"You can't leave this country!"
Trip Start
Jun 12, 2007
1
2
9
Trip End
Jul 05, 2007
So I arrive at the airport early in the morning expecting no problems--I am aware of visa and onward ticket requirements, as any responsible traveler would be. I was also aware that my "authority" to be in Australia was going to expire while I was on this trip. I was planning on renewing it while I was away, before I flew through the country again on the way home. However, I had the opportunity to deal with a less than agreeable ticket counter manager who did not see things my way. What I thought was just the lady at the counter chatting me up was really them checking my itinerary. When she found out that ultimatley I was returning to Australia and the current "authority" I was there on was going to be expired before I returned, in came the former mentioned manager. Long story short, I spent a good 2 hours running around pulling my hair out only to finally talk to an Aussie immigration person who told me that the manager was completely out to lunch and I was in the right. I said to her, can I have the said manager call you back in about 5 minutes when I get back to the counter because he doesn't believe a word I say. I made it on the flight, but the whole encouter led me to start drinking at 8 in the morning!
