SINGAPORE - If I was advising first-time visitors to Asia where to stop first, Singapore would be the place. The island city-state is well-organized, safe, clean, English-speaking and modern, and things typically work well. Yet, it is deeply Asian, and very much itself, presenting a blend of Malay, Chinese, Indian and expat cultures that still seem exotic to non-Asians. All this makes Singapore interesting to outsiders and relatively easy for outsiders to get accustomed to. Culture-shock is minimal.
That stands in contrast for much of Asia, which can be considerably more challenging for travelers, especially first-timers. So, go to Singapore first, then work your way through other places in the region.
My very brief - not much more than a day - stay in Singapore didn't leave me much time, so I cut straight to the chase and homed in on Singaporean comfort food.
I feasted on stir-fried chili crab, with steamed buns for mopping up the gravy, at Jumbo, a delightfully named restaurant on Singapore's East Coast Parkway (block 1206, not far from Changi airport). Jumbo came well-recommended by several locals and experienced travelers; they were not wrong. Treat number two, savored at a hawkers' court in central-city Singapore (or S'pore, as local publications call it), was chicken rice, sometimes referred to as Singapore's national dish. Brought to S'pore from Hainan, China, the flavorful rice comes in fist-sized balls soaked in stock, and is served with boiled chicken - usually an older hen, sliced up with skin still on it and slightly yellow in appearance. Dipping sauces arrive with the meal, enlivened by the tang of garlic and ginger. This is downhome Southeast Asian comfort food, and it is delicious.
You can find fine expense-account restaurants in this great food town, but the great thing about Singapore is you can eat just as well in no-frills places, like the locals do. For foodies, Singapore is a magical destination.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Old and New at the InterContinental
SINGAPORE - Creature comforts can come in handy when you're on the road. Back in the day, I didn't much care if I had them or not. My attitude was, I'll sleep on the floor, you know? However, I have had an attitude adjustment since then. I don't look to be pampered, but it's good when things work, when they're easy on the eye, the body and the mind.
Which brings me to the InterContinental Hotel, the comfortably high-end hotel where I am staying in Singapore. I'm writing this in the hotel's recently redesigned club lounge, where ambient music is playing, there's a good cup of coffee at my fingertips and the spacious lounge reflects a Singaporean take on Chinese decor: Peranakan.
Peranakan culture is the mixture of fashion, religion, cuisine and decor that evolved when immigrants from the south of China arrived in Singapore and elsewhere in Southeast Asia and married local people. This produced a new hybrid culture. For example, Chinese dishes came to be made with Malay spices, producing an early type of fusion food.
The InterContinental, built in the mid-1990s in Bugis, traditionally a Peranakan neighborhood, kept and refurbished a number of traditional shophouses and worked them into the hotel, a modern, 16-story tower. Thus, parts of Malay and Malaba streets, which run past the hotel, are covered in clear glass and incorporated into into an air-conditioned shopping complex. Lining one side of Malay Street are 1920s shophouses with their trademark wooden shutters, remnants of a bygone age. These have been transformed and are now hotel rooms at the InterContinental; I am presently inhabiting one of them. My room looks directly into the mall. It has a high ceiling inside, a modernized bathroom, a small courtyard entrance in front. It is painted off-white inside and retains calming touches of the colonial era, when the British ran Singapore. Singapore was part of colonial Malaya, then part of independent Malaysia, and then attained independence on its own in the 1960s. The modern city of highrises, big containerized shipping port and clusters of corporate offices sprang up since then, transforming this small island. The InterContinental, with 403 rooms, an expansive lobby lounge, and three restaurants, manages to be part of the new Singapore while evoking the old.
As for creature comforts, I'm sure there are more of them now and they are more widely available than in past eras. Some people find contemporary Singapore too squeaky-clean, but traveling without an overwhelming chance of getting sick seems to me a good thing. If that runs counter to nostalgia, then maybe nostalgia is one luxury we can do without.
For more information: e-mail: singapore@interconti.com, tel. 65 6338 7600, Web: http://www.intercontinental.com/.
Which brings me to the InterContinental Hotel, the comfortably high-end hotel where I am staying in Singapore. I'm writing this in the hotel's recently redesigned club lounge, where ambient music is playing, there's a good cup of coffee at my fingertips and the spacious lounge reflects a Singaporean take on Chinese decor: Peranakan.
Peranakan culture is the mixture of fashion, religion, cuisine and decor that evolved when immigrants from the south of China arrived in Singapore and elsewhere in Southeast Asia and married local people. This produced a new hybrid culture. For example, Chinese dishes came to be made with Malay spices, producing an early type of fusion food.
The InterContinental, built in the mid-1990s in Bugis, traditionally a Peranakan neighborhood, kept and refurbished a number of traditional shophouses and worked them into the hotel, a modern, 16-story tower. Thus, parts of Malay and Malaba streets, which run past the hotel, are covered in clear glass and incorporated into into an air-conditioned shopping complex. Lining one side of Malay Street are 1920s shophouses with their trademark wooden shutters, remnants of a bygone age. These have been transformed and are now hotel rooms at the InterContinental; I am presently inhabiting one of them. My room looks directly into the mall. It has a high ceiling inside, a modernized bathroom, a small courtyard entrance in front. It is painted off-white inside and retains calming touches of the colonial era, when the British ran Singapore. Singapore was part of colonial Malaya, then part of independent Malaysia, and then attained independence on its own in the 1960s. The modern city of highrises, big containerized shipping port and clusters of corporate offices sprang up since then, transforming this small island. The InterContinental, with 403 rooms, an expansive lobby lounge, and three restaurants, manages to be part of the new Singapore while evoking the old.
As for creature comforts, I'm sure there are more of them now and they are more widely available than in past eras. Some people find contemporary Singapore too squeaky-clean, but traveling without an overwhelming chance of getting sick seems to me a good thing. If that runs counter to nostalgia, then maybe nostalgia is one luxury we can do without.
For more information: e-mail: singapore@interconti.com, tel. 65 6338 7600, Web: http://www.intercontinental.com/.
Winging It to Singapore on Singapore
SINGAPORE - The 9-hour-plus flight from Auckland to Singapore went smoothly, typically so, on Singapore Airlines. It's one of the world's Tiffany carriers and has had a decided halo effect among experienced travelers for years.
Consider: The business class cabin on my flight boasted massive consoles in front of the seat that provide passenger privacy and offer features such as a vanity mirror, a socket for plugging in a laptop and other personal electronic devices, and a large video monitor. The seat folds out into a comfy bed, and if you need anything else to relax, the wine selections by Singapore Air's wine consultants - among them the eminent British wine guru Steven Spurrier - will help.
Raffles class - that's business class, in Singapore vernacular - also has one of the better interactive in-flight program menus in the sky. There are hundreds of CDs on demand, an extensive roster of Asian and Western movies and TV shows, video games and one of those interactive maps that help you track the progress of your flight; the map alternates big-picture looks at the flight path with focused looks at the terrain you happen to be flying over at the time - in my case, that meant the vast interior of Australia, with its mountains and deserts. I've always enjoyed this feature on long-haul flights, returning to it from time to time between building a sampler of tunes from music CDs and turning the pages of the book I'm reading. As I often do, I'm delving into my default author: Graham Greene, and his bittersweet novel "The End of the Affair.''
Singapore Air, as a Star Alliance member, shares a spacious and especially well-appointed lounge with fellow Star member Air New Zealand at Auckland International Airport. The Koru Lounge has two long tables, each table lined with 10 chairs and 10 sockets, for people to plug-in and work: 20 work stations all told. Didn't bring your laptop? There are four free PCs available. There's also a living-room-like space, where I saw people having afternoon tea on a china teaset. Miracle of miracles, the Koru Lounge also has a cell-phone-free zone. Braying mobile phone yakkers are among my prime travel beefs, so I count this quiet refuge as a definite plus.
The lounge food is varied and good. Forget the bags of nuts and cheese squares and crackers you get at many U.S. and some European airports; at Auckland there is soup, fresh green salads and international dishes such as Moroccan chickpea salad. Plus, a coffee machine - I made a "flat white,' the Kiwi term for a capp with an extra jolt of espresso - and a choice of half a dozen NZ wines (typically Sauvignon Blancs) and beers (typically light and refreshing lagers.) If you have some time to spend in this hub airport, New Zealand's largest, this is a nice place to do it.
I plucked a non-alcoholic ginger beer made by Wellington's Mac's Brewery out of the drinks case and out of curiosity began reading the copy on the label. It gave me a farewell taste of Kiwi wit:
"Ginger beer is a great New Zealand tradition. Unfortunately, that tradition frequently involves something that comes in large, fizzy drinks bottles, and has a propensity to explode because your auntie used too much sugar.''
Mac's ginger beer, I am happy to report, didn't blow up in my face. It had a nice balance of sweet and spicy and a lingering taste that stayed with me as I made the long walk across the airport terminal all the way to Gate 15, where a Singapore Airlines jetliner was waiting for the flight to Changi airport.
Consider: The business class cabin on my flight boasted massive consoles in front of the seat that provide passenger privacy and offer features such as a vanity mirror, a socket for plugging in a laptop and other personal electronic devices, and a large video monitor. The seat folds out into a comfy bed, and if you need anything else to relax, the wine selections by Singapore Air's wine consultants - among them the eminent British wine guru Steven Spurrier - will help.
Raffles class - that's business class, in Singapore vernacular - also has one of the better interactive in-flight program menus in the sky. There are hundreds of CDs on demand, an extensive roster of Asian and Western movies and TV shows, video games and one of those interactive maps that help you track the progress of your flight; the map alternates big-picture looks at the flight path with focused looks at the terrain you happen to be flying over at the time - in my case, that meant the vast interior of Australia, with its mountains and deserts. I've always enjoyed this feature on long-haul flights, returning to it from time to time between building a sampler of tunes from music CDs and turning the pages of the book I'm reading. As I often do, I'm delving into my default author: Graham Greene, and his bittersweet novel "The End of the Affair.''
Singapore Air, as a Star Alliance member, shares a spacious and especially well-appointed lounge with fellow Star member Air New Zealand at Auckland International Airport. The Koru Lounge has two long tables, each table lined with 10 chairs and 10 sockets, for people to plug-in and work: 20 work stations all told. Didn't bring your laptop? There are four free PCs available. There's also a living-room-like space, where I saw people having afternoon tea on a china teaset. Miracle of miracles, the Koru Lounge also has a cell-phone-free zone. Braying mobile phone yakkers are among my prime travel beefs, so I count this quiet refuge as a definite plus.
The lounge food is varied and good. Forget the bags of nuts and cheese squares and crackers you get at many U.S. and some European airports; at Auckland there is soup, fresh green salads and international dishes such as Moroccan chickpea salad. Plus, a coffee machine - I made a "flat white,' the Kiwi term for a capp with an extra jolt of espresso - and a choice of half a dozen NZ wines (typically Sauvignon Blancs) and beers (typically light and refreshing lagers.) If you have some time to spend in this hub airport, New Zealand's largest, this is a nice place to do it.
I plucked a non-alcoholic ginger beer made by Wellington's Mac's Brewery out of the drinks case and out of curiosity began reading the copy on the label. It gave me a farewell taste of Kiwi wit:
"Ginger beer is a great New Zealand tradition. Unfortunately, that tradition frequently involves something that comes in large, fizzy drinks bottles, and has a propensity to explode because your auntie used too much sugar.''
Mac's ginger beer, I am happy to report, didn't blow up in my face. It had a nice balance of sweet and spicy and a lingering taste that stayed with me as I made the long walk across the airport terminal all the way to Gate 15, where a Singapore Airlines jetliner was waiting for the flight to Changi airport.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
The Road to Singapore
AUCKLAND - Bob Hope and Bing Crosby are nowhere in sight, but I am on the Road to Singapore today, the next stop on my round the world trip on Star Alliance member carriers. Actually, in my case, the road is a flight path. I'll be taking my second Star carrier, Singapore Airlines, to the airline's home in Singapore, the glittering, lush, island city-state.
Singapore is one of the best food towns in the world -befitting a crossroads city, as it's been since the 19th century, when native Malays, Indians, Chinese, British colonizers and - more recently - international corporate expats, put down roots. Humble hawkers' stalls are the glory of Singaporean food - they sell savory, cheap fare in sanitary conditions, something that can't be said of much of Asia, or for that matter, much of the world. Singapore's got it covered at the high end of cuisine, too. And it's a beautiful place to look at, festooned with restored colonial shophouses and modern highrises.
I'm looking forward to getting there, and getting back on the road.
But I will miss Auckland. It won me over right away with friendly, funny Kiwi hospitality, fresh food and drink, and velvety green volcanic nubs poking up amongst urban clusters all over town. There are dozens of peaks within the city limits - but no worries, mate, they are no longer erupting. Best of all is Auckland's beautiful harbor, criss-crossed by high-speed ferries and graceful sailboats. Auckland is known as "the city of sails'' and it's not a misnomer. I'd return to New Zealand - with a road map in hand, to see more of it - in a New York minute.
Singapore is one of the best food towns in the world -befitting a crossroads city, as it's been since the 19th century, when native Malays, Indians, Chinese, British colonizers and - more recently - international corporate expats, put down roots. Humble hawkers' stalls are the glory of Singaporean food - they sell savory, cheap fare in sanitary conditions, something that can't be said of much of Asia, or for that matter, much of the world. Singapore's got it covered at the high end of cuisine, too. And it's a beautiful place to look at, festooned with restored colonial shophouses and modern highrises.
I'm looking forward to getting there, and getting back on the road.
But I will miss Auckland. It won me over right away with friendly, funny Kiwi hospitality, fresh food and drink, and velvety green volcanic nubs poking up amongst urban clusters all over town. There are dozens of peaks within the city limits - but no worries, mate, they are no longer erupting. Best of all is Auckland's beautiful harbor, criss-crossed by high-speed ferries and graceful sailboats. Auckland is known as "the city of sails'' and it's not a misnomer. I'd return to New Zealand - with a road map in hand, to see more of it - in a New York minute.
Hunkering Down at the Hyatt Regency
AUCKLAND - You never really know what you're going to find in a hotel until you get there and check-in. I expected the Hyatt Regency here in New Zealand's largest city to be good. It surpassed my expectations; it's very good.
You know the old line: location, location, location? The Hyatt Regency is located right next to the leafy University of Auckland campus, across the street from lovely hillside Albert Park, a few blocks uphill from Queen Street - the city's sometimes-funky, usually lively main drag - and a 10-minute walk from the gorgeous downtown waterfront.
Rooms? The hotel is finishing up a renovation of public spaces and guest rooms that started in July. It's also bringing in consulting chefs to brainstorm about the menu at The Cafe, the hotel's main dining spot; it's already good. I supped tonight on 10 plump New Zealand mussels - I could only eat five, and that was just a starter - followed by a savory chicken masala and topped off with an espresso - charmingly called a 'short black' in Kiwiland. There's a cool little bar in a corner nook in the lobby and a business center with four wide-screen PCs. For $20 NZ (about $17 U.S.) you can get a two-hour Internet card at the biz center - open 24/7 - or charge wireless service to your room. The Hyatt Regency Auckland has a 70 percent business-traveler clientele, so business travelers are catered to. The reservations desk was lengthened in the re-do, but this is a busy hotel, so you sometimes get a short wait when you line up at the desk.
I started out my three-night stay in a standard room in the 269-room Regency wing. It was fine, but not as nice as what came later, when I moved to one of the 100 suites in the Residences, a 17-story tower with one-and two-bedroom suites, complete with kitchen, dishwasher, sink, possibly the largest flat-screen TV I've ever seen in a hotel, and spacious bathroom with separate tub and shower. I landed in a corner room with wraparound balcony - I walked the length of it, and counted off 24 paces - with a sparkling harbor view. Many of the Residences are central-city condos managed by the Hyatt, but places not occupied by individual owners are rented out as hotel rooms. The Spa at Hyatt, on the lower level, offers a 25-meter-long pool and a range of massages, facials, pedicures, manicures and other treatments.
In other words, not too shabby. If you have plans to visit Auckland, do check it out. The Hyatt Regency is a comfortable hotel, well-run but with just enough of the friendly, funny Kiwi sensibility to make it fun.
For more information: www.auckland.regency.hyatt.com, e-mailing auckland.regency@hyatt.com or phoning 64 9 355 1234.
You know the old line: location, location, location? The Hyatt Regency is located right next to the leafy University of Auckland campus, across the street from lovely hillside Albert Park, a few blocks uphill from Queen Street - the city's sometimes-funky, usually lively main drag - and a 10-minute walk from the gorgeous downtown waterfront.
Rooms? The hotel is finishing up a renovation of public spaces and guest rooms that started in July. It's also bringing in consulting chefs to brainstorm about the menu at The Cafe, the hotel's main dining spot; it's already good. I supped tonight on 10 plump New Zealand mussels - I could only eat five, and that was just a starter - followed by a savory chicken masala and topped off with an espresso - charmingly called a 'short black' in Kiwiland. There's a cool little bar in a corner nook in the lobby and a business center with four wide-screen PCs. For $20 NZ (about $17 U.S.) you can get a two-hour Internet card at the biz center - open 24/7 - or charge wireless service to your room. The Hyatt Regency Auckland has a 70 percent business-traveler clientele, so business travelers are catered to. The reservations desk was lengthened in the re-do, but this is a busy hotel, so you sometimes get a short wait when you line up at the desk.
I started out my three-night stay in a standard room in the 269-room Regency wing. It was fine, but not as nice as what came later, when I moved to one of the 100 suites in the Residences, a 17-story tower with one-and two-bedroom suites, complete with kitchen, dishwasher, sink, possibly the largest flat-screen TV I've ever seen in a hotel, and spacious bathroom with separate tub and shower. I landed in a corner room with wraparound balcony - I walked the length of it, and counted off 24 paces - with a sparkling harbor view. Many of the Residences are central-city condos managed by the Hyatt, but places not occupied by individual owners are rented out as hotel rooms. The Spa at Hyatt, on the lower level, offers a 25-meter-long pool and a range of massages, facials, pedicures, manicures and other treatments.
In other words, not too shabby. If you have plans to visit Auckland, do check it out. The Hyatt Regency is a comfortable hotel, well-run but with just enough of the friendly, funny Kiwi sensibility to make it fun.
For more information: www.auckland.regency.hyatt.com, e-mailing auckland.regency@hyatt.com or phoning 64 9 355 1234.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Jump!
AUCKLAND - I never would have agreed to a walk around the outside of this city's Sky Tower if I had fully grasped what it entailed: Perambulating outside on a 4-foot-wide walkway, in stiff winds, sans handrails (though with a safety harness and a guide), all kitted out in orange jump suit. When the harness was slipped on, and the light bulb went off in my head, I declined the invitation to, um, skywalk up there, 192 meters (about 600 feet) up. I looked out over the sprawling, waterside city from inside the observation deck, instead.
Of course, the walk is nothing compared to the jump - I said jump - that a chap was doing from the tower while I was there. He was trussed in harness and pulleys, aiming for a bullseye painted far below on a platform, which he approached at 50 to 60 miles per hour.
"It's not bad,'' shrugged Haley McCrystal, an Air New Zealand marketing person who was showing me around her hometown. "The only bad part is when the ground comes up at you so fast.''
Haley, a young, fit New Zealander, has done the SkyJump, as it is called, from Auckland's Sky Tower. She has done the SkyWalk that would definitely have induced vertigo in yours truly had I ventured out on the narrow platform. "I've done it about 20 times.''
She has, of course, bungee-jumped, as well. Bungee-jumping, invented and popularized in New Zealand, has almost the status of a national past-time. "The only thing is, you are upside-down sometimes in bungee-jumping. I lost my stomach,'' she said.
Airborne derring-do doesn't appear to deter many Kiwis, though. Verily, they seem to be a nation of thrill-seekers, and hardy and robust they are, too. The Auckland marathon is coming up this Sunday, and McCrystal is participating, running a half-marathon. It's a long way, but, hey, it's all on the ground.
Still, there's something about jumping.
"We jump off of almost anything,'' she said cheerily. "We like rafting on fast water, too. And there are tour companies that take you along underground rivers. The tops of the caves can be pretty low, you have to duck way down.''
After leaving the Sky Tower, I took a harbor - er, harbour - tour on a mid-sized boat from the Auckland Ferry Building. The craft paused under Harbour Bridge,next to a painted sign on a concrete pillar that said "Caution bungee jumping overhead.'' I thought it was a joke. It wasn't. While we waited, a chap plunged toward the water, to cheers and applause from onlookers, before our eyes.
Another New Zealander. Jumping.
Of course, the walk is nothing compared to the jump - I said jump - that a chap was doing from the tower while I was there. He was trussed in harness and pulleys, aiming for a bullseye painted far below on a platform, which he approached at 50 to 60 miles per hour.
"It's not bad,'' shrugged Haley McCrystal, an Air New Zealand marketing person who was showing me around her hometown. "The only bad part is when the ground comes up at you so fast.''
Haley, a young, fit New Zealander, has done the SkyJump, as it is called, from Auckland's Sky Tower. She has done the SkyWalk that would definitely have induced vertigo in yours truly had I ventured out on the narrow platform. "I've done it about 20 times.''
She has, of course, bungee-jumped, as well. Bungee-jumping, invented and popularized in New Zealand, has almost the status of a national past-time. "The only thing is, you are upside-down sometimes in bungee-jumping. I lost my stomach,'' she said.
Airborne derring-do doesn't appear to deter many Kiwis, though. Verily, they seem to be a nation of thrill-seekers, and hardy and robust they are, too. The Auckland marathon is coming up this Sunday, and McCrystal is participating, running a half-marathon. It's a long way, but, hey, it's all on the ground.
Still, there's something about jumping.
"We jump off of almost anything,'' she said cheerily. "We like rafting on fast water, too. And there are tour companies that take you along underground rivers. The tops of the caves can be pretty low, you have to duck way down.''
After leaving the Sky Tower, I took a harbor - er, harbour - tour on a mid-sized boat from the Auckland Ferry Building. The craft paused under Harbour Bridge,next to a painted sign on a concrete pillar that said "Caution bungee jumping overhead.'' I thought it was a joke. It wasn't. While we waited, a chap plunged toward the water, to cheers and applause from onlookers, before our eyes.
Another New Zealander. Jumping.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Booking a Round the World Trip with Star Alliance
As mentioned in my most recent post, I am traveling on an around the world trip on board eight Star Alliance member airlines. I booked the journey at http://www.staralliance.com/ the Web site of this global airline alliance - the largest of the world's three airline alliances, with more than 20 members and counting. As I write, the U.S. carrier Continental Airlines is formally becoming the alliance's latest member.
You can book a RTW trip through individual airlines and travel agents, to be sure. But if you are comfortable on the Internet, the entire process can now be done online, a change that Star Alliance effected in July.
My advice to travelers wishing to do this is to, first and foremost, have a reasonably clear idea where you want to go before signing on. This will speed up the process considerably, as there are pivotal decisions to be made, and you want to keep moving forward. I knew where I wanted to go. I booked the trip, down to dotting the I's and crossing the T's, in just under two hours. Net-smart people can probably do it faster. I am a refugee from the Age of Steam, you see.
So, sign on to Staralliance.com and click on 'Book and Fly' on the lower right of the home page, then click on 'start now,' which brings up the next page.
Here, you can access links to FAQ in boxed text on the right side of the page. When you've done that, click on 'book a RTW journey' and wait for a short time for the next page to load.
That brings up the third page, where you enter 'traveler details' - chiefly, your country of residence - which will eventually give you a fare estimate in your country's currency - and the cabin class you want to travel in. When you've done that, hit 'next' in the lower right.
By now, you'll have the hang of it. All things considered, it's pretty transparent and straightforward.
On the fourth page, you start to build an itinerary. You'll be seeing some cool maps that show major hubs and other destinations that Star Alliance members serve - an impressively large number - and the regions shown will change as your flight plan advances. Once you've entered your city of original departure in the box provided, you start adding additional places that will take you around the world and back to your original city. Note that you can have up to 16 segments and 15 stopovers. You have a year to use whatever ticket you end up booking.
Once you plug-in the sequence of cities and dates, you'll be presented with rosters of flights operated by relevant Star carriers. Some of the flights are code-shares. As you might expect, popular places served by many carriers give you lots of choices, and lesser-known and less-served destinations offer fewer choices, maybe just one, though that's rare. I try whenever possible not to change planes, but of course, getting nonstop flights is harder and they are not always available. On some flights, you may be told you have to upgrade or downgrade from your preferred class - and again this is most likely to happen with popular destinations - your Romes, your Londons, your New Yorks. Booking far ahead helps, though there's no guarantee, as some cities don't seem to have an off-season.
Once you've gone through the construction process, you can review your itinerary before finalizing it. My wife and I built imaginary wishlist itineraries, so we could test-drive the system. We both clicked on business class. Once or twice, when my wife wanted to omit a choice, she was sent back to the beginning of the process. This didn't happen to me, though I am the more tech-challenged of the two of us. If you decide to book, you'll be asked your personal details, make your payment with a credit card, and then you will get a confirmation.
On our RTW scenarios, we received estimated pre-booking fares of around $10,000 (hers, for a proposed 29,000-mile journey) and $12,000 (mine, for a 34,000-mile trip), though the site notes that these are best-guess figures. This is cheap for journeys of this magnitude and complexity. Note that you do have to be as flexible as possible about travel dates and cabin classes to get the very best deals. Individual member airlines decide how many designated RTW seats to provide, and on which flights and which dates.
Prior to this past summer, Star allowed prospective travelers to build an itinerary online but Staralliance.com wasn't set up to actually book the trips and handle payments. Now that it is possible, there is an addditional useful tool on hand for setting up ambitious and exciting airborne global journeys.
1
You can book a RTW trip through individual airlines and travel agents, to be sure. But if you are comfortable on the Internet, the entire process can now be done online, a change that Star Alliance effected in July.
My advice to travelers wishing to do this is to, first and foremost, have a reasonably clear idea where you want to go before signing on. This will speed up the process considerably, as there are pivotal decisions to be made, and you want to keep moving forward. I knew where I wanted to go. I booked the trip, down to dotting the I's and crossing the T's, in just under two hours. Net-smart people can probably do it faster. I am a refugee from the Age of Steam, you see.
So, sign on to Staralliance.com and click on 'Book and Fly' on the lower right of the home page, then click on 'start now,' which brings up the next page.
Here, you can access links to FAQ in boxed text on the right side of the page. When you've done that, click on 'book a RTW journey' and wait for a short time for the next page to load.
That brings up the third page, where you enter 'traveler details' - chiefly, your country of residence - which will eventually give you a fare estimate in your country's currency - and the cabin class you want to travel in. When you've done that, hit 'next' in the lower right.
By now, you'll have the hang of it. All things considered, it's pretty transparent and straightforward.
On the fourth page, you start to build an itinerary. You'll be seeing some cool maps that show major hubs and other destinations that Star Alliance members serve - an impressively large number - and the regions shown will change as your flight plan advances. Once you've entered your city of original departure in the box provided, you start adding additional places that will take you around the world and back to your original city. Note that you can have up to 16 segments and 15 stopovers. You have a year to use whatever ticket you end up booking.
Once you plug-in the sequence of cities and dates, you'll be presented with rosters of flights operated by relevant Star carriers. Some of the flights are code-shares. As you might expect, popular places served by many carriers give you lots of choices, and lesser-known and less-served destinations offer fewer choices, maybe just one, though that's rare. I try whenever possible not to change planes, but of course, getting nonstop flights is harder and they are not always available. On some flights, you may be told you have to upgrade or downgrade from your preferred class - and again this is most likely to happen with popular destinations - your Romes, your Londons, your New Yorks. Booking far ahead helps, though there's no guarantee, as some cities don't seem to have an off-season.
Once you've gone through the construction process, you can review your itinerary before finalizing it. My wife and I built imaginary wishlist itineraries, so we could test-drive the system. We both clicked on business class. Once or twice, when my wife wanted to omit a choice, she was sent back to the beginning of the process. This didn't happen to me, though I am the more tech-challenged of the two of us. If you decide to book, you'll be asked your personal details, make your payment with a credit card, and then you will get a confirmation.
On our RTW scenarios, we received estimated pre-booking fares of around $10,000 (hers, for a proposed 29,000-mile journey) and $12,000 (mine, for a 34,000-mile trip), though the site notes that these are best-guess figures. This is cheap for journeys of this magnitude and complexity. Note that you do have to be as flexible as possible about travel dates and cabin classes to get the very best deals. Individual member airlines decide how many designated RTW seats to provide, and on which flights and which dates.
Prior to this past summer, Star allowed prospective travelers to build an itinerary online but Staralliance.com wasn't set up to actually book the trips and handle payments. Now that it is possible, there is an addditional useful tool on hand for setting up ambitious and exciting airborne global journeys.
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