Friday, July 25, 2008

Getting to Shanghai: A trying trek

Lauren and I have yet again embarked on a city-conquering adventure, this time to Shanghai! We just arrived at our lodging (a $15/night decent hotel) despite many hitches in our journey. Here's what has unfolded so far in our soon-to-be-grand tale:

Yesterday morning the two of us decided, "Let's go to Shanghai!" We rounded up three friends (Kelsey, Andrea, and Megan) who showed interest in traveling to the city and booked plane tickets-- "no problem!" Then hitch number one struck. Our ticket agency wanted more information about me: passport and credit card copies. Why me? The place offered no explanation. Soon Zizi, informed me that my credit card would not go through and that she had canceled my ticket. (I used the card 24 hours before the failed booking and 24 hours after with no isssues. Hmm.) So we decided to purchase my ticket through another girl's card She bought a ticket for herself easily, but when she tried to buy one for me, the place rejected her card. Zizi informed us of the rejection at 10:30 p.m. the night before our 7:30 a.m. flight. Kelsey and Lauren expressed their anger at the new situation--the two would have to travel alone. Not only had Zizi canceled my ticket, but she had accidently canceled Megan and Andrea's! Kelsey, fed up with the situation, wanted out of the trip, and Lauren did not want to travel on her own. We decided to wake up at 3:30 a.m. and try to purchase a ticket for me at the airport and cancel Kelsey's ticket. SUCCESS!! Kelsey received a refund and I snatched a ticket. Now Lauren and I are ready to tackle Shanghai!

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