Traveling is no fun anymore

Every six months, we have to leave India. Our visa stipulates that we go out of the country after 180 days. We can just cross the border and come back in, but we choose to use the time as a break from life in India. We also like to visit friends in close by countries. So this time, we went to Thailand. Actually, we almost always go to Thailand. So we flew here on Air Asia because it was cheapest. But I didn't realize that they nickle and dime you until it isn't so cheap or comfortable. Here is where I lost it.

When I say "I lost it" I don't mean that I lost my mind. I mean that I lost my cool. Traveling is stressful for me. If I was alone I don't think it would be too stressful, but I am with my husband and son, which makes it a little more stressful. Steve normally packs his bags a half hour before we leave and that is stressful to me. So I have learned a skill to help me. I ask him a day before, "When will you pack your bags?" And he is suppose to give a time that he will be ready. Well, I forgot to do that this time. So he went back to his normal routine of packing the last minute. He was actually out skateboarding just a couple of hours before we were suppose to leave. So he would need to come home, eat, take a shower, and pack. Just the time issue stresses me. Then riding in the taxi is stressful, just regular traffic and no seat belts.

So we got in the airport and it seems we always pick the slowest lines. Neither of us want to commit to choosing the line, so we get all wishy-washy. We ended up in the check-in line of "Ms. Grouchy Pants". She was yelling at her co-workers to do things and trying to check us in at the same time. She didn't acknowledge us until it was time to weigh the bags. I had paid for 15kg for one checked bag, when we bought the ticket online. So we planned to take carry-ons and one check bag. Our bag was 4kg too heavy. So then she weighed the carry-on bags to see which one we could put a few things into. But our carry-on bags weighed too much. I HATE having to reshuffle our stuff as we wait to check in at the airport. So we thought, we will just put more stuff in the check-in bag and pay the difference. So we got our carry-ons almost completely empty, since they weigh almost the limit when they are empty, and we got back in line. Now our bag was 11kg too heavy. She calculated how much we would have to pay extra and came up with the figure of around $80. I couldn't help but repeating this figure quite loudly and rolling my eyes. I told her that I would have to eat the gulab jamin (sweets) that we were taking. The guy helping with the bags asked me if I liked Indian sweets. I said, "Yes, I like gulab jamin, but I don't like your airline." So I asked how much it would cost for us to just check in another bag. She didn't answer me. Instead she said she would ask her boss if we could just pay a lesser fee. So somehow she figured that we could pay around $18 and take the extra weight.

I was frustrated because it seems that our empty bags would be about the right weight limit. What does the airline expect people to do? We fly places and take clothes to wear on our trip. It seems ridiculous to charge more than my clothes are worth to take stuff. I know Air Asia isn't the only airline doing this, but this is international and I didn't think airlines did that on international flights. They also charge for food, which is fine. We just didn't get any food. And then they have the audacity to charge for a blanket and a pillow. Oh, we also paid for our seat assignment. I wanted to ask if they charge for toilet paper, but I never needed to use the toilet.

It has gotten ridiculous. Why not just tell the poor passengers what the cost is going to be up front, and then treat them nice? Isn't there enough air rage and stress without adding more difficulty to the passenger? No wonder people go crazy on flights. I vote we go back to honest pricing and give people a pleasant experience.

For our flight home, we might just throw our bags away and pack in garbage bags so we can actually take some clothes home with us. That way our bags won't weigh much at all.