Travel Steps (1)

I finally got thru to a VISA consultant about travel to the USA (at about $2 a minute - don't miss a trick, do they?). I'm all OK to travel there WITHOUT a VISA!

I'm now back online to book a return flight to the USA, using some details that my friend has sent me (which I won't go into for security reasons).

IF YOU'RE ONLINE RIGHT NOW (11:38am Eastern Standard Time)...

...do you know of a good online booking agency for this? If so, make a comment about it RIGHT now! Apparently QANTAS are running return flights at $1200.

The travel details are: Sydney (NSW) to either Albany (NY) / New York (Newark) or New York (JFK), and I'm trying to leave 15th March (though 16th Mar would be OK and return 27th March (though the day after would be fine too).

OK, back to the web and booking.

Travel Steps (2)

When going through WebJet on fares from Sydney to Albany (NY) I got the following message:

"Due to insufficient processing time. international bookings are not available inside 7 days of departure."

Now this may just be the intermediary, so I'm going to try QANTAS direct.

Travel Steps (3)

QANTAS can get me there (leaving Sydney <-> New York via Newark/JFK - 15th / 27th) for $1627, which is about $400 above budget. Time to look further.

Travel Steps (4)

I just found (via Yahoo Search/Travelocity)...

Flight - 1round trip ticket

Wed, Mar 15	Depart: Arrive	3:25pm 11:59pm	Sydney,NS (SYD) to Albany,NY (ALB)	United Flight870 / Flight7767
Tue, Mar 28	Depart: Arrive	2:14pm 7:50amArrivesThu, Mar 30	Albany,NY (ALB) to Sydney,NS (SYD)	United Flight7528 / Flight863

Total Air, Taxes & Fees $1,368.40 - Travel Time = 25hrs 36min !!!!

Will be checking this out now.

Travel Steps (5)

Argh - I keep getting and error at Yahoo. I want to book, I want to pay, but it keeps giving me... ...shit - it's reset itself!

My friend is probably about to try from that end.

Travel Steps (6)

OK, I got back into Travelocity, and am now just waiting on hearing from my friend, just in case they've already booked me!

Travel Steps (7)

One wouldn't want to be of a "nervous disposition" would one (well I USED to be!)? Stuck on the last page of the booking process it bounces correct card details.

No wonder I don't normally do Internet banking!
Whatever happens, my friend is going to get the biggest hug when I finally do meet her.

More news soon.

Travel Steps (8)

Well, after a day's attempt at booking the trip - nothing (sort of).
I finally got through to the last stage. I'd been sitting in front of the computer by at least 6 hours at that point, and after pressing the button to continue, rushed off to the toilet.

When I got back, there was a "redirection" dialog box waiting for me. I pressed OK, hoping that this meant that things had gone OK, but there was nothing - no e-mail or anything. It put me back to the Travelocity home page! I checked My Trips, and all that was showing was a message saying "You currently have no trips purchased or saved.".

Maybe it timed out. Maybe. I tried checking My Details and got an "unexpected error" that was...

insert into TCY_CUST_PROFILE FAILED: [SERVERERROR] ORA-01400: cannot insert NULL into ("TRVLCTYCOM_O_1"."TCY_CUST_PROFILE1"."FRST_NAME")

Well, I've had enough (for now). I'm going off to feed Pegasus and myself, have a shower and come back in about an hour's time. My friend has done more than enough to try and make this happen, but if it bombs out next time around, that's it - I can't keep doing this - it's starting to make me more than a little frustrated and obsessive, so next try is the last one.

Shit, you couldn't write a story with this suspense, could you? What keeps me going? It's my experience last year when I went to Perth. the big stumbling block was getting a house sitter. I got one, but NINE HOURS before I was due to fly out. Golly, there has to be a better way to travel.

Help me Goddess,
help me Mother,
help me Cybele.
I want to go!

Travel Steps (9)

Took my time, had a bath instead of a shower. And I've decided to use Firefox instead of Maxthon (and IE overlay). Tell you how it goes soon.

Trip Steps (A) (hexadecimal)

Thunderbirds are go!

Finally. after almost a day of trying - Travelocity Trip ID 726968668565.
I tried Firefox and it was worse than useless. I'll worry about that later. I went back to Maxthon and this time it got all the way through.

All times are local to each city

Sydney, Australia (SYD) to Albany, NY (ALB)	Total Travel Time: 24hrs 34min
Please check in at United ticket counter.

Wed, Mar 15	03:25 PM to 05:57 PM	Sydney, Australia (SYD) to Chicago-Ohare, IL (ORD) 19hrs 32min - 1 stop / change planes in San Francisco, CA		United Flight 870 Aircraft Changes- Economy
Requested Seats 51B, 29D
Stop - Change planes in Chicago-Ohare, IL (ORD) Connection Time: 3 hrs 3 min

Wed, Mar 15	09:00 PM to 11:59 PM	Chicago-Ohare, IL (ORD) to Albany, NY (ALB) 1hr 59min - nonstop		United Flight 7767 Embraer Jet- Economy Operated by UNITED EXPRESS/SHUTTLE AMERICA
>Extras Requested Seats 18A

Albany, NY (ALB) to Sydney, Australia (SYD)	Total Travel Time: 25hrs 36min
Please check in at UNITED EXPRESS/SHUTTLE AMERICA ticket counter.

Tue, Mar 28	02:14 PM to 03:43 PM	Albany, NY (ALB) to Chicago-Ohare, IL (ORD) 2hrs 29min - nonstop		United Flight 7528 Embraer Jet- Economy Operated by UNITED EXPRESS/SHUTTLE AMERICA
>Extras Requested Seats 18A
Stop - Change planes in Chicago-Ohare, IL (ORD) Connection Time: 2 hrs 47 min

Tue, Mar 28	06:30 PM to 07:50 AM Arrive on Thu, Mar 30	Chicago-Ohare, IL (ORD) to Sydney, Australia (SYD) 20hrs 20min - 1 stop / change planes in San Francisco, CA		United Flight 863 Aircraft Changes- Economy
>Extras Requested Seats 21A, 51E

Departure Crowd

So, anyone want to see me off on Wednesday at the Airport?
I'll be there after Midday on the 15th.

Some Thoughts

While I was cleaning up the house the other day I consulted my "Mermaid & Dolphin" oracle cards I have. They said:

Divine Music - Extra energy surrounds you situation right now. Expect Miracles;
Wait -Don't rush into action right now. Bide your time for better results;
Protection - You, your loved ones, and possessions are safe and protected.

And yes, I know it's silly to consult these, but waiting and not knowing was really been driving me crazy. Looking at the above now, I think they are all correct. The was a Miracle (with the help of an Angel overseas), but I had to Wait for it. Now I've got to set up protection for my pets (someone I read Tarot for a while ago in Dungog has offered to look after Pegasus).

That's it - I'm off to bed. Big day tomorrow!