Last week brought a number of updates as the journey toward the Beijing Olympics continued on toward next month's opening ceremonies. And this week, there's a few updates beyond those.
As noted last week, I had reached out to Air France about a possible flight that would conform with what the Beijing organizers are asking for and would still allow me to fly in and out in accordance with when I have accommodations available in Beijing. I had tried a few times to make the payment for this flight, which was not cheap, but had gotten an "unsuccessful" message each time I tried.
On Saturday morning, I tried with a different credit card and immediately I got a text from the credit card company warning of a possible fraud situation. I quickly called the number I was provided and spoke with a woman in customer service, who helped guide me through the security process and was able to turn my card back on. She told me to wait a bit before trying the purchase again. Since I had to go to a Nordic race and then a wrestling match, I wasn't able to use the link to the payment system again until later in the afternoon. I tried again and once again, I got the fraud message on my phone and once again, called to speak to someone.
The gentleman I spoke with this time again guided me through some security protocol and noted that because it was such a large amount of money, he wasn't surprised it was flagged. Additionally, it was also payment made in euros, which also could be suspicious. This time, once he got my card reset he stayed on the line and told me to try making the payment again while he was still there. I clicked on the link and went through the process again and this time, it came back as successful. And he told me once he saw that the charge had appeared that everything was good.
Sure enough, about 10 minutes later, I got an e-mail from the airline with all my flight information and confirmation that I was booked on the flights. So officially, assuming everything else goes as planned, I fly out of Boston on Tuesday, Feb. 1, in the afternoon for an overnight flight to Paris, then leave Paris the next afternoon and arrive in Beijing the following morning.
As for the other thing that has been a process so far, I was able to get the proper paperwork from the COVID testing place in Manchester thanks to a very helpful woman who answered the phone and sent it from her own personal e-mail. I submitted it to Beijing 2022 and I noticed that when they released the latest batch of approved testing centers, that it was on the list of sites being "reviewed," so hopefully it can pass all the tests and get approved. Then, it's just up to me testing negative so I can board the flights and go.
The bad news is that the more expensive flights basically drained my Olympic account, so I am guessing that Paris in two years is likely out of the question as I build up the funds to possibly go to Milan in four years for the next Winter Olympics.
One of the reasons I am pushing so hard for this trip is that this is likely the last Olympics in a decade that is being held in a country I haven't been to. I've been to France and Italy, Paris and Milan in particular, sites of the next two Olympics and then 2028 is in Los Angeles, and I've certainly been there. The front runners for the 2030 Winter Olympics are reportedly Sapporo, Japan and Salt Lake City, leaving the next country I haven't been to that is hosting an Olympics as Australia in 2032. And that's a long, long, long way away.
If all goes as planned, though that's still questionable, I will be on a flight landing in Beijing on Feb. 3. Photo from Olympics.com.
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