I did it once in 2009 and was humiliated. MOSTfolks are completely different on the LPSG than in person, methinks..
That really sucks, I'm sorry that happened to you. That type of scenario is what makes me a bit gun shy about meeting anyone from the internet in real life. I did meet a couple of online friends before and, thankfully, both were the same offline as they were online. One of them was a bit nervous and shy at first because she didn't know what to expect but I was very relaxed and talkative so that helped her come out of her shell pretty quickly. Our only regret is that we don't live closer because we've become such good friends over the years.
May I ask how long you knew this person before you went to meet this person? You must have felt a really strong connection to go as far as traveling for them.