Kenshin
06-08-2008, 07:50 AM
Hi all. As you can see in the thread title, my brothers and I (mostly my brothers though) are planning a trip around the world, even though it started as just a trip to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Turns out that there is a ticket provided by Star Alliance that would allow us to make 6* stops around the world, wherever we choose (limited only by a certain number of miles, and if the country/stops has airlines affiliated with Star Alliance), and this particular ticket costs less than buying a round-trip ticket directly to China (or that would seem to be the case).
So far, the ticket looks like this:
Maiquetía, Venezuela (07/20) - Frankfurt, Germany / Paris, France (07/21) - Zurich, Switzerland / Shanghai, China (04/08) - Seoul, South Korea (08/08) / Beijing, China (09/08) - Tokyo, Japan (08/27) - Vancouver, Canada / Toronto, Canada (08/30) / Maiquetía, Venezuela (08/31).
* Since it's an "around the world" trip, it's assumed that the departing country is also the end of the trip, so it is counted as a stop as well.
- -> stops (bolded)
/ -> connecting flights
(##/##) -> departure dates
We're currently making arrangements to get tourist visas for China, Japan, and Canada (this last one is needed because our stay there is longer than 8 hours, even though it is just for a connecting flight back home), and trying to organize the trip as much as possible. We're three brothers, age 23 (me) and 20 (twins). It'll be mostly a backpacking trip, so I'm kinda worried about... well, everything. (Excited too, but right now, mostly worried.)
Mainly, what I'm looking for are suggestions from people who have traveled a lot and/or have -obviously- more experience than me. Note that (if things go as expected) we will be staying in Europe from July 21 to August 4 / 2 weeks (my brothers haven't decided on the countries we're going to visit, but Italy seems to be on their list), in China during the Olympics / 19 days (excluding the opening ceremonies because... well, we can't afford the tickets for that), South Korea for 1 day, and in Japan for 3 days. Things like places to visit, precautions/things to watch out for... things like that.
If it helps (for suggestions regarding language), our native language is Spanish, we speak English fluently, one of my brothers understands French, they both speak and understand Italian, I understand just a little bit of Japanese... and can read katakana and hiragana (useless in China, I know... and probably in Japan as well, especially with my eyesight *sigh*), and in China, our "sister" (former exchange student from AFS) will be helping us, even though I understand that most people in those cities can speak or at least understand English.
A little vague, I know, but it's 3:20 a.m. here, and I'm already trying not to drool all over the keyboard.
Turns out that there is a ticket provided by Star Alliance that would allow us to make 6* stops around the world, wherever we choose (limited only by a certain number of miles, and if the country/stops has airlines affiliated with Star Alliance), and this particular ticket costs less than buying a round-trip ticket directly to China (or that would seem to be the case).
So far, the ticket looks like this:
Maiquetía, Venezuela (07/20) - Frankfurt, Germany / Paris, France (07/21) - Zurich, Switzerland / Shanghai, China (04/08) - Seoul, South Korea (08/08) / Beijing, China (09/08) - Tokyo, Japan (08/27) - Vancouver, Canada / Toronto, Canada (08/30) / Maiquetía, Venezuela (08/31).
* Since it's an "around the world" trip, it's assumed that the departing country is also the end of the trip, so it is counted as a stop as well.
- -> stops (bolded)
/ -> connecting flights
(##/##) -> departure dates
We're currently making arrangements to get tourist visas for China, Japan, and Canada (this last one is needed because our stay there is longer than 8 hours, even though it is just for a connecting flight back home), and trying to organize the trip as much as possible. We're three brothers, age 23 (me) and 20 (twins). It'll be mostly a backpacking trip, so I'm kinda worried about... well, everything. (Excited too, but right now, mostly worried.)
Mainly, what I'm looking for are suggestions from people who have traveled a lot and/or have -obviously- more experience than me. Note that (if things go as expected) we will be staying in Europe from July 21 to August 4 / 2 weeks (my brothers haven't decided on the countries we're going to visit, but Italy seems to be on their list), in China during the Olympics / 19 days (excluding the opening ceremonies because... well, we can't afford the tickets for that), South Korea for 1 day, and in Japan for 3 days. Things like places to visit, precautions/things to watch out for... things like that.
If it helps (for suggestions regarding language), our native language is Spanish, we speak English fluently, one of my brothers understands French, they both speak and understand Italian, I understand just a little bit of Japanese... and can read katakana and hiragana (useless in China, I know... and probably in Japan as well, especially with my eyesight *sigh*), and in China, our "sister" (former exchange student from AFS) will be helping us, even though I understand that most people in those cities can speak or at least understand English.
A little vague, I know, but it's 3:20 a.m. here, and I'm already trying not to drool all over the keyboard.