The Travel Independently Blog

You can’t get there from here or trying to travel independently in a place that doesn’t want you to be independent.

It’s been a while since my last post here. I have to admit that I got caught up in planning my next trip to my favorite part of the world, SE Asia. Finally, I decided to visit Burma. I won’t go into all of my machinations about whether or not to go, as that debate spanned some twenty years, but I do want to tell you about my experience booking this trip.

When Burma first opened to tourism over two decades ago, they allowed only group tours to enter. At first there was a strict limit of 7 days in the country. As time went on, the rules loosened gradually, but even today by far the majority of travelers to Burma go as part of a tour group. If you aren’t going as part of a tour group, they would prefer that you have a travel agency just book your itinerary for you.

I wanted to travel according to my own plan so I really had to work to get the travel arrangements I wanted. I usually book all of my own flights and all of my own hotels over the internet. For Burma, this was a real challenge. Because most email is blocked in Burma, emails to hotels may never be received. E-mailing is often an exercise in frustration. I was able to book one hotel directly via e-mail; another I found a Thai booking site where I could reserve and pay by credit card in advance – a great advantage in a country where credit cards are basically unusable. And my third hotel I was able to book via a phone call to The Leading Hotels of the World.

Air tickets were harder. There is no way to book intra-Burma flights online. Indeed, it was impossible to find a current timetable, let alone one for a month or two away. Eventually, I found a posting of what flights flew last week. I have a travel agent in Bangkok I’ve used for booking intra-Asia flight when needed. I wrote to him, and after several weeks of trying, he told me he was unable to book my flights. At that point, I emailed a travel agent in Yangon. They were able to tell me the times of the flights and book them.

And no one told me that there are no non-stop flights among all of the major cities. Of our three internal flights, two had stops on the way. And there are few choices about when to fly. It is not uncommon to have only one flight a day between two of the four major destinations in Burma. So our time in each place was a little different than we had originally planned.

Still, we did eventually get all of our hotels and flights and we had a wonderful time.

But I learned that a country that would prefer that you not travel independently can make it difficult for even the most stubborn independent traveler!

Technorati Tags: Bagan, Burma, Inle Lake, Mandalay, Myanmar, Rangoon, Yangon

I was caught up in airline strike a on my way to a meeting in Toronto a number of years ago. As soon as there were rumors of a strike, I looked at other options, and settled on flying to Buffalo, New York. The airline wouldn’t change my flight to Buffalo when the strike was just a rumor, so as soon as the strike was called, I switched my reservation to Buffalo. We got the last two seats on the plane. An hour later, and this would not have been an option. I rented a car, and we easily made it to Toronto for the meeting.

Have a plan B, and do your research so you know your options. Don’t expect that airline personnel will necessarily know the best alternate routes to your destination or that they will know which other airlines fly to your destination.

Utilize your status with frequent flier and hotel programs

When there is a problem, consider what kind of leverage you might have. Being a member of the airline or hotel loyalty program is helpful, but it’s even more helpful if you are a premium member. If you have often stayed at a particular hotel, you can use that as leverage. When I say leverage, I don’t mean making threats “I’ve been staying here for years – if you don’t take care of this right now I’ll never stay here again!” If I were the hotel manager I have to admit I’d be saying to myself that I could only hope the nasty customer wouldn’t return!

Instead, take the approach that you have been a good customer and that you are sure the hotel wants to take care of the problem. Take the approach that you are working together to take care of the problem.

Airline problems are often due to weather delays or equipment delays. Conventional wisdom says to try to take flights early in the day so you can catch a later flight if necessary. Of course, that is not always possible. On my way to a meeting in Montreal, we landed in Washington DC for the connection to Montreal. There were thunderstorms in Montreal so the flight was delayed. It was getting late, and I expected we might not fly that night. I called an airport hotel, the Hyatt, and they had no space. At the time I was a diamond passport member, so they assured me they would find a room for me.

Soon, it was clear to me that the plane would not fly. I went to the Red Carpet Club and asked that they book me on the earliest flight out the next morning. I utilized my Red Carpet Club membership, my United Premier Executive status and my hotel loyalty program status, all of which paid off. I had a good night’s sleep and my flight to Montreal in the morning was as smooth as can be. The flight was overbooked – so if I hadn’t gotten my reservations as early as possible the previous afternoon, I wouldn’t have gotten on that flight.

How can you make your delay more pleasant?

We were flying from Kuching, Malaysia to Bangkok via Kuala Lumpur several years ago, when our flight out of Kuching was delayed. I wasn’t too worried, as I figured that there must be frequent flights from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok, so we could just get on the next flight. Fortunately, we were flying in Business Class on Malaysian Air, so I knew they would accommodate us.

When we arrived in KL, I went to the Malaysian Air desk to get on the next flight, only to find that it was 5 hours later! My guess about how frequent the flights must be was way off. I checked on some other connection options, but turned up nothing. So what could I do in the Kuala Lumpur airport for all that time? Go to the Business Class Lounge.

Here is a real advantage to flying a premium class even on relatively short international connections.

The Business Class Lounge at Kuala Lumpur Internation Airport is lovely. We sat down and looked around. They have comfortable seating, lovely food, good champagne, and a spa! I have to say that was the most relaxing time I’ve ever had waiting for a flight. We had arrived hungry and cranky from a delayed flight that caused us to miss our connection, and by the time we left the lounge to take our flight to Bangkok we were relaxed and content. We filled our time with a visit to the spa, champagne and good food.

Next : Managing illness or minor accidents while traveling

Technorati Tags: airline reservation problems, hotel reservation problems

The Hazards of Travel

When one hears of the hazards of travel, people think of really awful things – plane crashes, tsunamis, typhoons or hurricanes, earthquakes, or being caught up a violent insurrection. But most hazards of travel are much more mundane: delayed or cancelled flights, lost luggage, a hotel that doesn’t have your reserved room, food poisoning or a broken ankle.

Managing Airline and Hotel Problems

Ask for what you need

Most of the hazards of travel can be managed quickly and easily given a bit of flexibility on the part of the traveler. Things to remember… being pleasant and in a problems-solving mode will get you much farther than being angry, demanding and nasty. I know that people in the US often say that nothing will happen unless you get angry. This is not true in Asia. And frankly, I don’t think it’s helpful in the US or Europe. Getting angry or making a scene is considered a major embarrassment – to you.

You reduce your chances that people will work with you to solve the problem. I am not suggesting that you be meek and not ask for anything, but ask for what you need politely and firmly. Be willing to negotiate. Ask for something they can give you. So, if your luggage has not arrived with you, demanding that they produce your luggage immediately is of little use. If your luggage were there they would have given it to you. Instead, ask for what they can provide. “I need to buy X and Y and have my clothes laundered at my hotel.” “I need you to deliver my luggage to me at this hotel as soon as it arrives.” Utilize others to help you with the problem. The concierge at your hotel may well be willing to call and follow up with the airline, for instance. Note that if you are traveling in a premium class, there will often be an airline employee designated to give you special assistance.

If you check into a hotel and need (and were assured of) a non-smoking room and there is not one available, be persistent. Let them know you must have a non-smoking room. What kind of room do they have available that is non-smoking? I have had hotels move me to another type of room to accommodate me. In one case, I could have that room for only one night, and had to move me to another non-smoking room the next night, so they discounted my whole stay. I was pleasant but insistent, and the night manager was very helpful. He went and checked on various rooms so that we were not delivered to a non-smoking room that smelled of smoke.

Let the process work

I remember arriving in Yogyakarta, Indonesia after a transpacific flight, a few hours trying to nap in the terminal at Changi, and going through customs and immigration in Jakarta. We arrived exhausted and wanting nothing more than to get to our hotel and take a shower… and our luggage did not arrive with us. The representative from the hotel who met us, just shrugged and said “Garuda always does that. You luggage will get here this afternoon.” Somehow I did not find that reassuring. I was not yet experienced enough in the ways of international travel not to fret, but the woman was right – Garuda often left people’s luggage in Jakarta and our luggage did arrive that afternoon.

What are your options?

I was trying to book a flight from Kuantan, Malaysia to Singapore. I had booked the last non-stop flight on Silk Air from Singapore to Kuanatan before low season started, so I knew there would be no non-stops to get me back to Singapore. As I expected, the agent routed me though Kuala Lumpur. But as she worked on the reservations, she said to me that there are no seats available on the flight from KL to Singapore. I found that hard to fathom. I had her check several options for me, then asked her, “what are my options?” “There are some first class seats on that flight.”
“And how much more are the first class tickets?”
“Twenty dollars.”
“I’ll take it.”

It would never have occurred to me that “no seats” meant no seats in economy. That flight turned out to be one of my most memorable first class fights. It was on a brand new Boeing 777, configured for three classes of travel. As we boarded, a flight attendant bounded down the aisle to lift our carry-ons into the overhead bin. The fight was just under an hour, but we were served a hot duck entrée and Dom Perignon. We joked that we easily drank the price difference in champagne.

In our next post we’ll talk about having a Plan B!

Technorati Tags: airline reservation issues, airline reservation problems, hotel reservation issues, hotel reservation problems

I’ve heard stories from several friends recently about using a US based travel agent to arrange travel in Asia.  One friend was headed to Vietnam and Cambodia.  She has a long-time travel agent who booked all the flights and hotels for her plus guides in each place.  For two weeks, she paid US$12,000.  She could have done the same trip for half the price by doing her own booking and deciding on guides or drivers as she arrived at each place.

If you want the convenience of having someone else do the booking for you, fine.  But the current price structure for travel agents is such that you don’t know just how much you are paying for the convenience.  And often, people who book guides ahead like this don’t really know if they will need a guide somewhere.  For instance, she booked a guide for two days in Hanoi.  Most people get to Hanoi and realize they don’t need a guide at all in the city.  And if you want a guide, good guides are easily hired – and for less than half the price of booking ahead through a US travel agent.

Another couple was going to Thailand.  The couple had their travel agent price out the trip for them – just flights and accommodation.  Accommodation alone came to US$5000 per person.  My friend was shocked.  Yes, they’d opted for a 4-night stay at a very nice and very pricey resort that had individual villas with plunge pools, but the price seemed out of line in terms of the reports they’d heard from other travelers.

I suggested they take a look at what they would have to pay if they booked the hotels themselves.  They were amazed to see that the price for the two of them was US$5080 – about half of what the travel agent wanted to charge them.

That said, there are times when using a travel agent can be very helpful.  Some times I use a Thailand-based travel agent to book flights that are not book-able online or in cases where he could get a better price by buying in Bangkok.  He does not charge any extra for the booking, but simply collects the commission from the airline.  It’s easy, it’s convenient, and it’s fair.  If he wanted to charge me something for the service, that would be fine with me – as long as the charges were clear and up-front.

When we traveled to Sri Lanka, we found that using a local agent assured us of getting the accommodations we wanted and it allowed us to have a contract with a company to supply a car and driver.  If you have a contract with a company and there are problems with either the car or the driver, the company can make a change for you on the road.

If you have contracted with an individual driver, you have no recourse.  We still did all of the research on where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do, and the agency accommodated all of our requests.  I checked the websites of the individual places we stayed and found that the mark-up by the travel agency was minimal; mostly they made their money from commissions paid to them by the hotels.

Burma (Myanmar) is another place where it is often helpful to have a local travel agent.  But for most places, a local agent is not needed.

Many times people use a travel agent out of habit or because they are afraid they don’t know what to do.  It is true that it takes more time and effort to research exactly where you want to go, what you want to do, and where you want to stay, but doing your research assures that you’ll get the trip you want.  Whether you are using a travel agent or even taking a group tour, you’ll get much more out of your trip if you are prepared.  So reading about your destination – guidebooks, history, travel essays, fiction – all will enhance your enjoyment of a place.

Doing that kind of preparation makes it easy to plan and book your trip.  Add internet travel boards to the mix and you’ll get lots of recommendation for places to stay, restaurants, etc.  And travel boards are often good places to learn about internet hotel booking sites.

Technorati Tags: hiring car and driver, Independent Travel, making hotel reservations, travel agent, travel independently