On the flip-side, check the seat numbers!:
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Sad times..
Well it's fast approaching time to go.. almost everyone I'm seeing at the moment I'm saying good-bye to :( Then again it's pouring with rain and grey outside the window now, I'm sure when I'm on that plane to Mauritius I'm going to feel differently. Let's get on with it!
On the flip-side, check the seat numbers!:
On the flip-side, check the seat numbers!:
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Booked!
Panic panic panic! Have booked an Emirates flight from London to Mauritius on 20th October! It's all happening a bit fast! Better that than being bored I suppose. It's strange because I haven't sorted out my RTW ticket with BA yet, so I've got one way and then nothing! I'm gonna be stranded in Mauritius. Worse things in life I suppose! So now I have one week to see family and stuff, then a couple of days to pack and get out of flat! Help!
By the way, for anyone planning to emulate my glory, here's some useful stuff:
1. flyertalk.com - this is the place to do all your research. Full of frequent flier gurus who are really helpful and FAQs which will assist in avoiding the usual pitfalls. I've spent most of my time in Forums -> Global Airline Alliances -> OneWorld which is where all the OneWorld Explorer ticket chats go on. My post is the Two DONE3s one!
2. Insureandgo - these guys will insure extra bits and bobs (think camera, mp3 player, laptop even) for minimal extra cost on top of your travel insurance - most insurance has a low maximum value for individual items (say £150 or so).
3. Expertflyer - this is where you can check real flight availability by cabin, so you can see for instance that 9 "A" cabin tickets are available on a particular flight. Very useful, but you have to pay to use it properly (only $10 a month or so).
4. 0044.co.uk - Pay-as-you-go SIM cards for roaming. I've bought one which is an Isle of Man number. They basically have a clever system which means I pay nothing to receive calls anywhere in the world! Fantastic!
5. Airline route maps and Google Earth - just to plan your route of course.
6. Tripadvisor - okay I haven't used this at all for my planning yet, but it's what I use to do hotel research. Check the Pokhara Palace Hotel, I'm the Marketing Director for them!!
By the way, for anyone planning to emulate my glory, here's some useful stuff:
1. flyertalk.com - this is the place to do all your research. Full of frequent flier gurus who are really helpful and FAQs which will assist in avoiding the usual pitfalls. I've spent most of my time in Forums -> Global Airline Alliances -> OneWorld which is where all the OneWorld Explorer ticket chats go on. My post is the Two DONE3s one!
2. Insureandgo - these guys will insure extra bits and bobs (think camera, mp3 player, laptop even) for minimal extra cost on top of your travel insurance - most insurance has a low maximum value for individual items (say £150 or so).
3. Expertflyer - this is where you can check real flight availability by cabin, so you can see for instance that 9 "A" cabin tickets are available on a particular flight. Very useful, but you have to pay to use it properly (only $10 a month or so).
4. 0044.co.uk - Pay-as-you-go SIM cards for roaming. I've bought one which is an Isle of Man number. They basically have a clever system which means I pay nothing to receive calls anywhere in the world! Fantastic!
5. Airline route maps and Google Earth - just to plan your route of course.
6. Tripadvisor - okay I haven't used this at all for my planning yet, but it's what I use to do hotel research. Check the Pokhara Palace Hotel, I'm the Marketing Director for them!!
Monday, October 02, 2006
Petersham Nurseries
On Friday evening went to celebrate Stu's 40th by indulging in some karaoke fun at KBox, just on Leicester Square. Amazing how little beer it takes to release one's inhibition! Here's my first attempt at embedding a video from my phone (apologies for quality) in this blog:
Afternoon tea on Sunday at Petersham Nurseries with Mother, tip care of Chris after we had attended his son's christening. It's a lovely spot, close to Richmond, yet well-tucked away and accessible down some fairly muddy paths (being completely unprepared for the torrential rain, as I was). They have converted one of the greenhouse buildings into a restaurant, plus there is a cafe. Not cheap, but a nice spot, and I imagine it would be particularly nice at night.
Afternoon tea on Sunday at Petersham Nurseries with Mother, tip care of Chris after we had attended his son's christening. It's a lovely spot, close to Richmond, yet well-tucked away and accessible down some fairly muddy paths (being completely unprepared for the torrential rain, as I was). They have converted one of the greenhouse buildings into a restaurant, plus there is a cafe. Not cheap, but a nice spot, and I imagine it would be particularly nice at night.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Trip Plan Complete!
It's midnight and pouring with rain outside. Moments ago I pulled back the curtain and watched a black cab drive through our cobbled mews, lit by the single streetlight against the brickwork of the ENO. The scene appeared to be a prelude to a movie, and I can well imagine the camera panning back to reveal an actor sitting in a cafe staring glumly out of the window. I love London!
Speaking off, regarding Russia.. yes St. Petersburg is a beautiful city, but at the moment I would have to say it's hard work for independent tourists. If you are determined, then go, but otherwise leave it till you're a retired couple, then let some expensive agency organise everything for you, like 95% of the tourists there. The visa stuff is a pain, and clearly needs reform. The airport is grim. Transport from the airport is either expensive taxis or ageing mini-buses where one has to cram in with luggage and negotiate a price with the driver. Then everywhere.. cyrillic alphabet! Not unreasonable, but for all major tourist sites there should be English signs too. The Hermitage in particular suffers from this.. amazing exhibits but without an explanation, that flint tool from 150k years ago is just a piece of rock!
Anyway, today I punted email off to BA in Mauritius to try to get my flights ticketed. Here's my plan:
First fly out to Mauritius somehow. Then buy OneWorld Explorer ticket there, first class, five continents, with following routing:
Mauritius -> LHR -> AMM (Jordan) ->land-> CAIro -> LHR -> EZE (Buenos Aires) -> LIMa
Then I'm leaving the following sectors open dated:
Lima -> Rio -> Santiago -> Easter Island -> Papeete -> Auckland -> Melbourne -> Sydney -> Tokyo -> Hong Kong -> Karachi -> Bangkok -> Hong Kong -> Johannesburg -> Cape Town -> Finish!!
By the way, if you need to buy Memory Cards etc, get 'em from Memory Card Zoo, a fantastic site run by my friends Mike Sowa and Pete Derbyshire.
Speaking off, regarding Russia.. yes St. Petersburg is a beautiful city, but at the moment I would have to say it's hard work for independent tourists. If you are determined, then go, but otherwise leave it till you're a retired couple, then let some expensive agency organise everything for you, like 95% of the tourists there. The visa stuff is a pain, and clearly needs reform. The airport is grim. Transport from the airport is either expensive taxis or ageing mini-buses where one has to cram in with luggage and negotiate a price with the driver. Then everywhere.. cyrillic alphabet! Not unreasonable, but for all major tourist sites there should be English signs too. The Hermitage in particular suffers from this.. amazing exhibits but without an explanation, that flint tool from 150k years ago is just a piece of rock!
Anyway, today I punted email off to BA in Mauritius to try to get my flights ticketed. Here's my plan:
First fly out to Mauritius somehow. Then buy OneWorld Explorer ticket there, first class, five continents, with following routing:
Mauritius -> LHR -> AMM (Jordan) ->land-> CAIro -> LHR -> EZE (Buenos Aires) -> LIMa
Then I'm leaving the following sectors open dated:
Lima -> Rio -> Santiago -> Easter Island -> Papeete -> Auckland -> Melbourne -> Sydney -> Tokyo -> Hong Kong -> Karachi -> Bangkok -> Hong Kong -> Johannesburg -> Cape Town -> Finish!!
By the way, if you need to buy Memory Cards etc, get 'em from Memory Card Zoo, a fantastic site run by my friends Mike Sowa and Pete Derbyshire.
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