So, on September 1, 2016, I made it to my 196th and final country on the planet. I said I would travel less. Work trips to Zagreb and Bangkok later in the year kept me content. Well, that's over now...and I feel like I deserve to treat myself and celebrate. Thus, it's time for a frivolous trip. I plan to make this an aviation geek's dream. It started small, and got bigger...and bigger.
I'm not going to pretend there's much noble about this trip beyond having fun, and reliving my love of travel. When I was a little kid non-revving on North Central, Republic, Northwest...I used to dream about flying new airlines. I've flown well over a hundred now, yet...there's still much I want to try. Hence, this trip.
First, if you want to check my previous trips:
I. London to Iran and Afghanistan in a mix of C, F, and LCCs
II. Above the Arctic Circle with UA/CO/LH and SK in whY, C, and F
III. Around the World in 40 Days for 40 Years
IV. 8 Places People Who Are Right in the Head Do Not Spend New Years
V. 12 Countries, 10 Airlines, 4 Islands, 27,080 miles, 11 Days
VI. 6 Countries in 6 Days - Caribbean Island Hopping and first AA Experience
VII. Guyana, Suriname, and French Guyana with an unexpected sidetrip to Caracas!
VIII. To Haïti - for vacation and a milage run!
IX. Around Senegal and West Africa
X. 4th Annual New Years in Dangerous Places - Libya Edition
XI. Kosovo and FYR Macedonia - Milage Run in United Business + TK/LH
XII. Washington to Peru and Machu Picchu on COPA and TACA
XIII. To Johannesburg...for 36 hours!
XIV. Here a Stan, there a Stan, everwhere a Stan Stan....
XV. Air Burkina, Air Cote d'Ivoire and 7 countries in West Africa
XVI. Turkey for Thanksgiving....with a side of Tajikistan, Serbia, Montenegro, and Moscow
XVII. Into the Heart of Darkness... Congo, Angola, Gabon, OH MY!
XVIII. HI! Four Islands, Lots of Planes, Beaches, and Convertibles
XIX. Plenty of Salt, Not Enough Oxygen...a Trip to Boliva, Colombia, and Ecuador
XX. Learning to Relax - Long Weekend in St Christopher and Nevis
XXI. You're spending New Years WHERE? IRAQ? (2009-2010)
XXII. Pineapples, croissants, and neon OH MY! A trip to Hawaii, Paris, Andorra, and Vegas
XXIII. South Pacific, Israel, Lebanon - 6 weeks - 71,500 miles - 24 countries
XXIV. Sundae bloody Sundaes...a 2014 United Year in Review
XXV. Lakes, Lemurs, and Lithuania: Horton Hears a Houthi!
XXVI. First Americans tour to North Korea 2005 - Arirang Mass Games
XXVII. Doing the Needful - Lufthansa Business US to Chennai
XXVII. C-ing things: Canada, Curry, Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Camels, Chengis Khan and China!
XXVIII. Learning my ABCs: Algeria, Bahama, Cuba and the Cubana IL-96
XXIX. Exploring ZMapp of West Africa...or how I got detained by the CDC
XXX. Transatlantic to Bangkok with United, Austrian, Air Canada, and Thai
XXXI. Being Lazy in Belize
XXXII. Quick Trip to Cape Town with United, SWISS, South African, and Lufthansa
XXXII. FUNny thing happened going to and from Tuvalu...Cathay F, Etihad Apts, Fiji Biz
XXXIII. Achievement Unlocked: AFRICA! Visiting Mali, Mauritania, and Senegal
XXXIV. FIN. (and thanks for all the fish)
So, for report #35, I'm going to get a bit silly.
First, before I start, I need to thank the best friends a guy could have. I was super torn when I started booking this trip, because as I've posted before I was really excited to have a few months at home with no travel to work on some things I've neglected these past few years of traveling. But the more I worked on the trip, the more awesome award flights I found, to the point that today it turned into the perfect trip. If I had more time (instead of 17 days) I could probably make it more epic, but as it stands I can't think of a more amazing 17 day trip.
Thanks to all my friends who hammered it out with me, including my waffling if it was worth putting my fitness/etc goals on hold another 17 days. Conclusion reached tonight: IT IS!
So why is this trip so epic? By the numbers:
13 hours in
All Nippon first class
10 hours in
Thai first class, including 6+ in the A380
7 hours in
Singapore Suites class, plus another 3 in Singapore first
13+ hours in
Qatar first class on the A380, plus another 3 in regional first
15 hours in
Emirates first class on the A380, plus another 6 in regional first
9 hours in
Lufthansa first class
All told, that's 80 hours in international first...and probably 10+ bottles of Dom/Krug/other super fancy champagne consumed. I doubt I'll rival the famous
8 bottles of Dom from LAX-BKK on SQ in F ... report, but I plan to consume at least 15 bottles over the course of this trip.
That doesn't even count the lounges:
ANA Suites lounge at Tokyo (nothing too fancy)
Thai First lounge at Bangkok (details on booking the spa? I've never had time before)
Singapore First lounge in Hong Kong (details? from what I remember it's nothing special)
Singapore Private Room in Singapore (12 hour connection - I'll probably go into the city for 6 of it)
Qantas First lounge in Sydney (first time - advice?)
Qatar First lounge in Doha (recommendations? what are the current bubbles on offer?)
Emirates First lounge in Dubai (first time - advice?)
Lufthansa First loungein Munich (brand new - looking forward to checking it out)
Oh, and if that's not enough, time in my favourite cities:
Bangkok: 24 hours overnight - was just there 7 weeks ago, so that's enough
Hong Kong: 48 hours - tempted to go to Macao for a night, hear it's changed a ton in the last 12 yrs
Sydney: 72 hours - one of my favourite cities in the world. I plan to just relax, drink lots of coffee, and chill
Johannesburg: 2x24 hrs - just lots of hanging out - try and meet up with some friends
Cape Town: 48 hrs - coffee, hike Table Mountain, lots of walking
Dubai: 24 hrs, hoping to see friends
Paris: 24 hrs: if I don't walk 20+ miles it'll be surprising.
So yeah, it's insane, it's epic, and I absolutely cannot wait! Over 44,000 miles, with nearly 40,000 of them in "real" international First. None of this United or American, or Saudia stuff. Please...I've been to all these places before, but definitely not all the lounges. I'd love to hear your recommendations!
Planning these installments:
1. DC to Tokyo in ANA First
2. Tokyo to Bangkok in Thai A380 First, One Night in Bangkok
3. Bangkok to Hong Kong in Thai 747 First
4. Two Nights in Hong Kong
5. Hong Kong to Singapore in Singapore 77W First
6. 12 Hours in Singapore and Singapore to Sydney in Singapore A380 Suites
7. Can You Hear, Can You Hear the Thunder? Three Days in Australia
8. Sydney to Doha in Qatar A380 First
9. Doha to Cairo via Amman in Qatar 777 First and Royal Jordanian Business, overnight Cairo
10. Cairo to Frankfurt with Lufthansa and first night in Frankfurt
11. Daytrip to Nürnberg
12. Frankfurt to DCA with Lufthansa First
Unfortunately - the side detour from Cairo down to Cape Town had to be canceled to get home more quickly, but it's still a five airline first class RTW!
Buckle your seatbelts, it's hardly a week away! Most importantly:
I would love to meet with FlyerTalkers along the way. Many of you have inspired me over the years, and would be great to meet you. For those I know, would love to see you again! Drop me a line!
