I’m planning our next trip right now. There are three early decisions that needed to be made. Destinations, timing, and budget. We decided on our major destinations months ago, and some rough timing. They were the easy bits. We have a rough idea of a budget, in some ways dictated by the destinations themselves. They are far from cheap destinations, though not as expensive as Norway, Iceland, or Japan. Still, our poor little NZ dollar, whilst a lot stronger than it was on our first visits to Europe, always struggles against the Euro or the British Pound, which are the currencies we will be using.
With the three early decisions largely made, it’s time to get into the nitty gritty. And this is never easy. International flight routes are a major expense, especially since covid, and a major headache, simply because flying from my city requires a minimum of three flights, including two long haul international flights of approximately 12 hours each (depending on the route) giving a minimum of 25 hours in the air. When you’re spending that long in an aeroplane, the route, transit airports, airlines, seats, and time of arrival are all critical. One 12-13 hour flight on its own is fine. Two, back to back, can be tough. We know – we’ve done it a number of times. Travelling business class is fine, because you can lie down and sleep. But business class flights to Europe right now are pretty horrific prices, and the extra required would give us another month of good quality accommodation. That’s another trip! So, with a big sigh, we resolved that it will be further back in the bus this time. Which is a lot less comfortable. I need to take my own advice, written years ago, about how to survive economy class (coach, to US travellers).
We’re therefore considering stopovers too, to ease the journey, and have a night or two in a real bed before getting on another 12-14 hour flight. Although they also increase the expense, they add to the fun. Where to stop? We can go west, via Asia, but could also go east, via the US. The distances and times in the air are about the same. Singapore, with the fabulous Changi airport and ease of getting around and amazing food, is appealing. Bangkok is an old much-loved favourite that we yearn for, and Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong or Seoul, with lovely airports and interesting environments and food, are also options for a couple of days rest and recuperation before heading onward. Though Shanghai or Beijing is an alternative option, requiring visas, so less appealing, but a few days in either city might tell us whether we want a longer trip to China. There are routes via Taipei too. I’ve been there for work, and would love to show it to my husband. The US airports, with their immigration/customs/security processes, are all horrible (no offence), so we will probably skip that until it is actually our destination. Asia is almost definitely the way to go! That decision is easy, but the details of it are really hard to knuckle down. And right now, we need to make the bookings. Hard decisions under a timetable are my least favourite.
When we finally arrive at our destinations there are so many more decisions – routes, accommodation, modes of transport (train, or rental car), people to see, and places to visit. We’re looking at a longer trip, so will need some affordable rest periods somewhere. This is the exciting part of travel planning. When we anticipate being there, how it will feel, what we will do and see. Anticipation of the very best kind!
But the very hardest part is deciding what to leave out. We can’t have an endless holiday – though that would be my ideal, living like a local somewhere for an extended period of time. Friends thought our Lemons to Limoncello trip was endless, but in my mind it was too short. (Though not The Husband’s!) But tourist visas are always time-limited (despite the fact that with a kiwi passport we’re better off than many), and expense is always a feature too. It means that places and, ever so sadly, people too, must be dropped off the list for this trip. That’s the absolute hardest part of travel planning.
Still, I shouldn’t really mind. After all, it already has me anticipating the next!
Lovely to anticipate you going on your trip and hoping we get to go along (either at the time or int he aftermath). Lots of fun to see through another’s eyes and no jetlag or 12 hour flights! HURRAH!
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haha. Yes, you are lucky, you don’t have to be crammed into an aeroplane for 24+ hours! lol
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Planning a trip is almost as much fun as the trip itself. I really want to hear about the destinations… when will those be revealed?
Great idea to stop somewhere between flights: I can’t imagine doing back-to-back 12+ hour flights, especially now that I’m older and so in love with my creature comforts.
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