Gone in 5 days: My Award Travel Heist

[Seat0B]

You’re right, these parenting years are wonderful but intense, and it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day without carving out space just to be.

For her, she likes to take her time wandering through shops — not necessarily to buy anything, but just to enjoy the rhythm of it. It’s her version of recharging.

She does have an open offer to take a few days anywhere she likes (points-funded, naturally!), but she is not much of a solo traveller. Maybe the right moment will come, and when it does, I’ll be fully behind her — encouraging her to take that time in whatever way feels right.

Sounds like you make a great team!

 

[Happy Dude]

This made me smile:
"Pub chats in Birmingham – The disbelief on people’s faces when I said I was only there for 48 hours was worth it."

When I worked in Basingstoke, Monday morning smoko was all about where I'd been on the weekend. Many couldn't comprehend that I'd driven to say, Leeds or somewhere in Wales, for the weekend. I worked on a project based in Coventry with a graduate civil engineer from Peterborough. He'd been to London once in his life and that was on a school trip. You must have almost made the paper!

Edit: just to add that my colleagues were mainly interested in my travels because it gave them a chance to laugh at my pronunciation of place names like Loughborough (Law-bore-oh), Bangor (Bang-gor), Bicester (Bi-sess-ta) and so on. It got to the point where they'd compile lists for me to have a go at. Probably would be work place bullying these days.

 

[Wanderlust_tim]

This made me smile:
"Pub chats in Birmingham – The disbelief on people’s faces when I said I was only there for 48 hours was worth it."

When I worked in Basingstoke, Monday morning smoko was all about where I'd been on the weekend. Many couldn't comprehend that I'd driven to say, Leeds or somewhere in Wales, for the weekend. I worked on a project based in Coventry with a graduate civil engineer from Peterborough. He'd been to London once in his life and that was on a school trip. You must have almost made the paper!

Same for me. When I first start working in London I had a colleague who could not comprehend that I went to Brussels on two consecutive weekends. She was so confused that she assumed I was a courier of illicit substances and could not comprehend that I happened to like Beer, Chocolate and a woman I had met over a few said beers the week before enough to go back as soon as I could!

 

[drron]

I loved the TR even though I would not do it as I still enjoy traveling with Mrsdrron.
When I worked in Maitland in the Hunter Valley we had a secretary who had never left the place. Not even to Newcastle 30 Km down the road.

 

[Seat0B]

When I worked in Maitland in the Hunter Valley we had a secretary who had never left the place. Not even to Newcastle 30 Km down the road.

Now that is truly parochial

 

[I love to travel]

Can you give us a bit more detail about Air India F - not an airline you hear a lot about

 

[somebol]

Since the Tata takeover, the soft product has improved a lot. The food is better, the Ferragamo amenity kits are a nice touch, and the crew are trying hard and eager to please. They still lack the polished service you’d find on the likes of EK and SQ, but they'll get there.

AI are currently hampered by the lack of newer aircraft. They have a huge order in place, but deliveries are delayed. At the moment, they use ex-Etihad 77Ws for their First routes, which are fine but a bit dated.

I dare say, once they start receiving new aircraft and the crew get used to delivering a higher level of service, they’ll have a much stronger game.

 

[Gladstone Tim]

Since the Tata takeover, the soft product has improved a lot. The food is better, the Ferragamo amenity kits are a nice touch, and the crew are trying hard and eager to please. They still lack the polished service you’d find on the likes of EK and SQ, but they'll get there.

AI are currently hampered by the lack of newer aircraft. They have a huge order in place, but deliveries are delayed. At the moment, they use ex-Etihad 77Ws for their First routes, which are fine but a bit dated.

I dare say, once they start receiving new aircraft and the crew get used to delivering a higher level of service, they’ll have a much stronger game.

Are the crew mostly from the Indian sub-continent or more internationally recruited?

 

[somebol]

100% Indian