It’s a tale as old as time: Guy meets girl, buys nonrefundable plane tickets for trip around the world, guy and girl part ways, guy seeks new girl but with same name and Canadian passport so tickets don’t go to waste, guy meets new girl, they go around the world. This stuff never gets old.
Back in November, a good chunk of the female population was annoyed to find out that they neither had the same name as the man who wanted someone to replace his ex-girlfriend using her same tickets on a trip round the world, nor a Canadian passport.
Some lucky lady had both the moniker and the paperwork, reports ABC News, and has been chosen to be the bearer of the tickets. It took thousands of emails and 18 actual entrants from women with the right name and documents, as well as hundreds of people who apparently wanted to change their names, ostensibly to go on this trip.
The 23-year-old student and part-time office administrator who won is already in New York City, where the twosome will embark on their three-week journey. On Sunday, they’ll be heading to Milan, Vienna, Prague, Paris, southern Thailand, Bangkok then Delhi, India, before returning home Jan. 12.
“At the end of the day, I’m just a simple guy from Canada,” the man told ABC News. “Initially, when the story broke, it was shocking. I didn’t have any anticipation this would happen. The original story implicated my ex-girlfriend, which was very difficult as well.”
While he was looking for the right person to share his trip, he founded a charity that he says will help “underprivileged and at-risk” people travel, called A Ticket Forward.
“The whole reason the charity started was there was a huge outpouring from people who wanted to travel the world and feared they wouldn’t,” he explained.
The twosome will be staying together in sponsored, separate hotel rooms (she has a serious boyfriend), but will be paying their own way when it comes to food and souvenirs.
“We still have some planning left to do, but we’re getting there. The message of the original post was, here’s a ticket and you can take it,” the male part of the traveling duo says. “[She] has all kinds of stuff that she wants to do and so do I. We’re taking it one day at a time.”
As for the lucky lady, she says her family is all for it… even her boyfriend, it seems, who remains supportive, if not a bit jealous of her trip.
“They were pushing me out the door. Some of my sweetest aunts in the world who would never say anything were saying, ‘If you don’t go on this, you are crazy,’” she told the Toronto Star. “I thought this is a crazy opportunity. Even if I didn’t get picked, I felt like I had to say I tried.”
Canadian Finds Woman With Ex-Girlfriend’s Name to Travel the World Together [ABC News]
Toronto man finds an Elizabeth… to travel the world with him [Toronto Star]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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