Budapest and back in a day.

I recently travelled to Budapest (Hungary) to meet face to face with a company with whom we hope to do some work in the near future. From the moment the flights were booked I knew it was going to be a tough, long day....I was not wrong. It went a little something like this....

• Get up at 3.00am and leave the house by 3.15 (showered and shaved before going to bed of course.)
• Drive to Birmingham Airport in order to park up and catch the National Express bus down to Luton. (much cheaper than driving and parking in Luton) Problem 1 - The M42 is closed at junction 3a... (the bit which heads for the Airport and NEC) - No major drama as had had left plenty of time to get there. A quick detour down the M40 and I'm back on track.
• A trouble free journey to Luton arriving with an hour or so to spare which gives me time for bit of breakfast (coffee and pan-au-chocolat courtesy of Starbucks) - Problem 2 - Flight delayed for 45 minutes (this cuts into my meeting time by a quarter)
• The Wizz Air flight is OK, comfortable enough, refreshments were quite expensive so I didn't bother as I'd bought a bottle of water from the airport.
• I sat near the front which made getting off the plane and through customs much quicker where I was met by Peter my Hungarian contact who had expertly written my name, like any good driver... but using his shiny new, recently imported ipad... very clever !
• We had a great meeting for 3 and 1/2 hours with some very clever and dedicated designers which even allowed me a little time to play with his ipad (i want one - you will too). I needed to be at the airport for my return journey by 5.00 pm - Problem 3 - The traffic getting out of Budapest is a nightmare and the police incident didn't help. The road to the airport seems never-ending and I finally arrive at 20 mins past 5.00 - surely too late to catch my flight.
• With the help of Peter's wife, I am ushered through security, but wait... "please take off your shoes, belt, laptop out of the bag etc etc".
• T minus 15 mins - no chance of catching the flight, but hold on... - "great the flight is delayed by an hour", I might even get to have a sandwich before we go. One hour passes - still delayed, finally 2 hours later we are boarding. Problem 4 - No way I'm going to catch the bus home I wanted.
• We all line up and board the plane, seat-belts on, Problem 5 - There are 7 passengers missing and because the airport system has gone down they can't figure out which bag belongs to which passenger ! - Bags unloaded, everyone off (10 at a time) identify your bag (only 20 bags on the runway - everyone else had hand luggage). Problem 6, because of the delays we have missed our slot and are waiting for Dutch Air-traffic control to set us free.
• On arrival back into London Luton I make my way to the National Express counter to see what buses are available. One hour 30 minutes later ( plus a £5.00 admin fee). I am cheered by the phone call from The Boss who invites me to take the next day (a Saturday) off !!
• I arrive back in Birmingham at 2.00am tired and with stinging eyes ( i forgot to take my contact lenses out while dozing - but at least I didn't miss my stop unlike the poor chap who wanted to get off in Milton Keynes... oops
• I paid the car park fee (£12.00 for the day) Problem 7 - I need diesel - but the pump attendant must be sleeping. Eventually get home by 3.00 for a quick shower and bed.

All in all a very successful trip but a tough one. I hope it is worth it in the end and I am sure it will be... Watch this space.

For my parting shot I will leave readers with my 6 point guide to business travel abroad.

1. Allow plenty of time for every aspect of the trip.
2. Where possible get open tickets (bus / train)
3. If you are offered lunch during a meeting - take it, you never know when your next chance to eat will be.
4. Don't expect to get out of a major city quickly
5. Relax and don't get frustrated - generally there is nothing you can do about the problems you face.
6. Make sure you get the following day off

Thanks for reading. Mike