Please welcome guest blogger Lourens from Backpackportal.com
Well, not anymore, but I was. At Bangkok Suvarnabumi International Airport, or BKK to expats, in early 2007. Nope, no earthquake nor a tsunami had hit, I just wasn't allowed onboard my flight to Brisbane, Australia. Eventually I was, but by that time my flight had just left the runway, and getting onboard was now quite impossible.
So what happened? Well, I just forgot to apply for a visa. Living in a Western country I never thought I'd need a visa to go down under, but you do. It's not hard to do, you just go to http://www.eta.immi.gov.au/ and apply. A website you probably wouldn't think of immediatly.
Well, I had thirty minutes before boarding, but it took them an hour to clear me. So, I stayed in Bangkok for a few more days.
Thankfully, China Airlines, with whom I'd fly, were kind enough not to charge me extra for my stupidity, but it got me drinking, and thinking, too.
Many websites give you shedloads of information about travelling to a certain country, but it's all shattered and oddly specific. They'll tell you the sights, where to go and where not to go, but seldom what you need to get there. And, more importantly, what to look out for.
What if there was a place wher you'd find all relevant information, cut and dry. Wouldn't that be more convenient?
So, that's what we try to do with www.backpackportal.com. We just hope you like it too, and will be willing to add your essential information to it so others won't be making the same mistakes.
Some will argue that it will take away the unexpected, but I guess a bit of preperation will save you the obvious mistakes, so you've got plenty of time to get involved in other curiosities.
My added three days in Bangkok were spend seeing the latest movies in the luxury cinema at the Paragon shopping center, so it wasn't too bad. Even better, my luck apparently changed when I finally got to Brisbane and won almost instantly AU$250 at the Casino with blackjack. But it limited the time I had left Down Under. I'd much rather have spend those two days at the Gold Coast instead of the cinema and bars in Bangkok.
So, if you think it's a good idea, check out the website and join us on facebook!
