San Pedro de Atacama

After a 24-hour bus ride Verena and I arrived in San Pedro de Atacama at noon. San Pedro de Atacama is a small town in the desert in the north of Chile at 2,440 meters (2.440 meters) above sea level! We checked out a few hostels and ended up staying at “La Ruca”, a really nice place. The afternoon we spent checking out tours to do in this area and found out that there’s lots of cool stuff to do here

We booked three tours:

- Valle de la Luna (Moon Valley): on Friday afternoon

- Geysers del Tatio (at 4,320 m (4.320 m) above sea level – I’ve never been up that high in my life!): Saturday – starting at 4 a.m. to see the sunrise there

- Salar de Tara y Catedrales de Tara (at 4,900 m (4.900m) and higher): a 4WD (4 Wheel Drive = “Allradantrieb”) full-day tour in Spanish (!) and for 4 people only

We’re very much looking forward to all these tours – the scenery is supposed to be spectacular!

On Monday we’ll head into Bolivia - also doing a tour: 3 days/2 nights. We’ll book this tour tomorrow as we haven’t decided yet which company to go with – none of the companies receive consistently good reviews; so we still have to think about it. But the scenery is supposed to be stunning there, too: lagoons, geysers, salt desert, etc. – all at very high altitudes. That’s also the reason why we’re taking things slowly here – to get acclimatized to the altitude.

PS: I booked my flight to visit Jenny and her family in Florida (July 8-13). Can’t wait to see you

PPS: I changed the final flight of my RTW-Ticket to July 28 (leaving NYC at 20:50), which means I’ll be arriving in Zurich on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at 10:55 (= the end of my trip around the world). – And then head to Vienna soon to find an apartment (and a job) there…

Christchurch – South Island

On Friday morning I flew from Auckland, North Island, to Christchurch, South Island. Arriving in Christchurch – it rained. And it was COLD!!! My long, thin trekking pants did NOT keep me warm - walking around the city I was constantly cold   So I ended up buying a cheap pair of jeans. Feel better – and warmer – now

Furthermore, I did some research on cars and buses, trying to figure out whether to buy or rent a car, or buy a travel pass with one of the NZ bus companies. By Saturday afternoon I had decided on the MAGIC BUS and I bought a travel pass with them that will take me around the South Island (up the East Coast, down the West Coast, up the East Coast again) and then – after a ferry crossing – up north on the North Island from Wellington to Auckland, where I have to arrive on March 7th at the latest in order to make my flight to Nadi, Fiji, on March 8

Here’s the website for anyone interested:  http://www.magicbus.co.nz/

Saturday evening the Chinese Lantern Festival in Victoria Square celebrated the Chinese New Year – the year of the Ox. Really nice

When things go WRONG – at BANGKOK AIRPORT!

It’s 8:30 pm and I’m SUPPOSED to be on the plane from Bangkok (leaving at 7:50 pm) to Auckland. I’m supposed to start the next part of my trip: NEW ZEALAND for the next 4 weeks. – But I’m NOT (and it’s NOT my fault!)! I’m still at the airport in Bangkok   I’m exhausted and have a headache. I hardly ever have headaches.

At first everything went really well today: I arrived in Bangkok at 5 am this morning, unpacked, burnt my picture CDs, went to the post office to send stuff home, etc. I managed to get everything done :)  and took a taxi to the airport at 4:30 pm. When I arrived at the airport things started to go wrong – and as a result of this I’M STILL AT THE AIRPORT IN BANGKOK INSTEAD OF ON THE PLANE TO NEW ZEALAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have stopped crying at this point and think eventually I’ll be able to laugh about this. Eventually! Not now, though! - So this is what happened:

The check-in takes forever – as it turns out I’m booked in the WRONG BOOKING CATEGORY/CLASS and therefore have to pay 30.000 BAHT (ALMOST $ 1000!) if I want to be on this flight. I’m in shock and after a while of trying to find another solution (there was no other solution as I found out later the hard way), the man at the check-in counter tells me if I don’t pay NOW I must go over to the stand-by counter and wait there. He also tells me not to be so negative as quite a number of people have not checked in yet. I ask him if I can still change my mind later, if I want to, and he replies ‘yes’. So I walk over to the stand-by counter, the lady checks her computer and when I ask her how many seats are still available, she tells me “NONE”. I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I’m in shock and tell the lady that I have to get to NZ somehow tonight, as I already have another flight in NZ (from Auckland to Christchurch) on Tuesday. They keep smiling their distant, fake friendly smile and keep telling me that it is not their fault and there is nothing they can do. That’s when – being totally exhausted and reality kicking in – I just sit down on my luggage and cry. I can’t help it. Nobody here cares anyways. As I look up after a while they are still smiling their distant, fake friendly smile (couldn’t sense any genuity there), tell me again that it’s not their fault and send me somewhere else, I think the customer service of Thai Airways. Talking to the lady at the customer service, it’s the same story: She also tells me – just like everybody before her with the same emotionless smile –  that it’s not her fault, that it’s the travel agent’s (back in Austria) fault as she booked me in the wrong category, and that there is NOTHING she can do. - I’m distraught, distressed, and desperate – pick one or all three. I cannot believe this is happening!!! I even tell the lady that I will just sit and wait here until I get on a plane to New Zealand. For a brief moment this sounds like a good idea – I could sleep on one of the benches… Well, the problem is: there is no flight tomorrow, the flight on Monday is full (I’m on the WAITLIST - AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), there is no flight on Tuesday, the ones on Wed and Thu are so full that even the waitlists are full and I cannot be put on the waitlist, there is no flight on Friday, the flight on Saturday is so full that even the waitlist is full and therefore I cannot be put on the waitlist, there is no flight on Sunday and then again, I’m on the waitlist for Monday, Feb. 16!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At this point my feelings of anger and frustration turn into feelings of hopelessness.

I’M STUCK HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have been waiting for this flight to New Zealand for more than a week now and I was SO ready to leave Southeast Asia and I was SO looking forward to travel in New Zealand for at least 4 weeks (instead of the intended 5 1/2 weeks). I even booked a flight on the internet from Auckland to Christchurch for Tuesday morning to travel on the South Island first. The ticket was cheap – and NON-REFUNDABLE!

I got everything done – my laundry, sent stuff home that I THOUGHT I didn’t need anymore – including my lonely planet, spent my last few Thai baht, etc.

It’s 9 pm and I’m still at the airport. I was supposed to be on the flight to New Zealand at 7:50 pm. Instead I now have to go back to Khao San Road and find a place to stay – not the easiest task this late. And I cannot even make any plans – all I can do is WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Waiting is what I have been doing for the last 10 days.  I don’t want to wait any longer. But I have to…

Got a flight, but no bus…

So I checked my emails this evening and the good news is: I’m finally off the waitlist and have a flight from Bangkok to Auckland on Saturday, Feb.7. I immediately went to a travel agency to buy a bus ticket for tomorrow evening, Feb.6, as I’m still in Khao Lak which is a 12 hour busride south of Bangkok. The bad news is: all the buses from Khao Lak to Bangkok are full tomorrow evening; the reason being - it’s a Thai holiday on Monday. The nice ladies from the travel agency will try again tomorrow morning and see what they can do. – SOMEHOW I have to get to Bangkok to catch that flight to NZ on Saturday. I don’t kow yet how I’ll get there, but somehow I will get there.