Sometimes I am terrible at making decisions- mostly, it turns out, decisions about what to do over breaks. I do not love traveling alone and I sometimes just wait to see what I will “feel like” closer to the time. Our next break begins February 25 and I will be turning 60 the next day, so I felt like I really should be somewhere I knew I would love. I have recently determined that I do not do beach vacations solo so well. I am a city lover. I also feel like one week is too short a break to travel too far or suffer from jet lag, so that narrowed my options a bit.
After much to and fro (in my brain) and possibly influenced by drooling over Tommy’s cooking on Master Chef Australia Fans Vs Favorites, I finally made a decision at the end of last week. I will go to Hoi An. Yes, I did put traveling to at least 6 new places on my bucket list for my 60th year, but for this break wanted comfort. I LOVE Hoi An (I think this will be my fifth visit) and look forward to visiting at a cooler time of year than before, delicious food, a very walkable city with lots to see, getting some clothes altered and new ones made, and finally seeing the Golden Bridge.
So then the “fun” part- booking flight, hotel, and getting a visa. The visa is a relatively easy process ($25 and a few day’s wait), so I decided to book the flight first. As I live in Phnom Penh, there are no direct flights. Looking around it looked like Vietnam Aiirlines had the best deals, a shortish stopover in Saigon and I would be on my way. I picked my times, went through all the steps of inputting information, got to the payment page and ugh! “This transaction was not completed.” (actually the dialogue box said not comleted, but I knew what it meant. I tried a few more times- no luck.
The next day I tried again afew times- no luck. I used a different browser, restarted my computer, then finally called my credit card company. No problem on their end, they said. I then wrote to teh airline and then thought, I’ll just move on to hotels.” I have stayed in three different hotels and while the one I stayed in twice was fine, I opted to look for a new “home”. I looked and looked and looked- reading reviews, looking at sites, comparing prices, etc. I finally made my choice and was worried I might have the same issue booking, but no- mission accomplished.
“Clear your history,” the airline recommended. I did that, restarted my computer again. No luck. I had already tried the app and another browser with no success. I looked up the airline and there was an office in Phnom Penh. I decided that if I still could not sort it I would go there on Tuesday (today).
Today after school I was feeling pretty proud of myself- I had the address and even thought to bring my passport in case they needed that. Happily the womann who helped me spoke great English, but then she delivered the bad news: “Our system does not take credit cards here, you would have to go to a travel agen for that. You will have to pay cash.”
Ugh, not surprisingly I was not carrying $325. So after getting down all the details from me I went off to find an ATM (I was not carrying my ATM card, but a friend had told me that with one of our bank accounts we could get money out using our phone- time to learn that! I went to the ATM and they even had a helpful attendant who helped me navigate the magic of getting cash out without my ATM card and it worked!
I returned to the airline and voila, I had my ticket! Okay, so I do not earn points on my credit card, but I just could not spend more time on this job. Tomorrow I have a full day of conferences, so I wanted to get something off my to do list, knowing that tomorrow will be full on. Job done. Not sure when was the last time I had to pay cash for an airline ticket (if ever), but whatever, it worked!
Ms. Victor Reads 
I feel you, Erika! I traveled alone last February to San Antonio and had a great time. Went to the rodeo, saw Three Doors Down, traveled the Riverwalk, and had just a wonderful time of writing. My break is a week prior to yours – – and I’m still trying to figure it out. My husband only takes off one week a year, so we save that for the summer. All other trips: I’m a solo traveler, unless my sister in law wants to go somewhere. My goal this year is to engage in the art of slow travel. Less flying, more driving or hiking or bus touring. I’m thinking of locking myself in a cabin and writing much of the time during that week, perhaps hiking a bit. February weather makes it hard to predict a good plan,….. my hat is off to you!
You got me worried in the middle. I am so glad you have the ticket and now just have a few weeks to wait until your trip happens.
Oh my goodness! I love reading your posts because I get to take a trip in my mind to all the places you have been. I need to go to the Golden Bridge right now! Amazing what humans can construct! Just amazing – as is accessing an ATM with your phone! Not sure I’m brave enough to do that – but I need to find a way to do more traveling. Thank you for letting me “travel” with you! TAKE PHOTOS!!!!
Wow! You are going to kick off 60 in a great way. So many adventures. I’m sure they will all pay off.