Traditionally there's a fair amount of competition, with not just the locals but the Europeans and a few Americans wanting a place. Often there's a waiting list. I managed to get a ticket and unlike previous affairs, there's just me and a fellow Antipodean from New Zealand instead of the usual crowd of Aussies bearing Tim Tams.
We'll be pushing for the next convention to be held in Singapore as an alternative to getting Europeans to fly all the way to Australia. We've become quite adept at holding our own local gatherings at places where no BookCrossers actually live and organising things in advance. Stewart Island, Norfolk Island, Waiheke and so on.
Singapore may not be convenient to anyone, but it is certainly a grand holiday destination. I've lost count of the number of times I've flown in. Never actually left the airport, though.
We pulled in on a cruise in 2008, had a day tour around, so I'm not a complete novice. I'll be putting forward the case for Singapore in St Albans, for the locals to vote on and we have a team of Aussies who are Singapore experts assembling a package. With any luck, that will be my big 2027 trip report.
St Albans is a place I've never thought about, let alone visited. On the Thameslink line, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get to.
I want to arrive on the Wednesday so I can be on deck for the Thursday bus trip up to Bletchley, the convention runs Friday to Sunday, and on Monday morning I'll head off home. Five nights without too much of a scramble, and I'll be wanting an AirBnB because that gives me access to kitchen and laundry facilities for about the same price as a hotel, and certainly a lot more space to spread all my books and electronics around.
Just me this trip. sometimes my wife accompanies me, but not this time. She'll be at home with the grandson one day a week (his elder sister is now in school} and it's an order of magnitude easier to look after one kid than two at once.
My criteria for selecting an AirBnB this trip are:
1. Proximity to venue
2. Proximity to transport
3. Proximity to parkrun
4. Kitchen, laundry, a reasonable amount of space and privacy.
5. Cost.
I find a place right in the middle of town. An older building with some quirk about it. Not terribly convenient to the venue, the Thameslink station, or parkrun, but within ten to fifteen minutes' walk, and let's face it, my options for that weekend are limited. I don't mind a bit of walking (or running, for that matter) though I'll likely get a bus or taxi to and from the station if 'm hauling my bags.
One potential problem is that the middle of St Albans might prove a bit noisy in the evenings. The AirBnB reviews don't report this as a deal-breaker and the nature of these BookCrossing events is that my own evenings will be spent having dinner with fellow attendees at a variety of pubs and restaurants, so a place in the centre of town should be convenient for my own genteel carousing.
I put flights to one side for several months. A seat at the convention and a convenient AirBnB are limited commodities, but it shouldn't be too hard to find flights.
Besides, there's always the chance of a DSC window.
And so there was.
This time around, I handed the task over to Flat Beds because I wasn't finding anything that really jumped out at me through my usual channels. They came up with two options:
1. Finnair via Hong Kong and Helsinki, with SYD-HKG on QF
2. Oman Air via Manilla and Muscat, with CBR - MNL on QF
Much as I love Finnair, it worked out more expensive, yielded fewer SC, and the timings didn't really work for me. I had to make a choice quickly and I went for the Oman option.
Combined with an upcoming Japan trip booked during last year's DSC promotion, I should return to the cheerful realm of WP. Do it again next year and I'll be within spitting distance of LTG.
Gute Laune einfach überall!
I get to leave at a reasonable time in the morning, a Dash-8 flight out of Canberra at 0830, three hour transit in Sydney, and an evening arrival at Manila. Early morning departure the next day to Oman and I arrive at Heathrow in the evening.
On the way back, it's J all the way via Brisbane, albeit with a 24 layover in Manila.
Not ideal, but affordable and no long flights in Y, which with my frame and age are pretty much extended torture nowadays.
I'll work on transfers and layover accommodation, but I have three and a half months to prepare.
Oman Air will be a new experience and the Philippines a new stamp in the passport.
The only real problem is how the middle east will play out. I'm expecting it to run out of puff by then and if it doesn't we'll likely all have bigger problems.
