Since joining FT, I’ve learnt a lot; I’ve also tried to give back a little. I’ve also picked up the addiction of miles and mileage runs. Summer is over down under, and spring has sprung (or so I’m hoping) in the Northern Hemisphere. Time to go away for a little while.

I’ve planned this trip for a long time – way back in July/August, in fact. Thanks to the tools and experts I’ve found here, I devised this route on a DONE4 to be completed in 3 weeks.

WLG-SYD-JFK-MIA-DCA-DFW-YVR-FDW-SFO-LHR-HEL-LHR-DXB-LHR-BKK-HKG-NRT-HKG-SIN-MEL-WLG

I’ve never flown like this before, so it’ll be interesting.

When I gave this itinerary for my TA to book, she was slightly surprised that I’m not stopping at some of the places. Then again, I’ve been dealing with her for several years now, and she knows I’ve these weird requests every now and then.

My original plan (back in July/August) was to book it, but only pay in the last minute – at least I could be earning interests on that money. However, (again thanks to FT), I found out BA were to impose a fuel surcharge. I took the gamble that once BA did that, other airlines would follow. So I rushed my TA to issue the ticket before the start of the surcharge. At first, it might have saved me around NZD$70, but after several rounds of surcharges from different airlines (plus a raise in DONE4 tickets), I’ve lost track of how much money that would have been. I estimate the cost will be around NZD$3000 more if I am to pay for it now. It almost sounds like an investment…! (On the other hand, I don’t know whether I can afford to do another one of these next year with all these extra charges…)

Between ticketing and now, I’ve been slowly arranging my accommodation. Again, thanks to FT, I’ll be moving hotels after one night even if I’ll be in a city for several nights… I’ll also write a few things about these hotels when we get to them… Also during this time, I’ve put myself on the waitlist on QF up to first class for SYD-JFK.

Fast forward to this week, it’s been an exciting week. Not only was work busy, the airport has been closed for some 5 days out of the last 7 due to fog. While it’s foggy season in Wellington now, I’ve never seen this much fog for such a prolonged period of the 15 years I’ve lived here. Although it cleared considerably in the last 48 hours, it was still foggy this morning. With nothing to see outside the window, I checked obsessively whether my upgrade has cleared. It still hasn’t cleared this morning, so I was on the verge of giving up. Then it cleared! Woohoo!

Now, I just have to pack, and wake up at 4am tomorrow to catch the 6am flight…