SIDE-TRIPPING

It's the week before Christmas, and you suddenly feel guilty that you're not spending it back home with family, or you've just realised there's a few public holidays in a row over a weekend next month! We’ve all had that desperate feeling where you know you’ve left it too late to get a good deal. Working in the travel industry, one of the most common questions I get asked is ‘do you have any good last minute deals?’

Here are some suggestions to help you get a decent last minute deal. I realise these ideas may be obvious to some, but you’d be surprised how many people spend over double the regular price just because it’s last minute, when if you get creative perhaps it could be avoided.

For last minute Christmas and New Years:

The festive season is about catching up with loved ones. If like me, you’re living abroad, your end of year trip back home is a whirlwind of seeing family and friends over various brunches, lunches, dinners and parties. So, by the time the holiday is over and you’re heading back to face the hundreds of unanswered work emails, you’re in desperate need of an ‘actual’ holiday.

So rather than paying double the usual price to fly direct and return more exhausted then when you left, grab a map and think about where you’re flying over.

Some ideas for my HK readers:

Vietnam Airlines via Ho Chi Minh to Australia

Spend a few days gorging on delicious food in this historical city

Stay: Caravelle (5*) a heritage hotel http://www.caravellehotel.com/en/default.aspx

After a day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels and a lunch cruise on the Mekong Delta, enjoy some sunset drinks at the rooftop bar of the Caravelle hotel, which was the centre of operations for the international media back in the 60’s during the war…so a great piece of history. Just don’t forget your visa!

Air Pacific via Fiji to Australia

Who wouldn’t want a few days of extra beach time!

Stay: Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort (5*) an eco resort on a private island, win-win http://www.fijiresort.com

Just think, you only need to pack an extra bikini!

Etihad via Abu Dhabi to the UK

Now Etihad have the codeshare flight with Air Seychelles you can enjoy a few days in the UAE, enjoying the exorbanent luxury of Arabic hospitality or perhaps visit on your outbound journey to purchase a few last minute Christmas presents 

Stay: Emirates Palace Hotel (5*) http://www.kempinski.com/en/abudhabi/emirates-palace/overview/ offering glamour and beach

Visit the worlds largest indoor theme park, where lovers of luxury cars and speed can experience the G-force felt by race car drivers at Ferrari World.

Turkish Airlines to the rest of Europe

Their premium economy service is a class above the rest and great value, usually only costing a fraction more than economy direct. With business class meals, wifi on board, 111 degree recline it’s a no brainer! Not to mention, Istanbul is an incredible city to visit with so much interesting history, architectural beauty and the food…!!!

Stay: Hotel Sultania (4*) http://www.hotelsultania.com location right in the old quarter, walking distance from the Blue Mosque, Bazaar and all the action down by the waterfront on the Bosphorous.

Brunei Airlines via Bandar Seri Begawan to/from Australian through to the UK

Say hi to the Probiscus monkeys with their funny-shaped noses, eat some salty and spicy foods at the markets in between visiting the decadant Royal Palace and various mosques. If golf is your thing, then this is the perfect stopover offering a breathtaking sea view championship course.

Stay: Empire Hotel and Country Club (5*) http://www.theempirehotel.com

Depending on the fare type, and the connection time, sometimes the airline will even pay for your night’s stay and include a sightseeing tour for you. What great value!

Philippine Airlines via Manila to Canada

Besides the endless amount of shopping malls (don’t miss the upper levels in Green belt 4 and 5, for some fantastic boutiques selling evening frocks by local designers), there’s some worthwhile daytrips or even overnight retreats just outside Manila.

Stay: Mandarin Oriental or Peninsula (5*) http://www.mandarinoriental.com/manila/ both in need of a refurb, but great location as they are walking distance to Green Belt Mall and not too far from the airport

Drive out for lunch with a view of Taal Volcano

The Farm, San Benito http://www.thefarmatsanbenito.com (approx. 1 hr car transfer from Manila) 

A true sanctuary where the use of mobile phones is restricted to your room and always on silent, delicious vegan food is prepared and you can work out, take yoga classes, detox, have colonics, acupuncture…they even offer flower arranging!

What a great way to recharge before facing the backlog of work emails post-holiday!

So next time you’re booking a long-haul trip last minute, spend the extra money on a a side trip rather than on a direct flight. Use the layover as a perfect opportunity to explore somewhere new.

MARS - ONLY AN OVERNIGHT FLIGHT AWAY

Being completely honest, I came across this place whilst researching on google for hot air balloon rides in Myanmar. This is the picture I stumbled across...

I knew I had to go.

Flying in from Istanbul into Kayseri Airport, we drove through dessert landscape for over an hour, until we reached the foothills of the mars-like terrain. A destination like Kapadokya (aka Cappadocia) has such breathtaking landscape making it so memorable on it's own, but staying in cave accommodation certainly adds to this experience. 

Cappadocia Cave Resort and Spa (5*) ~ approx EUR400 / night for a Deluxe Suite room with breakfast
http://www.ccr-hotels.com/en
I love staying in accommodation that reminds you as soon as you wake up, where you are. Whether you're at a beach destination and you wake up to the sound of waves lapping at your door, or in a historical city staying in a heritage hotel with original stone walls…when you wake up in a cool, quiet cave you know you're somewhere special.

The good:
- the caves naturally maintain a comfortable temperate, so if you visit in the summer time like I did, they're invitingly cool and in the winter time cosy and warm
- the staff were so friendly and helpful with arranging a private car and English-speaking guide for the duration of our stay (notably, a young lady named Selen Türk, assisted us through the whole booking process before we arrived and during our stay)
- great location; walking distance from the main 'castle'
- the hotel's outdoor restaurant offers fantastic views at sunset 

- free wifi in the room (not very stable or fast, but did the job)
- spacious suite rooms with an indoor jacuzzi, separate living room area and private balcony

- the spa menu is extensive with a steam room, sauna room, salt room, indoor and outdoor swimming pool, and most importantly a traditional Turkish Hamman where you lie on the heated marble slab to sweat before being scrubbed down by the tellak (masseur) 

Room for improvement
The shower drainage in our room was quite bad, almost flooded (perhaps older drainage systems and poorly designed shower doors that leaked). The general bathroom set up was quite cramped and hard to move around.

My tip 
Do not book the dinner with the Turkish dance evening show. We should have known better! The dancing itself was a lot of fun to watch, but the food was awful. One of those tourist traps where busloads of people pile into a room to watch some traditional dancing and are served food cooked hours ago in big vats and reheated. Tasteless and terrible. However, the dancing and free-flow local red wine did make up for it. 

Some of the dancing styles definitely had influences or perhaps influenced other types of dancing. The belly dancing with beautiful colourful fabrics sensually and almost hypnotically moving, reminded me of forms of traditional Indian dancing, and the men's dancing, arms-linked all in a row almost seemed Greek or even like an Irish jig.

Me getting involved :P

Cappadocia, in the ancient persian language Katpatuka, means 'land of the good-breed horses'. 60 millions years ago, the two volcanoes Erciyes and Hasan alongside the Göllü mountain erupted depositing ash and basalt. Over time different climate conditions and the natural wind, rain and erosions sculpted these ashes leaving these interesting peaks, cones and obelisks which the locals call "Fairy Chimneys".

Don't miss the Derinkuyu underground city in Neveshir, which housed up to 20,000 people and their livestock. Thought to have been used by early Christians hiding from Roman persecution and even earlier civilisations to escape the freezing winters, this intricate network of tunnels, rooms, and an incredibly clever ventilation system is a wonderful piece of history but certainly not for the claustrophobic.

I'm only 5"3 and had to almost crouch in half to shuffle through some of the tunnels that went down 200m below the ground!

For the foodies, there was a fantastic little cafe near our hotel were a very helpful local who was also dining there (and luckily for us spoke good English) helped us order a few of her favourite local dishes. One to note was the manta, like a ravioli with minced meat and a yoghurt garlic sauce.

The best meal was in the neighbouring Goreme. The pide bread was freshly baked from the oven, the lamb testi kebab, stewed in the clay pot was juicy and tender, and the baklava deliciously sweet. I can't remember the restaurant name but it's on the main street in Goreme and has an undercover but outdoor patio seating at the front of the restaurant.

You can't come all the way to Cappadocia and not see this incredible landscape from the sky. At 4am a coach full of other bleary-eyed tourists turned up at our hotel. We drove about 15 minutes to the main registration area where we were divided into smaller groups  whilst nursing a hot cup of coffee and pastry. Being in the middle of the dessert, at night time it gets quite chilly. So even if you go in the summer months, wear something warm for the balloon ride as it'a also quite windy 3000 ft above the ground. With around 100 balloons up in the sky every morning during the summer months, there are a large number of balloon company's. We booked http://www.kapadokyaballoons.com due to their safety record and price. You can pay extra for a longer 90-min ride or your own private balloon / less people. We had 10 people in our basket for a 60-min ride which was ideal.

Our pilot, Deniz Akasoy, was professional, friendly and extremely skilled weaving between the cone structures jutting out of the ground, then taking us sky high above all the other balloons, and finishing with a perfect bump-free landing.

 

A toast with bubbles was a nice finishing touch.

This is one of those destinations that you need to see for yourself. No photo, no travel show, no travel blog can really put into words how spectacular this scenery is.

HOW TO FEED YOUR TRAVEL ADDICTION

I'm often asked, 'how do you travel so much?' Yes, it's true I do get to go on holidays quite regularly, probably more than the average person. In fact, this year I've been lucky enough to holiday every month. But to be honest, this doesn't come down to 'being lucky', and I'm going to share with you a few things that have helped make it possible.

1) Plan, plan, plan

First week of January each year, I sit down with a calendar showing all the public holidays and work out my ideal holiday plans for that year. 

We are lucky in HK as we celebrate both the Chinese and British national holidays meaning we are spoilt with 17 days each year.

I break it down into:

- visiting family breaks

- long weekend breaks

- holidays with my partner

- holidays with friends

Basically, I try to split my holidays between family catch up, beach/city/cultural/ski trip, romantic or girls weekend away, and at least one detox retreat. This way it gives you something different to always look forward to and memories shared with the important people in your life. 

When choosing your destinations don't forget to take into consideration the season, and if there's any national holidays or events in that country which would affect your holiday (eg. shops, restaurants and some tourist attractions may be closed for Ramadan in some Muslim countries; hotel prices will sky rocket if you're visiting when there's an international event being held like the Grand Prix)....so make sure you check what's going on in that destination for your dates.

In real terms (and as someone who has worked in the travel industry for almost 5 years), 'last minute' deals and 'standby cheap flights' for the general public are a thing of the past. On the rare occasion, you may get lucky, but the general rule of thumb is the earlier you book, the cheaper it'll be (within reason, 4-6 months I'd say is ideal). 

2) Next, get your annual leave approved for the year if you can. Even if you end up changing the dates slightly or destination, or cancelling all together, at least you know roughly when you can commit to being away. I find once you have the annual leave approved, that commitment in itself makes a holiday daydream more likely to become a reality.

3) Be in the know

Sign up to your favourite airline and hotel group newsletter, so you're the first to know when their Earlybird deals come out or they have a promotion.

For example;

- Earlybird flights to Europe come out Jan/Feb each year usually; if you book earlier or later than this you'll probably end up paying more

- Cathay Fanfares are released early Tuesday morning and often sell out by mid morning
- seasonal holidays, like ski trips sell out much farther in advance (ie. 8-10 months in advance is a good idea to get deals)

4) Understand how a travel agent can be used to your advantage

Depending on the fare, they can often hold seats / rooms / space on a tour with a deposit so you can atleast secure a spot if you can't afford to pay everything upfront. They have access to various Pay/Stay deals, promotions and blocked seat packages not available to the general public or online, exclusive to agents. Which means, not only saving you money but they will have availability over peak periods like Chinese New Year, Easter and Christmas which when you check online, the dates look fully sold out. They can also advise you if you're booking too far in advance, and look out for deals to certain destinations you tell them you're interested in going. Furthermore, for certain festivals (eg. Oktoberfest, music festivals) they can pre-book with a deposit, or participation/spectator sporting events (eg. Grand Prix, London marathon, Rugby 7s) they have access to ticket  allotment even when the event is seemingly sold out.

5) Sacrifice 

We all work hard, and how we spend our hard-earned money is a choice. I've mentioned it before in an earlier blog; "for some people, exploring the world from the comfort of their couch on the Discovery channel suffices. For others, their priorities don't allow them the time or funds to travel". As I don't have any children, I can still be selfish in how I spend my money and I am, for I know one day (hopefully) this won't be the case. I don't have a mortgage, which some may argue isn't a good thing at my age, and I probably go shopping for clothes only once a year, if that, and always in the sales. Whilst I'm living in HK, such a central hub for travel, and am childless and mortgage-less, I happily sacrifice the small things on a week-to-week basis so I can afford this travel-focused lifestyle. This won't last forever. The mortgage will come, the kids and nesting to follow shortly after...

One of my favourite quotes

6) Join a mileage program or hotel group rewards scheme
Especially if you travel frequently for work. Try and always travel with one alliance for work-paid trips, then use the points for redemption tickets, upgrades, status benefits for your personal trips. Make sure the program you join is relevant to your region.
http://www.oneworld.com/member-airlines/overview;jsessionid=026BA324514AA9E706AA30E3A78AC916 or http://www.staralliance.com/en/

This isn't just about ticking destinations off a list for me. In fact, to be honest this is mostly about good food (hence why I keep going back to Thailand a few times a year), making memories and getting a break from the rat race and routine. For my HK readers, I'm sure you agree with me when I say how important getting away for short breaks is for your sanity. We live on top of each other in matchboxes, work long hours, and have constant work and social commitments 7 days a week! After a few weeks of this routine, feeling exhausted worryingly becomes a normal level to operate every day. This is one of the main reasons I make a point of getting away every month or so - to recharge, to relax and for me breaking up this routine makes me feel alive again. You come back feeling more positive, with the ability to be more productive and focused at work.

Another of my favourite travel quotes

As it comes to the end of another year, I urge you to take the time and think about what your 2014 looks like. With a little planning, strategy, prioritising and sacrifice hopefully you get to do all those things you've wanted to do.