Background:
Continuing toward my goal of visiting each country, this trip began with the need to spend some of the 90k Avios I'd accrued through the Iberia promo last summer. Finding J availability on BOS-MAD in January was no problem, unsurprisingly. From there, the trip evolved into a RTW with stops on 5 continents, checking off a number of countries along the way. On this trip, I hit Spain, Egypt, UAE, Singapore, Australia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal and Hong Kong. Many of these countries were repeats that I visited only out of necessity.
The routing was also a bit circuitous. The primary reason for this was cost and schedule. More direct routings were available, but weren't feasible for various reasons. The other reason had to do with the paucity of flight routings involving PNG and Timor. Coming up with a cohesive (and relatively efficient) routing to include both countries was a bit challenging.
Finally, I caught a nasty sinus infection on the second day of the trip, so I ended up skipping some things and spending more time sleeping than I typically do while traveling.
Flight Routing:
BOS-MAD (IB J Award)
MAD-CAI (MS J - SQ Award)
CAI-DXB-SIN-SYD (SQ J ticket)
SYD-BNE-POM (QF J - BA Award)
POM-CNS (PX Y ticket)
CNS-DRW (QF Y ticket)
DRW-DIL (TL Y - QF ticket)
DIL-DPS (SJ Y ticket)
DPS-KUL (MH J ticket)
KUL-KTM (OD J ticket)
KTM-HKG-BOS (CX J ticket)
Stats:- Countries Visited: 10
- Continents Visited: 5
- Miles Flown: 33,000
- Classes of Service: Economy and Business
- New Airlines Flown: 8
- New Countries Visited: 6
- Updated Country Count: 54
In this report:
Iberia Business Class: Boston - Madrid
EgyptAir Business Class: Madrid - Cairo
Marriott Mena House
Giza and Cairo
EgyptAir Business Class: Cairo - Dubai
The Oberoi Dubai
Singapore Airlines Business Class: Dubai - Singapore
Singapore Airlines Business Class: Singapore - Sydney
Pullman Sydney Airport
Qantas Business Class: Sydney - Brisbane
Qantas Business Class: Brisbane - Port Moresby
Hilton Port Moresby
Air Niugini Economy Class: Port Moresby - Cairns
Qantas Economy Class: Cairns - Darwin
Hilton Darwin
Airnorth Economy Class: Darwin - Dili
Dili, East Timor
Sriwijaya NAM Air Economy Class: Dili - Denpasar
Alaya Dedaun Kuta
Malaysia Airlines Business Class: Denpasar - Kuala Lumpur
Malindo Air Business Class: Kuala Lumpur - Kathmandu
Hyatt Regency Kathmandu
Kathmandu
Cathay Dragon Business Class: Kathmandu - Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific Business Class: Hong Kong - Boston
Previous Trip Reports:
10 Countries in 9 Days (CX, KE, QR, TG, KL, BI)
Former SSRs: the Baltics, Belarus and Back
Bangladesh, Burma and Beijing the Long Way (with stops in Laos, Singapore and Tokyo)
A Passage to India with stops in Qatar, Sri Lanka and Scandinavia (AA, QR, UL in J)
An Engagement to Remember: BOS to ZQN (with a few stops along the way)