Last summer, a friend of ours announced that she was getting married. She wondered if J and I could make it to the wedding. We were thrilled for her, and said that OF COURSE we could come. We wouldn't be bringing our kids because she lives in Japan.
We figured we could use frequent flier miles to get there, and then hotel points to pay for the hotel. We don't have a lot of spare cash floating around, so this would be about the only way we could afford it. T is a wonderful friend though, and we would love to see her (and Japan) again.
A couple months ago, she told us the dates. We start looking for plane tickets and hotel, and the price was a lot more than we thought it was going to be. Huh. Weird. We decide to wait a bit and see if prices would come down as it got closer.
Instead, the opposite happened. Right now, a plane ticket to Japan for the wedding would cost us 100k frequent flier miles. Normally, it'd be around 50k or so.
Finally, a couple days ago, it clicked. She's getting married during "Golden Week", one of the biggest holiday weeks of the year in Japan. Travel TO the country, as well as within the country is an absolute nightmare during that time. Hotels are often booked solid.
To go there is going to cost us thousands more than we originally anticipated. Frankly, we can't afford that, unless I sell a couple houses, or help a couple buyers (any takers? Anyone?). I feel bad flaking out on T though, since we did tell her that we'd be there, and she really is a good friend.
What would you do?
I would explain that circumstances have changed and that as much as you would love to you just can't afford it right now. I don't think you are flaking out, the price basically doubled. I think you would be very understanding if the situation was reversed and you wouldn't consider her flaking out.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried going via a country that doesn't have GW? Taiwan, Korea or Hong Kong? While the prices to get to Japan during that time are still inflated, it will be on a much shorter leg.
ReplyDeleteIf that doesn't work, nobody knows better how difficult, expensive and plain ol' insane it is to travel during that time than Japanese people. Perhaps you can plan to go and spend time with just them during a non-peak time.