Swanhunter

....with grateful thanks to William and Kate, Jesus Christ and the International Labour movement. Why? The alignment of 4 UK public holidays means that for just 7 days holiday allowance the savvy traveller could get 17 days away from the office. But what to do?

After many many ideas, iterations of plans and availability searching I finally arrived at the following rough itinerary:

Uzbekistan - somewhere I had long wanted to visit, especially Samarkand and Bukhara
Hong Kong - to catch up with friends and drink
Thailand - get some diving in

More time spent with KVS and the following flight plan emerged

LHR- LIN on BA in Y, a bargain GBP90
LIN-FRA-ALA (Almaty) with LH in C using BD miles
ALA-TAS (Tashkent) with KC (Air Astana) for GBP200 in paid C
Overland through Uzbekistan
Bukhara- TAS on HY (Uzbekistan Airlines)
TAS-ICN-HKG with OZ in C using BD miles
HKG-BKK-KBV (Krabi) with TG in C using BD miles
KBV-BKK with TG in paid C (GBP105)
BKK-HKG-LHR with CX and BA in F using AA miles

So, for around GBP800, 25000 BD miles and 70000 AA miles I get many many miles and hours of travel through 6 countries over 18 days. Nice!

Booking

The Internet has made planning and organising this sort of trip so much easier. I remember being wowed a few years ago at finding Mexican coach timetables on line. Now everyone expects that,.no more faxing, scratchy international phone lines, turning up to find your reservation never confirmed. However even in this age there were two organisations who managed to make it way more difficult than it needed to be. Take a bow

BD Diamond Club's International Call Centre
Uzbekistan Embassy London

The ICC is a thing of legend on the BD forum and while they have mostly improved in the last year it can still be a torturous process with phantom availability, incompetent agents, verbose scripts and taxes that don't load. After a number of phone calls I was finally able to secure what I wanted. But should it really take 20 mins to book a 2 segment one way itinerary all on the parent airline?

.bmi's problems pale into insignificance compared to the monumental mess that is the Uzbek embassy. My office location makes it easy to pop over to most London embassies to obtain a visa saving GBP80+ that a visa service would have cost. However for this one I spent 11 hours of my life over 5 trips.

Trip 1 Embassy closed for a national holiday the website failed to list. 1 hour wasted
Trip 2 2 hours spent waiting to lodge my application. Another hour spent waiting to get my passport back. One nice but very slow woman working the counter
Trip 3 Passport not ready, 3 hours wasted waiting in line to find this out.
Trip 4 Passport STILL not ready, 2 more hours wasted.
Trip 5 Another 2 hours spent queuing but finally the sticker was obtained

Awe inspiringly incompetent. Holland Park is a lovely bit of London to visit but I really wish I had used a visa service this one time.

But finally everything has fallen into place and your author will shortly step out of his front door toting a rucksack and duffel bag and into one of SW12's finest minicabs.

HIDDY

Looking forward to this adventure.....hell of a long way to go just for a piss-up though.

u600213

I look forward to your report particularly the Air Astana segment because my employer owns 49% of them though regretfully we do not get any discount on flights.

Prospero

Ooh! This itinerary looks very promising, very promising indeed

KVS

So will it be the AN-24 or IL-114?

[KVS Availability Tool 6.1.2/Diamond - Amadeus: Timetable/NL-BCDF]

Swanhunter

It was going to be the Il-114...but sadly is now the Avro-85 which is much less glam. Still I am going for the sights primarily, and not the planes.

Petrus

Right, copious amounts of booze in HK has nothing to do with it.

secretbunnyboy

Almaty is a really nice town. I recommend the cable car up and then a walk down the hill (mountain?). Go the right way (which is a bit odd) and you pass through some unplanned urban development, down Sniper St and past the Chinese Ambassador's residence (iirc).

I'm pretty sure that it's Coffeedelia that had the best coffee I found on that trip. http://coffeedelia.com/

baggageinhall

Yup, what he said. Looking to forward to this.

Paint Horse

Don't post if you do not have the report ready. Get on with it. Tap, tap, tap.

Slipless

Looking forward to the trip!

Swanhunter

So, the cab picked me up. Sadly it only took me as far as the office for a fun packed morning of work. Still there is some consolation in having your pack dumped at your desk and the knowledge that at midday sharp I could skip away.

Skip I didn't do as a rucksack, day sack and kit bag weigh a fair bit. Despite bribes and threats none of my team offered to help their boss to the station so I staggered down to Platform 6 and the Heathrow Express. I guess I can be grateful no-one chose to shove me in the canal on the way.

The HEX was its usual efficient self and got me to LHR T5 on time after the short trip through sun kissed West London. While holidays are little different this year the Thursday before Easter is normally mayhem. BAA had been advertising in London about all the extra staff and facilities that were in place for the holiday period which would seem to be the kiss of death for a calm airport experience. Instead I had my fastest ever trip airside - no bad drop queue, no conformance queue, no security queue. Literally 5 minutes after arriving I was airside and picking up some bits. Well done BA and BAA. ^ Airside was pretty busy but everything was flowing freely.

BA568 LHR-LIN
A319
Club Europe Seat 6A

Ah, Club Europe. I am not a fan of this product so my booking originally was for Euro Traveller where - with BA Gold - I could secure an exit row aisle seat and enjoy a perfectly comfortable trip all the way to Milan. BA proactively offer upgrades via ba.com but GBP125 for a 2 hour flight.which.is far too rich for me. However when it dropped to GBP80 I decided to pile in as this is a tier point poor year. After a little seat map poker I was in possession of an iPhone BP for 6A. Blessedly the aisle stayed free!

Before this I had lunched lightly in Galleries First. I've been very critical of the food there in the past. While the same sad dried up pies and burgers were on offer, a reasonably moist spinach and pecorino tart and some actual vegetables from the salad bar made an adequate snack. The good work was then undone by 3 glasses of Cattier Clos du Moulin. Ooops.

The BA iPhone app now includes gate and boarding information in real time. This is just great as the T5 lounges are not over provisioned with screens. my flight was a little late popping up and sure enough boarding started only 10mins before scheduled departure. ..A long queue at the gate - and no priority boarding as ever for BA short haul - and I was safely tucked up on board. Push back wasThe flight itself was an unmemorable Club Europe experience. .The excreble afternoon tea offering:



Well the cake was nice but the rest just crap. We landed around 20 minutes later than scheduled, and oh joy a remote stand. .Bags were reasonably quick off and my priority tags seemed to have had some slight effect as they were in the first 20 or so..

Holiday Inn Linate Airport

I'd booked this using a Friends and Family rate. .Hotels in Milan are expensive so this offered good value for money and offered a shuttle to/from the airport and the local subway station which would save money on taxis. .Sadly the shuttle took 40mins to turn up, which coupled with the delayed arrival left me very tight for a lunch date in town. .Instead of spend a handful of Euros to get into Milano, I spent Euro 30 on a cab. .Still the driver was amusing enough and the conversation covered the same topics the world over - how bad the traffic, how bad the traffic is in London, the price of fuel, how stupid other drivers are. One of those global constants.

Dinner was at the Restaurant Al Mercante. .It came well recommended - and was in a fabukous location a stones throw from the Duomo - but the food was hit and miss. .My gnocchi were over-cooked, and the Barbera D'Alba was thin and sharp, though the veal chop was a delight. .Not cheap at almost Euro60 either. I pine for the days of Euro 1.5 to the pound.

Eschewing dessert I picked up some frutti di bosca gelato and wandered around the Centro Storico. .The Duomo



The main piazza was enlivened by some very persistent Sri Lankan guys selling odd helicopter toys. An interesting contrast to the luminescent cathedral. Time also to chuckle at the hilarious uniforms warn by Italian policemen - could the gold flame on the cap, striped trousers and generally level of ornamentation look anymore pompous and venal?

Time for bed, after another expensive cab ride. .

Swanhunter

The HI is a slightly drab affair despite boasting of a recent refurbishment .The bed was comfortable thought so I slept well and positively bounded out of bed with a day of travel ahead, taking me from Northern Italy via the Rhine Valley to the Central Asian steppe, all with Lufthansa in Business class .I've generally had good experience with the airline, though Frankfurt is always a pain with at least one remote stand guaranteed .In fact I can't think of an international hub with a higher incidence of bussing, not even Heathrow.

But before that a shuttle ride back to Linate .I hadn't realised just how small the airport is. .Small is good though as check in is just a couple of steps from the drop off area .There was a small queue for the combined F/J check in desk - and only 3 agents working for the entire flight - but I was processed relatively quickly by an exceedingly friendly woman .Bags tagged through, both BP's issued and instructions to use both Fastrack and where the new Sala Leonardo lounge is located.

Fastrack was ultra-fast and the lounge well signposted. By outstation standards it was pretty decent with some acceptable breakfast pastries, OK coffee and plenty of booze. But why no fruit? Wifi was free with a password from reception making it a perfectly acceptable place to while away 90mins browsing and reading.

LH LIN-FRA
737-300
Business Class 5A

Judging from the check in queues, this was going to be pretty full. It was - 100% in Y and just 3 seats left in C. Sadly on this leg I had scored a seat opponent but as the sector is little more than an hour, no big deal. We had some great views of the Alps after an on time departure



And a rather random meal



According to the blurb, it was designed to showcase oils. Well, OK. .The cheese was OK but the tapenade overwhelmed it. Perfectly decent pork ruined by pesto (when was that ever a good idea), the jelly was groteque and even the chocolate mousse adulterated with sickly sweet kirsch. LH's intra-Europe catering used to be OK, but this was a dreadful and very odd set of choices for a mid-morning flight.

We landed on time and even scored a jet bridge at the A gates! Wow. .My connection to Almaty was leaving from B43 so a schlep down stairs, through the tunnel took me to the Senator lounge. The staff were helpful in getting my seat moved (a problem with getting my Star Gold number in the reservation meant someone had bagged the aisle next to me as seat blocking wasn't working). But I soon moved on as the lounge was jam-packed, all the PC's were in use and the wifi is chargeable. It's not a new observation, but outside of the F lounges at FRA and MUC, LH's lounge products stink.

I de-camped to the Business lounge by B44. Much larger, quieter, with better seats and PC's dying from me to use them. Much better. In fact I was so caught up in the quiet I totally lost track of time and at 13:15 realised I better get moving. Glad I did as I was being paged in the terminal (oops) and 30seconds after arriving at the gate they closed the flight. Closest shave yet...

Swanhunter

LH648 FRA-ALA
A330-300
Business Class 10K

Of course, a bus this time. Off out into the countrside to find our Airbus that was parked somewhere near Stuttgart. Up the stairs and into 10K, a bulkhead seat in the second C cabin just after doors 2. I'd have preferred to the front mini-cabin but an empty aisle wins everytime!

The plane was in sparkling condition but despite the appearance of a super-well maintained plane the inflight wifi was broken. Boo! Pushback on time, and lunch was then served by the very pleasant and friendly crew. I like LH's style, warm, courteous and efficient without being in your face or distant.

A drinks round first with some salted almonds before we moved on to

Hors d'oeuvres

King Prawn Confit with Melon Balls in Tomato and Soy sauce presented with Apple and Fennel salad

Beef Brisket Pastrami with Cole Slaw

Caesar Salad with Cherry Tomatoes

Entrees (no they aren't, they are main courses or plat principaux, an entree is a starter as the name would suggest)

Fried Breast of Poulard (otherwise known as chicken) in BBQ jus, mixed bell pepper stew and Polenta

Red Snapper with Tomato and Mint sauce, Vegetable Spaghetti and Basmati Rice

Penne All'Arrabiatta

Dessert and Cheese

Bavaria Blu, Cheddar and Chive Cheese

Assorted cheesecake lollipops

Fruit Salad

I had the salad - tasty enough but the lettuce a little limp - and the chicken - slightly dry, good sauce, remarkable tasty polenta given it normally resembles half dry cement. No dessert in a demonstration of remarkable self restraint





To wash this down

Jacquard Brut Mosaique (meh, reedy and green)
2009 Deideshaimer Hofstuck Riesling Spatlese trocken (I like riesling, one of the most under-rated grapes in the world. This wasn't stellar but drunk pleasantly enough, perhaps a little over sweet)
2009 Nord-Sud Languedoc Viognier
2007 Chateau Reysson, Cru Borgeouis, Haut Medoc (oh dear, thin, tart, over-oaked)

After that little lot I just loafed for 4 hours. Read, wrote, gazed out the window, listened to music. The crew passed through from time to time as the we made our way over Poland, Belarus, Russia and into Kazakshtan. At that point the sun had set but there were still almost 3 hours to go on our way to Almaty. Kazakhstan is a BIG country.

The LH Business class seat was out of date the day it was introduced. Just another wedgie sliding bed, it is difficult to find a really good sitting position, is crap to sleep and yet has a totally pointless massage function. Underwhelming (though nicer than AA's comedy effort) and rather sad it is being installed on their A380's.



LH also serve dinner before arrival. Dinner is perhaps a little grandiose for an enhanced snack but it was most welcome

Entrees (insert previous rant again)

Crayfish salad, Roast Beef Wrap with Chilli sauce and Crabmeat with Grapefruit

Wild Mushroom risotto

Dessert

Butterscotch Panna Cotta with chocolate sauce

I had the salad/wrap option. Wow, a good choice. The crabmeat was fresh, moist and the grapefuit really set off the creamy meat.The crayfish was in great condition too and the chilli sauce made the beef come alive. Good work!

This was served an hour out - all on one tray - and I forgot to take a picture of the delight that was served. A small hustle of activity at the 20minute call and we slowly swooped into Almaty passing over a lot of dark and not much light.

A long taxi to the terminal took us past an assortment of Soviet and Russian planes, the highlight being a graceful looking Il-18 parked in the distance. More modern 737 and Airbus belonging to Air Astana and SCAT (stop laughing at the back) were on stand too.

Chocks on 5 minutes ahead of schedule. A perfectly competent performance from Lufthansa. The C seat is underwhelming, and the FRA lounges dismal. However the crew were super and the catering better than the average. Extra points for a spotlessly clean plane.

There is always a buzz about arriving somewhere new. The thrill of the unknown. A thrill that can range from "will this be the most amazing destination in the world" through to "will immigration take 2 hours or more". The later didn't come true, I was second through without any hassle and after a short baggage belt farce my bags popped out at 6 and 7. Those priority tags really do work well! I was first through customs - and waved past the x-ray machine - found my driver and was checking in to the hotel 45 minutes after chocks on. Result!

Swanhunter

Almaty

Kazakhstan is a petro (and gas) economy. That means scary hotel prices at the top end, little tourism means a paucity of mid-range options and then the usual backpacker crash pads and local flop houses to choose from. Being over backpacking, and having had some surreally bad experiences at old Intourist type hotel, I opted for generic Western comfort. The Holiday Inn proved surprisingly well priced (a mere USD150 /night) in a decent location and in possession of good reviews. Despite a slightly chaotic check in experience my upgraded Exec Room was comfortable, smartly furnished and in good order with a very mixed view from the window. Nice mountains, shame about the back yard.



An obscenely overpriced beer (USD8 for Efes) in the hotel bar and I crashed for a solid nights sleep.

Staggering out the hotel mid-morning (still stupid o'clock by my body clock) I spent the day poking around Almaty (Alma-Aty, father of apples in Russian). Highlights:

The Panfilov memorial commemorating an infantry unit who perished in the defence of Moscow, also incorporating a flame for the unknown solider. This type of memoral is often used as a backdrop for wedding pictures in the former Soviet Union and Almaty was no exception



The Green Market (or in this case the red bit). Yes Dorothy, they do eat horses in Central Asia



The market was incredibly orderly and sold a massive range of goods, everything from potted plants to kimchi via meat, fish, caviar by the spoon (I resisted, just), every type of meat and loads of dried fruit. I walked out USD20 lighter having purchased 6 different types of divine fruit, 3 of which I'd struggle to name.

This could almost be back in the 1970's Soviet Union, save for the fashions and the very 21st Century Kazakh propaganda poster.



A slice of more normal Almaty



I like the idea of franchising this



Interesting place. Very chilled, no hassle at all and trees just everywhere. .As you'll have noticed the city is fringed to the south by an outbranch of the Tien Shan mountains, adding a wild note to the place. You can tell it is a petro-economy by the scary prices for everything and the signs of serious infrastructure investment in a huge new motorway bypassing the city.

My one disappointment - the Metro system has not yet opened. Otherwise a fun day exploring and several decent coffee houses located too. I'd agree CoffeeDelia was the best in town!

Dinner at Traktir Zhili-Byli was a shockingly bad. Pork shashlik (barely cooked), greasy potatoes and warm Efes beer. Bargain for USD15. Then again what did I expect from somewhere with the word tractor in the title. A couple of nicer, colder beers followed at an old boys bar before I retired, slightly buzzed, sunburnt and really rather tired.