1:30am

Wendy made it to LAX! I watched it happen on an online real-time flight tracker. Kinda cool!
But, it wasn't without incident.
Seems Wendy, the seasoned World Traveler that she is, neglected one important detail:
MANY BAGS LOOK ALIKE! BE SURE TO CHECK THE TAG TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE PICKING UP YOUR BAG!
So, Wendy wound up in Montebello with someone else's luggage.
China Airlines called me soon after she left the airport, since the person whose luggage she absconded with noticed the mistake, the tag had my cell phone number on it (, and I first called the hotel. She hadn't checked in yet. So I had time! I tried calling the travel agency and was forwarded to their "evening service," which is staffed by an Asian-sounding bridge troll I'll refer to as Eric the Rude.
Eric the Rude has a weird little habit: He likes to start his sentences about a half a second after you've started saying yours, and say some smartass comment. I tried repeatedly to tell him that Wendy was traveling with her parents, and all he could keep saying was that she was traveling under her father's name. She's not. I know this because I paid the travel agency, and her parents don't read or write English, at all.
All I wanted from Eric the Rude was either a way to call the car Wendy was traveling in, or at least a contact number for Jessica, who was the agent in charge. I called Eric the Rude back twice, inadvertently, because everything forwards to his stupid face after 6pm. Lovely.
Long story longer, Wendy got to the hotel. Got my message. I called back as she was checking in. I gave her the number China Airlines gave me. She called China Airlines. Montebello is too far out for them to send a car. So Wendy had to take a taxi back to LAX to switch the luggage, at a cost of $130 for the taxi ride to and from LAX.
Yes, it was initially Wendy's "fault" for not checking. But I'd think the travel agency would have the contact info for the car they were sending, in case of this or any other type of emergency.
The second time I talked to Eric the Rude, just before I hung up on him, I cheerfully told him that I hoped he hated his job, because I was going to try to make sure he didn't have to do it anymore. And I will. As soon as Wendy is done with this trip - provided nothing else goes wrong - I'll be calling Jessica at AsiaAmerica.com to tell her what her little minion is up to when she goes home, and then I'll be calling Kenny Fung at Global travel, whom I have used for years for Asian travel, and who recommended AsiaAmerica.com, as one of their affiliates.
Wendy said the driver was also rude to them, and dropped their bags - four large check-in bags for a lady and two people over sixty - on the street behind the van, got in, and drove off.
Welcome to America. The only thing that makes me feel better is that so far all these rude buttholes have been.... Asian immigrants. LOL! So the Ongs are definitely getting the impression that Asians in the US are terribly rude people. Maybe some friendly Caucasians, African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics will make them feel more welcome. LOL! ;-)
I really hope the rest of this trip goes better.