One thing I didn’t want to do was fly internally in Myanmar! The fledgling airline industry does not have a great safety record. After our long train trip from Mandalay to Bagan, we realised, however that a ten hour train trip from Bagan to Yangon would take too much time out of our schedule so I reluctantly agreed to fly! Booking: 7/10 The country has seven local airlines registered: Air Bagan; Air KBZ, Air Mandalay, Asian Wings, Golden Myanmar Airlines; Myanmar Airways International and Yangon Airways. Our first choice was Asian Wings because they are 49 per cent owned by Japan’s ANA. Unfortunately,…
Trip Reports
Category Archives for Trip Reports.
Rail Mayhem in Myanmar (Trip Report)
I have ridden the rails in Africa, the Americas,Asia, Australia and Europe in steam trains to TGVs! Today’s report talks about a train ride in Myanmar (Burma) from Mandalay (the country’s second biggest city located in the centre of the map) to Bagan (the tourist and spiritual heart of the country located southwest of Mandalay). This ride has to be simultaneously one of the best, worst and funniest rail journeys I have ever done! Some websites warn tourists that trains in Myanmar are expensive compared to buses, slow, uncomfortable, dirty, noisy and smelly. True. Others extol…
Flight 1000 utter mix up!!
I kind of hoped for more from my 1000th flight… Check in After disembarking from a magnificent Emirates flight from Kuala Lumpur, I wheeled my small case into the Qantas lounge at Melbourne airport. The International and Qantas domestic terminals are right next door to each other making it one of the easiest airports in the world to connect! Much better than Sydney connections). I had already checked in on-line but wanted to see if I could get a bulkhead seat. After glancing at my frequent flyer card and tapping at his keyboard, the…
5* Emirates Business: Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur
Qatar, Emirates and Cathay Pacific, have been my three favourite airlines for a while now (although I have some misgivings regarding Qatar following revelations last year of their employment practices). Nonetheless, these carriers bring back the pleasure of airline travel providing me with reminders that air flights do not have to be a barren bus like experiences! Today’s flight (my 994th ever) was the epitome of how phenomenal Emirates are. Booking: 9 out of 10 I actually booked my ticket through Qantas. Despite being the same seat on the same plane, Qantas were selling it…
An Empty Qantas Bangkok to Sydney
This has happened four times in 991 flights -a plane so empty, l score four seats in Economy to myself allowing me a stretch and a good sleep Not sure where the passengers were? Normally this is a very full flight. Scared off by the troubles in Thailand? Flying Jetstar, Emirates or Air Asia instead? Check in: 7 out of 10 After a frustrating time trying to do this on my phone, I gave up and waited until I had laptop access. This has got to be made possible using the Qantas mobile site…
Trip Report: Vietnam’s Reunification Express
Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, Vietnam Reunification Express Train SE2 Departure: 7pm Arrival: 1140am the next day Booking: 8 out of 10 Thanks to the amazing Man at Seat 61 (see yesterday’s blog), we learnt that booking train tickets in Vietnam is not straight forward. Mark Smith (the man) has a whole section on the site dedicated to navigating the Vietnamese railway system. Thanks Mark. We tried to book through VietnamImpressive and despite two attempts never heard from them. We then went to Vietnam-Railway.com. Note this company is not an official arm of the Vietnamese Railways or linked to…
My “Scoot” to Singapore!
Singapore airline launched Scoot in 2011 as a low cost carrier. I think their intention is to position Scoot between ultra low cost Tiger and regional subsidiary Silk Air. Late last year, Scoot announced an arrangement with Thailand’s Nok air to extend the brand from Thailand so I think Scoot is here to stay for a while. Scoot has gone with a vibrant youth focused vibe. It feels somewhat more “hip” than its parent. For example, they refer to “cuddly” passengers who they encourage to buy two seats. Booking: 10 out of 10 Their booking engine (www.flyscoot.com), available in Cantonese, English,…
Qatar 5 star: Hanoi to Bangkok
Qatar have been my favourite airline for over a year now. Based in the Middle Eastern kingdom of the same name, the airline has been growing aggressively adding destinations, planes and crew at a rapid pace. Along the way, they seem to have maintained their quality. The airline, has in more recent years become profitable. Last year, they joined the One World network and this week announced they were forming a Saudi Arabian subsidiary: Al Maha. Skytrax list Qatar as one of the few five star airlines in the world, along with Asiana, ANA, Cathay…
I visit Cambodia – my 57th country
A slow third class train trip through rural Thailand, followed by a tuk tuk ride and a walk across the Thai-Cambodian border got me into Cambodia. This is the 57th country I have been to. It is also the tenth Asian country I have visited (along with Brunei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand). Over the next two weeks I will be travelling to Siam Reap and Pnom Penh in Cambodia plus Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hoi An, Hanoi and Ha Long in Vietnam.
Trip Report: Air Asia -four times!
I have not had a good run with Air Asia and have placed them in my bottom ten airlines for the last three years. I was challenged last year by a number of Air Asia supporters so I have been determined to give them a good testing. This month, I flew two flights with Air Asia and two flights with Air Asia X, their international arm. Booking: 7 out of 10 Air Asia has an attractive website that is easy to navigate. The site even has a clear guide on how to book online.…
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