Since my last update on this blog, there has been changes to my year end trip which is happening really soon. Thanks to the affordable last minute fares.
Initially, I would be getting from Asia to Europe on Norwegian airline, from Krabi to Stockholm. Recently, Norwegian airline released great, last minute deals on its route from Singapore non-stop to London Gatwick under S$200 one way. So I quickly booked it.
Taking this flight instead would mean that I would have to forfeit my Krabi to Stockholm flight since it was booked on a non-refundable fare. But since I thought the advantages would outweigh the costs, I went ahead with the booking.
Other than the Norwegian's flight, Lot airline recently had really cheap, last minute deals in both economy and business class from Asia to Europe, for just S$100 and S$300 respectively one way. It's a charter flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Warsaw, but unfortunately the fixed date did not work out for me. Otherwise, this is actually a great opportunity to try out Lot's B787 aircraft business class, even if the catering might be the same as economy class.
Anyway, this will be my second and last time taking Norwegian airlines on this route. Sadly, the airline will be ending the Singapore to London route very soon. One less budget carrier on the route between Singapore and Europe. Then Scoot will be the only budget carrier from Singapore to both Athens and Berlin in Europe.
Compared to Scoot and Norwegian airline, I prefer the latter as it offers complimentary PTV and usb port on its B787 aircrafts. Very few, if at all, budget carriers offer these amenities for free. Also, it sometimes releases fares below S$200 for a one-way trip on the Singapore to London sector. My first trip with the airline on this long haul route has been quite positive. I had realistic expectations since I knew I was travelling with a budget carrier.
On a positive note, SQ will be starting direct flights from Singapore to Seattle next September. Hopefully, I can try out its inaugural flight, in economy class. If its not too expensive!
The good thing is, I get to visit London. Probably visit the Singapore brand Old Chang Kee outlet at Covent Gardens and taste their offerings, then watch a musical at London's west end.
At the moment, I'm still undecided on how to connect from London to my existing itinerary. There are too many options, too many places for me to visit !
From London, I could visit Bath, Stonehenge, Oxford or Cambridge universities. I could also cross the Channel to Paris and visit the only euro disneyland. Or I could just spend a day in Stockholm or Milan or another city. Of course, ultimately the flight price will guide my decision. Currently, the flight to Stockholm is the cheapest. But I intend to hold on for a couple of days before making a decision.
For now, it looks like I won't be visiting Jordan this year. As I would like to return to Singapore earlier, my Ryanair flights between Krakow and Amman will have to be forfeited. Fortunately, I booked them at a low price, so minimum impact on my budget.
Recently I have booked a cheap AirAsiaX flight, a budget airline, from Tianjin, China to Kuala Lumpur. This gives me a chance to visit the city of Tianjin for the first time, a short bullet train ride from Beijing.
This leaves me with one more long haul flight to decide and book, from any point in Europe to Beijing. Again, I haven't decided at this point due to too many available options at similar price points.
I have wanted, for some time, to take Lufthansa first class from Frankfurt to anywhere, with the lowest number of miles possible. And I want to experience its first class terminal in Frankfurt. This is an aviation enthusiast's dream haha! Currently, Lufthansa requires 60,000 miles for a one-way first class ticket to the Middle East, which is just Kuwait. The other Lufthansa destinations in the region doesn't feature first class flights. In that case, I will need an affordable flight from Kuwait to Beijing.
I also want to try out Aigle Azur direct flight from Paris Orly to Beijing for a reasonably low price. I'm still hoping for its prices to drop to an acceptable level for me.
I'm keen to visit Uzbekistan in Central Asia as well. There are flights with reasonable fares from Almaty to Uzbekistan but not outbound from Uzbekistan.
Then there are Iran and Egypt too! Again too many places to visit 😀
On the other hand, if I could not find an affordable flight from Europe to Asia, then I may not even want to get to Europe towards the last leg of my trip. I could just remain in South Korea and move over to China to take the AirAsiaX flight back to Southeast Asia. I might use this opportunity to visit Japan too.
Meanwhile, I'm also doing research on individual cities that I will be visiting. Such as what tourist attractions to visit and how to get there on public transport.
Yup, so these are the flight decisions that I need to make in the coming days. The rest of my travel plans here and here remain more or less the same.
I find that making travel plans for myself gets me excited at times. Especially when I come across reasonable to amazingly cheap fares to new cities I have yet to visit. I have since abandon the idea of travelling in a tour group, since this usually turns out way more expensive. And I do have a limited travel budget. So I have to embrace solo travel.
Travelling solo to new cities does require me to step out of my comfort zone. I need to do a lot of research to find out where to visit, how to take public transport in a city, and most importantly, how to keep myself safe in a foreign city. I am, in a sense, my own tour guide.
Fortunately, after some experience in exploring places such as Skopje, Macedonia, and Mexico City, I feel that it is totally possible to have a safe, enjoyable and reasonably affordable budget d.i.y. tour.
Initially, I would be getting from Asia to Europe on Norwegian airline, from Krabi to Stockholm. Recently, Norwegian airline released great, last minute deals on its route from Singapore non-stop to London Gatwick under S$200 one way. So I quickly booked it.
Taking this flight instead would mean that I would have to forfeit my Krabi to Stockholm flight since it was booked on a non-refundable fare. But since I thought the advantages would outweigh the costs, I went ahead with the booking.
Other than the Norwegian's flight, Lot airline recently had really cheap, last minute deals in both economy and business class from Asia to Europe, for just S$100 and S$300 respectively one way. It's a charter flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Warsaw, but unfortunately the fixed date did not work out for me. Otherwise, this is actually a great opportunity to try out Lot's B787 aircraft business class, even if the catering might be the same as economy class.
Anyway, this will be my second and last time taking Norwegian airlines on this route. Sadly, the airline will be ending the Singapore to London route very soon. One less budget carrier on the route between Singapore and Europe. Then Scoot will be the only budget carrier from Singapore to both Athens and Berlin in Europe.
Compared to Scoot and Norwegian airline, I prefer the latter as it offers complimentary PTV and usb port on its B787 aircrafts. Very few, if at all, budget carriers offer these amenities for free. Also, it sometimes releases fares below S$200 for a one-way trip on the Singapore to London sector. My first trip with the airline on this long haul route has been quite positive. I had realistic expectations since I knew I was travelling with a budget carrier.
On a positive note, SQ will be starting direct flights from Singapore to Seattle next September. Hopefully, I can try out its inaugural flight, in economy class. If its not too expensive!
The good thing is, I get to visit London. Probably visit the Singapore brand Old Chang Kee outlet at Covent Gardens and taste their offerings, then watch a musical at London's west end.
At the moment, I'm still undecided on how to connect from London to my existing itinerary. There are too many options, too many places for me to visit !
From London, I could visit Bath, Stonehenge, Oxford or Cambridge universities. I could also cross the Channel to Paris and visit the only euro disneyland. Or I could just spend a day in Stockholm or Milan or another city. Of course, ultimately the flight price will guide my decision. Currently, the flight to Stockholm is the cheapest. But I intend to hold on for a couple of days before making a decision.
For now, it looks like I won't be visiting Jordan this year. As I would like to return to Singapore earlier, my Ryanair flights between Krakow and Amman will have to be forfeited. Fortunately, I booked them at a low price, so minimum impact on my budget.
Recently I have booked a cheap AirAsiaX flight, a budget airline, from Tianjin, China to Kuala Lumpur. This gives me a chance to visit the city of Tianjin for the first time, a short bullet train ride from Beijing.
This leaves me with one more long haul flight to decide and book, from any point in Europe to Beijing. Again, I haven't decided at this point due to too many available options at similar price points.
I have wanted, for some time, to take Lufthansa first class from Frankfurt to anywhere, with the lowest number of miles possible. And I want to experience its first class terminal in Frankfurt. This is an aviation enthusiast's dream haha! Currently, Lufthansa requires 60,000 miles for a one-way first class ticket to the Middle East, which is just Kuwait. The other Lufthansa destinations in the region doesn't feature first class flights. In that case, I will need an affordable flight from Kuwait to Beijing.
I also want to try out Aigle Azur direct flight from Paris Orly to Beijing for a reasonably low price. I'm still hoping for its prices to drop to an acceptable level for me.
I'm keen to visit Uzbekistan in Central Asia as well. There are flights with reasonable fares from Almaty to Uzbekistan but not outbound from Uzbekistan.
Then there are Iran and Egypt too! Again too many places to visit 😀
On the other hand, if I could not find an affordable flight from Europe to Asia, then I may not even want to get to Europe towards the last leg of my trip. I could just remain in South Korea and move over to China to take the AirAsiaX flight back to Southeast Asia. I might use this opportunity to visit Japan too.
Meanwhile, I'm also doing research on individual cities that I will be visiting. Such as what tourist attractions to visit and how to get there on public transport.
Yup, so these are the flight decisions that I need to make in the coming days. The rest of my travel plans here and here remain more or less the same.
I find that making travel plans for myself gets me excited at times. Especially when I come across reasonable to amazingly cheap fares to new cities I have yet to visit. I have since abandon the idea of travelling in a tour group, since this usually turns out way more expensive. And I do have a limited travel budget. So I have to embrace solo travel.
Travelling solo to new cities does require me to step out of my comfort zone. I need to do a lot of research to find out where to visit, how to take public transport in a city, and most importantly, how to keep myself safe in a foreign city. I am, in a sense, my own tour guide.
Fortunately, after some experience in exploring places such as Skopje, Macedonia, and Mexico City, I feel that it is totally possible to have a safe, enjoyable and reasonably affordable budget d.i.y. tour.
