We Have Lift-Off (almost)!

I am happy to announce that Dyanne and I are the proud parents of a happy pair of Star Alliance Round the World plane tickets!

As a bit of background, there are three basic options for flying around the world.

1. Each of the major alliances (and a few of the minor ones) offers some type of flat-rate ticket based on mileage and number of flights. These are usually more expensive, and can be inconvenient because out of the way connecting flights count against you both for miles and as one of your limited number of flights. On the plus side, your dates are flexible and you get to collect airline miles (on United for us)
2. Travel agents specializing in RTW travel, such as Airtreks.com, that put together an itinerary from available airlines. The benefits of this method are that you have one contact person experienced with long haul travel, more flexibility in destinations, and they are usually cheaper. The down side is that your dates are fixed, change fees can be higher, and you normally don't get credit for your miles
3. Only for the brave, you can skip all the hassle of having a "plan" and just book as you go along. The advantages (and disadvantages) are pretty obvious (and mostly the same, actually).

We got very lucky and were able to maximize Star Alliance's program. It lets you choose any 16 flight segments and then bills based on mileage. The lowest fare was for under 29,000 miles. With direct flights to most all of our destinations, we came out at about 28,900 miles.

Our itinerary is pretty close to what we laid out before, but we had to move a few things around because it turned out that Johannesburg was closed for the most of June and July due to soccer mania. Our new plan has us hanging out in SE asia a bit longer and just passing through South Africa long enough to buy a world cup T-shirt or two.

4/15: Depart Washington to Beijing

4/16-4/21: Beijing

4/21-4/27: Shanghai (Visit Trey)

4/28-5/05: Hong Kong/Guilin/Yangshuo

5/05-5/26: Phuket/Beaches (scuba certification)

5/26-5/30: Northern Thailand (cooking class, trekking, temple-going)

5/30-6/07: Laos (Gibbon experience, slow boat down the Mekong)

6/07-6/14: Cambodia (Angkor Wat)

6/14-6/22: Vietnam (Halong Bay, handmade suits)

6/23-7/19: Bali

7/20-8/04: Tanzania/Zambia (Safari, Victoria Falls)

8/04-8/18: Egypt/Jordan (Pyramids, Petra)

8/18-9/09: Turkey (Cappadocia, Blue mosque)

9/09-9/14: Ljubljana/Dubrovnik

9/14-9/16: Munich (Visit Kunklers)

9/16: Return to Chicago

Our first flight leaves in less than seven days! I can't wait to see seats 24 A and 24B ... :)