Note: Just left Chile and returned from traveling in Peru and Bolivia. And upon returning home in the Philippines, my family had two funerals in our hands. More about that later. 

It’s Christmas Day and I’m sitting in Lima airport waiting for the most stressful flight of my life.

Around me people are wearing Santa hats. Families hugging and giving each other besos. Christmas trees beamed brightly with its gimmicky LED lights. The air is filled with Christmas song and cheer.

Not me.

My Christmas Eve was filled dealing with bureaucratic crap from United airlines and then finally falling asleep exhausted only to have anxiety filled dreams of missing my flight.

Four months ago I spotted this cheap flight to get out of South America from studentuniverse.com. For a second I saw the note “Airport change – Newark, NJ – JFK, NYC” and thought surely there would be an easy train connecting the two if people make a lot of transfers between these two airports and that I won’t need to exit immigration to make this international connection. And so with that my eager fingers quickly clicked BUY.

What happened next was the worst airline nightmare I could imagine.

Turns out there wasn’t a train connecting Newark to JFK airport.

Turns out even though I was in transit, I still had to clear immigration and customs in the States.

All within three hours and thirty minutes. I found that this was the minimum amount of time necessary to make a connection from Newark to JFK.

Which fool created this?

By the time, I would clear immigration and customs in an hour, I have to make the journey from New Jersey to New York City in snowy weather which takes 60-90 minutes. Not including traffic and finding a taxi. That means I’ll get to JFK at 10 AM. Check-in time for my international flight is 9:15 AM. My flight leaves at 11:15 AM. Then I have to go through security and find my boarding gate.

Cutting it a little too close.

And if I miss my flight? I don’t want to imagine the worst case scenario. I have bled myself dry in terms of finances in South America. The thought of staying in one of the most expensive cities in the world makes my head burst with crazy what-ifs scenarios.

If you’re in NYC, perhaps expect to see an Asian girl with a begging sign and auctioning off her suitcase by the streets.

I’ve called United several times to no avail. They wanted me instead to buy a new ticket worth more than a thousand dollars. Then I called the travel agency student universe that issued the crappy connection and they wanted me to do the same thing.

At the United counter in Lima airport, they wouldn’t change my flight so it looks like I’m destined to do this connection.

I can only pray to God that I make it.

Flight Update- Newark- JFK Dec 26, 2012

It was nothing short of a miracle.

United arrived half an hour ahead of schedule at Newark at 7 AM. It took me 45 minutes to go through immigration and customs. Then I spent a good 15 minutes calling and looking for the Dial7 taxi service I reserved. Then we sped off via the Holland Tunnel and cut through Chinatown at NYC to JFK airport. There was little traffic at NYC since it was a holiday (Dec 26) otherwise those tunnels will be jam packed.

The taxi driver said that if I was making the connection on any normal given day, I wouldn’t be able to make it to JFK since it would’ve taken a little more than 2 hours because of the traffic. Also, the weather should’ve sucked today as there were predictions of snow but it was a clear crisp day. All in all, the drive from Newark to JFK took 50 minutes and I arrived in time for my check-in at 9:00 AM (I had expected to get there at 10:00 AM). But boy, that was the most expensive cab ride ever was I forked USD 113 for that 50 minute ride ($80 for the fare, $13 for toll and $13 for the tip). That’s already a two hour plane fare from Philippines to Hong Kong.

Still, either that or forking USD 200 for a helicopter to get me to the airport. I’ll stick to the cab thanks.

I consider myself really luck and blessed to have been able to make it to JFK on time under all these fortuitous conditions. I have God to thank. Next time, check the fine print for airport transfers.

This is one connection I’ll never forget.

Face it. Anyone who’s traveled between Southeast Asia and South America knows it’s a pain in the wallet to purchase air tickets. This is because there are generally few direct flights between the two continents. Also, it’s a far off dream to have a budget airline doing the flying salsa between them. That said, there are ways to get cheap flights so you don’t cry Argentina every time you see the prices.

1. Know the popular hubs

Peru and Brazil are the most popular hubs in South America thanks to their Wonders of the World status. They also have the highest Asian population that makes the staggering 30 hour haul between the two great continents.

If you’re looking for a cheap way back to Southeast Asia from Latin America, fly from either Lima or Rio de Janeiro into Hong Kong and then hop on a budget airline from Hong Kong to any Southeast Asia country. Not only do you save thousands of dollars but you also have more choices of the flight schedules that will take you back into the country.

Another choice is to scout promo flights from Lima or Rio de  Janeiro to Los Angeles or Barcelona and then to Hong Kong.

2. Budget airlines in Southeast Asia

With Hong Kong as your central hub, there are a plethora of budget flights in Southeast Asia that costs peanuts compared to South American airlines.

Choice of airlines are

The go-to Southeast Asian budget airline. Also flies to Abu Dhabi and London: Air Asia

From Singapore to Southeast Asia, India, Sri Langka and Darwin, Australia: Tiger Airways, Jetstar, Scoot,

From Thailand to Laos, Cambodia and Xian, China: Bangkok Air

From the Philippines that not only go to Southeast Asia, they also have cheap budget flights to Japan and South Korea: Cebu Pacific Air, Zest Air and Philippine Air Express.

Other resources: The Budget Airlines in Southeast Asia

3. Know when to travel: Peak Season vs the Off Season

Since they are sitting on opposite hemispheres, what’s high season in Southeast Asia is Latin America’s low season. Travelers between the two distant continents can use this to their advantage.

You can score really cheap tickets flying into South America during its slow winter season which are around May to November. This is Southeast Asia’s summer peak season. Then when returning to Southeast Asia, aim to travel during it’s off season which are generally from September to November. That said, do not travel during international global holidays like Christmas and New Year’s.

4. Do your research

Compare prices on online travel search engines like Hipmunk, Skyscanner and ITA Matrix Search. These sites have cool features that enables you to see the range of airfares in a month so you could choose the cheapest priced date. Check out Hipmunk’s price graph and Skyscanner’s calendar feature. Hipmunk also allows you to put a fare alert on your desired flight and dates so you can be notified if there’s been a price drop. This feature saved me thousands of dollars and allowed me to travel on Christmas day to Hong Kong.

5. Don’t forget your miles.

With thousands of miles covered by your Southeast Asia-Latin American flight, it’d be a shame not to register for miles. Multiple trips can eventually reward you with a short holiday spree in a neighboring country or a free flight back home.

Consider signing up as a member for either One World, Sky Team or Star Alliance. These are global airline alliances that have several airlines registered in their networks. Cathay Pacific, LAN, COPA, Singapore Airlines, KLM and United are just some of the members.

One World’s partner airlines are: Cathay Pacific, LAN, Air Berlin, American Airways, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines

Star Alliance: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asian Airlines, Austrian, Avianca/TACA, Blue1, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, Egyptair, Ehtiopian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAM, TAP, Thai, Turkish Airlines, United, US Airways

Sky Team – Aeroflot, Aerolineas Argentinas, AeroMexico, AirEuropa, Air France, Alitalia, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Czech Airlines, DELTA, Kenya Airways, KLM, Korean air, MEA, Saudia, Taron, Vietnam Airlines

The nifty thing about these is that you can transfer and redeem your miles from one airline to another partner in their group.

With these money saving tips under your belt, it’s a guarantee you won’t be crying whenever you see those prices. Or your wallet for that matter

Photos by Well Heleed Blog and World Atlas

If you’ve been lurking for a while, drop a comment below or email me.  I always respond to emails and love meeting readers there. This blog’s mission was to connect with people around the world and I’ve met wonderful folks through Live Out of the Box. I have already met some of the people personally and I hope to meet more in the future.  :)

US elections - looks like Obama wonfor the second term. I  was getting nervous as my beloved Mormon friends were naturally voting for Romney and he did quite well during the debates.  What this would mean for the world global economy, the Euro crisis and US relations with China, we shall see. Elections have been held all over – Greece, Chile, the States  and this December – South Korea (their president 2MB is not well-loved. Dec is the deciding factor for their relationship with Nuclear happy DPRK North Korea). 2012 is the turning point ladies and gentlemen. 

Today’s post is a travel article I wrote on my experience in dealing with Chilean bureaucracy and tips on how to cope with it.  The story is about numerous trips to the police sans handcuffs,  punching someone or something, paperwork and meeting lovely South Koreans to boot. What they’re doing in Chile – no one knows except a lot of kimchi and shoju are surely involved.  감사합니다  (Thanks to)  박원주, Donghun Yun, Ho Seok Kim and 박원주!

Below is an excerpt of the article.

I tried not to punch a wall.

Really, I did.

The officer looked at me with her unforgiving eyes in the Civil Registry office. She told me in Spanish that I need to register in their system over again. It would have been totally fine except she has already asked me to do that before.

Twice.

Welcome to Chilean Bureaucracy.

Tramite is a pretty common term in Chile. Its most innocuous meaning is paperwork but we all know what that really means. Evil vindictive pointless bureaucracy is what it should say. Everyone in Chile undergoestramite and woe to those who get stuck in them.

Like me.

In order to register as a temporary resident here in Chile, most foreigners apply for what is called a carnet. A carnet is an ID that registers you in the government system. Think of it as your country’s ID, passport or Social Security number. All locals are required to have them and you cannot do anything in Chile without it. Unless you’re a new born baby, there comes a point where you have to go through long hellish period of paperwork to get that bit of plastic.

Take my case for example. I was asked to travel to the capital of Santiago to fix an “error” with my family name. Apparently, placing surname first on your visa does not sit well among Chilean bureaucrats. Mind you, it’s two hours travel to Santiago from my city. So I went ahead and did that. Then when I went back to the Civil Registry, I was told to go to the police to register the new placement of my surname.

Strike one.

To continue reading the article- click HERE.