An Ounce of Prevention...

What's that saying? Someone needs a refresher.





Greetings from my Hong Kong layover! So... I've been traveling since Christmas now and am on my 9th country to drop in on. I thought I knew the drill about customs and getting in, getting out, whatnot, since I've done it so much. Can you see where this is going? (No, this story doesn't end with me in a Chinese labor camp.)





I got to the airport last night nice and early and checked in for my 25 hour flight (or so) to Auckland. The lovely lady behind the counter asked me about my flight information OUT of New Zealand. I hadn't booked it yet because I a) didn't know where exactly I was flying back to and b) was waiting on my financial aid before purchasing the $1,200 one-way ticket back. She said I couldn't get into the country unless I had proof I was going to leave and said the only way I could fly is if I bought a ticket now.





Here's what happened next: Krista goes to the ticket counter and the guy says the cheapest flight he can get me is (you guessed it) $1,200. I say try the card even though I know I don't have quite that much in my checking. It doesn't work. I ask if I can fly out of NZ to another city, like Hong Kong, and he says because of customs I have to show I'm flying back to the states. I said that doesn't make sense... does NZ require that all of its visitors fly back home before traveling anywhere else??? All they should care about is that I leave, right? He says he doesn't make the rules and anyway a one-way to Hong Kong costs just as much as a flight home. He suggests pushing my flight out a week until my aid comes through. This means missing a week of class and trying to locate and meet up with my group that will be on the road somewhere in NZ. I start to cry. I see my next week disolve into a haze of lost money and lost class-time and headache.





I ask to talk to a manager or someone and he points me to another fellow. I go to him and say I don't understand why I can't just buy a one way to another city. He says I can, but I can't go to Australia because of customs issues equal to NZ and anywhere else is just as expensive as a flight home. I cry more. The nice lady who (almost) checked me in comes over. I feel like a fool but I'm tired and feel stupid that I didn't know this regulation. I looked into visa regulations and didn't see anything about this.





Anyway, long story short, and after about 15 minutes of back and forth with other departments and Krista trying to put herself back together, the very nice fellow said he'd issue me an Australian visa, even though he doesn't like to do that sort of thing, and I was able to buy a one-way to Sydney for $118. PHEW. My crisis solved by some very lovely folks at Air New Zealand. (Not as bad as my Kiel, Germany, breakdown. I think I'm getting better at this!)





And now I guess I'm going to Sydney after New Zealand. Anyone want to join me??? A lovely winter vacation in June? Anyone? It'll be raining in Seattle anyway, you know...