HAPPY HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE!
I first started writing this trip report nine months ago. I got off to a pretty good start on it, too. At least initially. You’ll read timely accounts of First Class travel out to Hawaii and back, a steak dinner in Indiana and the surprisingly pleasant ride I had on a Greyhound bus up to Chicago. There I boarded Amtrak’s
Empire Builder to commence an eleven day, 9600 mile First Class rail excursion around the western United States. It was on the second day of that eleven day rail adventure that I got derailed, so to speak. I really like traveling by train and I was having such a good time that for the first time ever I fell into the trap of putting off my writing while thinking I could catch up further on down the line. It's a good thing I continued to take quality notes throughout because aside from keeping up with those notes, I put very little real work into this report for the duration of the trip.
Now I could have just bagged this report and none of you would have been the wiser. To be honest though, that thought never crossed my mind. Not only was this one of the most enjoyable trips I’ve ever taken, it was also one of the most exciting to put together. I knew early in the planning stages that this trip was developing into an itinerary that would qualify it as one of my most memorable trips - and by extension, trip reports - ever. There was never a question of not finishing this report. The itinerary was just too good not to.
While I’m proud of the reports that I’ve written here at Flyertalk, I’m equally proud of some of the incredible itineraries that I’ve come up with over the years. Many of my trips have incorporated premium class transport in planes and trains across multiple continents. Some of them have required multiple trip reports to describe the entire journey. Consider the following:
WINTER 2002 Alaska to New Zealand to Australia to Finland to Alaska to Canada to Las Vegas
Alaska to New Zealand – The Long Way via British Airways First Class
New Zealand Train Trip – Christchurch to Greymouth
From Te Anau to Tasmania via DC-3, 737, 767 & 717
From Tasmania to Alaska via Finland
Vancouver to Las Vegas via Newfoundland on Plane, Bus, Boat and Train
Six Days of Being Wined and Dined Above America
WINTER 2004 Alaska to Australia to London to Alaska to New York to Canada to South Africa to Alaska
Fairbanks to Kalgoorlie – The Long Way
From Tasmania to South Africa – In A Roundabout Way
The Desert Express – Luxury Train Travel in Namibia
From One Great Desert to Another – Namibia to Nevada
WINTER 2005 Alaska to South America to Canada to Hong Kong to Sydney to Darwin to Alaska
From the Top of North America to the Tip of South America
From the Bottom of South America to the Top of Australia
From Tasmania to Alaska – via Hong Kong
SPRING 2010 Six Trains on Six Continents
Part 1: North America, Europe, Africa, Australia
Part 2: Asia and South America
I’ve set a pretty high standard – if only for myself – in coming up with creative and wide ranging itineraries. I had a lot of practice growing up. When I was younger I used to take a copy of the OAG and conjure up all kinds of amazing itineraries. I envisioned myself on each and every one of those flights - in First Class of course - even though my monthly allowance wasn’t enough to even get me on a bus out of the state.
These days most of my trips start with an initial concept (I want to go to South Africa and drive from Cape Town to Johannesburg) and then I just let the creative juices flow. I’ve got an active imagination coupled with a better than average working knowledge of flights and routings. It also helps to have a sense of adventure. Like water flowing into cracks, I’m willing to explore any and all options. Just because I’m going to South Africa doesn’t mean I can’t swing over to South America if a good deal comes along. I’m like a kid in an amusement park. I came to ride the roller coaster but hey! That ride over there looks like fun, too. Let’s check it out!
Not everybody takes the same approach to travel that I do. Indeed, most people don’t. While there’ve been a few Seat 2Bs on shorter trips, the biggest potential problem for me traveling with others on these longer trips is my proclivity towards sudden changes, especially in the planning stages. Take this trip, for example. The original goal was to fly to South Africa and rent a car so I could better see and enjoy the wine districts, the Garden Coast and the Great Karoo. Who wouldn’t want to tag along for that trip? The problem likely would have arisen when I saw an opportunity to fly to South Africa via South America. The attraction was a 45000 mile Business Class award that would allow me to fly from Santiago, Chile to Cape Town via Bogota, Panama City, Sao Paulo and Johannesburg using two airlines I’d never flown before. One of the flights would be aboard a new 787 on an airline rarely reported on here. Who wouldn’t want to divert through South America to take advantage of a great opportunity like that? Well as it turns out, quite a few sensibly minded people, actually.
And then there’s the return trip. After being on the road for a month, most people would be looking forward to finally returning home – preferably via a direct route. Not me. Well, actually I was - sort of - but then I heard about the Flyertalk BBQ-Do in Kansas City and since it timed perfectly with my return to the U.S., I couldn’t resist working in a side trip to KC. And then the opportunity came up to work in a trip on the White Pass and Yukon narrow gauge train in Alaska. I couldn’t resist!
Truth be known, if I were to be traveling with someone else the real imposition would be on me, not them, because I would have held my tongue and never even have considered proposing such craziness. Seriously, I know I’m impulsive when I’m traveling but I have to say it’s resulted in some wonderfully grand adventures. If I were traveling with someone else, an itinerary such as I’m about to embark upon now would likely never have happened and hey – if that weren’t a missed opportunity, I don’t know what would be.
When you’re on your own you can do whatever you want. A friend of mine once pointed out how many well-known travelers and travel writers tended to travel alone. Theroux, O’Hanlon, Stevenson, Danziger, Cahill, Bryson et al. Some of the crazy (and impressive) things they did on their travels would likely never have been accomplished had they been obliged to arrive at a group consensus beforehand.
So as nice as it would be to have a partner in my travels, it’s nicer yet to have my independence. That way if I suddenly want to divert to California for a couple of concerts or to Hawaii for breakfast, I’ll have no one to answer to but myself.
As for you, dear readers, rather than having to slog through a comparatively bland report of roundtrip travel from Alaska to South Africa, you’ll instead be treated to a combination of text and photos detailing one of the best and most varied itineraries I’ve ever submitted to the Trip Report forum. Much like a master chef whipping up a magnificent repast from a pantry of exotic and flavorful ingredients, the itinerary I’ve put together for your dining – er, reading pleasure will be very much like a jambalaya – a mélange of different, flavorful ingredients that together create a delicious and memorable dish.
Amongst the quality ingredients I’ll be using for this adventure are an eleven day, 10000 mile rail odyssey around America, a road trip from southern to northern California, my 5000th flight in the form of a First Class Flagship Suite aboard American Airlines between Dallas and Santiago, Chile and a luxury bus excursion down to the beautiful island of Chiloe. This will be followed by a spicy quartet of Business Class flights between South America and South Africa, including a suite aboard Avianca’s new 787-800 and a 180° flatbed seat aboard South African Airways’ venerable A340-300 between Sao Paulo and Johannesburg. In Cape Town I’ve rented a car for a week long drive through the Stellenbosch and then up the Garden Route up to Port Elizabeth. A pair of First Class flights back to America with Emirates should bring this adventure to a satisfying close, followed by coffee and sweets in the form of the Kansas City BBQ Do and a ride on the White Pass & Yukon narrow gauge railroad out of Skagway, Alaska.
Mere pictures alone would never suffice to present the tale of my travels
the way I want to tell them. I am first and foremost a writer, after all - or at least one who prefers to write. When it comes to reading, I like how the author Mary Karr puts it:
Reading is socially accepted disassociation. You flip a switch and you’re not there anymore. It’s better than heroin.
I strive to write in a style that allows you the reader to feel as if you’ve come along for the journey. Hopefully, as you’re reading this report into the wee hours of the night you’re right there with me in seat 2B as we enjoy cocktails and savories while climbing away from Sao Paulo enroute to Johannesburg, eight hours distant. Care for a refill on that Champagne? How about some more canapés…
That said, I also recognize that many people prefer the clean and uncluttered style found in a more photo oriented report. After all, it takes time to get through a report of this size, especially with all those darned words of which there are over 70000. I completely understand and as such might I suggest that you go back one page to the Trip Reports forum menu where you will find an enviable selection of excellent photo reports and shorter written reports to peruse.
As for the rest of youse, are you feeling hungry for a little adventure a la Seat 2A? Well then - go fetch yourselves a bottle of your favorite libation, take a seat at the table and settle back for the ride. Dinner is served.
PLEASE NOTE: The photographs in this report come in many sizes. In some cases this is because I have referenced some from past reports. In other cases I have no idea why they are differently sized. If this is not a problem, great. If it is, I’d appreciate some information on how to fix it. Thanks!