Really Expensive Flights!

I just did a few checks with my regular travel agent on the price of a flight ticket to London next year and was really shocked to find it in the regions of RM4,500 plus tax! The airport tax portion alone was already around RM1,000 which is really extremely high!

I also asked her to check up on the Middle Eastern airlines and those were slightly cheaper but will mean having to take a transit through either Dubai or Bahrain. I guess we're okay with either as we've never been that way before. But for now, I'm just waiting to see if any promotions come out towards year end which will enable us to get cheaper flights.

Expiring Nights

I had 3 nights of my timeshare programme expiring by early November. It's such a waste to just let them lapse and I wasn't sure of my ability to take leave then due to the coming festive holidays so last weekend, I gave my dad 2 nights for him to use in his coming Bangkok trip. I've put through the booking and am now waiting for their response. I do hope it goes through! At least my nights wouldn't go to waste and my parents can have a nice hotel to stay in when they're in Bangkok.

Lose That Weight

When I was in UK two months ago, I noticed a new diet revolution that seemed to be sweeping across the nation. Every other newspaper, advertisement and magazine was touting the powers of the hoodia patch in helping people successfully lose their unwanted pounds and keep it off! It’s a herb that has weight loss properties which have been harnessed by scientists to help those with obesity or weight problems. It seems like we’re starting to turn back to ancient herbs and cures for our modern day illnesses.

Shopping Cart Software

When I was traveling last month to UK, I happened to be seated next to a man who was constantly working on his laptop all throughout the flight. Curious as to what he was doing with such intent, I asked him what he was working on. It turned out that he was an entrepreneur who owned his own online store selling all kinds of designer gowns at knock down prices. He promised me they were original and he managed to sell them cheaper as he had a cheaper source of getting them. He was trying to revamp his site on the long flight and installing a new shopping cart feature on his site to make it even easier for his buyers to shop online now. He told me that this new software he found makes it so easy for him to build a highly professional, user-friendly and secure site for just a low monthly fee. It integrates all major payment sources, from banks to gateways and even Paypal so it makes it easier for his customers to shop at his site. I came away rather impressed with his site and ended up being very tempted by some of the dresses there!

Much Shorter Route

Continuing from my last post, what do you think is the shortest route to West Africa? Well, when I had to make a trip there 2 years ago, we took an unconventional route.

Most of my colleagues who had to travel there always took the Paris route which was long as a flight to Paris was already 13 hours added with another 7 hours down to West Africa. So, when we went, my boss at that time opted to try going via Kenya on Kenya Airways. It was a much better flight as it broke the journey up into two flights of approximately 8+ hours each and we arrived in West Africa around noon.That gave us enough time to catch a full night's sleep before the day started the next day.

On our way home, we had a 12 hour transit in Kenya but that was great fun as the airlines had provided a hotel room in a swanky hotel which we didn't get to use much as we were too busy going on a short safari in Nairobi! That was truly quite a memorable trip for me and someday I'll definitely wish to return to South Africa for a proper safari on the Serengeti Plains.

Longest Route to Africa

A colleague of mine has been sent yet again to West Africa. Poor guy! West Africa really isn't my idea of a holiday!

His secretary was booking the tickets for him and when I stole a peek at his itinerary, I was surprised to see that he was taking one of the longest and worst routes there which was via the Middle East and Casablanca. That route always arrived in West Africa in the early hours of the morning which left not much time to rest as the work day starts almost always immediately.

So what's the fastest route there? It's coming up in my next post!

Travel Booting Up Again

I just got news from a colleague that we may be scheduled for travel yet again next week. Boohoo...it's my birthday on Friday and I don't want to be celebrating it by myself in some foreign land! :(

I'm hoping that I wouldn't have to go on this trip. Let's keep my fingers crossed. At times like this, I really wish there was some way we could just teleport ourselves over. It'll save so much time, fatigue and traveling costs!