Wrong Terminal

I strapped on my packs and headed down Acton Town to the tube station and caught the train to Heathrow arriving at six o'clock for my 9:40 flight. After finally getting through security the agent said he didn't have a reservation for me.

An internet cafe offered access for twenty minutes for two pounds. I went online and typed in my credit card information and was displeased to see at this rate that the screen was filled with advertisements that i couldn't make go away. I logged into gmail, something else I loathe doing on public computers found my email, oh, it's British Airways. Well at least I'm in the right terminal. So I got through security again by this time it was 8:40 an hour to go before an international flight. The gate agent informed me that flight 207 flies out of terminal five. This time I needed to use the London Express, I ran down the hall and bought a ticket for eighteen pounds, seems, excessive for getting between two terminals at an airport. I boarded the train and discovered that it was headed to London. Wrong direction. I was advised to get off at the next station and catch the next train back a stop, get off at that stop and take the next train.

The minutes ticked away I stood on the platform watching the count down to the next train realized that interterminal transport is free got to terminal five a half hour before departure and was advised that the flight was closed out, but had not departed next.

So I walked to reservations and was advised that a second flight that day would not make my connecting flight and was told that the flight difference was over a thousand pounds. I told her that was a pretty stiff penalty for being at the wrong terminal. She told me to wait and walked off. For 75 minutes I paced in front of her station, wondering if she was ever going to return. Finally she indicated that she found a fare with American Airlines that would be 416 pounds and a $125 ticket change fee. That's more than another ticket I bought a couple of weeks ago, that isn't going to be used either. Then my credit card was declined as was my debit card. Damn Chase Bank and their fraud system. I withdrew funds from an ATM using the same debit card. It's a pin based transaction so the bank decided I could have some of my my money.

After paying the girl I was handed my itinerary, which read British Airways. What the hell, I was told I was flying American. Oh, it is American Operated, go to the American Checkin. Are you absolutely sure? That was my first stop this morning.

I turned on the computer and it had a corrupted file system and wouldn't boot. I fixed that and tried to get onto the internet to see if could get my bank to quit dicking with me but I couldn't get a connection on the Free Wifi, couldn't buy a connection with my credit card, refused to use a public computer to do my banking and sighed an exasperated sigh.

Batteries running low walked a shop and bought a power adapater that I would be using after today.

This is not one of my better trips, that's for sure.