Granted that we’re barely into 2013, but I’ve already set sights on one of our major trips for 2014. If you recall reading about my resolutions for 2013, I committed to expanding to new travel horizons. One of them was to touch foot in Africa. After thinking of reasons to visit Africa, my wife and I decided that a Safari would be the absolute perfect way for us to be introduced to the continent.

With days and weeks of research behind us, we’ve decided to visit the Ulusaba Game Reserve located in the Sabi Sands Reserve of South Africa in early 2014. The Ulusaba Reserve is owned by Sir Richard Branson and part of the Virgin Limited Edition Group of properties.

We’ll spend 6 days at the reserve and take advantage of their “Photographic Safari” program that caters to photographers. The package provides visitors with one on one workshops with accomplished wildlife photographers and specially trained game trackers to maximize the photographer’s experience. What I love about the package is that it limits vehicle occupancy to only 4 people which allows each photographer to have 2 rigs mounted on the vehicle. This allows for greater flexibility and eliminates the risk of damaging equipment when changing lenses, etc. Between my wife and I, I’ll be able to have 4 cameras mounted, each with a different lens which will cover most photo opportunities.

Each day, we’ll go on 2 extended game “drives” and 1 game “walk” which should provide plenty of opportunities to capture the stunning beauty of the African bush. When it comes time to book our tickets, we’ll be flying into Johannesburg on Lufthansa via Chicago and Frankfurt (my wife will finally have her first A380 experience!) and then transfer to a private charter flight to the Ulusaba Airstrip.

I’m excited about this trip since it will have many “firsts” for us. Hopefully these firsts will include several close encounters with some impressive wildlife. I’ve always wanted to know where I rank on the food chain.

And oh by the way, in the spirit of my Lufthansa Rubber Duck collection, Ulusaba did well by us when a few of these showed up in our mailbox soon after contacting them and beginning our booking process:

As part of my 2013 travel objectives, I’m looking to fly 8-10,000 revenue miles each month to reduce the stress involved with renewing elite status this year. Last year, I had procrastinated until the 3rd and 4th quarter and had to hustle to get the miles together. As part of this “master plan” I’ve also committed to introduce new destinations in addition to my normal runs. Don’t get me wrong, there will be several runs to Germany and Slovakia for obvious reasons but along the way I’ll be expanding my horizons….literally.

So the obvious choice for January is of course……… Anchorage, Alaska (ANC).

Most people that I’ve shared this with reply with a blank stare that says nothing less than “you are a master idiot”. Sure, maybe if I lived in the southern part of the USA, I would agree….it would be a fairly dumb move. But for someone who lives in Michigan and is regularly subjected to sub-zero wind chills and feet upon feet of lake effect snow, a trip to Anchorage actually provides a respite from Michigan winters. Anchorage is fortunate to be at the receiving end of a Pacific Ocean current that brings relatively decent winter conditions to Anchorage, no different than most northern US states such as Michigan, Minnesota, Maine, etc.

At the core of my decision to go to Anchorage later this month was for the plane spotting opportunities. Anchorage’s Ted Stevens International hosts a proverbial WHO’s-WHO of cargo aviation. Everything from classic DC-6′s and Curtis Wright C-46′s to the mammoth Antonov AN-225 can be observed at fairly close range. ANC is actually very “plane spotter friendly” with several vantage points that provide a variety of dramatic photos opportunities. All I need is a little cooperation from the sun for the 5-6 hours of daylight ANC receives a day this time of year along with battery powered long-johns and I should come back with fantastic images.

I was able to build a routing that will yield 9000 elite qualifying miles for the cost of a 6000 mile fare. At the end of the day, I’ll wind up spending 4.3 cents per mile (including elite bonuses) which is not exactly a bad ratio considering where the marketplace is as far as fares are concerned. Not to mention I get to come home and stick a magnet on Anchorage on my World Travel Map that hangs in my office and call it horizon expanded.

The routing:

At this point, I have a fairly blank canvas as far as what else I’ll do in Anchorage. I do know that the Alaska Air Museum is a must see destination, but outside of that I’m out of ideas. If anyone has experienced Anchorage (especially in the winter) and can offer advice on things to see or do, please let me know!

Now that Christmas is but a distant memory, it’s time to look forward to what 2013 has in store for travel.

I spent some of Christmas weekend reflecting on all of the places that I’ve visited during 2012. Most were repeats of favorites (Bratislava, Vienna, London, Frankfurt and Hong Kong among others) while some places were new (Singapore, Istanbul and a few minutes in Guam). What prompted this reflection was a gift that my Mother-In-Law gave us. The gift, a large framed world map that allows you to place magnetized pins on places that you have visited. Thoughtful right?

As my wife and I thought through all of the places that we visited over the years and marked them on the map we soon discovered a glaring pattern. We had virtually used up all the pins on US and European destinations. Only 3 Pins were outside the US and Europe. Here I thought that we were “accomplished” travelers, but we’ve inadvertently ignored the rest of the world outside of Europe and the USA.

So with that realization, I’ve committed 2013 to be the year of “New Cities On New Continents”. Don’t get me wrong, there will still be several trips to Europe because those Lufthansa Ducks have a “siren” effect on me. But on the other hand, there are a lot of places on my map that don’t have little magnetic pins attached to them. So for 2013, my resolution is to see South America, Africa or Australia with the goal being to visit 2 of these continents. It may be just a 24-48 hour mileage run, but the proof will be the passport stamp. I’m thinking that flying Lufthansa from the US to Buenos Aires via Frankfurt is an efficient way to put the “Pin” on South America and Africa should be a piece of cake with a flight from the USA to Johannesburg via Munich.

To start things off in January, I’m planning on heading to Anchorage for some fantastic plane spotting opportunities. In February it looks like a trip to Istanbul over President’s Day weekend, then in April I take my wife for her first visit to Hong Kong. Other than that, the slate for major trips is blank, leaving plenty of room to deliver on my resolution.

What about you?

What did you accomplish with your travels in 2012 that was most rewarding?

What travel resolutions do YOU have for 2013?

For most of us, business travel tends to wind down towards the end of the 4th quarter as companies start thinking ahead to the next year. Fortunately for me my last business trip, 5 days to Cincinnati, took place last week leaving me home to enjoy the holidays with loved ones. I don’t even have a mileage run planned until mid January!

However, I do know that the skies will be full of Business Travelers who will be away from their families when they least wish to be during this Holiday Season. It’s to these warriors that I am reaching out to, wanting to learn more about how you manage being away from family during the most festive time of year.

I’m hoping that some of you Road Warriors can share with the rest of us any tips, tricks or strategies that you use to help keep those you care about the most close to you even though you may be thousands of miles away. I’d also like to hear about what your families do during your absence to help cushion you not being there. I’m sure it takes a unique individual and a strong family to pull off a successful Holiday when you can’t be together during it.

For anyone that would like to share with me their plans and their strategies for surviving business travel during the holidays, please use twitter to contact me. My twitter handle is @LufthansaFlyer, and if you could PLEASE use the “hashtag” of #LHFlyerHolidayTrvl that will help me filter out your stories and ideas from my twitter feed. After compiling your tips and strategies, I’ll come back with another post and share them with my readers.

Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you!

Waiting in my e-mail from yesterday was one from Lufthansa and their suggestions for Christmas Market destinations in Germany and cities throughout Europe.

Winter in Europe is one of my favorite times to visit and it is primarily for the Christmas Markets, fantastic snow capped scenery and delicious mulled/spiced wine that I enjoy during my stay! One of my favorite visits to Europe during Winter was my visit to Nuremburg’s “Christkindlesmarkt”.

For those of you who are not familiar with Christmas Markets, it is a celebration put on by cities, towns and villages throughout Europe that celebrate the Holidays. They usually run from the end of November through the first week of the new year. The markets are full of fantastic food and drink, plentiful shopping (especially for local specialities) and entertainment. It may be cold this time of year, but you hardly feel the weather when you immerse yourself into one of these Markets.

In their email, Lufthansa listed some of their Christmas Market ideas for Germany and cities throughout Europe. This by far is not a complete list as their are hundreds of Christmas Markets taking place in Europe during the Holidays.

The links in the image do not work since I took a screenshot of the graphic, however you can visit the dedicated Lufthansa Christmas Market Webpage. As a bonus, by visiting their webpage, you’ll find recipes for Glühwein (Mulled Wine) and Lebkuchen (Gingerbread).

Late next week I set off for a few days to Hong Kong. Over the past year I’ve been able to visit twice and it has become one of my favorite places in the world to see. Being a native New Yorker, I never thought I’d find a city that I enjoyed more than NYC, but Hong Kong has given it a run for it’s money as far as I’m concerned. There’s no one thing that I can pinpoint that makes the case for Hong Kong being a favorite. I think it comes down to a confluence of several things including ease of navigation, breadth of cuisine, cleanliness of the city and the extremely friendly and helpful residents. Being one of United’s best “cost per mile” destinations only helps the argument.

On my previous visits, I stayed at the Grand Hyatt and Hyatt Regency. This time, I’ll return to the Hyatt Regency simply because it’s location in the heart of Kowloon makes it very easy to reach most of Kowloon and Hong Kong. I love the fact that I am only a few steps from fantastic noodle shops, shopping and transportation the moment that I step out of the hotel.

Fortunately on previous trips I was able to take in several of the “Must See” places that new visitors are encouraged to see. This time I hope to expand my exploration to take in new places and sights. I’ve also been armed with a holiday shopping list by my wife that includes Chinese Puzzle Balls, Pearls, Tagua Nut Figurines and Jade Dragons so no doubt that will take a few minutes of effort!

I’m trying to actually do less planning for this trip in the attempt to do more things on a spur of the moment. I think this way gives me much more flexibility and spontaneity than sticking to a pre-meditated itinerary of places to go. The only “Must Do” on this trip will be Plane Spotting from the HAECO hangar area just off the airport campus.

For the outbound flight, I chose the traditional Grand Rapids-Chicago-Hong Kong route so that I can enjoy 16 non-stop hours in the bubble top of my beloved 744 and hopefully more great views of Siberia. However for the return flight I was “dared” to be a little more creative so instead of the easy Hong Kong-Chicago flight, I’m going to make my way from Hong Kong to Guam (yes Guam), then onto Honolulu and onward to Chicago and finally Grand Rapids.

In all, it’s a couple thousand more miles for the Frequent Flyer account with this more creative routing but I’ll have the new experience of stepping on Guam’s terra firma and perhaps adding a GUM stamp to my Passport. My understanding is that US citizens take care of Immigration in Guam and Customs in Honolulu. Something tells me I won’t find a Global Entry kiosk in Guam, but no matter, I’d wait in line for the stamp anyway.

Of course I’ll have my trip reports and photos to share once I return!

Related Posts:

The Diplomat Suite – Grand Hyatt Hong Kong

The Hyatt Regency – Hong Kong

Hong Kong Skyline Pictorial

A View From The Peak

Temple Street Market

ATTENTION: THIS IS A RE-POST OF WHAT I WROTE YESTERDAY. I’M RE-POSTING DUE TO THE OUTAGE THAT BOARDINGAREA.COM (MY BLOG’S WEB HOST) SUFFERED FOR MOST OF YESTERDAY. IF YOU SUBMITTED A COMMENT AS AN ENTRY, DON’T WORRY, IT WILL STILL COUNT AND YOU DO NOT NEED TO RESUBMIT ONE!

This is the second chance via LufthansaFlyer for you to enter VERY GOOD POINTS’ (VGP) fantastic contest celebrating her site’s FIRST anniversary. By sharing your experience and answering the following question, you’ll have a chance to advance to VGP’s Grand Prize round for a chance to win one of her great Grand Prize options.

The question:

What has been you MOST favorite flight experience EVER?

Too many times we read about all the negative experiences that people have when flying. Seldom do we hear about great flights which can include great cabin crew, a funny pilot, great food, a fantastic aircraft, etc.

It usually appears that it’s easier to complain than to pay a compliment. So this time I want to draw out compliments and positive experiences.

I’ll pick a winner based on the impact the answer makes on me (remember, it’s the JOURNEY not the DESTINATION!) and advance them over to VGP for a chance to win one of the Grand Prizes:

Grand Prize #1 –

300k Delta Sky Miles

200k Hilton Honors Points

Grand Prize #2 –

240k US Airways Dividend Miles

100k Marriott Rewards Points

50k Hyatt Gold Passport Points

Please note, only ONE ENTRY per person! I’ll accept entries through midnight (US Eastern Time) on October 26.

There is one more week left in her contest during which she has been awarding weekly winners as well. For this final week, she is awarding 20,000 Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints. To enter this week’s give away on Very Good Points, please visit her Contest Entry Post.

Share your experiences and GOOD LUCK!

This is the second chance via LufthansaFlyer for you to enter VERY GOOD POINTS’ (VGP) fantastic contest celebrating her site’s FIRST anniversary. By sharing your experience and answering the following question, you’ll have a chance to advance to VGP’s Grand Prize round for a chance to win one of her great Grand Prize options.

The question:

What has been you MOST favorite flight experience EVER?

Too many times we read about all the negative experiences that people have when flying. Seldom do we hear about great flights which can include great cabin crew, a funny pilot, great food, a fantastic aircraft, etc.

It usually appears that it’s easier to complain than to pay a compliment. So this time I want to draw out compliments and positive experiences.

I’ll pick a winner based on the impact the answer makes on me (remember, it’s the JOURNEY not the DESTINATION!) and advance them over to VGP for a chance to win one of the Grand Prizes:

Grand Prize #1 –

300k Delta Sky Miles

200k Hilton Honors Points

Grand Prize #2 –

240k US Airways Dividend Miles

100k Marriott Rewards Points

50k Hyatt Gold Passport Points

Please note, only ONE ENTRY per person! I’ll accept entries through midnight (US Eastern Time) on October 26.

There is one more week left in her contest during which she has been awarding weekly winners as well. For this final week, she is awarding 20,000 Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints. To enter this week’s give away on Very Good Points, please visit her Contest Entry Post.

Share your experiences and GOOD LUCK!

Like myself, a fellow blogger is also celebrating her 1st year with “Boarding Area” and has launched a fantastic contest that has weekly winners throughout October, as well as 2 Grand Prize Winners that will be chosen at contest’s end!

Stacey of “VERY GOOD POINTS” has put together one of the best contests that I have seen from a blog and she was kind enough to invite readers of “LufthansaFlyer” to participate in the festivities. For the month of October, she is holding a weekly contest that gives away Hyatt or Starwood points based on entries she selects as winners based on her criteria each week. Please visit her site to take advantage of the weekly contests.

Here’s an overview of the weekly prizes:

Week 1 – Oct 1st – Oct 7th – blog post will be dated Oct 1st and deadline will be October 7th 2012, 8pm EST

Weekly prize – 20k Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints

Week 2 – Oct 8th – Oct 14th blog post will be dated Oct 8th and deadline will be October 14th 2012, 8pm EST

Weekly prize – 50k Hyatt Gold Passport Points

Week 3 – Oct 15th – Oct 21st blog post will be dated Oct 15th and deadline will be October 21st 2012, 8pm EST

Weekly prize – 20k Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints

Week 4 – Oct 22nd – Oct 28th blog post will be dated Oct 22nd and deadline will be October 28th 2012, 8pm EST

Weekly prize – 20k Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints

And the Grand Prizes:

Two Grand Prizes will be given away based upon all entries submitted during the 4 week contest period (starting Oct 1 2012 through Oct 28th 2012 at 8pm EST). There will be one bonus entry announced during the contest period and that will count as 1 additional entry. Any participant who enters more than 3 times per week is be disqualified.

Grand Prize #1 –

300k Delta Sky Miles

200k Hilton Honors Points

Grand Prize #2 –

240k US Airways Dividend Miles

100k Marriott Rewards Points

50k Hyatt Gold Passport Points

This is where LufthansaFlyer comes in:

TWO LufthansaFlyer readers will be chosen for the Grand Prize Entry pool at the end of the month. If you read both Very Good Points and LufthansaFlyer you’ll have one more entry that will increase your odds.

To enter for your chance to win the LufthansaFlyer portion of the contest and advance to the Grand Prize pool, all you have to do is leave a comment to this thread telling me about your most memorable travel experience that you can recall. It doesn’t have to be the “perfect” trip where angels sang along the way. It can be funny anecdotes, bad travel experiences or embarassing ones. It doesn’t matter as long as its something that you have experienced during your travels.

I will publish 2 contest entry posts during October (this one being the first), so you’ll have the opportunity to share 2 travel memories. From all the memories that are shared, I will at my discretion pick 2 unique winners (one winner per contest entry post) and send them over to “Very Good Points” for the Grand Prize opportunity. My criteria will include travel location, creativeness and the impact that it makes on me.

So without further ado, please share your travel memories and good luck!

Now that I’ve been home for a couple of weeks after returning from Singapore, I’ve repacked and later this week its off on Lufthansa to Europe to visit family and friends in Slovakia as well as a visit to my friends at Lufthansa in Frankfurt.

I’ve been looking forward to this trip for some time because it gives me another opportunity to visit my 99 year old grandmother who still takes care of her small farm in northern Slovakia. In addition, there will be a few days spent in Bratislava with cousins which will include seeing KHL powerhouses Slovan Bratislava and Moscow Dynamo face off against each other. I’ll finally get my fix for hockey this year since the NHL decided to lock out players so far this season.

From there I’ll fly SWISS from Vienna to Frankfurt via Zurich. I specifically chose this “scenic route” instead of a more convenient non-stop to Frankfurt just so that I can fly on an AVRO RJ100 “Jumbolino” from Zurich to Frankfurt. Earlier this year Lufthansa retired their last Jumbolino, and SWISS has plans to to the same, so I figured time was running out for experiencing this slick little jet.

Looking forward to my first ride on the "Jumbolino"

In Frankfurt I have a busy 3 days full of Lufthansa related activities at the airport which I’m really looking forward to. No doubt that I’ll return with hundreds, if not a thousand or more photos of what I see while in Frankfurt. I’ll also have a chance to experience first hand the new Terminal Pier A+ that has opened in Frankfurt. No doubt that I’ll return with plenty of things to talk about and share for days and days!

Thanks again for making the contest celebrating LufthansaFlyer.com’s first year such a success. After compiling several hundred entries from the four rounds of the contest, we have a “confirmed” winner!

Congratulations “BRANDON”!

Your entry (#420) was selected by Random.org’s Random Number Generator. Enjoy the miles and your upcoming travel with Lufthansa!!

Stayed tuned for an announcement later this week involving a fantastic contest being held by a fellow blogger…..Trust me, you’ll want to enter.