I would write these notes on my laptop computer (without spell check) as e-mails to my friends - to share the situation and emotions. These were written after a long day (so I was very tired), and at about 2am in the morning (which only adds to the frustration). To add to this, after spending several months trying to communicate with my Asian reps and customers, English grammar was never a concern!
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Another unbelievable stroke of bad luck. So unbelievable I could only laugh at it, and of course ask why me? Is this part of a comedy TV show?
Well, in my first week in Korea, I found it extremely hard to use my credit cards or find an ATM machine. (This really surprised me as I have never and any difficulty using credit cards at even some of the most remote places in China, Malaysia, HK, or Indonesia. I always carry $140.00 in US cash, "just in case", but have never had to use it all on my three previous trips.) Well in both Seoul and Teagu, Korea I found it extremely difficult to use my credit cards. Even at the Seoul International Airport (one of the largest in the world) the one and only ATM's was out of order. I know this well because I spent 2 hours taking the bus between all three terminals and asking numerous people. The banks and moneychangers that I could find would exchange USD$ for Korean Won$ (cash for cash), but they would not take credit cards or ATM cards. So it goes without saying that I used all $140.00 in US cash in Korea.
Because of this I made a big point to get cash at the ATM machine at the Hong Kong Airport. I landed in Hong Kong at 9:30 PM on Friday night. I get in the long line at the ATM (15 minutes long). When I get to the machine (which I had used on my previous three trips) I put in my new California Federal card and it takes it and sends me back a note that my bank has cancelled my card, and the machine will keep my card!!! I had used the card just a week ago, and it worked. My funds we ok, so why did my bank close it out? I called my bank from Hong Kong a few hours-latter (still at the airport) and found out that the bank closed it (without calling me first) because one of my pieces of mail had been returned to them.
A side note. This is the same bank that I have used for over 13 years now. They just bought out another bank and are now one of the largest in the US with branches in seven states. The name of the bank has stayed the same, but they have changed everybody's account number. Well earlier that same day I got a call from my company telling me that my bank (Calif. Fed) was no longer accepting my direct deposits, and all my payroll checks were being returned!!! This means that several weeks worth of payroll checks were not making it into my account. How many of you could go three payroll periods/checks without your funds drying up and checks starting to bounce?? I can somewhat understand why a bank might not give money if there was a problem, but not accept money? What kind of bank is this?
Well back to my original problem. After the ATM ate my card, I pull out one of my other two ATM cards (different bank) and four credit cards (two different Visas, a MasterCard, and a Discover card). All are from large banks such as Citibank, and all are usable at ATMs for cash advances. (Some people have told me that is too many, but now I am happy I have so many). I try to insert a different card and the machine does not even want to allow it to be inserted. To be fare to the others waiting in line behind me, I only try for about 3 or 4 minutes before I get back at the end of the 15 minute line.
Well I go through the process working my way to the front of the line, trying two different cards, different PIN codes, different cash amounts, etc..... Then going back to the end of the line and trying it again. I am amazed how I was able to keep my cool. Unfortunately I had no choice. I am 8,000 miles away from home, have no cash, no way to even get a taxi. I have to make my credit cards work ! I have called the different banks (it is now midnight in Hong Kong or noon in the United States) and they have all assured me that there is nothing wrong with my cards or my account. Everyone else in the ATM line was getting their cards to work, including many from the US, and other parts of the world. There was no reason why my cards were not working. So after two hours in line and several rotations to the back of the line. I finally found a system that worked. Instead of asking for $150, I asked for $50 three times and it worked. GO FIGURE?
The only thing I can figure out is that this must have been a segment for the TV show Candid Camera. I was even asking others in line to insert the card for me and punch the buttons for me (thinking I must be doing something wrong). But they could not get it to work either. However, when they tried their card they had no problem. Thank God that whole situation is behind me.
Hope all of you are all doing well. Take care, Jim
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I just thought I would pass on this not to all of you to let you know of some of the great food (not really) you are all missing. I try it all for the experience, but sometimes it get a little embarrassing when you gag at the dinner table.
Last night I enjoyed a dinner consisting of ;
Buckwheat Jelly- a bowl for each person you have to slurp down.
Bean Curd
Kim Chi - which is a staple in Korea- it is cabbage with spices that are fermented for about 6 months.
Sea Weed
Dried Fish - Head, tail and all
Dried sardines - you eat the whole thing bones and all
Salmon Spawn with salt (that is what the translation was in the Korean to English - however I think something was lost here in the translation).
Well I got to enjoy all of this and more (about three times a day, they do not like American food). I eat this while sitting on the floor with my legs crossed at a table that is only one foot off the floor. As you can guess, with my long legs, and bad knee - this can be very uncomfortable.
Well that is it for now. I have to run to meet with a customer. Luckily this guys English is not too bad. I do have to - speak - very - slowly - ..
Hope all is going well for all of you, Jim Jones
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I thought many of you would get a kick out of one of my many adventures in travel. I am now in Taegu, South Korea (that is a story in it self). On my way over here in Sunday morning I caught a flight from Portland, Oregon to Seoul, South Korea on Delta Airlines. We were a little over one hour out over the coast when all of the warning systems went on in the cockpit. The flight crew could not figure out what the problem was. They turned off the primary flight computer and went on system "B" (the back up computer), but the warning sounds and lights continued. So they finally had to shut down all computers just so they could hear themselves think. Well it goes without saying (thank God) that without the warning detection systems working they were not about to make the 12-hour flight across the Pacific Ocean. So we turned the plane around to make the 1+ hour flight back to Portland.
Well this presents another problem. We are FULLY LOADED with jet fuel, to the max!!! There is no way a plane can safely land with that much weight in its' wings. So we started to dump fuel. What a sight. For the next hour they opened up the fuel valves (near the wing tips) and just let the jet fuel gush out. We dumped over 20,000 gallons of jet fuel over the pacific. I have been on several flights before where we had to make emergency landings and dump fuel. But never this much volume! I still can not get over the sight of the fuel gushing out. It was like two, four-inch diameter, fire hoses flowing full force.
Well as we came in for our landing we approached the airport and runway much faster and lower that usual. The pilot can not "feather" the plane and drop it in for a slow smooth landing like they usually do. Because of all the fuel we still had in our wings the plane could not structurally take a standard landing. So we came in much faster and less steep of an angle. Well the landing was fine. Two hours latter on the ground we fixed the computer systems and were off for Korea.
Because we got into Seoul so late almost all the airport banks were closed so I could not convert my money into Korean $. After racing from one terminal to the next I finally found one place that would take US$ (not ATM or credit cards). I only had $60 USD or now $53,000 Korean - and that does not take you very far in this country (most cab rides are more). I was able to try three machines that looked like ATM but they did not work. It was hard to tell why they did not work since all the instructions were in the Korean symbols. This is not like the US or other countries where the ATMs' give instructions in several languages.
Well I made my flight to Taegu, South Korea (I was the only white, English speaking person on the plane of 140 passengers). My two customers were waiting for me at the airport. I only met them both for less than an hour several months ago, and between the two of them they do speak a little English. It is a struggle to communicate, but we get by. Quite often we have to ask each other to repeat the sentence, then ask the other person "what does he mean?" I only know two words in Korean; "Kam sa ha me da" = thank you, and "An yang ha se yo" = hello
Well that is it for now. Hope all of you are doing fine. Stay in touch, I can pick up my e-mail while I am in Asia.
Yours truly, Jim Jones
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I am now stranded in Singapore, all because the government of India has closed their air space. Just wanted to let all of you know of the pleasures of international air travel. Sometimes it can really suck !!! I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this morning, all going fairly well until I got to the airport. There they told me not even to bother to catch the plane to Singapore, to make my connection to Zurich, because of the India issue. They could not tell me much more or help me with my flight connections. They told me to use the pay phone (even though I am flying with them around the world on business class).
Well I get to the pay phone inserting 25-cent coins, connect with the local office and then get cut off, loosing my quarters. So I insert another quarter, connect for a few seconds, and then get cut off. This happens several times until I run out of quarters. I then make the decision to at least get out of Kuala Lumpur and get to a more developed country like Singapore (where at least the phones work). Well here I am in Singapore and there are thousands of stranded people - all the hotels in town are booked and the airport is full of upset travelers (all complaining to the airline staff in different languages - very few people can understand each other. What a sight. I just had to share this experience!!!)
Well it looks as if I might have to spend the night on a couch (if I am lucky enough to get one) at the airport. I am trying to re-route myself through any other airport to get to Brussels. I am amazed that neither the airlines suggest that or the other travelers try. It is a little work, and you need to be creative, but just might save me from sleeping at the airport.
Well that's about all the excitement for now. I need to get back to the airline ticket desk to get an update on the different flight possibilities.
One other side note. I have spoke to several different people at my company in Tilt, Belgium, about recommending a hotel near the office, and directions - several times this last week. Each time they assure me that they will fax me the information. Well, I am on my way there now and I still do not have the information. It is now Saturday and I land there on Sunday, so I would be very suprised if they leave a voice or E-mail for me by then. I guess I will just grab another hotel in Brussels Sunday, and call the office on Monday morning. I hope they did not guarantee my room to a credit card. I would hate for the company to have to pay for two rooms. I already spent $150.00 USD for a 30-minute phone call to them last week!!! I still think something was wrong with the hotel bill, but they assured me that is what the phone charge was.
Hope all of you are doing well, and that your day is going a little smoother than mine is.
Your friend, Jim Jones
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Greetings from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I am just finishing up a two-week trip through Asia (China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia). Tomorrow I am on my way to Brussels, Belgium before I head back home. You may have heard on the news, but the air in KL is extremely bad as forest fires rage in Indonesia. I can only take a few days of it. My eyes are burning and my throat has become dry and sore. I am told that the Indonesian natives do this (clear-cut burn) every few years to open up land for agriculture. Then the bordering countries, as well as the international environmental interests, give Indonesia economic incentives to stop it. Then several years latter it starts all over again.
I am getting more use to the many difficulties in Asian travel. The computer still seems to be the major issue, as I still have not figured out how to manually override the MS Windows fax "dialing from other countries". The one thing that MS never figured out was what would happen if a country changed it's dialing instructions. Unfortunately I have been told there is no way to input the numbers yourself.
Oh well, I am just learning what countries I can use the computer and what country I can't. My sales rep in Malaysia, whom is 48 years old and has lived here his whole life, still has trouble using a telephone. He does not know the number to dial to get an operator, and could not figure out how to reach a local number - I finally figured it out myself (I guess that is why I went to college). No wonder his phone bill is so high! I have threatened to take his hand phone (portable) away from him unless he learned how to use it. But I soon learned that there is no greater loss to a man's dignity or self worth than to not have a hand phone. He still has trouble using it, but I can not bring myself to be so mean as to take away his phone.
All for now. I can't wait to get back home - only 5 more days. Hope all is well with you.
Selamate tinggi, Jim Jones
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So I walk into the one at Bangkok International, go to the far end with my two suitcases, and start to unpack and change. Well this night there was a cleaning attendant (full time- manning he just about lives in there). That in it self has to tell you something about this person. He was about 5', 3" and only 120 lbs., probably 30 yrs old. Well he first sees me doing business at the 3rd to last urinal, and decides that he need to wipe off the top of each urinal. He works his way down the line towards me, constantly looking at me and what I am holding in my hand. He pauses at the one I am at, looks again at my face than at my organ, then walks around my so he can finish his job. Again he looks at me than at my organ again. Finally he looks up at me, and with his broken English says big man (gesturing tall) then big man (gesturing well hung). What do you do in a situation like this? He is not going to leave me alone, but I need to finish business. If I was any smaller / weaker I might worry about getting jumped or raped by a man. I am always extremely aware of what is happening behind me so as not to have a knife or gun pulled on me.
Well this guy was just odd and lonely. He continued to just stand there and watch me change my cloths. All I could do is continue my business, change my cloths, and become ever watchful of any movement in the bathroom. You see, if you are ever going to get robbed this is about as good a place to do it. It is past midnight in an empty bathroom, in the far corner of a foreign airport. Here I am with all my belongings and valuables opened up on the bathroom floor, in plain view. I am standing there with my pants down around my ankles, struggling to get one foot out at a time, without stepping on the wet floor.
This is weird, but this is Bangkok.
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Ok, so it was not the "perfect" stress free trip to a sun drenched Pacific Island. Actually it was far from that. Trying to look at the positive side of things, I can chalk it up to experience, and will not try not to duplicate it in the future.
It all started by trying to plan a trip to a Philippine Island ten days before my departure from Seattle. Trying to find information as to where to go in the Philippines was not easy. I spent several hours in bookstores and the library trying to reference it, and find that special spot (or just any relaxing beach resort). I also talked to numerous people and travel agencies. In all cases I got the same reaction. "The Philippines has a lot of nice islands, they are all about the same, the choice is yours". In other words, no one could give me any help. I booked my ticket to go to Cebu, only because it was the most talked about place. I then figured I would research places more when I was in Hong Kong, closer to the area, where more people would have first hand experience.
Well, I ran into the same problems when I got to Hong Kong. I even spent two hours talking to the Philippine Department of Tourism in Hong Kong, and they gave me the same answer - "there are many great places, but we can not recommend one over another". More and more I had been told now that Cebu was very touristy and overbuild (not the secluded, relaxing, island that I was looking for). I had also been steered toward Boracay.
Well once arriving in Manila, Philippines I went to the Department of Tourism desk at the airport, they too were just a waste of time. I was reminded that it was the start of the Chinese New Year, a ten-day holiday for most of Asia (probably the most important vacation time for Asians). I was also told that Boracay had been discovered a few years back and now had world class golf courses and high rise hotels (hear again not the relaxing getaway I was looking for). I decided I would go to the Philippine Airline ticketing desk at the airport, whom my reservation to Cebu was with. Then see if they could make a recommendation to another island, or at least get me out on an earlier flight (my flight was scheduled to depart ten hours latter at 8pm).
Well the Manila Airport is a bit different than most airports. I had to show my airline ticket, for travel on that day, to get back in the departing ticket area. Of course my ticket for that day was for domestic travel (a totally different airport), or four days latter for international, so they would not let me in. So I had to get creative and make up some crazy story so they would let me in. Once inside the Philippine ticket counter told me that they only did International flights for that day, and that I would have to go back outside and find a small, unmarked door, that led me upstairs to an administrative area for Philippine Air, and they could help me. This was not easy to find, but after 15 minutes I succeeded. (Let me remind you this is in Manila, the largest city in The Philippines, a city of several million people where English is spoken by 90%. Things just should not be so difficult!)
Once I found the right area I have to go through a special security area. Here I had to give them my passport as collateral for a large ID badge to be worn, just to get into the "Ticketing Office" at the airport. This was the ticketing office, but was to be used for international travel only, even though it is the same airline. So I had to go back outside, exchange my ID tag for my passport again, and make the one mile (or 15 minute) taxi ride to the domestic terminal.
Every time I had walked outside I would get attacked by dozens of men trying to set me up with a taxi ride. I had been to Manila before and knew what a scam this was, so I tried to avoid it. These unauthorized taxis that go by the names of "Airport Taxi, Manila Taxi, Official Taxi, Tourist Taxi and other official sounding names are all rip off artists, and charge ten times the going rate. I knew that I needed to find my own taxi, one with a meter. Well, avoiding the line of parked taxis, I saw a passenger just getting dropped off in a metered looking taxi. So I ran, dripping is sweat, carrying my three heavy bags of business clothing and equipment, over to this cab and jumped in. We then drove ten yards, to the end of the terminal where another taxi guy jumped in the front seat. This all happened so quickly, it was my first chance to notice that the meter was not turned on, so I asked him what the fare would be for the one mile trip. When he said $20 USD I told him that that was too high, and it should only be $2 USD. The two large men then told me (a story) that their taxi cost more because it was an "official tourist Taxi with a bodyguard riding with the driver for my protection". I then asked to be let out to get another taxi. They responded by saying that the minimum charge was $20 USD, even though we had only gone one minute or 100 yards past the terminal. There was not much I could do - Manila taxi drivers are know for being dangerous and violent. Twenty dollars is not worth getting in a fight over - they won.
Once I arrived at the domestic terminal I ran into more problems and delays. Flights were sold out. You had to take a number and wait twenty minutes or more just to talk to someone. I was getting frustrated hauling my three heavy bags around this hot humid, dirty, dangerous city, wasting precious vacation time, on what turned out to the only sunny day of the trip. So with what advise I had, I took another cab to the bus terminal and waited an hour, in the sun, to catch a dirty bus to an island area 75 miles south of Manila - Puerto Galera.
I was told that the bus would take about two hours - it took four! I do not know if you have heard but the traffic in, not just Manila, but all of the Philippines is BAD !!! Traffic moves so slow that a series of food vendors climb on and off the bus the entire 55-mile trip to the coastline. The bus was so late to the port of Batangas that I missed the last ferry to Puerto Galera. I was lucky to find two foreigners on the bus that helped me to negotiate a small private boat to take us across this 20-mile channel. This boat was so small, and the seas became so rough during this two-hour journey that I started to believe that the boat might capsize. I even went as far as to untie my shoelaces so I could swim better, if needed. There were no life vests on this two-foot wide double outrigger, called a "ponga". If any of you have ever done much outrigging you may understand the danger of a "yamma over, or yamma under event". In this case it would have been both since we had outriggers on both sides. This is where, when a boat capsizes, it does so violently, because of the outriggers. You need to pay close attention to the outriggers as you flip, as they can knock you unconscious (while in the water) as they are hurled with great speed, and force, either up or down on you, depending on which way the boat flips. I was huddled over in the bottom of this small boat, holding my $4,000 laptop computer and getting soaked by the waves. We made the crossing, a little green, and very wet.
The two and a half days on the island were somewhat uneventful. About 50 small cottages were packed into three small lagoons. Mine was one of the last available, located next to the noisy bar. But at least I was lucky to find a room. Each day consisted of rain, drizzle, and clouds.
Then my departure was about the same. I had to leave my beach resort at 12 noon to catch the 2:30pm ferry. Two hours across the channel, an hour wait for the bus, another 4 hours of stop-and-go traffic, and a taxi ride to the airport puts me in at about 10pm. Trying to get help to find a hotel in Manila was not easy. After another 40 minutes of searching for a hotel, with the help of the airport people, I finally was able to locate a hotel with a room. I am ready to take a cab, but they insist that I wait for the hotel car to pick me up. (I now know why.) They take me to a gated residential area that no cab driver could ever find. On the way I ask if they could stop at a store to get food, but they insist that I could get food at their hotel (my last meal was at 8am). Once I get to this house they give me a menu that had a choice of either fried chicken or Hungarian Goulash soup (this place was run by a Hungarian transplant). This house / restaurant had not seen much traffic, so I go with the soup thinking it is safer. The broth was hot but the bone (with some meat on it) was ice cold. I sit in their driveway, converted to a dining room, eating my soup while being eaten alive by mosquitoes. (During this I hear of talk about malaria vaccinations against mosquitoes, not what I wanted to hear while being attacked by the pests!) Now it is 12 midnight, I am finished and ready to be shown to my room when they tell me I have to wait several minutes for their car to come back to take me to another location they have.
Now it was time to settle my bill. At the airport they assured me the price was $1,290 Pesos (and showed me this is writing). Now that I am at the house / hotel, and it is past midnight, they tell me that the rate is $2,000 Pesos. We discuss this difference for a while, I give them all the pesos I have, $1,920, and we call it even. Now it is 12:40am and they finally drive me to my room. It is a condo that they have divided into two small units, with a plywood wall separating the two. The room itself was a mess, with cobwebs in the corners, and a single, short twin bed. Too late to do anything about it now! Several hours later, in the middle of the night I awake by pounding noise down the hallway, also to find the power was out. I now realize that am on the 8th floor of a strange building (in a strange city), not sure if I could find my way out in case of a fire or break in, not a good situation to be in. I finally fall back a sleep in this now hot, stuffy, dark room.
I had made arrangements with the management to pick me up at 9am so I could make my 12:20pm flight. We both made it clear that my flight was after noon so I did not need to be picked up until 9am. Well, you guessed it; I was awakened at 6am, after only 4 and ½ short, interrupted hours of sleep. I got up and reminded the guy that I was not to be picked up until 9 and my flight was not until after 12 noon. I went back asleep only to be awakened again at 7:30am. Well, close enough, I got up and left. A four-hour wait at the airport, 15 hours of flying on a Korean Airline, a stopover in Seoul, Korea, and I am finally back home in Seattle.
To end this story on a good note, the Filipino people, for the most part, are incredibly friendly. I did find time to rent snorkeling gear, rent a private boat for two hours to motor out two miles to Coral Gardens, one of the most beautiful areas of coral I have ever seen. Probably the most colorful, diverse types of large, living coral I have ever seen. Not too many fish, but the coral more than made up for that. Also, because of El Nino, The Philippines had been going through a drought, months without rain. This ended while I was there, as I only saw a few hours of sun. This is also one place I can cross off my list as places to go. You must admit, it was a lot of time, trouble, and hassle, for just a few warm, not so sunny, hours on the beach.
Another trivia "hot spot" is - When the US Army had Clarke Air Base in the Northern Philippines, the Filipinos had developed a little (large) "sin City" for the soldiers to spend their R&R time and money. The Air base has now been closed for several years, and all the US service men are long gone. But this 'Sin City" is still alive a kicking, and has become a major destination for Wild European men. It is not even near the water, so all there is to offer is drinking and prostitution - but that seems to be enough to attract the European men.