Category: RTW in 66 Days

Hurdles…

June 25, 2011 by Mal·0 Comments

Just when I think things are all ready for my trip, it’s always to good to be true. God damn. So things were all good, i had everything ready to go, my new digital toys had arrived in time, I was so looking forward to it. Today I even bought myself a new backpack to go on this trip, for the last little thing to make my trip whole. But of course things don’t always go as planned.

For the the last two continents on this trip (Europe & Asia) i had used quite a number of industry rates. This was a good way to take advantage of those benefits I get for work. So I had some incredible industry rates at hotels around the world, in Paris, London, Tokyo & Hong Kong. These rates were phenomenal, and as to go with it I needed a specific kind of ID to really use it. The id is called an IATA card. My current card is due to expire in July this year, so I had arranged with the local IATA office to get a new card early. So that it was going to be able to be used while I was away. I knew it would take about 4 weeks to get it done and I had it all set to go in late may. They had told me that I would definately have the card before I left for my trip.

Well as this trip was getting closer and closer, I was getting worried as the card had not arrived. I got worried. So I tried calling the IATA office. No deal, their phones never go through, ever. So i lodged the email online. Then came through what I expected. “We are experiencing a delay in issuing our cards and the cards could take at least 4-6 weeks or more” Just freaking dandy. I went into panic mode. God damn. I had to try and work out what to do, organise a way to get the card to me maybe, or start getting alternative ID arrangements made.

To get the card sent to me is gonna cost me $50 and really complicated, but I am probably going to do it anyway if I can. But thankfully most of the hotels, after emailing them, have told me I can just show a couple of other different forms of ID with the old card (which would of expired by that time). So thankfully that is going to be all ok now. Now to just get all these extra forms of ID fixed up.

It goes to show though, don’t count your chickens till they hatch.

Trip Itinerary – Full Plans…

June 15, 2011 by Mal·0 Comments

Well the trip is less than a month away (3 weeks & 2 days to be exact) and today i picked up all my documents and sorted them all out. I had to print off what felt like a tree with back up copies of all my hotel confirmations and tour bookings etc.

As you can see here there is a hell of a lot of paperwork I need to take with me. Flight itineraries, hotel vouchers, tour vouchers, train itineraries, car hire bookings, hotel bookings, vouchers for accommodation, vouchers for tours, insurance, travelsim stuff, financial stuff, it is just never ending.

But the good news is with this trip now pretty much all but paid for, foreign currency converted (that is the topic of another blog post for another day) and all the documents picked up. This trip is now just about ready to go. The only thing i can’t plan 100% right now is the trains in Japan. I have my JR Pass but the only thing is the timetables only come out one month in advance pretty much, so most of that will be done on the fly, although as you can see below there is a rough outline of what trains I need to catch. So here it is, the full and final listing for this trip.

5th July 2011 – Last Day at Work
6th July 2011 – Prep, pack, get ready to leave
7th July 2011 – Goodbye Australia.
Brisbane to Auckland to Los Angeles to Vancouver (yes thats all in one day. Leaving at 12pm arriving into vancouver same day at 9pm… hello JETLAG!)
Brisbane to Auckland – Air New Zealand – NZ136 – 1225/1725 – Boeing 777-200ER – Business Premier
Auckland to Los Angeles – Air New Zealand – NZ2 2130/1445 – Boeing 777-300ER – Business Premier (New Aircraft for airline, new type for me)
Los Angeles to Vancouver – Air Canada – AC557 1855/2136 – Embraer 190 – Executive Class (New Type, New Airline, New Airport)
8th July 2011 – Vancouver – Meet Up with Brad – Vancouver Hotel – Sandman Hotel Vancouver City Centre
9th July 2011 – Tour Begins – Contiki Canada & The Rockies with Calgary Stampede – Link to tour here
21st July 2011 – Tour Finishes – Vancouver – Vancouver Hotel – Sandman Hotel Vancouver City Centre
22nd July 2011 – Vancouver – Plane Spotting with @Pacificairphoto (from Twitter) a fellow #avgeek
23rd July 2011 – Amtrak Cascades – Vancouver to Seattle – 0640/1105 – Seattle Hotel – Holiday Inn Express Seattle City Centre
24th July 2011 – Seattle
25th July 2011 – Seattle
26th July 2011 – Seattle
27th July 2011 – Pick Up Car start driving south – Overnight Portland Oregon – Portland Hotel – La Quinta Inn & Suites Portland NW
28th July 2011 – Portland to Roseburg – Roseburg Hotel – Holiday Inn Express Roseburg
29th July 2011 – Roseburg to San Francisco – San Francisco Hotel – Holiday Inn Golden Gateway
30th July 2011 – San Francisco
31st July 2011 – San Francisco
1st August 2011 – San Francisco
2nd August 2011 – San Fransisco – Morning Visit to Alcatraz/Plane Spotting Day – SFO Airport Hotel – Millwood Inn & Suites
3rd August 2011 – San Fransisco to New York City – Farewell to Brad this morning
San Fransisco to Chicago O’Hare – United Airlines – UA972 1010/1625 -Boeing 767-300 – Business Class – (International Configuration Aircraft, 2 New Airports)
Chicago O’Hare to New York City La Guardia – UA692 1730/2046 – Airbus A319 – First Class – (New Airports)
New York City Hotel – Element New York Time Square West
4th August 2011 – New York City – UN Guided Tour Booked
5th August 2011 – Morning New York City – Birthday – Evening Flight – New York City to Zurich
New York City John F Kennedy – Zurich – Swiss Airlines – LX17 1800/0805+1 – Airbus A330-300 – Business Class (New Airline, New Airport)
6th August 2011 – Zurich to Paris
Zurich – Paris Charles De Gaulle – Swiss Airlines – LX634 0905/1020 – Airbus A320 – Business Class (New Airports)
Meet up with Yena – Explore Paris – Paris Hotel – Paris Marriott Hotel Champs-Elysees
7th August 2011 – Paris to Bayeux – Train – Intercités – 0910/1115 – 2nd Class
Explore Bayeux – Bayeux Hotel – Château Hôtel de Bellefontaine
8th August to 10th August 2011 – Explore Normandy Region – WW2 Invasion Tours – Overlord Tours – Neptune Tour (2 Days), 101st Airborne Tour (1 Day)
11th August 2011 – Bayeux to Paris – Train – Intercités – 0841/1046 – 1st Class
Explore Paris – Paris Hotel – Paris Marriott Hotel Champs-Elysees
12th August 2011 – Explore Paris
13th August 2011 – Farewell to Yena – Paris to Berlin
Paris Charles De Gaulle to Berlin Tegel – Lufthansa – LH3241 0930/1105 – Boeing 737-500 – Business Class (New Airline, New Aircraft, New Airport)
Berlin Hotel – Hotel Pullman Berlin Schweizerhof
Meet up with Melissa
14th August 2011 – Berlin
15th August 2011 – Berlin
16th August 2011 – Berlin to London
Berlin Tegel – London Heathrow – BMI – BD842 1100/1200 – Airbus A319 – Business– (New Airline, New Airports)
Heathrow Express – London Heathrow to London Paddington Station
London Hotel – Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London
Ceremony of the Keys at Tower of London
17th August 2011 – London
18th August 2011 – London
19th August 2011 – London
20th August 2011 – Explore London Morning – Evening Flight – London to Tokyo
London Heathrow – Tokyo Narita – ANA – NH202 1935/1520+1 – Boeing 777-300ER – Business Class (New Product, New Airline)
21st August 2011 – Arrive Tokyo – Narita Express to Shinjiku – Tokyo Hotel – Hyatt Regency Tokyo
22nd August 2011 – Tokyo
23rd August 2011 – Tokyo
24th August 2011 – Tokyo
25th August 2011 – Tokyo to Yokohama to Kyoto
Morning Shinkansen to Yokohama, explore city, Late Afternoon Shinkansen to Kyoto
Tokyo Station to Shin Yokohama – Hikari 505 – 0833/0852
Shin Yokohama to Kyoto – Hakari 519 – 1552/1815
Kyoto Hotel – Citadines Kyoto Karasuma Gojo
26th August 2011 – Kyoto
27th August 2011 – Kyoto to Osaka – Morning Shinkansen from Kyoto to Osaka
Kyoto to Shin Osaka – Hikari 503 – 1016/1030
Osaka Hotel – Ritz Carlton Osaka
28th August 2011 – Osaka
29th August 2011 – Osaka to Hiroshima – Morning Shinkansen from Osaka to Hiroshima –Hikari 495 – 0835/1019
Hiroshima Hotel – ANA Crowne Plaza Hiroshima
30th August 2011 – Hiroshima
31st August 2011 – Hiroshima to Narita – Morning Shinkansen from Hiroshima back to Tokyo then NEX from Tokyo to Narita.
Hiroshima to Shin Osaka – Hikari 543 – 0715/0854
Shin Osaka to Tokyo Station – Hikari 510 – 0913/1210
Tokyo Station to Narita – Narita Express
Explore Narita, Plane Spotting, Exploring the Temple – Narita Hotel – Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport hotel
1st September 2011 – Tokyo to Hong Kong
Tokyo Narita to Seoul Incheon – Asiana Airlines – OZ103 1530/1810 – Boeing 767-300 – Business Class (New Airline, New Airport)
Seoul Incheon to Hong Kong Chep Lap Kok – Asiana Airlines – OZ723 1945/2230 – Boeing 747-400 – Business Class (New Airport)
Hong Kong Hotel – Novotel Hong Kong Nathan Road
2nd September 2011 – Hong Kong
3rd September 2011 – Hong Kong
4th September 2011 – Hong Kong
5th September 2011 – Hong Kong
6th September 2011 – Hong Kong to Singapore
Hong Kong Chep Lap Kok to Singapore Changi – Singapore Airlines – SQ861 1540/1920 – Airbus A380-800 – Business Class (New Airport, New Airline, New Aircraft, Bucket List)
Meet Up with Cat – Singapore Hotel – Royal Plaza on Scots Singapore Hotel
7th September 2011 – Singapore
8th September 2011 – Singapore
9th September 2011 – Singapore
10th September 2011 – Singapore to Brisbane (Home) – Fly Home with Cat
Singapore Changi to Brisbane – Singapore Airlines – SQ245 0955/1930 – Airbus A330-300 – Business Class (New Product)
11th September 2011 – Rest
12th September 2011 – Back to Work

So there it is guys, plenty of things to read about, the trip is a big one, some changes here and there but shes all good 😀

Trip Finalised – 27 Days & Counting

June 10, 2011 by Mal·0 Comments

Ok with this trip now inside the 30 day mark and fast approaching the final touches have now been made. The last few things I needed to get booked was the trains in France, Japan and see what deals I could scam for the HEX (Heathrow Express) in London.

Well I managed to remind myself to book the trains in France earlier this week and picked up the return train fare from Paris to Bayeux for Yena & Myself for about $65 each return. Good thing was it was an extra 8 Euros each to come back in First class on the train. Now normally i wouldn’t bother with this, but considering our train is at 0845 in the morning returning to paris after 3 full on days of touring the Normandy region, I figure we can relax and chill out in comfort before smashing into some more Paris touring.

My JR Pass has been booked as well, and should be ready for me to pick up next week when I get all my contiki docs, a 14 day pass was not cheap but it had to be done as 7 days just would not cut it for a 12 day trip! The HEX tickets though, that one I am kinda proud of.

I managed to find a 33% off deal on the HEX for using an American Express Card. Considering I was going to use that anyway, hello scammage! Gotta love it when i Can get 33% off a fare and in essence travel in Style in First class on this train from the airport with free wifi onboard for less than the cost of what Economy would of cost me without the discount. Love it!

I have to head down to Cleveland next week to pick up my docs, so when I get all this, this trip will really feel like reality then. Over the last few weeks I have been buying up some stuff to help me out on this trip (I will keep it for another post over the weekend of what I have been buying) but this trip is all coming together nicely!

As for updating the blog about the trip. Expect more posts over the coming weeks, about the planning and what I am taking with me etc, I have lots to tell. This trip is really starting to sink in now, should be an amazing journey that I can’t wait to experience. I will keep a lot of the trip report to start it till a day or two before the trip itself to start the whole thing. Hopefully I can make this trip report awesome 😀

Busy Busy Busy

April 12, 2011 by Mal·Comments Off

Well, it seems all I’ve been doing lately is posting about movies, books or food. Hah! Well I thought I would post a little about life for the last month or so. Things have been busy busy busy. I feel like I am on the go non stop day in day out. It feels like I haven’t taken a breath and rested for more than 20 seconds for the whole month and it doesn’t look to change much at all for the next week or so.

I’ve had the bike for just on a month now, (been riding for 10 weeks now and I think I can cross it off my bucket list as I know how to ride now). I am getting more and more confident each time I get on the bike and don’t in any way regret any decision to buy it. It was well worth the investment, even though I have fallen off it about a billion times already.

It feels good sometimes to get out and ride but I am still not at the point where I am able to switch off and do things instinctively like I can with my running. When I run at the moment, my brain switches off. I am able to just run and run without thinking, my brain goes off and I can relax I guess you could say. With riding I have to constantly think about what I’m doing, concentration is always at a peak. But I guess with that it means that my heart rate stays up there and it means I can burn a hell of a lot more calories (11k ride on Sunday morning burnt like 1200 calories which is roughly 2/3 of a daily intake).

In life outside of the bike, work has been pretty good, but I have been having to focus pretty damn hard, make sure I am getting every single booking and every single dollar so that I can make my goal of top consultant. As of this morning I was sitting in first place but I am holding onto that position by the skin of my teeth ($60.. yes that’s right $60). I have to work my butt off to stay in first place and the thing is, It is going to take major effort to stay there.

The trip planning is pretty much done now. I have like 2 things left to organise but they both can’t be done till very last minute (JR Pass and rail in France both don’t allow bookings till like 2 months prior) so you could say I am pretty much done. I have to organise some insurance thanks to lovely difficulties I am having with my current policy (won’t cover me due to a clause on the length of trip) so after the Travel Expo on Sunday I am hoping to have this all worked out. With the Trip pretty much done all that’s left in my check list is really to organise the spending money, insurance and those train bookings and its all done, and with less than 3 months to go, I would have to say its all going to go swimmingly.

What more can I say. It has been a pretty full on last month or so, and with more full on times coming I don’t see things quieting down any time soon. I travelled to Canberra for a weekend last month to catch up with Stuart, Michelle and see Daniella again which was an awesome weekend. Qantas stuffed me around on the way home and still haven’t given me the credit that I wanted for the flights (giving up on that I guess). Next weekend (easter) is going to be some fun travelling. I might post about it just before I go but will be doing some travelling for the hell of it and acting like a Plane nut for the first time in a while (essentially flying to Sydney for Anzac Day via New Zealand).

Guess I should probably get back to work now… slacked off enough

Trip Update – Itinerary Complete!

February 14, 2011 by Mal·0 Comments

I have been putting this post back now for a few weeks since I’ve been so busy doing other stuff but all of my trip is now good to go. I have finalised all the hotel plans (hell a last minute hotel change today) and you will see below a full itinerary now with links to hotels in each location.

So here it is… the final itinerary…

5th July 2011 – Last Day at Work
6th July 2011 – Prep, pack, get ready to leave
7th July 2011 – Goodbye Australia.
Brisbane to Auckland to Los Angeles to Vancouver (yes thats all in one day. Leaving at 12pm arriving into vancouver same day at 9pm… hello JETLAG!)
Brisbane to Auckland – Air New Zealand – NZ136 – 1225/1725 – Boeing 777-200ER – Business Premier
Auckland to Los Angeles – Air New Zealand – NZ2 2130/1445 – Boeing 777-300ER – Business Premier (New Aircraft for airline, new type for me)
Los Angeles to Vancouver – Air Canada – AC557 1855/2136 – Embraer 190 – Executive Class (New Type, New Airline, New Airport)
8th July 2011 – Vancouver – Meet Up with Brad – Vancouver Hotel – Sandman Hotel Vancouver City Centre
9th July 2011 – Tour Begins – Contiki Canada & The Rockies with Calgary Stampede – Link to tour here
21st July 2011 – Tour Finishes – Vancouver – Vancouver Hotel – Sandman Hotel Vancouver City Centre
22nd July 2011 – Vancouver
23rd July 2011 – Amtrak Cascades – Vancouver to Seattle – 0640/1105 – Seattle Hotel – Holiday Inn Express Seattle City Centre
24th July 2011 – Seattle
25th July 2011 – Seattle
26th July 2011 – Seattle
27th July 2011 – Pick Up Car start driving south – Overnight Portland Oregon – Portland Hotel – La Quinta Inn & Suites Portland NW
28th July 2011 – Portland to Roseburg – Roseburg Hotel – Holiday Inn Express Roseburg
29th July 2011 – Roseburg to San Francisco – San Francisco Hotel – Holiday Inn Golden Gateway
30th July 2011 – San Francisco
31st July 2011 – San Francisco
1st August 2011 – San Francisco
2nd August 2011 – San Fransisco – Plane Spotting Day – SFO Airport Hotel – Millwood Inn & Suites
3rd August 2011 – San Fransisco to New York City – Farewell to Brad this morning
San Fransisco to Chicago O’Hare – United Airlines – UA972 1010/1625 -Boeing 767-300 – Business Class – (International Configuration Aircraft, 2 New Airports)
Chicago O’Hare to New York City La Guardia – UA692 1730/2046 – Airbus A319 – First Class – (New Airports)
New York City Hotel – Element New York Time Square West
4th August 2011 – New York City
5th August 2011 – Morning New York City – Birthday – Evening Flight – New York City to Zurich
New York City John F Kennedy – Zurich – Swiss Airlines – LX17 1800/0805+1 – Airbus A330-300 – Business Class (New Airline, New Airport)
6th August 2011 – Zurich to Paris
Zurich – Paris Charles De Gaulle – Swiss Airlines – LX634 0905/1020 – Airbus A320 – Business Class (New Airports)
Meet up with Yena – Explore Paris – Paris Hotel – Paris Marriott Hotel Champs-Elysees
7th August 2011 – Paris to Bayeux – Train – Explore Bayeux – Bayeux Hotel – Château Hôtel de Bellefontaine
8th August to 10th August 2011 – Explore Normandy Region – WW2 Invasion Tours – Overlord Tours – Neptune Tour (2 Days), 101st Airborne Tour (1 Day)
11th August 2011 – Bayeux to Paris – Train – Explore Paris – Paris Hotel – Paris Marriott Hotel Champs-Elysees
12th August 2011 – Explore Paris
13th August 2011 – Farewell to Yena – Paris to Berlin
Paris Charles De Gaulle to Berlin Tegel – Lufthansa – LH3241 0930/1105 – Boeing 737-500 – Business Class (New Airline, New Aircraft, New Airport)
Berlin Hotel – Hotel Pullman Berlin Schweizerhof
14th August 2011 – Berlin
15th August 2011 – Berlin
16th August 2011 – Berlin to London
Berlin Tegel – London Heathrow – BMI – BD842 1105/1200 – Airbus A319 – Business Premium – (New Airline, New Airports)
London Hotel – Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London
17th August 2011 – London
18th August 2011 – London
19th August 2011 – London
20th August 2011 – Explore London Morning – Evening Flight – London to Tokyo
London Heathrow – Tokyo Narita – ANA – NH202 1935/1520+1 – Boeing 777-300ER – Business Class (New Product, New Airline)
21st August 2011 – Arrive Tokyo – Narita Express to Shinjiku – Tokyo Hotel – Hyatt Regency Tokyo
22nd August 2011 – Tokyo
23rd August 2011 – Tokyo
24th August 2011 – Tokyo
25th August 2011 – Tokyo to Yokohama to Kyoto
Morning Shinkansen to Yokohama, explore city, Late Afternoon Shinkansen to Kyoto – Kyoto Hotel – Citadines Kyoto Karasuma Gojo
26th August 2011 – Kyoto
27th August 2011 – Kyoto to Osaka – Morning Shinkansen from Kyoto to Osaka – Osaka Hotel – Comfort Hotel Osaka Shinsaibashi
28th August 2011 – Osaka
29th August 2011 – Osaka to Hiroshima – Morning Shinkansen from Osaka to Hiroshima – Hiroshima Hotel – ANA Crowne Plaza Hiroshima
30th August 2011 – Hiroshima
31st August 2011 – Hiroshima to Narita – Morning Shinkansen from Hiroshima back to Tokyo (pretty sure ill need to change trains along the way), then NEX from Tokyo to Narita. Explore Narita, Plane Spotting, Exploring the Temple – Narita Hotel – Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport hotel
1st September 2011 – Tokyo to Hong Kong
Tokyo Narita to Seoul Incheon – Asiana Airlines – OZ103 1530/1810 – Boeing 777-200 – Business Class (New Airline, New Airport, New Aircraft)
Seoul Incheon to Hong Kong Chep Lap Kok – Asiana Airlines – OZ723 1945/2230 – Airbus A330-300 – Business Class (New Airport)
Hong Kong Hotel – Novotel Hong Kong Nathan Road
2nd September 2011 – Hong Kong
3rd September 2011 – Hong Kong
4th September 2011 – Hong Kong
5th September 2011 – Hong Kong
6th September 2011 – Hong Kong to Singapore
Hong Kong Chep Lap Kok to Singapore Changi – Singapore Airlines – SQ861 1540/1920 – Airbus A380-800 – Business Class (New Airport, New Airline, New Aircraft, Bucket List)
Meet Up with Cat – Singapore Hotel – Royal Plaza on Scots Singapore Hotel
7th September 2011 – Singapore
8th September 2011 – Singapore
9th September 2011 – Singapore
10th September 2011 – Singapore to Brisbane (Home) – Fly Home with Cat
Singapore Changi to Brisbane – Singapore Airlines – SQ245 0955/1930 – Airbus A330-300 – Business Class (New Product)
11th September 2011 – Rest
12th September 2011 – Back to Work

So there you have it ladies & gents. My epic trip… i cant wait!

A Bucket list… of sorts

January 14, 2011 by Mal·0 Comments

So with a big Round the World trip on the horizon (less than 6 months to go) I sat down and thought, what are all those things I want to do while on this trip. All the things you look at a big trip and think… i wanna do this, see that, see this, do that.

So here it is. My Round the World Bucket list (also now as the RTWBL). It is in a pretty random order as I just wrote it down as it came to my head. If you wanna suggest things go right ahead, Im happy to add things if i haven’t already done it.

1. Drink a glass of French Champagne in France
2. Drink a glass of champagne on a long haul flight
3. Run through Central Park
4. Pastrami on Rye at Katz’s Deli in New York City
5. In n Out Burger Run at LAX (if i have time during my transit)
6. Drive a Car in the USA
7. Walk over the Brooklyn Bridge
8. Ride a Bullet Train in Japan
9. Hot Dog from a Cart
10. Food from a Truck in Portland
11. Sushi for Breakfast at Fish Markets in Tokyo
12. Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace
13. Visit Borough Market
14. Fly on the Upper Deck of the A380
15. Visit Hiroshima
16. Visit Normandy
17. Ride a Train on 3 different Contients
18. Sit in a Backwards Facing Airline Seat
19. Plane Spotting in San Francisco, Vancouver & Narita
20. Catch a Flying Fish in Seattle
21. Visit Alcatraz
22. Touch the Berlin Wall
23. Ride a Cable Car in San Francisco
24. Go Hiking in the Rockies
25. Ride a Bike
26. Go White Water Rafting in Canada
27. Visit a Location where Macgyver was filmed
28. Eat at a Celebrities Restaurant
29. Eat Chicken Rice in Singapore
30. Buy Clothes at a Store in New York City
31. Visit Macys
32. Go to the Rodeo in Canada
33. Glass of Wine in Napa Valley
34. Visit a brewery
35. Visit a temple
36. Visit a Cathedral
37. See the Mona Lisa
38. Make New Friends
39. Go Airline Lounge Hopping
40. Try to meet a Flyertalker
41. Do something Crazy
42. Go to a Baseball Game
43. Eat a Voodoo Doughnut
44. Visit the UN
45. Walk to the Top of the Eifel Tower

6 months to go!

January 8, 2011 by Mal·Comments Off

Well it is 6 months till i start on this awesome new trip. My Contiki tour should be paid off tomorrow, flights in the next month or so. It’s all coming together nicely now.

Japan is all organised as I booked my last hotel the other day with my Tokyo accommodation now booked at the lovely Hyatt Regency Tokyo (looks AWESOME and got a fantastic rate. I am slowly putting together a list of all the things I want to do on this trip and will post it sometime over the weekend.

In other news I have booked a crazy Easter Holiday to New Zealand for a weekend, purely just to use up some points i had with Air New Zealand. Flights are Brisbane to Auckland on Good Friday. On Easter Saturday I am flying Auckland to Christchurch to Queenstown and then returning the exact same way after an hour on the Ground in Queenstown. I won’t get to explore much but I have been told its a fantastic flight into the airport in Queenstown. Ill have Easter Sunday to explore Auckland a bit and then that evening I am flying from Auckland to Sydney on Emirates on the A380 (my first A380 flight). After spending Easter Monday/Anzac Day in Sydney as usual, I will fly home that evening with Virgin Blue. Should be a good crazy time!

Updates Updates Updates!

December 14, 2010 by Mal·Comments Off

So Life has been pretty good lately. Start of the month went really well, managed to keep myself nice and happy with the way i ate at the christmas party. It was a good night to, everyone all dressed up, I was wearing my nice suit (which i really do thank Vanessa @ Always Habit for helping me out there) and got heaps of compliments on it!

Been managing my food pretty well but unfortunately went down 3kg over the last week and that was probably due to not thinking properly over the last few weeks with snacks etc and working out to much so im still juggling all of that each and every day, but thats the new goal for the new year, maintain the weight loss and keep it off. I can tell that I am slowly putting on some muscle as I can feel myself getting stronger. Managed to do some good heavy weights this morning and could definately see my performance increasing (mind you my arms are killing right now).

I had also been planning for a while to get a new Crumpler bag for work. As most of you know, I love crumpler. But i wanted a new bag that was custom made so that it would be about the whole transition of my life etc over the last year. Unfortunately to order a Custom Bag I would need to fly down to Melbourne or Sydney before the new year to get one etc and couldn’t justify the costs etc on top of the normal bag. However yesterday i was in the Crumpler store picking up a small piece for my laptop and checking out their new range of bags (for shits and giggles) when i saw this amazing looking bag in the window. I asked them about it and he told me that it was a custom made Complete Seed and they were selling off some of the random custom designs they had before the Custom Bag Stores close. I was ecstatic, i loved the design and I had to have it! So i bought it!

As for trip planning, things are pretty much done. Only france left to go with all of asia organised now and booked. France will probably be planned in the new year as I am going to hopefully be accompanied by my friend Yena. Who is going to join me in Normandy for some history!

Hopefully!

Trip Updates! Phase Planning

November 25, 2010 by Mal·0 Comments

The trip planning for 2011 is going well. Everything is coming together nicely. All of my flights are booked and the North America stage of my trip (we will call it Phase 1 & 2) are coming together nicely.
Phase 1 being Canada, Phase 2 being USA. For Phase 1 it is predominantly the Contiki Tour. I am staying 2 nights pre and post the tour in Vancouver and then its off onto Phase 2. Brad and I had looked at numerous ways of getting down to San Fran including driving the whole way but the car rental companies just did not like us driving over the border one way.
So instead we are catching the train to Seattle, $35 each got us a business class seat on “The Cascades” over the border to seattle. Good deal if you ask me!

Phase 2 begins on arrival in Seattle and we have a good 4 nights to explore seattle, before picking up our car for 3 days and driving our way south. Gonna following US 101 for most of it (apart from a bit of action on I5). I am leaving the planning of the drive up to Brad so all will be good. We are staying 1 night in Portland and then the 2nd night on the Road in Roseburg Oregon. From there it is 5 nights in San Francisco. 4 in the city and then the last night out at the airport. We did things a little different for that last night and booked on Hotwire which is kinda like the secret stays we dish out at work. I used the guides on “Better Bidding” to help, but still didn’t get the hotel we thought it would be. Not to be worried though, good location, good rate, breakfast, wifi, free shuttle to the airport. Can’t beat that.

That day in San Francisco I bid farewell to Brad as he heads south and I head East. That day as I head east was a day of plane spotter flying getting in something crazy, a backwards facing seat! Can’t wait for that. As I fly onto New York with a quick 1 hour stop in Chicago, I spend the next two nights in New York at the new “Element Times Square West”. By new I mean it only opened a week ago. I got some pretty good rates there to.

Phase 2 finishes up with these 2 nights in New York and I am going to Cram as much as I possibly can into it. A run through central park, walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, A trip on the Staten Island Ferry, another broadway show hopefully, eating at Katz’s Deli, A slice of New York Pizza, another H&H bagel (cause I miss them ever so!) and whatever else I can fit in. I am sure the girls will want me to do some shopping for them so I have a feeling this will be shipping point #1 (thankfully I remember where the Post Office is just around the corner from my hotel).

With leaving the USA Phase 3 & 4 begins, this being Europe. The first part of Europe is a week in France (Phase 3) which is not really organised yet other than booking the following two tours: Neptune Tour & 101st Airborne Tour

This pretty much takes up the whole reason for going to France but I still have a couple of days in Paris to explore. But this is also where things may be interesting (stay tuned). Phase 4 is Berlin & London. Two flash in the pants stops. I looked everywhere for somewhere decent to stay in Berlin and came across the Pullman Berlin for mega cheap. $110 a night! What a bargain for a 5 star hotel! But by this time I will need to do laundry (last spot would have been New York). So was looking around for a hotel with a laundry and just had no luck. So was googling around and came across a place called “Freddy Leck” It seems to be an awesome Laundromat with a full café & bar, free wifi, lounges etc. So you can chill out while you do your laundry (im sold!), and its close to the Pullman!

From there its onto London. This was originally going to be one of my “splurge” cities. My Splurge cities were based on London, New York & Singapore. New York cause it was my birthday (and everything is expensive anyway), London cause it’s a Middle point and then Singapore because it was the last stop before I finish the trip. So after googling around I found an awesome new modern hotel, right new Waterloo station and Westminster Bridge. But I had this awesome idea, so I emailed them for an industry rate. They gave me the most unbelieveable price and I booked it straight away.

London went from a Splurge stay to a bargain stay! So instead I am splurging a little more in a couple of other places to make up for it! With London all done and organised that completes those two phases.

Phases 5 & 6 being the final steps of my holidays. Phase 5 has been the hardest to plan as I am totally in the dark here. I have no experience at all when it comes to Japan. My only time even looking at Japan had been Narita Airport and that’s about it. So I read, and I read. I used Wiki Travel, Trip Advisor, Lonely Planet guide books whatever I could get my hands on. I used ideas from friends and finally came down to the following Itinerary:

21-25Aug – Tokyo – Staying at the Tokyu Stay Ikebukuro (opens in April).
25Aug – Start heading off. Shinkansen to Yokohama for the day to explore than an afternoon Shinkansen to Kyoto.
25-27Aug – Kyoto
27-29Aug – Osaka
29-31Aug – Hiroshima
31Aug – Start heading back to Tokyo and then head out to Narita. Overnight at Narita
01Sep – Fly out of Narita in the Afternoon.

I know you are saying “stay another night in Tokyo” but to be honest, I was upset I missed out on Narita last time because I was sick and it was raining. There is a good temple there and I have dedicated the day to some plane spotting, regardless of weather.

Phase 6 is the final two stages of my holiday. Hong Kong & Singapore. I found a bargain hotel in Kowloon for my Hong Kong stay and then for Singapore I found an awesome hotel with free wifi and free mini bar. But since I have given up the booze, they told me they would put whatever I wished into it. I emailed them to after good luck with the London Industry rates and they threw in a free Upgrade and Breakfast Daily. Win Win!

So that’s where the trip stands at the moment. Pretty much all that is left now is finalising Phase 3.

Stay tuned!

The Planning has Begun

October 24, 2010 by Mal·0 Comments

Well as I told you in the last post I have been waiting to get my next big trip approved and this one will be a doozy. I have always wanted to do this and now that I am a new person, I am going to do it. I am heading off around the world in Business Class. Yes thats right, Business Class. Ticking that one off the Bucket list and hopefully a few more things along the way. It is going to be an epic epic journey.

So I have spent a while just working out where to go on this one and then once I got that down pat, it was a matter of how long, what flights, which airlines and what to do. Now by no means are my plans finalised yet. I still have a LOT to do on this trip. But the locations are now set. So here is the rough plans and ill throw in the flights along with it.

This should be an amazing trip, i can’t wait to go!

BigMal's World

A blog about a Big Man in a Small Man World