Thailand update: My trip is saved!

I was quite worried about the situation on Bangkok so I called United. I was able to change myself to a flight that goes directly to Phuket (on the coast) instead. It cost me $75 to change but well worth it. After getting some taxes back it was only $34.40 out of pocket. A small price to pay for peace of mind.

I was also able to get my girlfriend's flight changed to Phuket as well since Delta extended their waiver to cover her outbound dates. It didn't cost anything and even got a whopping $2.30 back in taxes. Delta's service has always been great for me and a reason I still fly with them. When this stuff happens I can rely on them to make it right!

It is now snowing(!) here in CT and fairly miserable weather wise. I am staying in tonight since I didn't bring proper weather gear for snow. All the better since I can save my money for Thailand instead. I am headed to Red Lobster next door for some all-you-can-eat shrimp before bed. I am breathing a sigh of relief!

Floods in Thailand getting worse!

From what I am reading online the floods in Bangkok have a 50/50 chance of drowning the city in up to 5 feet of water. The airport seems unaffected thus far but that doesn't mean much if it gets surrounded by water. This can make a real mess of my vacation plans.

I am watching it closely in case I have to fly elsewhere and rework my entire route. Looks like I may have to fly into Singapore or Kuala Lumpur instead if things get really bad. I am considering doing this anyway since my girlfriend will be coming a week later in which time floods could get bad then even if it is OK on Nov. 7--my arrival date.

Plan B is to spend time in southern Thailand on the islands and skip Bangkok and probably skip Chiang Mai unless the flights work out. I have a lot of booked flights through the now flooded Don Muang airport which I hope will be refunded eventually if I cannot take them.

It is annoying to have my plans messed up by disaster but also have to think about the 12 million people in Bangkok and what they would have to deal with. Wow I cannot imagine it honestly. I am hoping for the best for them.

Flooding in Thailand!: Last minute travel changes

The flooding in Thailand has caused some ground travel disruptions. Trains from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, ones I intended to take, are suspended. After I found this out I needed a plan B. In this case it means flying to Chiang Mai and back. More money. Ugh!

As luck would have it I found reasonable flights for the times/dates that I wanted. I booked them using my no foreign transaction fee card. It costs roughly $45 each way which is a very good deal compared to US Domestic flights. They are low cost airlines with fees for everything but $45 all in is still great. The flights are short at around 1 hour.

I was looking forward to taking night trains there and back as it would save money and hotel costs. In the end I will still get there and have a blast. I hope the flooding subsides by the time I get there and doesn't become more of an issue. Rainy season in Thailand should be winding down no so hopefully it will help out the situation

Lost Work Luggage: My own fault

Today I am dealing with a problem at work. I left the company tool bag (expensive!) in the trunk of my rental car in Boston. I have tried several times to call the Hertz office there and always get voicemail. *Sigh* it is going to be one of those days. Yay.

When I was originally leaving Boston I planned to leave the tool kit at the job site. We scheduled a UPS pickup of it and my other boxes of spare parts. Based on my own (not so great) memory everything was fine. I became worried when my spare parts showed up and the expensive tool bag did not. The multi-hour headache began.

I called my client and they said it was not there. I called back to get another person to be sure. It certainly was not where I thought I left it. More attempts to call Hertz got me more voicemail boxes. I usually sing praises for Hertz as a rental company but this is fading fast.

I finally dig up some 800 numbers for Hertz. Still no luck. I eventually find a number for their business division. With some begging and pleading I get some *real* phone numbers for the Logan Hertz office. After several hours I have a human on the phone! Progress!

I get transferred to someone else's voicemail. Things look very dim again but I leave a voicemail and decide I will call back tomorrow if they don't respond. 20 minutes later my phone rings. It's Hertz! I actually got a human at the office! She says she will have a look and will let me know if they have the tool kit or not.

Another 20 minutes goes by and she calls back as promise. THEY FOUND IT! I breathe a massive sigh of relief and give them the company Fedex Account to ship it back here. I am very lucky as the last time I left something in a car (my personal GPS) it was never to be seen again.

Lesson Learned. I will now do an "idiot check" of all areas of the car before leaving. I blindly assumed I had left the tool bag at my clients office. Even if I miss my flight and have to do a $50 change fee it is worth not having the stress like this again. I will also make a point to ship the bag myself instead of a UPS pickup.

*whew* now it is time for a much needed beer.