Sometimes life hands you perfect examples to the questions in your life. After a friend recently booked a pair of holiday tickets online, I found out personally what makes traveling with Journeys Within so special.
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When visions of holiday sunsets are dancing in your head, it is easy to let the logistic of travel get the best of you, which is exactly what makes traveling Journeys Wtihin special; we take care of all the details.
I had an excellent demonstration of the importance of this recently when my friend booked tickets for a beach holiday to the South of Cambodia online. Upon arriving at the airport for our flight, we were told that not only was there no such flight (it never existed, or at least hasn’t for some time) but also that we were out of luck to getting to our destination.
This came as a complete shock, particularly to my friend who didn’t understand how he could buy tickets to a plane that didn’t exist or be notified that the flight was no longer. The fact is, regional carriers in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam often change flight times or drop runs if they prove unpopular. The online booking company works through a travel agent, neither of which tried to get a hold of him once the flight cancellation was made.
After the shock and sadness wore off, I frantically tried to make other arrangements. I attempted to get ahold of the airline he had booked (unsuccessfully) and the company he booked through (also unsuccessfully) while simultaneously trying to salvage our holiday time together. We even toyed with the idea of hiring a taxi for the 10 hour drive.
Thankfully, we were able to secure stand-by tickets for a flight the next day, which turned into two tickets to the beach. Credit to Angkor Air staff who handled the issue professionally, with empathy and did their very best to ensure that we still got away (which we did, as is evident by the sunset photo at the top.)
This wasn’t without cost: we lost a day of sand and sun, we had to shell out more money for new tickets and my friend still faces having to get a hold of the online partner/airline who issued the ticket to get a refund.
Had we booked through Journeys Within, I know that double and triple checking the flight would have been a priority. I know that the flight cancellation would have been discovered in advance and that alternative options would have been presented to me — no last minute scrambling for a way to beach.
I know that the change in plans would have been dealt with smoothly and at no or minimal additional cost. But most importantly, I know that I would have been saved the stress over the transportation panic, leaving me to focus on dreaming of the perfect sunset.
I also know that from now on I will be taking my work home with me whenever I travel.