep reverting to "Maybe I will just stay here that whole week..." instead of going other places. If I get this exhausted reading about these places, I can't imagine what it will be like to be going to them all. I will probably be very, very thankful for the "stay here a week" mentality come a few months in. So getting tired prepping could save my ass later.
Also, I am quite sure that when I do return home, I will never, ever, ever want to figure out how to get from where I am to where I want to be again.
January 02, 2008
is it possible Argentina changed time?
I get these emails from my travel agency that sound incredibly dire: SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN SCHEDULE! YOUR ITINERARY IS AFFECTED! When I first got one, it was about a week after I booked my tickets, so I freaked out that it had all fallen through and oh my god what was I going to do nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
And so I look, and, like, Quantas changed my flight number, or a flight is now departing at 7:06 am versus 7:05. Clearly, their version of "significant change" is not the same as my version. Or, you know, my mom's version, were she looking for a significant change in the cleanliness of the house, for instance.
So I've become pretty inured to the Chicken Little emails - I check them and compare them to earlier versions, and move about my merry way. Usually they don't matter, sometimes they are good - my flight from Sydney to Singapore got moved up like 35 minutes on departure and almost an hour on landing, which means I may get in early enough to take the train from the airport, which would rock.
This one is just...weird, though. My first connecting flight, from D.C. to Buenos Aires got bumped back by 5 minutes, which I am decently happy about - it's a pretty tight connection, and I have a connection to make on the other end as well.
But, inexplicably, leaving at 9:45 instead of 9:40 changed my arrival time - it's now 11:25 am. Instead of 10:20. I have NO IDEA how that works.
And it sucks, because I previously had 4 hours to deplane, collect bags, clear customs, catch a cab, go to the domestic airport, and check in; now I have 3. My connecting time did not change. Suck. (On a related note, can I say again how happy I am that after this first leg, every single flight I am taking is direct, has no connections, and will not have hugely negative consequences if delayed? If I can make it through this one, I should not have that stress for the whole trip. If I can just make it through this ONE. Pray for fine domestic weather on January 15th, y'all).
OK, so that's weird, right? And then, I have a couple of domestic Argentine flights to and from Patagonia - all unchanged. And my flight from Buenos Aires to Auckland still leaves at 11:59 pm. Only now, instead of landing at 4:40 am, it's 5:40 am.
Seriously, did Argentina just change what time it is there and make it an hour later? And they did it on their own schedule, so that internal things are not affected, but international plane travel is?Does Argentine daylight savings go into effect on New Year's day or something? Am I dense for being baffled by this?
I am so confused. I think Argentina may have changed time to mess with me.
And so I look, and, like, Quantas changed my flight number, or a flight is now departing at 7:06 am versus 7:05. Clearly, their version of "significant change" is not the same as my version. Or, you know, my mom's version, were she looking for a significant change in the cleanliness of the house, for instance.
So I've become pretty inured to the Chicken Little emails - I check them and compare them to earlier versions, and move about my merry way. Usually they don't matter, sometimes they are good - my flight from Sydney to Singapore got moved up like 35 minutes on departure and almost an hour on landing, which means I may get in early enough to take the train from the airport, which would rock.
This one is just...weird, though. My first connecting flight, from D.C. to Buenos Aires got bumped back by 5 minutes, which I am decently happy about - it's a pretty tight connection, and I have a connection to make on the other end as well.
But, inexplicably, leaving at 9:45 instead of 9:40 changed my arrival time - it's now 11:25 am. Instead of 10:20. I have NO IDEA how that works.
And it sucks, because I previously had 4 hours to deplane, collect bags, clear customs, catch a cab, go to the domestic airport, and check in; now I have 3. My connecting time did not change. Suck. (On a related note, can I say again how happy I am that after this first leg, every single flight I am taking is direct, has no connections, and will not have hugely negative consequences if delayed? If I can make it through this one, I should not have that stress for the whole trip. If I can just make it through this ONE. Pray for fine domestic weather on January 15th, y'all).
OK, so that's weird, right? And then, I have a couple of domestic Argentine flights to and from Patagonia - all unchanged. And my flight from Buenos Aires to Auckland still leaves at 11:59 pm. Only now, instead of landing at 4:40 am, it's 5:40 am.
Seriously, did Argentina just change what time it is there and make it an hour later? And they did it on their own schedule, so that internal things are not affected, but international plane travel is?Does Argentine daylight savings go into effect on New Year's day or something? Am I dense for being baffled by this?
I am so confused. I think Argentina may have changed time to mess with me.
December 23, 2007
drive me crazy
This summer, a friend was having a bitch of a time getting her passport renewal sent back to her in time for her honeymoon, and the saga of it made me sort of irrationally paranoid about my own. I checked it just about daily – it doesn't need to be renewed does it? It doesn't say 2008, does it, because that's next year, you know. Every time I read about the visa requirement for one country or another requiring a passport valid for six months out - pretty standard in most countries - I would check it AGAIN. My passport has like 4 years on it; I think I'm good.
And yet, it wasn’t until I was filling out the paperwork for the new bank account I am getting for my trip (see how thorough I am? I've done my research) that I noticed my driver's license expires on my next birthday. In April. While I am in Greece. Awesome.
No, it’s not a big deal at all to take care of, but yeah, I kind of feel like an idiot.
And yet, it wasn’t until I was filling out the paperwork for the new bank account I am getting for my trip (see how thorough I am? I've done my research) that I noticed my driver's license expires on my next birthday. In April. While I am in Greece. Awesome.
No, it’s not a big deal at all to take care of, but yeah, I kind of feel like an idiot.
September 26, 2007
10%
About 90% of the time, the thought of my big trip -- all the places I will go, all the things I get to see, the sheer magnitude of it all -- makes me extraordinarily giddy. And yeah, pretty much 100% of the time, I can't quite believe its real and that I am really doing this.
But to be very, very honest and up front? There is the other 10% of the time. It's scary as hell, what I am doing, and every once in a while, it gets to me.
All told, I am going to be on the road for about 7 months. In the scheme of most travel, this is a very long time; in the scheme of most RTW trips that I have read about, this is nothing; it's barely a trip. I have actually deliberately avoided discussing my itinerary with hard-core RTW enthusiasts because I am not taking off for three years to wander planless in India and Peru with nothing but a bandanna and a wicking shirt. But the length of my trip came from partially practical reasons (what I could afford, what I needed/wanted to be at home for, etc) and by emotional ones (how I could best balance everywhere I wanted to go with how long I could be gone before I would start to feel overwhelmed, lonely or homesick). So 7 months it is.
I will have some company in at least two places (and I am working on people for maybe a couple of more), plus I am taking at least one tour for a couple of weeks. And of course, I am likely to meet people here and there, which will keep things interesting. But by and large, it's all me, on my own, which can be a bit intimidating at times.
In general, I am a fairly solitary person who does not mind being alone. When I was living by myself in Los Angeles, my idea of a perfect weekend as to essentially do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, which usually included some yoga, some running around, and a whole lot of my futon and my TiVo.
So what will happen to this lazy, solitary homebody out on the road for umpteen weeks? I honestly have no idea, and sometimes I worry. I worry that my constant efforts to stay on budget will wear me out; I worry that trying to see so much in so many places will make me feel tired or isolated; I worry that bouncing from continent to continent will make me feel disconnected from my life and my home and my family. And I worry that some combination of the above or something unforeseen will cause me to go all introvert hermit-like; wouldn't it be terrible to miss some city because I miss my TiVo?
It is an awesome TiVo, though.
But to be fair, like I said,, this is a 10%-problem; the rest of the time I am convinced that what I am doing is and will be the most awesome thing I ever do in my life, and that whatever happens, I'll handle it.
But to be very, very honest and up front? There is the other 10% of the time. It's scary as hell, what I am doing, and every once in a while, it gets to me.
All told, I am going to be on the road for about 7 months. In the scheme of most travel, this is a very long time; in the scheme of most RTW trips that I have read about, this is nothing; it's barely a trip. I have actually deliberately avoided discussing my itinerary with hard-core RTW enthusiasts because I am not taking off for three years to wander planless in India and Peru with nothing but a bandanna and a wicking shirt. But the length of my trip came from partially practical reasons (what I could afford, what I needed/wanted to be at home for, etc) and by emotional ones (how I could best balance everywhere I wanted to go with how long I could be gone before I would start to feel overwhelmed, lonely or homesick). So 7 months it is.
I will have some company in at least two places (and I am working on people for maybe a couple of more), plus I am taking at least one tour for a couple of weeks. And of course, I am likely to meet people here and there, which will keep things interesting. But by and large, it's all me, on my own, which can be a bit intimidating at times.
In general, I am a fairly solitary person who does not mind being alone. When I was living by myself in Los Angeles, my idea of a perfect weekend as to essentially do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, which usually included some yoga, some running around, and a whole lot of my futon and my TiVo.
So what will happen to this lazy, solitary homebody out on the road for umpteen weeks? I honestly have no idea, and sometimes I worry. I worry that my constant efforts to stay on budget will wear me out; I worry that trying to see so much in so many places will make me feel tired or isolated; I worry that bouncing from continent to continent will make me feel disconnected from my life and my home and my family. And I worry that some combination of the above or something unforeseen will cause me to go all introvert hermit-like; wouldn't it be terrible to miss some city because I miss my TiVo?
It is an awesome TiVo, though.
But to be fair, like I said,, this is a 10%-problem; the rest of the time I am convinced that what I am doing is and will be the most awesome thing I ever do in my life, and that whatever happens, I'll handle it.
September 07, 2007
Who knew?
I think I am dating my plane tickets. And I don't mean that in a "I love my travel arrangements so much I want to marry them" sort of way (though I do, plane tickets, I do. Seriously. Meet me after. Rawr.). I mean that the start of major, long-term travel? Apparently just like the start of a relationship. Who knew?
I have never bought a house or applied for a boat loan or anything, so it's entirely possible that those sorts of major-grade purposes are very much like this. For me, all of my buying has pretty much been of the walk up--hand over Visa--walk away with new cake of Lush Snowcake soap (have you smelled that stuff? Fantastic!). There has not previously in my buying history been the fear that it could all get taken away.
Yesterday afternoon, after I'm riding high from actually BUYING TICKETS, I have to continue to work. Way to be a buzz kill, real life; fortunately, I only have to deal with you for 4.5 more months. And as I continue to work, I miss a phone call from my travel agent.
I get the voicemail, right before they are going to close, and naturally freak the eff out. I am paranoid that I can no longer fly from Buenos Aires to Auckland, that the flights have all gone up $2K, that I somehow have not been "approved" for travel (don't ask on the last one; my freak outs and logic have never been introduced).
More than anything else, it felt like that feeling you get after a kickass first or second date, when things are friggin' awesome and you two are going to get married and have perfect little babies that will get full scholarships to every college they apply to. And then he doesn't call, and you have that feeling in your stomach, like that which you wanted most of anything in the world has been snatched away and you want to cry? That's the feeling when your travel agent calls with a "hitch." Who knew?
If, perhaps, that analogy is not illuminating enough (in which case, I may hate you), it's the same as the please-hire-me internal wail that becomes commonplace in a job search. You send off your resume, you polish your cover letter, and then you reread the job description. And you would be so perfect for this! It's brilliant! Wonderful! Please hire meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Yeah, that wail. Same feeling.
So apparently I am either dating or being hired by my plane tickets? It may not make sense, but that's what it darn well feels like - like somehow, my travel plans were rejecting me. I mean I know that I am not good enough for glacier-hiking in Patagonia, but I didn't expect the airline to know that. I was kinda planning to squeak by unnoticed.
But regardless, it really just turned out that my credit card company was not keen on the multiple, multi-thousand dollar charges showing up on my card. Heh. So I called them, got it straightened, and the tickets went through, no problem.
Little half annie/half plane ticket babies, here I come.
I have never bought a house or applied for a boat loan or anything, so it's entirely possible that those sorts of major-grade purposes are very much like this. For me, all of my buying has pretty much been of the walk up--hand over Visa--walk away with new cake of Lush Snowcake soap (have you smelled that stuff? Fantastic!). There has not previously in my buying history been the fear that it could all get taken away.
Yesterday afternoon, after I'm riding high from actually BUYING TICKETS, I have to continue to work. Way to be a buzz kill, real life; fortunately, I only have to deal with you for 4.5 more months. And as I continue to work, I miss a phone call from my travel agent.
I get the voicemail, right before they are going to close, and naturally freak the eff out. I am paranoid that I can no longer fly from Buenos Aires to Auckland, that the flights have all gone up $2K, that I somehow have not been "approved" for travel (don't ask on the last one; my freak outs and logic have never been introduced).
More than anything else, it felt like that feeling you get after a kickass first or second date, when things are friggin' awesome and you two are going to get married and have perfect little babies that will get full scholarships to every college they apply to. And then he doesn't call, and you have that feeling in your stomach, like that which you wanted most of anything in the world has been snatched away and you want to cry? That's the feeling when your travel agent calls with a "hitch." Who knew?
If, perhaps, that analogy is not illuminating enough (in which case, I may hate you), it's the same as the please-hire-me internal wail that becomes commonplace in a job search. You send off your resume, you polish your cover letter, and then you reread the job description. And you would be so perfect for this! It's brilliant! Wonderful! Please hire meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Yeah, that wail. Same feeling.
So apparently I am either dating or being hired by my plane tickets? It may not make sense, but that's what it darn well feels like - like somehow, my travel plans were rejecting me. I mean I know that I am not good enough for glacier-hiking in Patagonia, but I didn't expect the airline to know that. I was kinda planning to squeak by unnoticed.
But regardless, it really just turned out that my credit card company was not keen on the multiple, multi-thousand dollar charges showing up on my card. Heh. So I called them, got it straightened, and the tickets went through, no problem.
Little half annie/half plane ticket babies, here I come.
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