From: shanejayell	Date: November 4th, 2009 04:49 am (UTC)		(Link)

That rather incredibly sucks.

	From: yahtzee63	Date: November 4th, 2009 04:54 am (UTC)		(Link)

Why in the name of monkeys would you ask Expedia about a visa, and rely on that answer if it sounded weird to you? Ten seconds on Google or with a travel guide would have cleared that up. This just sounds odd to me. I don't doubt that somebody at Expedia got it wrong -- they're Expedia -- but I'm very surprised that any responsible adult could fall prey to this. I mean, didn't they research travel to Russia in preparation for the trip? And wouldn't pretty much ALL of that research include the information about a visa?

	From: black13	Date: November 4th, 2009 07:47 am (UTC)		(Link)

Seconded. When I need to know about visas, I never rely on whichever travel agency I use, I call or e-mail the consulate (of whichever country I want to visit) and ask them. *Especially* if the travel agency tells me something that doesn't sound right to me.

And for the record, speaking as someone who is permanently stuck in Germany, there are worse places to be stuck in.

	From: romulantbonz	Date: November 4th, 2009 05:44 am (UTC)		(Link)

I won't use travel sites like Expedia. It's better to deal directly with hotels or airlines. If something goes wrong, then it's not as easy as them to "pass the buck."

	From: chris_walsh	Date: November 4th, 2009 06:41 am (UTC)		(Link)

Worth updating: Word from Cat is "Oh my god, you guys. You may me cry. We have enough to sort this out. Please concentrate on pressuring Expedia, not sending us any more money." And Neil Gaiman has tweeted on Cat and Dmitri's behalf. (So has Cat's friend Caitlin R. Kiernan, a.k.a. greygirlbeast.)

From: archersangel.blogspot.com	Date: November 4th, 2009 10:16 pm (UTC)		(Link)

wow! being stuck somewhere like that is one of my nightmares