Was awake since 4am on 17 April 2011, the day i was to make our way from New York to Boston. Alarm was set for 5.15am, but with my mind quite active, i got up earlier & had a refreshing shower. Packed our stuff & grabbed a bagel with cream cheese, downed 3 cups of orange juice and hopped into the shuttle van to JFK airport.
Our repeated attempts to check-in at the JetBlue kiosk were unsuccessful, until Yeehua exclaimed in a shocking tone that our flight was cancelled, and the notification via email came only at 6.12am that morning (our flight was scheduled to depart at 9.20am)... We had to join the never-ending queue, in the hope of taking the next flight available, and ensuring i was able to make it by 6pm to collect my race pack at the Race Expo.
As we waited in the queue, we mulled over how we can avoid such a situation in the future and started surfing the internet via our handphones on alternative transport arrangements. After some frantic searching on the internet, we came to a decision: if there wasn't any available seat on the next flight to Boston, we'd make oiur way to New York city and take the hourly bus service to Boston for the cost of $15 per person.
True enough, there was a waiting list for the 1226pm flight & only 1 seat was available at the 2pm and 6pm flight. Deciding to opt for a full refund, we quickly made our way to the AirTrain and got ourselves onto the subway heading towards Bowery station, which took 45mins to get to. Upon exiting the station, we walked along Chrystie Road with our luggages in tow, in search of Lucky Star bus company. After a 5-10min walk requiring us to lift our luggages (fortunately it was still light as we'd just begun our trip) over potholes/uneven ground, we managed to secure 2 tickets to Boston for USD 30 (much cheaper than the JetBlue flight), leaving at 11am. With a sigh of relief (we didn't really panic though, as there was just sufficient time to get to the race expo after a 4-5hr bus journey), i went to grab 4 fresh sandwiches at USD 2 each & 3 bottles of water for our bus adventure. An adventure in itself, searching for a suitable bus company, and lucky enough to have free wi-fi on board Lucky Star buses. And here i am still on the bus at 2.30pm, making full use of the on-board free wi-fi to blog about our 'Amazing Race' from New York JFK Airport to Boston. I don't think i will forget this 'good' experience easily... Looking forward to the next leg of the Amazing Race... from Hotel 140 to race pack collection by 6pm at 900 Boylston Street, Hynes Convention Center.
To be continued..
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