World Traveller: 7 Continents, 90 Countries, 871 Days Overseas
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Friday 05 April 2024
Highlights: Farewelling Boots and Juno, Qantas Melbourne International Business Lounge, a surprisingly good Jetstar International Flight, and a welcomed shower at the Qantas Singapore Business Lounge.
After a lot of planning the exciting day was finally here for Darby and me. Will an uncle and niece kill each other, or will it be the trip of a lifetime building memories together?
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Jetstar AU
Date: 5 April 2024
Flight Number: JQ7
Gate: 10
Seat: 30F & 31F (Economy Class Seat)
Plane: Boeing 787-8
Boarded: 12.32
Pushback: 13.13 (Scheduled 13:05)
Arrived: 17.55 (Scheduled 18:00)
Duration: 7 hour 42 minutes
Distance: 6,025 kms
This flight was from Tullamarine (Melbourne, Australia) International Airport to Changi (Singapore) International Airport.
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My upcoming big trip with Darby (niece) is rapidity approaching with our first flight leaving Friday 5 April 2024 which is only ten days away.
While Darby has been overseas before to Bali and Hawaii both times was staying mostly in one location. However, this trip we see us on the move every few days as we get a taste of Europe and the Balkans so a very different experience for Darby. Add in this being Darby’s first overseas trip as a young adult and it should be a unique experience.
With ten days to go I’ve completed my research on the history, culture, and uniqueness in the six countries I’m visiting for the first time: Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Croatia.
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Official Name: Turkmenistan
Established: 1924 (Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic ) / 31 August 1991 (Independence from PSUSSR)
Population: 5.6 million (2022 estimate)
Religion: Muslim (93%)
Official Languages: Turkmen
Capital: Ashgabat
Order of Visit: 77
Planned First Visit: 30 May 2023
Planned Last Visit: 03 June 2023
Duration: 5 Days
Must Do: To be discovered!
Cities to be visited: Dashoguz, Darvaza, Ashgabat
Published: 28 March 2023 | Updated: 24 February 2024
So today marks the start of the 50 day countdown to my Europe 2024 Adventure with my neice to Finalnd, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Monenegro, and Croatia.
If you don’t count Turkey than this is my first visit to Europe since 2013 and boy has the world changed since then.
In addition to the Eastern Europe, Croatia & the Balkans tour with G Advantures we will be visiting Finland (just a short 20 hour stopover) and Singapore.
I’ve booked Hilton stay in Helsinki as a nice way to help recover from the 25 hours from the plane leaving Melbourne to landing in Helsinki. This is why we are stoppinghere for 20 hours instead of flying onto Germany as since a long day in economy seats and Jetstar and Finnair we definitely need time to recover!
I’ve also booked a Crowne Plaza stay for our last stop in Singapore hotel to finish with another nice hotel before our real to reality at the end of this 33 day trip.
With the trip now getting so close I’m getting very excited to be on the road. I’m also very much looking forward to sharing this adventure with my neice and seeing Europe through Darby’s eyes.
So after much discussion and thought I decided that at the end of my Ecuador December 2024 tour with my neice that I would stay on for my first leisure cruise 🙂
While technically I have done a cruise with my 12 day Antarctica Classic in Depth back in November 2012 that cruise is a bit different from a leisure cruise with on board pools, spas, and shows. So given I’ll be around Maimi next year I had a lot an found that their is a 10 Night Southern Caribbean Holiday leaving Boxing Day (26th December 2024).
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The next big step in my trip with Erin to the USA and Ecuador late November 2024 has been successful with the first flights booked from Melbourne to Los Angeles.
As this trip is a graduation and 18th birthday gift to my niece I want to make it as special as possible so I used Qantas Frequent flyer points to book business class seats for us both 🙂
Attempting to use points to fly to the USA for anything other than economy especially for 2 people is almost impossible. But 30 seconds after flights opened for booking for Friday 29 November 2024 I quickly grabbed two seats on Fiji Airways FJ934 Melbourne to Nadi (Fiji) which is a 4 hour 40 minute flight, then after a 2 hour 25 minute transit we switch to FJ810 Nadi (Fiji) to Los Angeles which a 10 hour 10 minute flight.
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With two big international trips coming up in 2024 with my nieces in April 2024 (Europe with Darby) and December 2024 (Ecuador and USA with Erin) my mind has focused on how I can help them prepare.
So I started considering what I had learned over my many trips.
What were the mistakes that easily could have been avoided?
How could I keep my costs under control by being prepared?
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After working out my plans for a sole Balkans trip in March 2024 one of my nieces (Darby) reached out an asked if she could join me on a trip to this region. As I’m already planning on taking another niece (Erin) for a trip to Ecuador in December 2024 so in fairness I had to say yes.
Plus always a major bonus travelling with a young and excited traveller who can really bring a lot of energy and different insights
(more…)Now replaced see Eastern Europe and Balkans post.
Nothing gets you more focused on your next trip after returning from an overseas trip then experiencing a freezing cold winter.
While I have a trip planned to Ecuador with my neice Erin in December 2024 after she finishes High School that seemed too long and I still have some leave saved up from the multiple pandemic lockdowns in Melbourne.
The last time I visited a new country in Europe was Iceland back in October 2012 (technically Türkiye is both Asia and Europe) made this the obvious area to return and explore.
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Nathan's Insights 