Posted by Seth on November 11, 2011 under Trip Reports | 
For a few years now the United States government has been gouging potential visitors with high fees to apply for visas to visit. No guarantee that you’ll be admitted but you pay anyways. A number of countries responded in kind, either requiring a visa with a comparable fee or, in some cases, just charging the fee. Argentina is one of these countries, charging a "reciprocity fee" for visitors.
The fee is comparable to what is charged to Argentinians visiting the United States, $140. Rather than applying in advance for a visa, however, one simply pays the fee in a separate line at the airport before heading through the immigration line. But it turns out there’s a way to avoid this fee, if you happen to be a bit crazy like me.
The fee only applies for folks staying in Argentina. If you’re just connecting then you don’t pay the fee. And, much like the airlines, the definition of a connection is pretty liberal: 23 hours 59 minutes. If you over-stay you get hit with the fee on departure and it can be a bit of a mess, but so long as you have proof of onward travel departing in <24 hours you’re good to go. Rather than getting a stamp in your passport you get a stamp on the immigration form. And if you lose that you get hit with the fee. But so long as you can hold on to that piece of paper for 24 hours the transit is free of reciprocity fees.
I strongly recommend having a paper print-out of your itinerary showing the onward flight out of the country. I managed to get by with showing the immigration officer the itinerary on my phone but I got the impression he wasn’t too impressed but that performance. Show them the itinerary and explain that you are in transit and you should be good to go. I would imagine that this is an easier conversation if you speak Spanish but I managed to get by in English so it is definitely possible. It is possible that this only works for passengers in transit between countries, not folks returning to the same country from which they arrived (similar to China’s policy on transit) but it definitely worked at least twice I can vouch for.
Once you’re past the immigration folks for your day trip to Argentina head into town and spend some of that $140 saved on supporting their economy. And expanding your waistline:
That was a great steak. And I was much happier spending the money there than on the reciprocity fee.
And a special thanks to Grahm for tipping me off to this benefit in the first place.
Posted by Seth on October 13, 2011 under Trip Reports |
It is a bit hard to see the arrival at Robben Island, off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa, as a welcoming event. As our boat arrived after the ~50 minute cruise over from the Cape Town Waterfront, it was hard not to feel both very welcome on the island as well as the effects of stepping back into history, near and far.
The island was used for hundreds of years as a prison, leper colony and quarantine station. Starting in the 1960s Robben Island had a number of buildings constructed to allow for its use as a maximum security prison facility to house political prisoners. The most famous of its residents in that time was Nelson Mandela, and several other famous political figures from South Africa served sentences there as well. In 1991 the last of the prisoners were removed from the island, ending its long-running role. Five years later Nelson Mandela, a former resident of the prison, was elected as the President of South Africa and the prison complex became a museum.
Today the Robben Island Museum is operated by the Ministry of Arts and Culture, offering tours of the island. The Island is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (and it is the 47th I have visited). In addition to the boat ride out to Robben Island and a tour of the maximum security prison facilities and other bits of the island the tours also include a portion guided by an ex-prisoner of the facility. When I first read that on their website I was mostly unimpressed. I’m not entirely sure why, but I didn’t expect that part of the tour to be particularly special. I could not have been more wrong.
It was clear that he was not a professional tour guide, but having someone there with the personal connection to the site really made an enormous difference. And having him give us a tour not just of the prison complex, but of the cell where he personally spent so many years of his life, was incredibly moving.
The common cells (shown in the photo above) were crowded, offered no privacy and were exposed to the elements, leaving the prisoners cold and wet in the winters and overheated in the summers. The private cells weren’t much better. The isolation that the prisoners were subjected to was just as punishing as the fact that they were imprisoned at all.
After we left the main prison complex portion of the tour we boarded buses and drove around the rest of the island. There is a small town still on the island – many of the former prisoners still live there with their families today – and there are some phenomenal views back across the harbor to Cape Town.
We also drove past the old quarry on the island. The quarry was worked by the prisoners and was also one of the main areas they used as a meeting place to provide education to each other and to continue their work for the African National Congress. When the former prisoners returned in 1996 after winning control of the government they were faced with the decision of what to do with the facility. As they completed their tour of the quarry area Nelson Mandela picked up a stone and carried it towards the exit of the area, depositing it at the exit of the quarry. Others followed in his footsteps, eventually building the mound of stones that is now visible at the site.
This is the only monument of any sort that was built on the grounds.
And then it was time for the boat ride back across the harbor into Cape Town. The mood on the ride over was somewhat chipper and sociable. The return ride was much quieter, to say the least. Most passengers were lost in their own thoughts.
I simply cannot express enough how amazing the whole experience was. Yes, it was somewhat emotionally draining, but every now and then it is good to really feel something like that in your travels rather than simply gliding through a city only seeing the pretty things.
Posted by Seth on August 25, 2011 under Flying, Trip Reports |
Given a few days bumming around in Cape Town, South Africa, there were several different tours of the Cape on the itinerary. One of the trips was a bit more special than the others, mostly because it was run at 2500 feet above ground in a helicopter. Yes, the tour was a bit pricey (~$320/person for the hour-long flight), but it was an awesome way to see the area and a ton of fun.
We started off at the Helicopters Cape Town offices adjacent to the V&A Waterfront. This is the main tourist area downtown and offers up the infrastructure to support the tour operations. The crew working there were friendly and fun and quite accommodating of our rather ridiculous behavior. After watching the safety video and signing away our lives on the waiver form it was time to head out to the helicopter and go for a ride.
Taking off over the harbor we flew down the western coast of the Cape, past Table Mountain, Lion’s Head and the other peaks dotting the coast line.
As we approached Hout Bay we crossed over a bit of land and then made our run at the tip of the continent. The beaches and coast line in this area is mostly national park lands and rather well managed. This leaves them in a pristine state. Gaining access on the ground to many of them is quite difficult but they are stunning from above.
We also passed by a beach with some folks riding horses along the shore and a beach with a shipwreck right in the middle. Apparently the captain thought that he was pulling into False Bay and missed. The outline of the wreck in the sand is pretty cool.
The next stop on the tour was the Cape itself. The chunk of rock jutting out into the ocean is rather impressive. Seeing it from above is awesome.
After circling around there for a bit we headed up the eastern side of the Cape back towards town. Once again, amazing views along the coast line. The inside of the Cape is more populated and that created a rather different set of scenery as we flew along. At one point we crossed near a military base. Apparently they are known for running training missions from time to time firing shells out into the sea. Or our pilot was just having some fun with us. Either way, an entertaining story.
Finally, we made our approach to land. Being the aerogeeks that we are, and because we were given the option, we chose to have the flight end at our hotel rather than back up at the waterfront. Mostly because it is cool but also to save the 30 minute drive back after the flight. Needless to say, the folks playing golf on the course adjacent to where we landed were a bit annoyed. But it sure was nice landing about 100 feet from the room.
Overall, a fantastic experience and one that I’m quite happy I let myself be talked into.
Posted by Seth on August 18, 2011 under Review, Trip Reports |
The Thai Airways lounges in Bangkok have been oft regaled. Their first class passengers, particularly, are well spoilt with hour-long massages and excellent dining options. Alas, my trip was only departing in business class so I was relegated to the lesser service. I know that the first class treatment must be nicer but the business class option was pretty darn impressive.
Check-in was handled well, with the added bonus of having seats at the check-in counters rather than having to stand while dealing with bag tags and seat assignments. I would have been happier if they tagged my bags all the way through to my final destination rather than just to Johannesburg, but that ended up not making a difference as I had to claim and drop the bags again anyways after clearing customs. And the private security and immigration facilities just for premium passengers was terrific, not in the least because I was the only one in line as I passed through.
Thai operates a bunch of lounges at Suvarnabhumi Airport covering First and Business Class passengers as well as Star Alliance Gold elite members. But they reserve access to the largest lounge for only premium cabin passengers. The services were, in my experience, nearly identical at the main lounge as in the others. Most notable was the presence of a duty free shop inside the biz lounge. And the dedicated lounge was much larger. None of the lounges were particularly crowded while I was there, but I attribute that mostly to my off-peak departure time (6pm) more than anything else. I can imagine that the *G lounges would get quite crowded at peak departure times.
All of the lounges offered up plenty of beverage options as well as various snack foods, ranging from soup to steamed buns to shumai to noodles. I’m drooling again just remembering them.
All the talk I’d previously heard about the first class departures spa and massages neglected to mention that business class passengers also get a complimentary treatment. No, it isn’t an hour long nor a full body work over, but you do get a choice of four half hour treatments. I didn’t realize this until I’d already spent an hour – and most of my preflight lounge time – sitting in the dedicated business class passenger lounge. Whoopsie. Fortunately there was just enough time for me to get my shoulder and neck massage prior to the flight. But shame on me for not doing the research I should have.
Following my massage it was time to meander out to the gate area – about 15 minutes away – and prepare for the flight itself. Thanks to the quality of the pre-flight pampering I was afforded in the lounge and the spa I wasn’t too worried about the in-flight experience.
I’ve been in the Lufthansa First Class Terminal and their dedicated First Class Lounges. I’ve been in the Virgin Atlantic Upper Class lounge. And I’ve been in any number of lounges operated by other carriers for elites and business class passengers. Putting aside the cool factor of the drive from the FCT to the airplane, I’m not sure that much out there beats the quality of the pre-flight pampering that Thai offers is pretty impressive. In the heat of the moment, relaxing following my massage with a glass of tea, I was convinced that it was the best ever. I’ve backed down from that a bit, mostly because the dining options that Lufthansa offers for the FCL/FCT are better by far than the business options that Thai has.
But I could quite reasonably argue that the Thai product is the best Business Class option I’ve experienced. Up against Virgin’s flagship Clubhouse in London‘s Heathrow I’d say that Thai does a quite respectable job. Less crowded, easier access to the spa treatments and better tasting food, if not quite the same variety. No waitress service but the open self-service bar didn’t suck.
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Tags: Bangkok, elite status, London, Lounge, Lufthansa, Photos, RTW2011, Star Alliance, Thai Air, Trip Report, Virgin Atlantic
Posted by Seth on August 4, 2011 under Trip Reports |
The Chao Phraya is dirty. There is no doubt about that. The brown, murky water is not something I’m keen to swim in and even getting splashed by it while on the ferries is not particularly pleasant. Still, curling through the heart of Bangkok, there is no doubt that the Chao Phraya holds the pulse of the city. It is a transportation conduit for people and goods at all hours of the day and night.
For our visit to the palace we chose the cheapest – and one of the fastest – means of travel, the commuter ferries. Yes, there is a tourist ferry that runs a bit faster but it is not for me. The price – THB 150 (~ USD$5) for the day – is roughly 10x the going rate for a single ride on the regular ferries. It doesn’t stop at nearly as many places, which can be good if it goes where you want to be but it also cuts down on your options. And you lose the color and flavor of riding with the locals. That’s the biggest downside. There aren’t nearly as many monks riding the tourist ferry, for instance.
Of course, there’s also the challenge of making sure you’re on the correct ferry. Fortunately they all fly flags on the back with the different colors indicating whether it is a local or express. It is also important to make sure that the ferry you are riding is one that goes up and down the river rather than just a shuttle across (unless, of course, you want to just shuttle across). On my first trip to Bangkok five years ago I made that mistake and the ticket-taker was quite confused when we didn’t get off after the quick ride. I nearly made the same mistake this time as well, though I knew to ask and we quickly got off that ferry and into the correct queue. Once you’ve figured out the flag colors riding with the locals is phenomenally easy and generally quite pleasant.
On the return trip we decided to splurge. Partly because we didn’t want to wait for the ferry, partly because there were six of us to split the costs, and partly because we were just silly. We hired a long tail boat for the ride back to the BTS station. At THB 500 (~USD$16) for the trip I’m sure we overpaid and I’m sure it didn’t really matter. We had fun. Well, some of us did.
The long tail boats, so named because of the long drive shaft that comes straight out of the oversized engine to drive the propeller, are loud, not particularly clean, and even lower in the water than the ferries. This means that crossing the wake of other boats or really just being in one is likely to result in getting splashed. Remember how I mentioned above that the river is dirty. Yeah, it is.
Riding towards the front limited the splash effect for me, while some folks in the back resorted to using their umbrella to keep the river water at bay. Sucking down a cold beer and rolling through a pretty awesome bout of jetlag probably didn’t hurt my mood either. The net effect for me was a rather enjoyable ride, though I’m quite certain that others in the group disagree. Definitely worth it for the experience, so long as you don’t mind the dirty and paying a couple bucks more than you should for the privilege.
Posted by Seth on August 2, 2011 under Dining, Flying, Review, Trip Reports |
Los Angeles to Bangkok – non-stop on Thai Airways – seemed like a good idea at the time.Yes, the flight is blocked at just over 17 hours, making it one of the longest commercial flights in operation. But I’ve flown other very long flights previously, several times in coach, and I’ve survived all of them and even enjoyed some of them. Yes, I knew going in that the seats in use on the Airbus A340-500 are not the most comfortable. Still, business class for that long a journey should be pleasant enough, right? And, yes, it meant a 14 hour travel day just to get to the point where I could start the trip. But that was worth it for the joys of making the super long flight, putting the cool line on my flight history map, right?
Not really.
Boarding for the flight was conducted via one of the bus gates at LAX’s TBIT terminal. This is the first time I’ve ever had a departure from the terminal and I was rather surprised just how awful the experience was. Not nearly enough seats for the number of passengers boarding, overlapping announcements that confused pretty much everyone and nothing resembling proper amenities once you got out to the bus area. Pretty pathetic for a major international gateway. Still, I got on the bus and made the long ride out to the far stands where our aircraft was waiting, hoping things would be better once on board. After all, as I joked to a woman I was crammed against on the bus, "We’re flying business class; this is the closest we have to be to anyone for the next 18 hours."
Pre-flight included a glass of bubbly which was nice for keeping me awake and getting ready for the dinner service. And the dinner was pretty good food, though not the best I’ve had in the air by any stretch. There were a couple interesting quirks to the dinner service that made me wonder just how deep the budget cuts in catering were. The warm nuts, for example, were quite the pathetic presentation. Yes, I took this photo before eating any from the bowl.
The starter was a scallop, with a mango chutney of some sort. Not bad, but certainly a small portion and not particularly amazing either. Of course, I often find scallops to be that way when served out so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
For the main course I chose a fish. Sure, I’ve seen Airplane about a few dozen times but it still seemed like the least offensive of the options available. Plus, I was asked to make my choices for all three meals before departure (not a fan of that at all) and it seemed like a decent way to approach the menu. It was not offensive but also not particularly amazing.
Cheese course, drinks, dessert, drinks and before I knew it 2am PDT had arrived and it was definitely time to stretch out the seat and see what I was in for as far as sleeping was concerned.
The seat was, as anticipated, mediocre. I knew going in that it would not be a fully flat bed. Still, it was supposed to be flat enough at an angle that I’d be able to get some sleep. Especially combined with the fact that I’d been up for so long once I finally got on board, sleeping should be easy. And it actually was, even though the seat didn’t even seem to be flat at an angle when fully extended. I slept pretty well for 7 or 8 hours after the dinner service. The problem was that there were still about 7 hours left in the flight and the seat was pretty bad for just sitting in. There is nothing quite so disappointing in flight as waking up after a long, restful sleep and realizing that there is still the equivalent of London to New York City or more left to fly.
And so, with about 7 hours to go in the trip I wandered back to the galley to find out when the next meal was. Only 90 minutes away. This is actually my largest gripe about the service on the flight: the timing and ordering of the meals was wacky. When I’m taking a long flight and adjusting to a new time zone I try to switch my body over as early in the trip as possible, making it so that I’m as close to the local time as I can be when I land. The schedule of meals on this flight worked quite a bit against that.
Sure, a dinner just after take-off makes sense. And having it as a three-meal flight is great. But the second meal, served approximately 11-12 hours into the flight and at approximately midnight local time in Bangkok was breakfast. It was a good breakfast, but having it at that time rather than having another lunch/dinner course a couple hours earlier makes no sense to me. I had the shrimp congee option:
The third meal, served only about 4 hours later and only an hour prior to the 6:30am local time arrival of the flight was another lunch course. Again, decent food (though the shrimps were not as good on this one as in the congee) but it was the wrong meal at that time of the flight.
The A345 does offer one of my favorite bits of airplane silliness: a window in the lav. I’m not quite sure why, but I crack up every time I see it.
Ultimately the flight got me there in relative comfort and without too much trouble along the way. But the timing of the meals meant that when I landed I had been up since midnight local time. This made it rather difficult to get through the day fully coherent (or as much as I ever am). Fortunately I had some good friends around on the ground who helped drive that and kept me entertained as we toured Bangkok. But it was one of those friends, over dinner, who shared the following observation of this incredibly long flight:
I’ve taken it several times in each of the three classes of service available. I’ve had incredibly mediocre flights in business, rather pleasant flights in premium economy and surprisingly enjoyable flights down the back. It isn’t that the economy service is better than business; it just does a better job of exceeding expectations.
At the end of the day I must agree. The flight in business class was fine but it certainly didn’t live up to any of the great expectations set by tales of great in-flight experiences from the Asian airlines. Not bad, really, but not up to the expectations. Should I need to get to Bangkok again from the east coast I’ll almost certainly favor the flights via Europe or the Middle East. Roughly the same travel time and arguably better timed in-flight services. Definitely better premium seats available.
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Posted by Seth on August 1, 2011 under Trip Reports |
What’s the one animal you want to see most? The one that would make today’s game drive a "win" for you?
This was the question, posed by my friend, I pondered over breakfast at the Kichaka Game Lodge on the morning of our last day. Having previously experienced mostly mud and rain (though it was a fun adventure) I knew that this was our last chance to see the wild animals. The weather was finally cooperating and so it was time to throw in my vote for the animal I really, really wanted to see in the wild.
Giraffe. It actually wasn’t all that tough a decision for me. The cats are cool (and we did see some of those, too), but giraffes are so incredibly strange to me that seeing one in the wild was the coolest option I could think of. It took all of three minutes for that desire to be satisfied.
We cleared the gates out of the lodge and started up the road to the reserve. About 500 meters in to the drive the road was blocked by a half dozen or so giraffes, calmly eating their breakfast from the brush alongside the road. Awesome.
Eventually they cleared the road (it is their land, not ours, so we just waited for them) and headed up into the main entrance of the reserve to see what other animals were around. A couple minutes later the CB radio crackled to life with the voice of one of the other guides indicating that they’d spotted cheetahs on the move. As it turns out, these cheetahs were hanging out at the same place we were the day prior as we were trying to rescue our truck out of the mud adjacent to an antelope carcass. Much as we had joked over drinks the night before about eyes in bush, staring at us as we worked to free the vehicle, it turns out they really were there. Good thing we didn’t try to eat the antelope, I suppose.
The cheetahs – a mother and two cubs – were on the move from that kill site. Their route took them down a hill, across a road and into the brush on the far side of that small valley. Fortunately for us that road just happened to be where we were stationed. These amazing, graceful, deadly animals pretty much walked directly in front of us. Beautiful.
Next up on our list of sightings was the elephant, a huge and surprisingly graceful animal. This was the "winner" animal of my friend and so, in the span of about an hour, we were both rather sated from a spotting perspective. Not that we were about to object to seeing any other animals, of course.
We left the elephant for a while as he headed into the woods and we drove on for our morning tea break. As we came back onto the main road the elephant had reappeared and was munching on some lunch. We were chatting with Geoff, our guide, about the behavior of the elephant and the animals in general and, before we knew what happened, the six ton beast was more or less next to our truck. It had approached in near silence and it moved on with similar stealth. More than anything, its ability to move so quietly was truly amazing.
With the elephant now gone back into the woods it was time to spot a few other species. Antelopes by the dozens, just waiting to be a meal for one of the larger beasts. Ostrich, too, though no heads buried. We saw some warthogs but they were skittish and didn’t pose for pictures.
In the end, the big missing beast was the lion. We saw tracks a number of times but they weren’t coming out to play and if they do not want to be found they almost certainly will not be. Just gives me an excuse to have to go back, I suppose.
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Posted by Seth on July 31, 2011 under Trip Reports |
Yes, it was only 9am local time when I walked into your bar an ordered a pilsner (and a water). Yes, I was the only person drinking in the lounge at that hour.
Yes, I am ridiculous.
Still, you shouldn’t judge me. You don’t know what time zone my brain was on at the time (yours, sadly) or whether I have a real problem or am just thirsty. You don’t even know if yours was the first beer I consumed that day (it wasn’t).
All I’m saying is that when I pass through a lounge, I might not be so normal. Actually, I know I’m not so normal. Still, don’t judge me. After all, I really do like beer.
Also, thank you for singing "Easy like Sunday morning" to me as you served said beer. I had, in fact, forgotten what day it was. No, really, I had no idea.
Posted by Seth on July 28, 2011 under Trip Reports |
Our arrival at the Kichaka Game Lodge was met by a most unexpected interloper: rain. Lots and lots of rain. So much that they had roads washed out and flooding across parts of the region by the end of the week we were there. Still, we were there for a safari adventure and we were going to have one. A little rain couldn’t hold us back. It probably should have.
We spotted what appeared to be a small break in the rain, changing from downpour to misting drizzle and decided that we’d like to have a go at it. Geoff, our steadfast and dedicated guide agreed to head out, though it wasn’t hard to see that he considered it a somewhat foolish plan. Still, in the face of our unwavering desire he agreed to suit up and take the truck out for a spin.
The roads were, well, not really roads in many areas. The rains had caused small ponds to overflow their banks, turning portions of the park lands in to rivers.
Shortly after our arrival in the park we spotted some antelope. This was incredibly cool to us. Geoff seemed less enthused. It turns out the antelope are everywhere and can be spotted pretty much anywhere and anytime on the reserve. As such, they weren’t nearly as special a sight. Still, they were very cool for us the first time.
An hour or so into the drive we spotted a light yellow splotch on a hill across the way. An animal? A rock? The only way to find out was to drive up and check it out. As we bounced across the hills the light yellow splotch didn’t move. We were convinced it was a rock. It was not. It was this carcass, recently killed by cheetahs and not yet fully picked over.
Looking at it from the road way was fine but not completely rewarding. Given all the rain it was somewhat questionable as to whether we should press forward off the dirt road. Geoff asked our thoughts and I replied with my usual thought, "What’s the worst that could happen??"
This.
We were quite quickly axle-deep in mud, getting rained on, with no way out. And did I mention that we were about 100 feet from a fresh carcass that was not yet fully picked over? Ruh-roh.
We jacked the truck up, filling the mud pit under each of the four tires with rocks gathered from the area. We eventually were able to move about 5 feet before sinking right back into the same mud. Not good at all. All the while, we could feel the animals watching us from the brush, or so we thought. Turns out the cheetahs really were there as we’d discover the next morning. Zoinks!
Eventually another truck drove by and was able to help us out of the mud with a tow rope. And we made it back to the lodge in one piece to the warm welcome of the staff and the bar where hot toddies were consumed n front of the fire to restore warmth to our cold, soaked bodies.
We made it back to the lodge in one piece so the drive can certainly be considered a success. We even spotted a couple animals along the way. Still, it was most definitely not what we expected from our game drives on safari. Fortunately the drive the next morning was much better. Details on that trip coming soon.
Posted by Seth on March 8, 2011 under Flying, frequent flyer, points |
In part one of this report I recounted a great award booking – even though it was all in economy and on small planes – to the Canadian Maritime provinces. Part two will cover my exploitation of the bmi Diamond Club program and their quite flexible routing and award zone rules.
It all started with plans to visit Bangkok in July for a friend’s wedding. With Thai Air still operating their incredibly long LAX-BKK flight I figured it would be nice to get a change to fly that route. Plus I have never been on the Airbus A340-500 so that’s an added bonus. It turns out that Thai has had a TON of award inventory available for westbound travel but nothing available coming back east. Turns out that isn’t much of a problem for me as I’ve turned a long weekend in Thailand into a RTW ticket adventure.
By sheer coincidence a friend of mine is going to be in Capetown, South Africa the week after the wedding. And I have the points available so why not? Even better is that the award cost from Thailand to South Africa is pretty cheap with Diamond Club. Oh, and I am flying via Mumbai, flying in on Thai and out on South African Airways. South African operates the A340-200 on the route which is also new to me.
And then I needed to get home from South Africa. This is where the Diamond Club rules become VERY favorable if you’re willing (or wanting!) a bit of an adventure. Most carriers only permit North Atlantic crossings for that award. Diamond Club permits South Atlantic crossings, too. So I’m taking one. Award seats form Johannesburg to Buenos Aires and Sao Paolo are pretty readily available.
Seats from there back north are a bit harder but I found some availability with Air Canada from Santiago to Toronto. Getting from Toronto to New York City is pretty easy with a ton of frequencies and a couple airports to choose from. To get from Buenos Aires to Santiago there is really only Star Alliance routing. It just so happens to leave 40 minutes before the flight from Johannesburg arrives. So I have a 23 hour 20 minute connection in Argentina. That’ll be fun.
So I’ve made it back to New York City and I’m home. That’s the end, right? Not for me. Diamond Club considers Puerto Rico part of their South America/Caribbean zone. And award flights from South Africa to South America are less expensive than those to North America. Based on straight geography that sortof makes sense – it should be fewer total miles flown – but getting to Puerto Rico can only be done via North America with the existing partners and routes. So I have a stopover in New York (one stopover is free on the bmi award) and then, two months later, a flight in first class from Newark to San Juan. It was actually many fewer miles to take the extra flight. Plus, I’ve been looking for a good excuse to get back to Puerto Rico, possibly in daylight this time. Given that the flight down there is better than free, I see no reason to skip that bit.
Put it all together and I’ve got this 31,586 mile masterpiece:
And all the flights save two short ones are in business class. All but one of the lines are new and a few of the aircraft are, too. All for under 200,000 Diamond Club points. I could’ve done it as cash & points for even fewer but I’m trying to use up my stash and this is a great way to do it.
The booking process was bit more frustrating than I generally enjoy, partly because my Skype connection was flaking out but mostly because the agents at the Diamond Club call center don’t have the best grasp of geography nor of the rules of their program. They initially tried to charge me 5 separate awards rather than the three I booked and all at higher rates than I should have paid. Fortunately I was able to eventually get a supervisor to understand and put it in correctly, but that was two extra hours of annoyance on the phone that I didn’t really need. Still, at the end of the day, completely worth it for this trip. Retail value on the ticket is somewhere north of $10,000; getting it on points for the routes and dates I wanted is just phenomenal.
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Tags: Africa, Air Canada, Airbus, Argentina, award, Bangkok, bmi, Canada, frequent flyer, New York City, points, Puerto Rico, RTW2011, San Juan, South Africa, Star Alliance, Thai Air, Thailand, Toronto
