What Not To Do When Organising an Overseas Holiday

1. Think that you're a travel agent
2. Rely on more than 5 websites for hotel reviews and rates
3. Read only the negative comments on Trip Advisor
4. Book a hotel because you like the look of the room even though it is nowhere near where you want to be
5. Book a privately owned room in a hotel from someone who when you dig a little deeper has pictures of porn stars on his profile and is called JOE, and then emails you only in CAPITALS, and calls your child THE KID
6. Think you can ever have any other kind of life at the same time as booking your trip
7.  Think your friends and general acquaintances and complete strangers are as interested in each hotel's reviews, or in fact any of the trip (other than the headlines) as much as you are.
8. Book a privately owned condo from a man who's name is either Raphael or rafael (and is the same person) who needs to meet your exhausted family at a restaurant across from the condos so he can "discreetly" (his words) get you into the property (will let you know how that one goes)
9. Try and get a family of 5 seat allocation on a flight 5 days before you're due to leave (when it's the school holidays)
10. Walk into a travel agent and ask for help finding a hotel in Las Vegas after they've given you that "oh so you tried to do it all by yourself and now it's got hard and you come crawling to us for help".  Because they don't want to know you.  Nor will they help you.
11.  Get age spots burnt off you face 6 days before you leave.

There is still 4 days before we leave, I may still need to add to this list.