TPOL is on a train to Wales. This will be my 117th country (see Where I’ve Been). My plans to go to Italy to buy a villa have been detoured by bad flight availability. As such, I have been rerouted through Denmark, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England. Formal posts will resume when I return, whenever that is.
TPOL is out of the office through October. If you do not see daily posts as is required (see TPOL Opens M-F at 10:07AM EST), I am either in quarantine dealing with a breakthrough infection or having a great time. However, I have written posts from my recent trips to Colombia and Miami that will fill the airwaves until I get back. This strategy is better than waiting 5 years to recap posts about my visa problems abroad (see Visa Blunder Part 5: An Unexpected Birthday in Hong Kong).
Hasta luego,
TPOL
September is done. And guess what? TPOL is out of the basement as part of the Punxsutawney TPOL Trip Report. The next stop is the Michigan v. Wisconsin game and then my One Way Flight to Madrid. While I’m gone, I will post on my previous trip to lovely Colombia and the most overrated city, Miami. Until then, enjoy these posts from September.
Read Visa Blunder Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. Part 5 is part of the Tahiti Triumph Trip Report. It covers the following cities:
See the Picture Preview here and see how this $60,000 trip cost $1999 here. Be sure to check out TPOL’s Map, the best feature of the blog.
Some trips are perfect. Others don’t go as planned. The true traveler keeps fighting through, knowing that an unexpected twist can go from a Travel Nightmare to a dream day. After spending the first part of my birthday detained in Shanghai (see Visa Blunder Part 3: China Visa-Free Transit Disaster (again)) and after enduring the worst flight in the world to Hong Kong (see Visa Blunder Part 4), I was eager to get back to my vacation. It was not as simple as getting off the plane. The three non-compliant border crossers were told to wait until everyone deplaned. Then we were escorted to border patrol.
I was a little anxious until I heard the harmonic sound of the visa stamp. Appreciating our new found freedom, we stopped for a shot of Johnnie Walker Blue in the duty-free
From there, we took the train to Lan Kwai Fong (see Hong Kong Layover = Lan Kwai Fong).
Per tradition, it was time to explore Hong Kong the only way I know how, The 7-Eleven Drinking Game. For those unfamiliar, here is an excerpt from that post:
As soon as you come across a 7 Eleven, stop in to purchase a beer. After purchasing your beer and toasting to a great day in Hong Kong, continue walking while taking in the sights and sounds of this bombastic city. Proceed to the first 7 Eleven and purchase a beer then immediately cross the road and purchase another. If you find yourself understanding the Cantonese neon lit street signs then you are playing the game correctly. If you find that you are lost, keep walking because your tour guide, 7 Eleven, is only a few more paces away.
Disoriented, it was time to eat. In Hong Kong, that means one thing:
Dim sum. The place we stumbled across was Lin Heung Tea House.
TPOL’s TIP: The address is 160號 Wellington St, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong.
The place is bustling with energy.
Sit anywhere you please and make new friends.
They’ll help you with your order.
If you don’t fancy tea, bring your own beer.
Eat. Eat. Eat.
Pay and leave.
Overall
I may have had the worst night, but I had the best birth-day.
Read Visa Blunder Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3. Part 4 is part of the Tahiti Triumph Trip Report. It covers the following cities:
See the Picture Preview here and see how this $60,000 trip cost $1999 here. Be sure to check out TPOL’s Map, the best feature of the blog.
And now the conclusion to my Visa Blunder story. On my 34th birthday, I was not at MINT Shanghai. I was held in no man’s land because I had, according to the immigration agent, violated the Visa-Free policy by flying into China from NRT and leaving out of China back to the US via NRT. Before arriving in PVG, I recognized the error of my ways and booked a flight that would put me into compliance. She did not care and made me sit in the holding area until her shift was done. At 8AM a new guy and much nicer person told me I could fly to Hong Kong and back that day on a flight that they would book on my behalf. For $400 RT for two people, I flew on the worst airline in the world. It was bumpy. It was noisy. It was exhausting. The only funny memory was the flight attendant leading the passengers in Tai Chi exercises.
And that is why Spring Airlines is the worst airline in the world (see TPOL’s Worst Flight Experiences).
Read Visa Blunder Part 1 and Part 2. Part 3 is part of the Tahiti Triumph Trip Report. It covers the following cities:
See the Picture Preview here and see how this $60,000 trip cost $1999 here. Be sure to check out TPOL’s Map, the best feature of the blog.
Note: This was originally published on May 18th, 2016.
It’s my birthday today and for it TPOL gave me the gift of a huge headache at Chinese Immigration. I’ve written about how I’ve written about my visa problems (see Visas). I thought I had this problem under control, but disaster struck again today.
Ignorantly enthusiastic about flying Air New Zealand from AKL-PVG (see The Lucky Windfall From China Visa Disaster), I neglected to appreciate the significance that my flight going into Shanghai and leaving from Shanghai connected in Japan. This is a violation of the Visa-Free transit rule because technically I am going from Japan to China and back to Japan. To comply, I needed a flight from China to somewhere else before Japan.
On the descent to Shanghai, I booked a day trip to Hong Kong just in case my original itinerary was non-compliant. Upon arrival, I presented this information to the agent. He passed this on to his superior and, twelve hours later, I am finally going to Hong Kong. The first few hours of my birthday were not spent in Shanghai as planned. Instead, I was in a detention room being grilled about my itinerary. The agent did not believe I had a real itinerary and insisted that my only way out of the mess was to take the 10AM flight back to Tokyo. Hours of arguing, joking, and calling the airline to explain to her my ticket did nothing.
Exhausted and broken, I considered booking a direct flight to the US in coach so I could be done with the drama. While rationalizing how a 13 hour flight would be a mental challenge, a new agent approached me with a much warmer demeanor.
He asked to see my ticket and offered to help me. Perhaps it was my stellar Mandarin skills or my nonsensical babbling, but I’m happy and exhausted to say that I’m at the gate bound for HKG.
The takeaway of the story is that I am still awful with visas. The lesson of the story is to forget the transit visa nonsense and buy the ten-year multi-entry solution. That would’ve saved me time and money, though I wouldn’t have this great story to tell.
Read Visa Blunder Part 1 first. Visa Blunder Part 2: Anxiety in the Air is part of the Tahiti Triumph Trip Report. It covers the following cities:
See the Picture Preview here and see how this $60,000 trip cost $1999 here. Be sure to check out TPOL’s Map, the best feature of the blog.
This was supposed to be a review of Air China from NRT-PVG. Too nervous from worrying about what would happen to me in Shanghai when I landed, I was in no condition to take photos of the plane. Even the traditional champagne toast, could not be enjoyed. It felt like my last taste of the good life before the inevitable end. For three hours I tried to play out the scenarios and anticipate how border control would react.
Since I was arriving on my birthday, maybe they would take pity on me everything would be fine.
Signing My Release to Be Detained is part of the Tahiti Triumph Trip Report. It covers the following cities:
See the Picture Preview here and see how this $60,000 trip cost $1999 here. Be sure to check out TPOL’s Map, the best feature of the blog.
TPOL has done some stupid shit in his travel life. That’s why I keep a page of Travel Lessons for you to learn from, have a laugh at my expense, and for me to never forget. For example, while trying to catch a flight from Oslo, Norway to JFK when I was in Iceland may have been the dumbest thing I’ve done (see Flying Icelandair by Mistake), my visa blunder in China was by far the most stressful. It all started at the Narita airport in Tokyo. I went to the ticket counter in a good mood after my sake ramen experience (see ANA Lounge Tokyo: Noodle & Sake Bar). There I was told that I could not go to China because I did not have a visa. Arrogant, I explained to the agent, someone who handles these issues daily, the 144-hour visa transit rule (see China 144-hour Visa-Free Transit: It Worked the 1st Time).
The Rule: China has a 144-hour visa transit rule that lets visitors enter major cities without a visa. The catch is that the visitor has to be coming from X country and leaving to Y, and the visitor has to stay in the city of entry.
My Situation: I was flying from New Zealand to Shanghai but with a connection in Japan. I was going home from Shanghai with a connection in Japan. In my legal estimation, this satisfied the rule because I wasn’t actually entering Japan.
The Release: The agent said I would have to sign a release before boarding the plane stating that I would not hold the airline accountable should I have issues in China. Macho me signed away and shook my head in disbelief at the ignorance of the agent. To think, I would’ve missed my flight and missed my birthday celebration over this.
Doubts? Having gone through this before (see China’s 72-hour Visa-Free Transit Rule: Flyer Beware), I was pretty sure that I was right. Everything was going to be fine. Or was it?
Continue reading: Visa Blunder Part 2.
ANA Lounge Review Tokyo is part of the Tahiti Triumph Trip Report. It covers the following cities:
See the Picture Preview here and see how this $60,000 trip cost $1999 here. Be sure to check out TPOL’s Map, the best feature of the blog.
I looked for calm and quiet when I arrived at the ANA Lounge in Tokyo. Then I had an encounter with this annoying person (see An American Douche in Tokyo Lounge). Sensing my annoyance, the gods mercifully offered me countless varieties of sake, a robust selection of ramen, Japanese whisky, a beautiful shower, and the world’s greatest toilet. Little did I know that after this stop, my peace would be no more.
Air New Zealand Auckland Tokyo is part of the Tahiti Triumph Trip Report. It covers the following cities:
See the Picture Preview here and see how this $60,000 trip cost $1999 here. Be sure to check out TPOL’s Map, the best feature of the blog.
I’ve said it before, Air New Zealand does not receive enough love. I’ve flown it plenty of times and have found the service to be great, the food to be good, and the seat to be comfortable.
This time I flew it from Auckland to Tokyo to model Air New Zealand’s famous socks.
Obligatory Photos of Seats
Since I’ve reviewed this flight before (see Air New Zealand PVG-AKL: The Black Mamba), I’m going to spare myself the trouble of going into great detail about the seats. Some blogs may repeat the same thing over and over, but the I’m here to tell a story, not to give an inch-by-inch recap of every aspect of the plane.
Champagne
Another blog obligation is a photo of the champagne.
Breakfast
Most of my long-haul flights are in the evening. Having breakfast first on this morning flight was a change from that.
Dinner
On the flight to Auckland, I had a burger. This time I had a little bit of everything.
Snacks
What’s a business class flight without cheese and finger food?
The Modeling
And now for the main event. TPOL in Air New Zealand socks. Contact my agent for collaboration opportunities.
Overall
Designer chic aboard Air New Zealand.
