The worst day of my life - Stranded in Thailand without money

in #travel8 years ago (edited)

I just spent 1 month in asia on a great holiday where I had a lot of positive experiences, explored the culture, enjoyed the food, the sun, the beach.. it was truly a great journey. 


So then came the day when I had to head back home. 
I knew that it took 30mins from the airport to the hotel when I arrived. So this time, I calculated 60min time to get from my hotel to the airport, just in case there was any traffic or any unforseen circumstances.
Everything had been organized for me – a car was there to pick me up, it was actually a big bus and not a taxi like before. 
So i was in the car, and we were going through a lot of traffic and moving very slowly (40 km/h all the way!)
Even the motorcycles passed by us. So i started to question – will i make it to the airport on time?! well I never missed a flight before, so i thought, certainly that won’t happen today either. 
Then i looked at the time and i was already supposed to be at the airport by then, but i was still stuck in traffic.
I told the driver „please go faster, otherwise I’ll miss my long-distance flight!“ he said „yes, yes“. He didn’t understand me at all. He didn’t even speak english. So it made no sense for me to try to make him understand that he should go faster (it wouldn’t have been possible anyway with that bus)
So finally I arrived at the airport and i exited the bus nervous and sweaty because I wasn’t sure if I could still make the flight. 
I ran to the counter, but I couldn’t even see my flight on the list, nobody was there, so then I ran to the information point and they told me that the gate was already closed.
That hit me like a punch to the face.
My gate had been CLOSED.

And this was a pretty big deal because my money was coming to an end (since this was the end oft the trip), it’s not like it was no big deal and I could just buy a new ticket as easy as that.
So i was begging the lady at the information counter „can you do something, can you help me, the plane hasn’t even started so there must be a way for me to still get on ?! It’s still 35min before the plane starts!“
But she said „no Miss I’m sorry, the gate is closed and we can’t do anything to help you. You have to book a new flight.“
I told her that I didn’t have any more money, and that I really needed to get on this flight. But there was no chance for me.
So I had to start roaming on my phone (the airport wifi wasn’t working and I had to act quickly), I had to ignore the high costs for that, and simply look for another flight.
So i checked, but there was no other flights going out that day (it was already in the evening).
And since I had already been there for 1 month, my visa was about to expire, i wasnt even allowed to stay any longer! The punishment for staying after an expired visa is a 1 year restriction for entering the country, and obviously i didn’t want that because I was actually planning to go on another vacation at the end of the year.
So then my friend called me and said „hey go to bangkok you have a bigger chance there, they still have flights going out today“. 
I checked and she was right, so I used my very last money to purchase a flight to bangkok.


So then I flew to bangkok, I sat down to eat (I was so nervous that I hadn’t eaten that day at all), and my friend actually bought a ticket home for me with her credit card. I was so thankful because she immediately helped me out and paid for that flight, which I couldn’t have afforded!
Then I went to the counter with my ticket number, confidently, trying to board the plane to get home.
And then the shock.
They told me it was not possible for me to board the flight. 
My ticket had been declined because the name on the credit card didn’t match my name on my passport – so the airline company assumed fraud and declined the payment.
I thought this was some kind of joke – what was this supposed to mean !? 
I already missed a flight today!
I told them the whole story but they didnt care, they simply said „please show your physical credit card“.
I told them its not possible to show the actual card to you, I didn’t have it because it’s my friend’s card. So I asked my friend to send a photo of the card, but they still didnt accept it – they didn’t even acccept a facetime call with her physically showing the card. 
So it got later and later and I ended up missing the 2nd flight as well. 
This was a total nightmare, i cried, but they weren’t moved at all. They didn’t let me go through. 
I was extremely frustrated, didn’t have any appetite or thirst anymore, and even threw away the food i’d bought earlier.


So now I’m in a situation where I lost the money from the first flight, I lost my friend’s money because she couldn’t cancel the ticket in time to get her money back. And now i even got my friend into some trouble - of course I’ll repay her, but I just can’t right now.
So currently I’m at the airport, waiting here, and i dont know what to do.
I’m so desperate that I just sat down and started looking through instagram, trying to take my mind off this disaster.
So then, I noticed someone followed me on Instagram – an account called "SteemIt" .I didnt know what that was.
I looked at it because i didnt have anything else to do and watched the video . This really looked like an amazing platform - a social media coin? Getting rewarded for posting and sharing your experiences? This sounds awesome!
So then i thought okay, let’s just write my story down and tell you everthing about this disastrous day and post it on here. I have nothing else to lose anyway.


Now I still don’t know what to do, how to get home, or what to do about my visa.  an update will follow. Please pray for me.



-----


Update: read part 2 of my story here

Sort:  

I live in Cambodia, and got some friends in Thailand. Add Joshua J. Bouw on Facebook, I'll see what can be done. Normally, you can jump on a flight the next day for a small amount of money and the airline will take care of it. Nothing large normally.

I can confirm about the credit card + passport needing to be the same being a thing.

Wow soo much help from Steem users! I am so happy about it ! I already contacted my parents and i will see what they can do. But if there would be a problem i will contact you on direct message. Thank you SO MUCH <3

that's really kind of you :)) nice to see some helpful people around.

go to slack and contact me directly -> @cryptoctopus http://steem.herokuapp.com/ we will see what we can do to get you out of there. And I'll pray for you. Also contact https://steem.slack.com/team/gritt-n-auld - he basically live next to where you are, has friends with bed and food...he told me this stuff happens all the time. (just be careful but he seems like an okay guy)

Thank you for the information ,its so kind from you! i really appreciate it !

I don't buy your sob story. It's a classic stranded traveler scam. And why would you go and register on bitcointalk to promote your post after only hearing about Steemit just now from Instagram? https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1466593.msg15571847#msg15571847

Downvoting unless hard proof is posted.

I have no problem to prove it for you because i am saying the truth. Just let me know how to prove it and i could do it. So sad that there are haters even in a bad situation like this. You shouldn´t think , you should know -.-

If you actually meet @grittenald's friend and he confirms it with a picture, that's the threshold of proof I'll believe.

Why should i meet up with an unknown person just that you have a better feeling? There are many other ways to prove it. I can Facetime with that guy and confirm that i am here stuck in Bangkok. I also have my old tickets which i can show to prove that i am saying the truth! I neither right comments under your post that you are lying. After i prove that i am write i expect
an apology of you.

I thought you wanted help? Isn't that what your "damsel in distress" routine is about?

Now I still don’t know what to do, how to get home, or what to do about my visa. an update will follow. Please pray for me.

@pfunk yes you are right and i already got help. Steem users helped me to get hope, find new ideas and so on. And a discussion with you wont help the situation.

why do you have to be so hard on her?! totally unneccessary. why would she feel the need to prove something to you, a stranger on the internet.

Because the rewards here are real and it attracts scammers like flies on shit. This kind of post needs to be met with extreme skepticism. Just like users who have only registered 25 minutes ago to post twice just in the comments here and upvote the poster twice. https://steemd.com/@beckygee

Welcome and great post. Keep it up! Oh and i upvoted. Happy hunting Steem. Cheers!

thank you a lot :)

There is a lot worse places to be stranded than BKK all will end well I'm sure.

well thats true but if you dont have money, nowhere is nice..

at least thailand is cheap, but still, not an ideal situation.

Thank you guys SO much for all of your lovely comments and kind words. Some of you really tried to help me out and I appreciate that so much. I would've never thought that posting a simple Blog on a website like this would get me so much help.
I just posted an Update about my story now, I finally managed to get to a Hotel room. Part 2 is here https://steemit.com/journey/@ashleybr/update-on-my-stranded-inthailand-story-i-m-in-a-hotel-now

add katie-lynn boulard on FB, she's my friend and she's currently doing an exchange in bangkok. She's really sweet and she said you can come to hers for the evening if you want to have some company. she only has a room so no bed for you :/ but at least something, I'm sure she can give you a meal and just some company. :))

wow you are so kind, thank you sooo much for trying to help me! I appreciate it so much! I actually managed to get a hotel for the night now, but please tell your friend thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.

I don't even know you, but I'm genuinely worried about you ^^ please let us know when you made it home safe. Can't imagine sitting in an airport for hours and hours all by yourself :(

aww, that's so sweet for you to say! thanks so much Anna! I've just posted a new update, I'm safe for now! thank you again for your concerns.

stupid airline, they should've let you go on the first plane if it hadn't taken off yet!

Where abouts in Thailand were you staying?
Where are you trying to get a flight to?

I just got back from 2 weeks in Phuket on Monday the 11th July.

Best of luck! Just remember, there's plenty of worse off places to be stuck at! I find the Thai people lovely and quite helpful.

yeah you are right. thai people are heplful until they speak the same language

What do you mean by that?

pls post an update when you got a flight back!

i will !!! :)

hope you get home safe!

wishing all the best for you. update us when you get a flight.

sit tight, I'm sure you'll find a solution

thank you so much for your lovely words

maybe you can get a cheap last minute ticket at the airport, since you're there anyway

there arent any "cheap" flights back home and i gave my last money for the flight to bangkok :/

you'll find a way home, your family wont just let you sit there in thailand!

i hope so !

omg what a nightmare.. how long until your visa expires ?!

can't you get an emergency visa or something

oh i dont know

It will expire in 1 day :/

At least one good thing happened to you today, you found steemit!!

I made an exchange year in bangkok so I know what its like to be there on your own... good luck to u <3

thanks a lot <3

please share some more pictures of your actual trip when you're home, looks so fun

you'll get home for sure dont stress urself :) praying 4u

Thanks a lot

Can you verify on any pic that this account is actually yours?

Thanks.

satisfied now? Lol you haters are getting ridiculous.

I verrified my account with an picture. Just updated a new picture on this blogpost :)

Very beautiful girl!
I wish you earn a lot of money!
Good luck!

so much bad luck in a single day :O

I never lost a flight before... I thought i would make it on time ....

that's so mean that they didnt let you in even though you were 35 min early!! and especially on a long distance flight -.-

well, I think the counter just closes at a certain time before boarding..

yeah you´re right :/

I also thought there must be a way to let me in cause it was just boarding time... but there was no chance :(

Hi Ashley, what's your instagram account? :-)

and I'm reading this as I'm leaving for Bangkok in 1 week.. maybe we'll meet there hahaha no hopefully you won't be stuck in the airport until then!

hopefully i will be home in 1 week, but would be nice to meet you :)

so how much earlier did you need to be there? 1h? that's good to know, I'll go traveling by myself soon too and I cant afford to miss any flights as well..

they told me - you have to be there 75min before the flight( for a long distance flight)
i´ve never knew this before

well, maybe you can ask your parents or someone else to send you money..? at least so you can get a flight home or a hotel? :/ so sorry for u

I tried to contact them, but i couldnt reach them because of the different time zones. But my friend booked a hotel with her paypal for me , so i am save for the night.
Thank you for your lovely words !

I also missed my flight once to australia, I was sooooo annoyed, luckily my boyfriend could borrow me enough for the ticket home but your situation really sucks..

oh lucky girl. hope everything will end up fine for me too

so sorry for you :/

well, on a brighter note.. looked like a really nice holiday^^

Yeah it was, till the last day :/

keep your head up, everything will end well!

Thank you a lot for your lovely words.

If they declined payment then your friend didn't lose any money. Perhaps they can buy you another ticket and go with you to the airport next time.

My friend is in my hometown, she couldn´t come with me to the airport :/

ohh no! any update what you're doing now

I will let you know if anything happen :/

how long have you been sitting at the airport now :S

17 Hours for now :/

don't worry you'll find a way! maybe family can send you money via westernunion!

I will try my best. thank you for your lovely words :)

stay safe!

Thank you so much.

maybe someone can buy a ticket for you with another payment method (not credit card)

I tried to contact my parents so they can help me. So much help on steemit. it gives me hope. good choice to make an account.

well, maybe get a cheap hotel for 1 night, contact your family and plan what to do and try to get a cheap flight back tomorrow

i will try my best, thank you :)

I don't know if this is real but my tentacles swolled up!

really ... -.- this is not the right place for that kinda comment lol

lol...get real, we all know this is a "scam"...I'm glad I clicked though ;)

I can give you a job if you want. If you have access to the internet and a webcam you could join up on my site http://KLYEMAX.COM and make a lot more money camming your day to day stuff with your clothes on than coming in here and making long winded posts for a few dollars.

take care!

the great and mighty lord jesus guides you child, may the force be with you!

Oh hottie

Ive been to Thailand before, had such a great experience...

Now each whore would be a beggar on the project

why do you have to be so RUDE?! do you really think that helps her right now? If you dont have anything nice to say, dont say it at all! basic rule of the internet.

Can you show me the row in my text where i asked for money ? I was just asking that you guys pray for me that everything will end fine. So sad that there are haters even in a bad situation like this

Yeah. No money, and with the Louis Vuitton bag.

no need to make her feel even worse. thats probably not real LV, but from the markets in thailand.. and she was on holiday and went shopping, her budget only got tight at the end of the trip.. ever thought about that

where did u find fake LV in Bangkok ? You have never been in Bangkok, have u?
I don't think someone in a critical situation like this could have the time to post on steemit and hope for the money coming.

she said that she's sitting in an airport, and she has nothing else to do right? So why not write down the story if she's bored anyway? she can't escape the situation right now.