Day 4 - Failure!!

We got up early this morning to finish a bit of packing, grab some breakfast, and get to the airport.  All of that went splendid!  Although it was chilly with a light rain, we got to the bus stop in ample time, and then to the airport just fine.  We found the check in point for our flight to Singapore (and on to Bangkok tomorrow) and they were 19 minutes from opening.  OK.  Chill.  When they finally opened, we started checking in.  Then…she had a question about something on Theresa’s passport…and asked her supervisor.  We were having trouble getting at what the issue was, but while the supervisor was making a phone call, she told us:  “There is a stamp on it which is not from a country.  So, the Immigration in Thailand might thank that means the passport is damaged, and not let you in.”  WHAT???

"Damaged"  😕

So, in 2021, we took a cruise to Antarctica, and as is usual, when you check in for a cruise, they take your passport and keep it (so when they go into and out of different countries, they handle all of the immigration stuff without you).  When we got out passports back (in 2021) the cruise line stamped the passport with a “Antarctica” presumably as a fun little memento of our time on the seventh continent.  OK, no problem.  But wait!  Now the Asiana staff working as Singapore’s agents, decided this was a problem.  Well, they called the station manager in Bangkok, who (apparently) called the Immigration office, who basically said “Nope!  Can’t come in with a damaged passport.”  Mind you, we’ve been to over a dozen countries with not one mention of this goofy little stamp, but short version, they would not let us board the flight to Bangkok, so they would not let us board the flight to Singapore (to BKK).

Suffice it to say, this did not set well, but we started scrambling to see what options we had.  The next critical journey was BKK to Abu Dhabi (AUH) on Etihad, to then go to London.  So, could we get to there?  Not without getting to BKK.  What other ways could we get to AUH?  Nothing for less than $12K each or all the way in coach.  We did have a retreat option, though—we could get a ticket back to DFW tonight on AA.  So, we booked that to buy us time, and to get inside the secured area and try to work magic.  From 10:30 to 12:00, Theresa tried all manners of options to change tickets, routings, plans, to pick up the back end of our trip.  No luck.  Then we had to change course to making cancellations.  From 12:00 to 2:30, she struggled with various chats and people who either didn’t get it, or couldn’t help.  It was miserable.  But, in the end, we still have a way home.

Tables were sort of "make your own".

On the bright side, we had access to a few lounges, and grabbed the first one handy.  It was…a dump.  There were very few outlets, and most of the ones we found were damaged.  But the food was mediocre.  And they had self-serve beer, which Bill made use of while Theresa was battling Chat-bots.  The second one was actually much nicer, but the food options were a little lower than the first.  They also have a self-serve beer, which uses a soft plastic valve on the bottom of the glass.  You put the glass on the adaptor, and it starts filling your beer glass from the bottom up.  It works just about as well as you might guess.  First you get 40% of the glass full of foam, and then liquid beer begins to show.  But the foam is still expanding, so before you have 40% of beer, the foam is going over the top of the glass.  I ended up with 60% of a glass of beer when it was over.  It pairs nicely with the selection of Ramen noodle cups on the buffet.  (Actually, it’s the nicer ramen, the kind that is a couple of bucks, not 6 for a dollar.)  They also had potato sandwiches which were as good as they sound!!  We will persevere!

Steel chopsticks are a terrible idea!

We still have about 4 days of vacation left, and have not decided what to do with or about them.  But, our journey around the world ended abruptly at the first stop.  We’re of course disappointed.  We also realize this is a way better trip than many people ever get.  So, we are trying to focus on the highlights and not the downers.  We will make the most out of our trip home, and well, figure out next steps then.