So Call Me maybe Crazy

So, have I told about my insane-80s-groupie-like-stalker plan yet? 

Oh, no? 

I'm stalking my favorite band around the globe.

I'm looking to get to Perth, WA early.

Just to see these guys.

Because, I'm in love.

And they're amazing.

So, at least those are good reasons, no?

The game plan:

Magically make every single flight I need.

Arrive in Perth, WA ridiculously early.

Chill down unda.

Bombard the Perth Festival.

Get in to see Macklemore.

I legitimately tried to buy tickets directly from the site. 

Except, I was lied to and the tickets were sold out.

Bummer.

 (or bumz for short)

So, I've resolved to instead use sketchy Australian Craigslist.

which, unsurprisingly, hasn't resulted in much yet.

Have you ever gotten tickets for a concert overseas? Or... more specifically... for a music festival overseas?

How'd that go? Where'd you find them?

help a sista out?

Time for the whole "packing up my entire life and bringing it across the globe with me" part

This is the part I'm not so good at.

This is the part I struggle with.

I can't for the life of me even figure out where to start.

How does one even put four months worth of clothes in two bags to weigh under 50 pounds each.
Are we certain this is even possible?!

Color me skeptical on this one.

(thanks, world, for this stock photo...)

So, I need your help.

Because, I'm struggling.

What would you pack?

Tips or tricks?!

Send them my way, I beg of thee!

Weekend Gallivanting

The problem with non-rev traveling as aforementioned is that you don't always get on the flight. Not even when you're the self-proclaimed travel weasel. 

My BFF (pronounced biff) and I flew up to MSP (Minneapolis-St. Paul) on Saturday.

(my bff)

We did everything a seasoned traveler would do: prepare travel bags the night before, wake up at the crack of dawn, get to airport early, breeze through security, sit at gate. 

Unfortunately, even when you do everything right, it doesn't always work out.

We planned a day-trip earlier this week to visit the school up there. We thought, sure we could drive the probable five hours, or we could jet set. So, jet set we did.

The flight looked promising. Twenty open seats. Seven AM. This is a non-rev's dream.

Until 11:00pm Friday night, when suddenly our 20 non-booked seats became two. TWO.

what.

But, we stuck to our game plan. When in doubt, always stick to the game plan. (Seriously, don't skip this rule. Don't deviate the night or hours before. Chances are the original well-thought out plan was the best option anyway.)

And our conversation the night before went something like this:

Bff: crap.

Me: crap.

Bff: Well, what should we do? Should we just sleep in and try the later flight? We could drive?

Me: Well, it's the first flight of the morning, chances are somebody won't show up, right?! ((WRONG.))

((Not only wrong, but those two open seats changed to one open seat by the morning. So wrong.))

So, we went to sleep that night thinking our odds weren't the best, but hey, we might get lucky, right?

So today's seemingly pointless lesson: patience is key. always. If you don't have to be somewhere, take your time. Keep your cool. 

Sure enough, we didn't get on the first flight of the day. Instead, we enjoyed a greatly overpriced airport breakfast and made the next flight of the morning on seats next to each other.

Sure, my bff's plan of sleeping in was definitely the way to go, but that's not what happened.

We stuck to our plan and got there eventually and had a pretty great rest of the day!

On a side weekend note, I want to hear from you! Do you want more stories of failed travels? Successful travels? What makes a perfect carry-on? How to best prepare for a flight? What to make sure to not forget on your next trip? The best days to fly and why? Guest posts from other travelers? Let me know, yo!

And now for the halfway around the world part.

At this point you may be thinking to yourself: "So, Taylor, you've started your fancy-dancy little website here, and I still don't even know where you're going yet. jerk."

How rude of me!

Let me show you:

At least that's the plan.

Here's a strategy e-mail with my ground man. The point player.

The guy that knows what's what.

"The 9th is still looking good for the Narita flight. I think we have pretty much settled ((are you also cringing at the prospect of only having something pretty much settled for a flight less than a month away and all the way around the world? k. good. That makes two of us)) on this route:
MSN to ORD/DFW to NRT to SIN to PER

***MSN = Madison, WI// ORD = Chicago, IL// DFW = Dallas/Fort Worth, TX// NRT = Narita, Japan// SIN = Singapore// PER = Perth, Western Australia (WA) {And my final destination!!}***You'll be on AA ((American Airline and airline of choice))to NRT and then Delta for Narita to Singapore and then I'll get ZEDS for you on both Quantas and Malaysia Airlines for Singapore to Perth. WORST case in Singapore if things went all to hell and you were going to be trapped for a week you could buy a ticket on Singapore Airlines (rated best in the world) ...I would get you a ZED for them but apparently we don't have an agreement with them.
I suppose I should get a "backup" ZED for NRT to SIN on Japan Airlines or Quantas in the off chance the Delta thing would fall through...
Dad"

And then some follow-up correspondence while trying to get a firmer answer on if the plan is to first head to ORD or DFW on 9FEB2013:

"The first DFW to NRT is booked slightly lighter and gets in earlier and there is a second flight out of DFW at 11am. HOWEVER to make the 9:40am out of DFW to NRT you would have to go down the day before to DFW.

THE issue with the Chicago flight is that if you take it I am not sure you are going to have enough connect time in NRT to make the Delta flight to Singapore....but you could always overnight at NRT and take the flight on Monday.

I need to check the minimum connect time between AA and DL @ NRT - once I know that I'll know what is possible and not possible.

-Dad"

So, are you freaking out yet?

Welcome to my world, partner.

There's a whisper that passes through my family.

When your dad works for the airline, you don't travel like the other kids also a 1000 miles away for college, you fly as a non-rev.

When you fly this way, nothing is guaranteed. Not ever. Which, would give even the most seasoned revenue traveler a quiver. It's all I've known for the last five years. Suffice it to say, I'm sort of a pro on the subject. Need to know an airport code? I've got it. Need to know all of the possible routes from Madison to New Orleans? Definitely have that down. Last minute flying problem and need advice? Hopefully you have my number on speed dial. Why am I such a seasoned traveler? Because my flying is cheap, so I get to do a lot of it. 

Here's the catch-22 with flying as a non-rev. You don't necessarily get on the flight. Just because you list yourself for a flight, go through security, and sit at a gate for three hours, doesn't mean you're actually getting on that flight.

And this is why I'm the Weasel. I always almost always get on the flight. Not only do I get on the flight, I usually make first class. Dress the part, act the part, get the part--right? Or something along those lines...

So, I have all of this information and knowledge stored up top, because I have to. And you best believe that I'm hoping you oversleep your 5am flight on Thanksgiving to see your family, so I can get home to see mine. ;)


 

So, slowly but surely, I established a name for myself, stemming from a childhood nickname, but bridging on reality. The travel weasel was born. 

You know you might have a case of wanderlust, when...

... your dad buys you this domain name for Christmas.

A little truth behind the title, coming soon...


Stay tuned for ridiculous travel stories, random thoughts, and four months on the other side of the world.