Posts from the ‘Travel Planning’ Category
German Rail Pass, late-2012 RTW
In 2012, I spent the year traveling around the world. By October, I was making my way from the southern to the northern hemisphere, and a return to Europe. Spending a few weeks in Berlin, Germany in the fall meant that I had a number of friends to visit throughout Germany. Thus began the start of my “Germany tour”:
- Berlin to Heidelberg
- Heidelberg to Freiburg im Breisgau
- Freiburg im Breisgau to Köln
- Köln to Berlin
- Berlin to Frankfurt am Main: for a wedding!
- Frankfurt am Main to München
- München to Passau (daytrip)
- München to Berlin
- Berlin to Dresden (daytrip)
From the German Rail Passes website, I found the 10-day (within 1-month) rail-pass in 2nd-class for $428 USD in mid-November. I purchased the rail-pass with a valid start-date of 22 November 2012. While I was already present in Germany, my transaction was successful, the ticket printed in Dublin, and sent by DHL-courier to where I was staying in Berlin.
I checked fares on the Deutsche Bahn website in early-2013 after fare prices were raised on average by 2.8 percent in early-December 2012. I searched fares for trains on an assumed time and date of “10am, 15 March 2013″, and took note of the highest and lowest 2nd-class fares in the “Sparpreis” category, which are the cheapest available fares. The “Normalpreis” fares were more expensive than “Sparpreis” fares by at least 10 to 20%; some “Normalpreis” fares were two times more expensive. The distances shown are approximate and estimated from “Strecke” values returned by the Luftlinie distance calculator (in German).
| Route (Nov-Dec 2012) | Distance | 2nd class, Sparpreis |
|---|---|---|
| Berlin Hbf – Heidelberg Hbf | 620 km | € 69—129 |
| Heidelberg Hbf – Freiburg (Breisgau) Hbf | 180 km | € 35—84 |
| Freiburg (Breisgau) Hbf – Köln Hbf | 430 km | € 35—99 |
| Köln Hbf – Berlin Hbf | 560 km | € 79—99 |
| Berlin Hbf – Frankfurt am Main Hbf | 540 km | € 35—99 |
| Frankfurt Hbf – München Hbf | 400 km | € 35—79 |
| München Hbf – Passau Hbf, return | 400 km | € 38—44 |
| München Hbf – Berlin Hbf | 580 km | € 69—109 |
| Berlin Hbf – Dresden Hbf, return | 400 km | € 19—55 |
| Total | 4110 km | € 414—797 |
| Total in USD (1 € = $1.3 USD) | … | $ 538—1036 |
| Ten-day German Rail Pass, in USD | … | $ 428 |
| Minimum savings, in USD | … | $ 100+ |
The Rail Pass does not bind the passholder to a specific train on a given date and time; so, I gained the flexibility of choosing any Deutsche Bahn scheduled-train whenever I needed to travel. Even though I only used nine of the ten days in the Rail Pass, I still saved at least $100 USD. The savings increase with longer distances between destinations.
If a traveler knows they’ll be staying and traveling within a European country for some time, a European Rail Pass can be a good way to save money on intranational travel. Staying in Germany for up to 3 months meant that Rail Pass(es) represented good value for the money.
My previous posts about German Rail Passes:
• Yet another trip with German Rail (2011)
• Across the country with German Rail
• Saving money with a German Rail Pass
• Flexibility with a German Rail Pass
I made the two photos above with a Canon EOS450D (XSI) camera. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com.
Disclosure: No Connection, Unpaid, My Own Opinions. I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein (cmp.ly/0).
In-town flight check-in at MTR Hong Kong
Chep Lap Kok airport, otherwise known as Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), opened for service in 1998, replacing the smaller Kai Tak Airport in Kowloon. HKIA operates 24-hours, and is one of the busiest airports in the world by passenger numbers, aircraft movements, and cargo traffic.
As the airport is located over 30 kilometres (over 20 miles) from Hong Kong’s “Central” business district and city centre, transport options include taxis, buses, coaches for major hotels, or the MTR.
The MTR (Mass Transit Railway) Airport Express route is a reasonably quick and inexpensive choice with trains running every 10-12 minutes between the city of Hong Kong and the airport in a one-way trip lasting under 30 minutes. As of posting, the cost for one adult is HKD$100 (less than USD$13) for a single journey, same day return ticket, or with an Octopus card; additional information about fare-, ticket-, and travel-options with the MTR Airport Express can be accessed here.
Upon landing in Hong Kong, one of the first things I’d highly recommend is purchasing an Octopus card with which many retail transactions can occur, including fast food, cafés, shopping, and local public transport. The card can be recharged at one of many 7-Eleven or Circle-K convenience stores in Hong Kong or with an automated machine at any one of the MTR stations throughout the region.
But now you’re leaving and flying out from Hong Kong airport, and you’ve got luggage to check for your flight. Is there any way you can check in before arriving at the airport?
The answer is “yes”!
Depending on the airline, there is In-Town Check-In service at the airline counters on the ground floor of MTR Hong Kong station. Check-in for flights can occur from 90-minutes to one full day before the scheduled flight.
For example, I flew Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and I checked into my flight at MTR Hong Kong station well before the scheduled departure time. I received my boarding pass; my luggage was checked, tagged, and on its way to the airport. It felt a little unusual not having my luggage with me on the train, and at the airport, I had to remind myself that not only did I have my boarding pass, but that my luggage was also on its way to the plane’s cargo hold and onwards to Saigon airport.
MTR Hong Kong station is located below the IFC Mall linking to 1IFC and 2IFC buildings. There are two MTR stations in the same vicinity: “Hong Kong” and “Central” which may be confusing to visitors.
MTR Central is a station on the Island train-line and the southern terminus station for the Tsuen Wan train-line. MTR Hong Kong station is the eastern terminus station for the Tung Chung and Airport Express train-lines; to avoid confusion, these two lines are accessed on two different floors in the station. An underground passageway links “Central” and “Hong Kong” stations, and the walk between stations is less than ten minutes. Location maps and physical layouts for each station are located here. The area also includes Exchange Square or Hong Kong Station Public Transport Interchange, providing connections to local and regional bus services; and Central Ferry Piers at the harbourfront, providing ferries to Kowloon and the outer islands in Hong Kong.
Even with a myriad of transport options, leaving Hong Kong for the airport doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult.
As the Airport Express line makes one of two intermediary stops at “Kowloon” station, the same check-in policy also applies at Kowloon station if you’re staying on the north or mainland side of Hong Kong harbour.
I made the photos above on 18 June 2012. Acknowledgements go to Amos Struck who recommended I write this post which naturally appears on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com.
One million miles and counting
I’ve been a member of American Airlines’ AAdvantage frequent-flyer loyalty program for over ten years. Despite recent financial troubles with the airline, it’s easy to forget American Airlines was one of the last U.S. legacy carriers to declare bankruptcy proceedings.
What I’d like to share with this post is a few tips about “we love you” status. My experience has primarily been with American Airlines, and while there are differences between airlines’ frequent-flyer programs, there are similarities with respect to tier, minimum mileage, status duration, and perks.
Upon enrollment into the AAdvantage program, earning sufficient miles can get traveler into one of the following elite-status tiers on American Airlines (AA): gold, platinum, or executive platinum. To reach these tiers, one must have accumulated/flown within one calendar year 25-thousand, 50-thousand, or 100-thousand qualifying-miles, respectively. As AA is one of the founding members of the oneworld alliance, the three AA status-tiers also correspond, respectively, to ruby, sapphire, and emerald status on oneworld.
I spent three years on AAdvantage executive platinum. In my view, the best reward was the eight free one-way systemwide upgrades per year; a purchase of an economy-class fare was eligible for upgrade to the next fare-class. A real bonus for the upgrade was its “systemwide” nature. For example, if I flew AA Santiago to Dallas and AA Dallas to San Francisco on the same itinerary, I would call and request the upgrades. If I was upgraded to business-class on both flights, these counted as a single systemwide upgrade.
In the fourth-quarter of 2010, I surpassed one million miles flown on flights with AA and with oneworld alliance-partner airlines. I don’t have a credit card whose usage also collects miles. Apart from a couple of modest hotel and rental-car promotions, over 95 per cent of my miles total has been accumulated in the air. Surpassing one million miles on AA means I have “lifetime gold”, so long as the elite status program remains. A person attains “lifetime platinum” status when they reach a total two million miles flown. There is no “lifetime executive-platinum” status, however. As of writing, I’ve surpassed 1.2 million miles.
In late-August (2011), American Airlines announced their Million Miler program to recognize flyers with grand totals with the airline and to describe the perks with the achievement. The Points Guy summarized the million-mile programs by the various airlines.
There are of course two additional and larger alliances: Star Alliance, whose members include United Airlines, Deutsche Lufthansa, and Singapore Airlines, and Skyteam whose members include Delta Airlines, Air France, and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. I’ve been collecting miles with Lufthansa with an eye to diversifying airline status programs and access to lounges.
With reduced travel, I managed to retain platinum status for 2011 and 2012. Platinum (AA) or equivalent sapphire (oneworld) status allows:
- preferred check-in,
- no baggage fees,
- 1 or 2 pieces of free checked luggage (dependent upon partner airline),
- preferred boarding,
- entry into business lounge operated by a participating oneworld alliance partner (subject to capacity/restrictions).
During my RTW in 2012, the latter has played an important role in being able to use the lounges operated by other oneworld partner airlines. For example, I’m eligible to use American Airlines’ AAdmirals Lounge in Miami, Florida; Cathay Pacific’s lounge in Hong Kong; Qantas’ lounge in Sydney, Australia; the SLOW lounge (in partnership with British Airways) in Johannesburg, South Africa; and the British Airways lounge in London Heathrow.
This post is published originally on Fotoeins Fotopress at fotoeins.com.
Disclosure: No Connection, Unpaid, My Own Opinions. I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein (cmp.ly/0).
86 percent “round the world” for $315
OK, I admit it – the title to this post is a little misleading, because I’m referring to the distance I’ve traveled during the first five months of 2012, the distance equivalent to 86-percent of the way around the world.
But first, here’s a little background …
Over the last ten-plus years, I’ve flown a total of over one million miles with American Airlines and their Oneworld alliance partners. This means a few key things:
- some “we love you” elite-status, which means faster check-in process, no “first checked-bag” fees, early boarding, and some use of the airport lounges,
- faster accumulation of miles “earned” by flying,
- and I’ve a chance to use these miles to see friends around North America in a short period of time without breaking the budget.
I began the North America portion of my around-the-world (RTW) trip the first week of 2012. With over 300,000 frequent-flyer miles in store, I’ve traveled throughout the continent by redeeming miles (plus taxes) for the following flights.
| Date | Destination | Route | Miles Traveled & Used | Taxes & Fees ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 4 | Vancouver, BC | SFO-LAX-YVR 1-way | 1418 | 25k | 5.00 |
| Jan 19 | Honolulu, HI | YVR-SEA-HNL return | 5608 | 35k | 66.00 |
| Feb 21 | Los Angeles, CA | SEA-LAX 1-way | 954 | 12.5k | 2.60 |
| Mar 2 | México City | LAX-MEX 1-way | 1553 | 17.5k | 24.90 |
| Mar 10 | San Jose, CA | MEX-DFW-SJC 1-way | 2374 | 35k | 47.20 |
| Mar 20 | NW Arkansas | SFO-DFW-XNA 1-way | 1745 | 12.5k | 5.00 |
| Mar 26 | Houston, TX | XNA-DFW-IAH 1-way | 505 | 25k | 5.00 |
| Apr 3 | Toronto, ON | IAH-DFW-YYZ 1-way | 1424 | 12.5k | 5.00 |
| Apr 10 | Minneapolis, MN | YYZ-ORD-MSP 1-way | 770 | 12.5k | 61.26 |
| Apr 17 | Washington, DC | MSP-ORD-DCA 1-way | 946 | 25k | 5.00 |
| May 2 | Nassau, Bahamas | BWI-MIA-NAS 1-way | 1130 | 17.5k | 5.00 |
| May 29 | Vancouver, BC | NAS-MIA-DFW-YVR 1-way | 3058 | 30k | 83.50 |
| TOTALS | — | routes map | 21485 | 260k | 315.46 |
Note that the equivalent frequent flyer miles reimbursed amounted to a total of 260,000 miles. With plane tickets obtained by redeeming miles, the actual miles flown came to a total of just over 21,485 miles, which would be the equivalent of making my way 86-percent around the world, with the Earth’s circumference equal to about 24,900 miles.
All of the flights were intracontinental, but that was still a lot of miles flown in the first five months of the year.
Disclosure: No Connection, Unpaid, My Own Opinions. I have not received any compensation for writing this content and I have no material connection to the brands, topics and/or products that are mentioned herein (cmp.ly/0). Full credits for the map are found here. This post is published on Fotoeins Fotopress (fotoeins.com).
Lugging long-term on the RTW
A lively debate about “backpack vs. suitcase” can break out among travelers, especially those on long-term and/or around-the-world (RTW) travel. For my present RTW, most destinations are urban settings, with visits to family and friends in various cities around the world. I also have every intention of stopping in a hotel once in awhile for the occasional splurge and total relaxation.
I’m traveling with these primary pieces:
- North Face “Mentor” backpack, measuring 52 cm x 35 cm x 14 cm (20.5 in x 13.5 in x 5.5 in) and weighing 1 kg (2 lbs), composed of 600D + 1200D polyester fabric, and volume 33 litres (2015 cubic-inches).
- Victorinox Werks Traveler 3.0, 22″ Deluxe (Victorinox Swiss Army 22″ Expandable Werks Traveler 3.0 Luggage), which I’ve already been using for various trips around the world since 2001. Weighing 9 pounds, the suitcase measures 24 in x 15 in x 10 in, which gives a maximum volume of about 58 litres. The suitcase is beat up in a few places, but the sturdy little guy is going to get one last “kick” and “workout” around the world this year. An advantage for this piece of luggage is that it fits into overhead bins on long-haul planes, e.g., Boeing 767-300, 777-300, 747-400, and Airbus 340 series, which are generally the kinds of planes used for transcontinental and international flights.
In early December, I packed up my household belongings in Chile for shipment back to Canada. This meant I packed simultaneously for my long-term travel. This had the benefit of having everything “out” at once, and separating things what I needed from those I didn’t. The drawback was having everything out at the same time, and deciding what was to go into storage, and what was to accompany me.
ALL THIS FOR ONE YEAR
Above, left-to-right top-down:
- winter scarf, toque, and gloves
- cargo shorts
- 2 pairs of jeans (1 not shown)
- 2 packing cubes with shorts
- 4 t-shirts, including 1 Columbia XCQ olive, 1 Columbia Titanium olive, 1 Columbia Titanium blue
- 4 pairs long socks (1 pair not shown), 1 pair short-socks
- 2 long-sleeve shirts (1 not shown)
- 1 pair of indoor shorts
Above, left-to-right top-down:
- 2 fleece pullovers in black and gray
- 2 baseball caps (Canada, Canucks)
- 1 green REI fleece jacket
- 1 black Victorinox toiletry case
- small black windbreaker
- 1 large blue rain jacket by Sierra Designs
It’s now May, and I’m presently in the Bahamas for the entire month. I’ve added a new set of swimming trunks and a pair of sandals : light and easy to pack. The latter may be true, but I’m holding onto “less is more” as best I can.
I made the photos above with a 4thGen-iPodT and a Canon EOS450D. This post appears originally on Fotoeins Fotopress (fotoeins.com).
