More travel plans sorted
Jan. 15th, 2019 04:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jawnbcEvery two years there is a global e-learning conference. In 2017 it was in Toronto; this year it will be in Dublin in early November. I had aspirations for the Toronto event, but a colleague--who is from Ontario--went instead. She had nothing but positive things to say about it. So I'm keen for this year.
Except...my travel budget will have flatlined come November. I'm not moaning: I'm traveling to Valencia and Prague in March, and will be in Vancouver in June. These are awesome opportunities. But...but...but...
Then I remembered that I have a fair amount of Airports accumulated. More than enough, in fact, to get to Europe in business class. So I started using the new Air New Zealand Star Alliance reward booking engine. It's better than what was there before because...it's there? I mean, I can actually see some availability. Problem is, it doesn't show all availability. How do I know that? Because I still have an active Air Canada account--that shows me everything!
The return flights ex Dublin were easy to sort. I found a great combination of Turkish Air and Singapore. So I'll get to see the new Istanbul Airport and my last overnight flight will be in the upper deck of Singapore's business class. Schweeet! Booked a hotel for the long weekend that won't be covered by the conference. Sor.Ted.
Then I had to figure where to go before Dublin. the week before the conference includes our Labour Day: might as well try to take advantage of that, eh? I looked at:
That left Sofia and Budapest. All things being equal I try to visit somewhere new. Flights were a bit better to Sofia and the flight to Dublin (via BA) was about the same. Scoring a 4 star international standard hotel sealed the deal. Why does the hotel matter? Because my experience as a queer person travelling--especially one with data files about homosex and HIV--means avoiding mom and pop run places where my "lifestyle" might be an issue.
I arrive on Sunday evening and leave after lunch on Friday. So 4 full days to see Sofia and perhaps something nearby. The flights there are a combination of Air China and Austrian. I've flown both before and Air China's newer planes are supposed to be better (it's a 787). Austrian business class is just ace. The flight from China to Austria is a daylight flight, so I can enjoy all the Viennese coffees I want! Genau! Tolle!
Except...my travel budget will have flatlined come November. I'm not moaning: I'm traveling to Valencia and Prague in March, and will be in Vancouver in June. These are awesome opportunities. But...but...but...
Then I remembered that I have a fair amount of Airports accumulated. More than enough, in fact, to get to Europe in business class. So I started using the new Air New Zealand Star Alliance reward booking engine. It's better than what was there before because...it's there? I mean, I can actually see some availability. Problem is, it doesn't show all availability. How do I know that? Because I still have an active Air Canada account--that shows me everything!
The return flights ex Dublin were easy to sort. I found a great combination of Turkish Air and Singapore. So I'll get to see the new Istanbul Airport and my last overnight flight will be in the upper deck of Singapore's business class. Schweeet! Booked a hotel for the long weekend that won't be covered by the conference. Sor.Ted.
Then I had to figure where to go before Dublin. the week before the conference includes our Labour Day: might as well try to take advantage of that, eh? I looked at:
Kyiv: hotel options were OK, but flight schedules were terrible. Like 50 hours+ from Auckland to Kyiv. Fuck that.Minsk: limited international standard hotel options and only slightly better flight options. Fuck that too (or two).Moscow: flight options again. Fuck that three.Chisinau: no flights.- Krakow: decent flight schedules and hotel options. Short list!
- Sofia: decent flight schedules and hotel options. Short list!
- Paris: decent flight schedules and hotel options. Short list!
- Budapest: decent flight schedules and hotel options. Short list!
That left Sofia and Budapest. All things being equal I try to visit somewhere new. Flights were a bit better to Sofia and the flight to Dublin (via BA) was about the same. Scoring a 4 star international standard hotel sealed the deal. Why does the hotel matter? Because my experience as a queer person travelling--especially one with data files about homosex and HIV--means avoiding mom and pop run places where my "lifestyle" might be an issue.
I arrive on Sunday evening and leave after lunch on Friday. So 4 full days to see Sofia and perhaps something nearby. The flights there are a combination of Air China and Austrian. I've flown both before and Air China's newer planes are supposed to be better (it's a 787). Austrian business class is just ace. The flight from China to Austria is a daylight flight, so I can enjoy all the Viennese coffees I want! Genau! Tolle!
