Just the bad stuff part 2

So there I was, in Germany, with no euros, no phone card (by the way I tried about 5 methods to phone out from the airport and the only one that worked ended up costing me Au$70..twice! and I could only do this because I had visa), only a grade eight understanding of the language...and the english translation of things in writing was limited, though most people spoke english. Fortunately while I was at the hotel, I'd managed to find out that if I could get a piece of paper from Flybe which stated the reason that I missed my flight was technical - eg plane not flyable, my insurance would pay for me to buy another ticket, on another airline. Just in an aside - Flybe still hasn't sent me this information. So while at the airport, waiting for China airlines to open their ticket gate, I found an agent to see if there was any other way back to Australia. I'd also got my parents to contact my travel agent - she cancelled my domestic connection so I wouldn't lose the money and could get her to rebook once I got back in Australia, but she couldn't find a seat for me.

Yes! If I wanted to pay Au$5000 and fly to Korea on Korean airlines and then to Australia on some airline I'd never heard of. Given the cost I thought I'd give it a miss unless the Flybe paperwork came through.

As it happened, as the gate opened, I rocked up to the ticketing desk and got an immediate seat...the problem was apparently the next leg which was overbooked by 4 people. The flight after that was overbooked by so many people I had not a hope of ever getting on it. They did give me a waitlist boarding pass for the next leg - normal boarding pass with no seat allocated (this came in handy later on).

Ah well, there's me, stressed, stomach churning, trying to make a phone call to let my also worried family know I was at least getting closer to Australia, tired but unable to sleep and getting on a 15 hour flight to Taipei in a plane which was full, cramped and too dry to sleep. I kept waking up coughing and thinking I didn't have enough air. I had very little appetite either, though I ate a bit of my meal.

When I went through security they took me to one side and made me pull out all my camera gear. They swabbed this for explosives. I really didn't care at this point.

At Taipei I went to the China Airlines transit counter. I have to say they were very, very professional, calm and tried all sorts of things. I did feel looked after. They made sure my luggage was identified and held in their hold until they knew I would be getting on a plane, they got me a room in a hotel at the airport, told me how to get there, assured me my waitlist boarding pass would get me through the multiple security checks and told me where and when to come back to the desk. They also assured me they would make sure the next shift knew exactly what was going on.

I had a nap in my room - day rates in the airport hotel were really cheap and the room was large and clean. The whole thing however got me so stressed by this time that I was gagging with nausea. I really, really, really do not like being totally dependant on other people when I travel. I like to at least be in a position where i can decide when to go to the airport, what I will do, choose my own options, etc etc.
The hotel also sold phone cards where you could talk to Britain for 5 mintes for about Au$4. cf Au$70 from Frankfurt!

I ended up buying a vege-subway and eating a few bites. It was the mildest thing I could find & I thought some of my nausea might be because I hadn't eaten. I had huge plans of eating Shibu-Shibu in Taipei, trying all the local foods in the airport and strolling all the shops. Unlike Frankfurt, Taipei has an interesting airport. It even has a museum. I felt too depressed and sick to do any of it.

I went back to the transit desk at about 7pm and checked in. The new shift were just as professional but told me that couldn't tell me whether I'd have a seat till the check-in closed at 8:30pm. They made sure that the check-in supervisor knew about me when check-in opened. Then they told me that the lines at check-in were so long, it might take longer before check-in could close....great, just what you want to hear at this point. I even suggested that if it was possible to bump me up to business class, I'd be willing to pay the hundreds of dollars more...the guy took my ticket & I think he was going to find out. While I was waiting, I slowly ate the rest of my sub - it took me over an hour.

At 8:55pm he handed me a boarding pass (economy - I assume that he was waiting to see if I could get on without paying extra before he offered me the option) and told me he'd ensured my luggage was put on the plane. Then I ran from terminal 1 to the skyrail, through terminal 2 and lined up for security, then ran through terminal 2 to the gate. I got there as they were saying "any further passengers for flight XYZ should now board the plane."

The flight to Australia was just as painful as the others and I still couldn't eat. When I got to Australia and though customs and quarantine, I rang my agent, told her I was now in Sydney instead of Brisbane (did I mention the plane went to different parts of Australia on alternate days?) and asked her to get me a ticket home and to charge any excess to visa...lovely, lovely plastic.

I caught the bus to the domestic terminal, picked up my boarding pass from the ticketing desk (at least I didn't have to queue this time) and went through security to the main area.

I still wasn't hungry - even the chocolates and Krispy Creme donuts left me cold. I did buy Freakonomics to distract me and I had a couple of naps in quiet corners while waiting for my....wait for it....delayed flight.

Yes, there was fog in Melbourne that morning that had caused rolling delays. My flight left 2 and a 1/2 hours later than it should have. Fortunately my connection in Brisbane had a gap of 3 and 1/2 hours so i still had an hour to kill when I got there. I killed it by staring, shell shocked, at the wall.

I must say, both my domestic quantas flights had about 15cm more leg room than any of the international flights...in each case i was asleep before the plane had levelled off. The first flight I woke as my ears popped painfully, the second flight I woke just after dinner had been served...which I finally had an appetite for.

I have travelled to Britain 3 times. The first two times I had one day of jetlag when I got home...this time I had a week of jetlag and was still shaking it off when I got back to work. I blame extended flights, anxiety and an inability to eat or sleep sensibly on the way.

Next time, Qantas all the way!