The Great Trek '08... Maybe.
2 Comments Published by Oh Wayward One on 22 April 2008 at 4/22/2008 10:02:00 am.
So we're thinking of going back to the old homeland for xmas.
B. turned me on to www.kayak.com which has now become my favorite travel search engine. What I like about it is that you can set up a billion alerts for all the destinations that you want, with no limit. I like that because spending Pula means we can only go to cheap overseas places (i.e. Missouri, as opposed to NYC or DC), when there are cheap blow-your-mind airfares. Which is why I want to see ALL my options, such as flights via Europe OR North Africa OR US cities, not just "Joburg to St. Louis" while there's some amazing kick ass deal via London or something.
On kayak you can also set alerts to be mailed to you for trips "to anywhere" from your home airport, and you don't have to fill in the "to: destination" box, which means if there's a killer sale from here to Mauritius or from here to Antigua or where ever, whenever, I'll at least get notified. It's one savvy site. I absolutely hate it how most search engines will only alert you FROM your home airport TO a particular destination. I want the world, beeyatch!
Also, it's one of those sites where you're taken direct to the airline to buy the ticket. You're not getting a marked-up price because the search engine is acting as a travel agent.
You can also have them update you in your choice of currencies or a combination of many. Good for me, because for travel I think in Rand, I spend Pula, and I want to travel to a destination that spends Dollars.
Now, here's the challenge: I have 8 months to plan the trip to end all trips.
We're going to take a whole month, this year. So I have to decide the following:
- early dec - early jan?
- mid dec - mid jan?
- late dec - late jan?
That will most likely depend on flight prices from Jozi. (So far I'm finding nothing under ZAR 11,000 per person)
That will also dictate to WHERE in the wide world of yankeeland that we end up in. (It looks like most likely we're talking DC, NYC, or ATL - I don't do double-stopovers unless we're talking 50% savings or such)
WHICH will determine what kind of holiday we're going to have (with the obvious side-trip to Ma & Pa's place for the freakshow that is christmas-o-rama in that neck of the woods).
This trip is going to be all about the beloved Mr. He has all these wishes and dreams about seeing the big country which he keeps getting denied, because we always end up in Hooterville for one reason or another. He wants to see NYC. He wants to see Florida. He wants to go on a "real american road trip" where we stay in La Quintas and Motel 6s and eat greasy food for $3.00. He wants to go to grungy honky tonks and hear live music, he wants to eat key lime pie in a roadside diner, served by a waitress named Myrtle who calls him Darlin.
The good part is, that could be anywhere. So if we end up getting dumped off our long haul in Atlanta, all we have to do is hire a car and start driving. This could work out very well for seeing places such as Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana... hell maybe even Florida or perhaps even the drive all the way up to the hometown via Tennessee and/or Arkansas. It would also make for a good rendezvous with that long-hyped but never taken trip to Savannah that Belladela says we could make with Mr. Bean (not Pete's real name). It would also be one of the cheaper parts of the country.
The bad part is, it's going to be winter. I'm worried the Mr. is going to have big-time delusions of grandeur that are realized only by leafless trees, dirty, cindery snowplowed highways, and fogged-up car windows. This could especially be a possibility if we start out in DC. Don't think I forgot that Houston even had a crazy bizarre great white north-type winters in the past years.
On the other hand, there's NYC and DC as options glaring at me. Fantabulous options as well. The highest concentration of my friends still living in the states is in DC. I could kill like, 20 birds with one matzo ball right there. Then there's NY - everyone's favourite place, and somewhere the Mr. has always wanted to go. Fantastic in winter, opportunities for meeting up with some friends... and going completely broke. We're talking 55 Pula for a slice of pizza. Here, that's half a tank of petrol!! And don't even get me started on accommodation... I'm sure my friends in the city would be happy to give up their couches for a few nights, but that's all kind of claustrophobic and confining and
Oh what to do, what to do?
I have to book the main flight soon, before that bargain-basement price of (gag) 11,000 Rand p/p has disappeared, but then it's gonna be a handful of months of hard-core sale searching and research. Anything's possible- hell if I find outrageously cheap flights from Kansas City to Albuquerque, we'll go there! I'm not blocking out the possibility of taking up a last minute ass-kickin' el cheapo package to the quaint ski slopes of North Carolina.... I say embrace the winter, actually. It's a hard fact that we're going over in the cold season. Why not just accept it and head for Vermont to go snowshoeing? Really anything's cool, so long as us po' africans can afford it. If anyone out there reads this, keep your eyes open for me and tip me off. Particularly any suggestions that involve my friends meeting us somewhere along the way for madness and mayhem.
B. turned me on to www.kayak.com which has now become my favorite travel search engine. What I like about it is that you can set up a billion alerts for all the destinations that you want, with no limit. I like that because spending Pula means we can only go to cheap overseas places (i.e. Missouri, as opposed to NYC or DC), when there are cheap blow-your-mind airfares. Which is why I want to see ALL my options, such as flights via Europe OR North Africa OR US cities, not just "Joburg to St. Louis" while there's some amazing kick ass deal via London or something.
On kayak you can also set alerts to be mailed to you for trips "to anywhere" from your home airport, and you don't have to fill in the "to: destination" box, which means if there's a killer sale from here to Mauritius or from here to Antigua or where ever, whenever, I'll at least get notified. It's one savvy site. I absolutely hate it how most search engines will only alert you FROM your home airport TO a particular destination. I want the world, beeyatch!
Also, it's one of those sites where you're taken direct to the airline to buy the ticket. You're not getting a marked-up price because the search engine is acting as a travel agent.
You can also have them update you in your choice of currencies or a combination of many. Good for me, because for travel I think in Rand, I spend Pula, and I want to travel to a destination that spends Dollars.
Now, here's the challenge: I have 8 months to plan the trip to end all trips.
We're going to take a whole month, this year. So I have to decide the following:
- early dec - early jan?
- mid dec - mid jan?
- late dec - late jan?
That will most likely depend on flight prices from Jozi. (So far I'm finding nothing under ZAR 11,000 per person)
That will also dictate to WHERE in the wide world of yankeeland that we end up in. (It looks like most likely we're talking DC, NYC, or ATL - I don't do double-stopovers unless we're talking 50% savings or such)
WHICH will determine what kind of holiday we're going to have (with the obvious side-trip to Ma & Pa's place for the freakshow that is christmas-o-rama in that neck of the woods).
This trip is going to be all about the beloved Mr. He has all these wishes and dreams about seeing the big country which he keeps getting denied, because we always end up in Hooterville for one reason or another. He wants to see NYC. He wants to see Florida. He wants to go on a "real american road trip" where we stay in La Quintas and Motel 6s and eat greasy food for $3.00. He wants to go to grungy honky tonks and hear live music, he wants to eat key lime pie in a roadside diner, served by a waitress named Myrtle who calls him Darlin.
The good part is, that could be anywhere. So if we end up getting dumped off our long haul in Atlanta, all we have to do is hire a car and start driving. This could work out very well for seeing places such as Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana... hell maybe even Florida or perhaps even the drive all the way up to the hometown via Tennessee and/or Arkansas. It would also make for a good rendezvous with that long-hyped but never taken trip to Savannah that Belladela says we could make with Mr. Bean (not Pete's real name). It would also be one of the cheaper parts of the country.
The bad part is, it's going to be winter. I'm worried the Mr. is going to have big-time delusions of grandeur that are realized only by leafless trees, dirty, cindery snowplowed highways, and fogged-up car windows. This could especially be a possibility if we start out in DC. Don't think I forgot that Houston even had a crazy bizarre great white north-type winters in the past years.
On the other hand, there's NYC and DC as options glaring at me. Fantabulous options as well. The highest concentration of my friends still living in the states is in DC. I could kill like, 20 birds with one matzo ball right there. Then there's NY - everyone's favourite place, and somewhere the Mr. has always wanted to go. Fantastic in winter, opportunities for meeting up with some friends... and going completely broke. We're talking 55 Pula for a slice of pizza. Here, that's half a tank of petrol!! And don't even get me started on accommodation... I'm sure my friends in the city would be happy to give up their couches for a few nights, but that's all kind of claustrophobic and confining and
Oh what to do, what to do?
I have to book the main flight soon, before that bargain-basement price of (gag) 11,000 Rand p/p has disappeared, but then it's gonna be a handful of months of hard-core sale searching and research. Anything's possible- hell if I find outrageously cheap flights from Kansas City to Albuquerque, we'll go there! I'm not blocking out the possibility of taking up a last minute ass-kickin' el cheapo package to the quaint ski slopes of North Carolina.... I say embrace the winter, actually. It's a hard fact that we're going over in the cold season. Why not just accept it and head for Vermont to go snowshoeing? Really anything's cool, so long as us po' africans can afford it. If anyone out there reads this, keep your eyes open for me and tip me off. Particularly any suggestions that involve my friends meeting us somewhere along the way for madness and mayhem.
I wanted to leave a post but I can't find my virtual post hole diggers. Yes Yes come to Savannah and or DC and Beagley Bassety and I will be there with complimentary snoutly treats.
I loved this post.
Have a nice day.