Travel Plans

Reading Lynn's latest entry about her expedition to Japan got me very very tempted. I want to go Japan again! Lynn was lamenting about going on solo travels and not having companions, but I personally feel travelling alone ain't that bad after all.

Let me recollect my solo trips.

China - biz trips to Beijing (twice), Shenyang, Shenzhen. I loved each and every trip as China is so huge and each city is so different. Great exposure for me and I didn't feel bored at all.

HK - my experience was marred by some unpleasant people and encounters. Rather not go if I have the choice. So not sure if I'll visit my sec sch best friend when he relocates there.

Europe - 'forced' to fly in to Paris 3 days earlier for compulsory travelling due to fully booked flights. I loved it. My first real experience travelling alone and it was fabulous!

US - went there to work for 2 months as a lifeguard during uni days. Banded together with other Singaporeans I didn't know and made lotsa friends from all over the world, including Lithuania and Latvia.

Japan/Korea - In Dec last year as a tour leader. Moonlighting and feeling damn shiok cos it's free.

Auckland - Global Summit and filmings. Went alone but made friends with hardcore LM fanatics all over the world.

KL/Bangkok - Quarterly workshops where I met up with the other instructors.

My take on solo travels is that it's quite good if you know how to make the best out of the situation. I can just do what I want, sightseeing, eating, shopping, etc without having to worry about others. I don't have to adhere to schedules or bear with people's temper.

I've been out of the country 5 times already this year and still counting. I don't think I'll hit double figures but I certainly foresee a couple more trips. But that irritating income tax notice of assessment just arrived and it will drain my cashflow severely as I absolutely have no intention of GIRO payment. I just want to get it out of the way ASAP.

I initially planned to go Europe with YH and KM in Oct but I told the girls to proceed with their booking as I just switched jobs and can't commit the dates. I'm secretly hoping that my 10 days compliance block leave can be taken during this period so I can join them. If not, I do have a few alternatives in mind.

1) Sydney with CTC - Been there before but if I go, it would be to visit some friends seconded there.
2) HK to visit ZW - Only thing stopping me is I don't like HK.

Knowing that my compliance leave is subject to approval, it would be more difficult to find a travel partner at late notice. So I'm not ruling out travelling alone again.

1) UK - I want to watch a Premier League match! Or even two.
2) Europe - just go there and walk around.
3) US - The USD has come down and things are cheaper now.
4) Taipei - I have not even been there before!
5) Auckland redux - Attend filmings again.

I have enough KF miles to go for most of these places so that should take care of the air tix, but that's going to make it more difficult to find a travel partner especially if they have budget constraints. And I still want to get my 25% bonus miles on SQ flights while I'm still KF Silver member so I may still pay for the tickets and then accumulate the miles. It's running out soon and my new job doesn't require me to travel.

Now if anyone wonders why I have so many miles despite not flying often, the answer is simple. I swear by my AMEX Krisflyer credit card. The miles are really quick. I've used about $15k on the card year to date so far and I'm especially eager to volunteer helping my parents book their SQ flights to get my double miles. =)

But there's a new competitor card out on the market. Citi Miles. I will apply and check that out too.

Die. I'm seriously addicted to travel!