Nathan's Insights

World Traveller: 7 Continents, 90 Countries, 871 Days Overseas

2016 Travel Just Got Very Comfortable

June 2, 2015

The 2016 World Trip to Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam is starting to take sharp. I’ve decided that for this trip I will try an experience First Class travel on long haul using my QANTAS points. After investigating the options it looks like catching a Emirates first class flight on their A380 is the way to go. Frequent Flyers informed me also to go for a day flight to enjoy all the benefits.

Therefore I’m going to try an book the Emirates 6.00 am flight from Sydney to Dubai which is a 14 hour flight using an A380 that seems to have a lot of first class award seats available. I couldn’t find any seats via Melbourne on an A380 Emirates flight and they are all at night anyway.

Next up I’ll stay in Dubai for less than 24 hours and fly to Colombo which is a 4 hour flight. The less than 24 hour stay means the first class award seat is calculated as one flight from Melbourne to Colombo (Sri Lanka) saving me many reward points and some taxes. This also means I can go to a show in Dubai or some sightseeing, maybe check out the ski resort in the mall.

The Emirates first class experience includes chauffeur pick up and drop off before and after the flight. Now in Sydney I won’t be able to use this service as I’ll stay at the hotel next to the airport since it’s a 6 amflight. But in Dubai I’ll definitely use this service; I might be the only person in a chauffeur car getting dropped off at the budget hotel 😅

Emirates First Class seat – bed
Now what does the Emirates A380 first class experience include? Well a shower at 40,000 feet for starters, a real TV, pop up drink service, a bed (for a catnap since they leave at 6 am) and a very wide selection of food and drinks. And I almost forgot there is a bar as well and free Wi-Fi!

Emirates A380 First Class Bar Experience
Emirates First Class A380 Review 1

Emirates First Class A380 Review 2

So after this I can cross off a first class long haul flight of the bucket list on a trip take will also allow me to also see an Australian Test Match in another country (part of another bucket list item) and them onwards to travel in four countries I want to experience.

Now I just need the Cricket Australia to confirm dates for the July-August tour so I can start hunting down award seats and link up to tours.
Remembering Antartica

May 25, 2015

My blog now allows me to post videos so I can now share some of the videos I took during my Antarctica trip. I visited Antarctica with G Adventures on their Antarctica Classic in Depth tour from 8 November to 19 November 2012. My trip summary is located here. More videos loaded on YouTube – Antarctica 2012 Videos Playlist.
2016 Travel and beyond

May 20, 2015

we must take adventures in order to know where we truly belong

So one of the first things you do at the end of an overseas trip, and especially on a nine hour flight home, is start thinking about the next trip. Now that I don’t take 2-3 month trips every 2-3 years it means I’ll be taking shoter 4-6 week trips more regularly every year so the planning begins a little earlier.

Using the G Adventure website as a starting point and listening to fellow travellers I have an initial wishlist of ideas covering the next few years but this is only the start. I went to India and Japan as a direct result of recommendations from friends and they were both amazing places so I’ll continue to seek their input and ideas.

I’ve only visited 52 countries so far and I have a lot left on my bucket list. Time to take action and experience more!

2016 Trips

Based on the Australia Test tour of Sri Lanka July-August 2016:

Treasures of Sri Lanka (14 days Negombo to Negombo)

Indochina Explorer (18 days Bangkok to Siem Reap)

2017 Trips

Absolute Turkey (15 days Istanbul to Istanbul)

Jordan Highlights (8 days Amman to Amman)

2018 Trips

Arctic Circle and Fjords by Rail (13 days Kiruna to Oslo)

Arctic Highlights (15 days Longyearbyen to Reykjavík)

Likely August to September dates.

The Polar Bears are calling!

Other Possible Trips

High Road to Tibet (14 days Kathmandu to Kathmandu including Mt Everst Base Camp)

Trans-Mongolian Express (21 days Beijing to Moscow). Likely link a visit to Shanghai.

I also want to be in England for an Ashes tour one year, not 2015 but maybe the next one. So much more to still experience.
World Trip 2015: Summary

May 18, 2015

So it’s now over. I’m finally back home after 31 days exploring 🇮🇳 India and 🇯🇵 Japan. This trip come about after I cancelled my planned longer trip from October last year to Africa for 2 months (South Africa to Kenya camping) and Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. I selected this smaller trip based on recommendations from friends. And I’m extremely happy I did.

The major highlights of this trip includes in India; seeing the Taj Mahal, playing cricket with local kids in Swarda, walking the slums of Dehli, visiting the underrated Agra Fort, the noise and craziness of India everywhere, experiencing the vast difference between North and South India, a canoe trip under the stars in Alleppey, and in Japan; visting Miyajima Insland especially the mountain hike, experiencing Hiroshima Peace Park & Museum, visiting a Japanese Tea Ceremony, mediating with monks, staying in a temple on Mt Koya, singing karaoke!!, the Ninja Show and the Robot Show, experiencing the excellent train infrastructure, learning differences between shrines and temples, visiting a marriage ceremony in traditional dress, eating dinner in traditional dress, and seeing the Golden Temple.

Japan is definitely the easier place to visit. The locals are very polite, most speak some English and pretty much everywhere has an English sign. The customs are also easier to understand. I was felt safe and the countryside is very beautiful has an added bonus.

Marriage Ceremony Meiji Shinto Shrine Japan
India is a bit more complex. There is extreme poverty and extreme wealth so near each other you can’t ignore it. The countryside towns and villages seemed to be much happier. The road system is a mess and drivers are crazy. The traditional sights are however amazing highighting when India was the wealthest place on earth in 1500 to 1600 centurys. You are almost guaranteed to get sick every if taking precautions but you can limit the impact by being careful and having medicine to help.

Taj Magal -Magnificent
I’m glad I visited both but if I only had time to visit one it would be Japan, however India is more exotic and takes you more out of your comfort zone so it is a very close decision on which one to recommend.

Now for the next trip in 2016! ✈️🚢
World Trip 2015: Day 30 – Tokyo to Melbourne, Australia

May 16, 2015

Saturday 16 May 2015
Highlights: Returning home.

QANTAS flight 22 (QF22) boarded on time but my plan to have a spare seat next to me failed. Instead I had a Japanese gentleman on the window seat who throughout the 9 hour flight kept getting up meaning I had to get up to let him out and therefore no real sleep on this overnight flight. Still the shower I had in the QANTAS lounge just before boarding meant I was feeling pretty fresh when we landed in Sydney.

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