Flight Prices !!!!

Please don't believe what you read when it comes to prices on flights. I have been shopping for flights for the past week. I have found round trips from Dulles to Budapest for $399.00 USD all the way to $4000.00 USD.
Now you may think , wow 399.00 is great. This thought goes right out of your head when you push the select button. The part they don't tell you in the price screen is the $378.00 tax that is on top of the $399.00 price. Now one may think .well still that is not a bad price .True , very true not bad at all. That is just part of the cost for me to travel to Ukraina. Uzhgorod is near the border of Hungary. I have to fly to Budapest and then car, train or another flight to Uzhgorod. The down side of this is that there are only a couple of flights a week from Budapest to Uzhgorod and I never make the dates. Trains run everyday , however the last train leaves for Chopp the same time my flight arrives from Amsterdam. This is where things get good. I have to be picked up by a friend who has to hire a driver, who has to have a special insurance card and a passport to enter Hungary with a car big enough to carry my big ass and my bags. So this cost another $175.00 to $200.00 each way. I am not a poor man, I am not a cheap man, I do however have a limit on what I will spend to do things as I am sure we all do. This along with eating and entertainment for 10 days can beat your ass pretty good.
Here are some other things . Train ticket is $60.00,next day. Hotel for the night in Budapest $70.00. Taxi fare from airport to hotel and back to train station $12.00-$15.00. Not bad, dinner is another $12.00 to $15.00. A day lost to travel with a 9 hour train ride. So when you add up all the numbers and the time saved by being picked up and driven 4 to 5 hours it's not all that bad.Taxes and travel time are the killers. They should say well we are going to give you a cheap flight , oh hold on a minute make sure you add on the high ass taxes. So cheap flights are not so cheap and it is cold as hell also. Don't even ask about a price in warm weather, your head will explode. I have flown with the best and the worst. I have had 12 hour layovers and I have had 15 minutes to change planes. I have been held and missed flights and yes I am a member of the Mile High club and have been for many years so I guess it all evens out in the end.
So next time you read something that sounds too good to be true, trust me it is. Read the fine print, you will be amazed at how much it will cost you in the end.
The photo is of me and my pal,one of the reasons I am going to Ukraina. She is alone and needs checking on and I need to travel to check on her along with other things..