| Username |
Post |
| marich |
Posted
on 14-Jul-03 06:24 AM
Hey guys and gals, Ihave few quetions that I not so desperately need answers to. Any suggestions, help is greatly appreciated. If there is a "thread" where, you think, most of my curiosities have been addressed, Please let me know. Advance thanks to all.
1.Has any one of you ever flown to nepal using sky-miles ?
2. If so, what airlines and where did you fly to ?
3.Did that cover your flights all the way home ?
4. Did you have to change flights at certain places?
5. If you did have to change planes, did you reclaim your luggage or did you re-check in?
6. In your experience, which is better, Bankkok or New Delhi.?
7. have anyone of you purchased tickets from the link below " Sunrise Travels"
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| Arnico |
Posted
on 14-Jul-03 07:16 AM
Hi Marich.
I have booked Bangkok-Kathmandu mileage tickets on Thai with Star Alliance based miles. I don't have any miles with Sky Miles... that's the mileage program with Delta, right? In that case check who the partner airlines are with whom you can redeem miles for flights to Asia... I think Air France and Korean Air are among them.
It is unavoidable to change planes flying to Nepal. Check with sky miles regarding what routing you may receive. I doubt that there are any Sky Miles partners that fly all the way to Nepal... you'd probably be able to redeem a mileage ticket up to Delhi or Bangkok, and have to buy an add-on ticket for the flight into Kathmandu.
If you are flying to Kathmandu without stopover, and show all your tickets at your initial check-in, then you should be able to avoid claiming and re-checking your bags EXCEPT in Delhi... there I've had to reclaimed through-checked bags and then haggle with RNAC because the US-based weight allowance is more than RNAC liked.
Bangkok is BY FAR the more comfortable place to change planes. BUT your ticket to Kathmandu will cost more.
If you are a student, or have been recently and still have a valid ISIC (International student ID card), then I'd recommend buying a student ticket for Bangkok-Kathmandu roundtrip on Thai. Buying that in the US costs about $ 415 or so, compared to a regular ticket for more than $ 550. One place to get a student ticket is STA Travels. They have stores in most large college towns in the US.
Yes, I have purchased tickets from Sunrise Travels and had a good experience.
Hope that helps.
Good luck and enjoy your travels.
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| Deep |
Posted
on 14-Jul-03 07:26 AM
Marich dai,
aba sangai gayera bal mandir aghi dedhya baraf khani bhanya sky miles ma afu afu matrai---bhayena ni! Rajib dai ra ma nabhai eklai aba ke jawai bho ra gobardhan baba kaha pani.
shambho!
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| marich |
Posted
on 14-Jul-03 07:41 AM
Arniko, thanks a million, you are great. not just because you posted somthing that helped me tremendously , but also because of the time you took as if this was someone like your relative. I am amazed. ihav seen great many forums and web sites ,IT related as well as Non- It based, where atleast one or two or three moderators/admins replied in a very timely manner reflecting no nuisance in doing so. You seemed to be the same and I really aapreciate it.
Deep, Yes pala dashaima gharma tika lauan jane bichar cha, ahile samma tikas kini sakeko china, sabai tira shopping garera, aafno options haru explore garera ( Ya aayera lagy a bani :-) , matrai kinne bichar cha. Arko yek jana pani bhettayeko thiye , aajkal haraunu bha cha, kura milayera lamo bato katna sajilo huncha bhanne lageko thiyo, sapana tesai tuhiyela jasto cha, merai karanle.
tesaile aba tapai pani jane ho bhane, milaunda milcha bhane jauna ta sangai, hadigaon pani ghumaula, bhtkya pul pani heruala, ani Gobardhan babalai namaskar ta bhannaiparyo , hoina.
September 17 ko tentative date rakheko chu. email garnush .
Thanks.
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| Arnico |
Posted
on 15-Jul-03 04:23 PM
Marich.
Glad I could be of help. No, I am neither a moderator or an administrator of sajha... just a well-wisher...
Have a good trip!
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| by |
Posted
on 16-Jul-03 09:03 AM
Namaste,
Haami dui pani Dashain ma ghar tira lagau bhandai chau. Yaha kohi mahanubhav le ramro ticket (price, route and airline) paunu bho bhaney hamilai pani khabar (yahi sajha ma, athawa, mero naam ma click garera email maarphat) garnu bhaye kritagya huney chau.
Aajkal, London ma airport transit garna pani UK visa laagney hunale, Pacific route nai thik hola. Singapore Airlines wa Cathay Pacific, in combination with Thai, paaye dekhi ajjha ramro. Royal Nepal Airlines chahi sake samma narakhau hola, delay ra cancel garera hattu-hairaan garaucha.
Dhanyabaad.
(gau-pharka aviyaan ko haawa lageka manche-haru)
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| coolnepali |
Posted
on 16-Jul-03 09:23 AM
yes flying to Nepal in Dashain is a good idea.
I wish I could go during that time.
But I recently bought a ticket at a good deal.
I bought it through Nepalisite.com
I got the quotes from more than one agent and i was able to pick one.
Hope that helps.
This is my second time using that site since I go to Nepal every year.
Yes I also heard that you need a transit visa in London.
So give it a try through the site--- I think the url is nepalisite.com/travel.html
Good Luck....
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| najar |
Posted
on 16-Jul-03 10:51 AM
Me also going home right around the same time--kuun baahak maa ho, yet to finalize. Desh farkinaa laagya saathhi haru, lets have a sajha dashain/tihar or simply other (s) get together in kathmandu...
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| Arnico |
Posted
on 16-Jul-03 11:55 AM
If you are a student you may want to look for student fare tickets via Bangkok on All Nippon Airways. Usually available through the agencies that issue ISIC cards (Council Travels, STA Travels, etc.). Then buy a student ticket Bangkok-Kathmandu.
Last time I traveled that was cheaper than flying via London (under 1200 roundtrip from Boston, including taxes)... and there is no transit visa hassle.
The advantage of student tickets is that they are cheap, yet valid for a long time and are very flexible. Changing dates costs at most $ 25.
On ANA you'd fly via a US gate-way (New York, Washington, Seattle, San Francisco, or LA) through Tokyo to Bangkok. ANA flies very nice B777 and 747's across the Pacific and to Bangkok, with good legroom, cofortable seats, and one of the best video entertainment programs (with video-on-demand on many aircraft... i.e. you decide when to start and stop whatever movie you want to see on your screen).
Arrival time into Bangkok is shortly before midnight (similar to Thai, NW, UA, etc.), and you have to overnight in Bangkok airport (go sleep in the transit hotel for about $30).
But on the return to the US you don't have to overnight in Bangkok. Unlike Thai, NW, and UA, which leave Bangkok in the early morning, ANA's flight leaves Bangkok at night (so you get just a short layover when connecting from Kathmandu), connects in Tokyo in the morning local time, and gets you to the US East Coast by lunch time local time (rather than in the late evening if you flew on TG/NW/UA).
Also note that ANA is part of Star Alliance, sharing mileage programs with Thai, United, Lufthansa etc.
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| Bhunte |
Posted
on 16-Jul-03 12:16 PM
do one needs visa for overnite transit stay in bkk? any updates?
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| marich |
Posted
on 16-Jul-03 01:03 PM
First of all, Arniko , i followed your suggestion and got my ticket reserved using star aliiance stuff. Its going to be via frankfurt, to Bankok to KTm. United airlines to Frankfurt, and Thai from there all the way. Thanks again
I did not want to go to NewDelhi, even though I used to like that city when I went to school close-by. Back then when I used to fly on RNAC- 727, the plane used to make noise like cut- cut -cut, and kwat- kwat- kwat in midair, like the part of it behind me was preparing to emergency-exit ahead of me.
Besides one of my dearest friend suggested , through his expereivnce , that at the Indira gandhi airport , a nepalese is treated no better than a Bihari returning home from DUBAI or middle east. He also noticed that those stern , no-nonsense , unruly nepalese air hostesses used their natural- two- fingerd tong to fetch ice from a tin bucket and prepare soft drink for you. Aba tyo chahi khana ali ding lagcha , hoina? i do not know how much exageration in his statement there is.
baru majale , me thought, i rather enjoy the service of those Thai cuties that looketh just like one of the nepalese bombshells Ii had a heavy crush back in my school days. hoina? majale chuski lagaudai manda manda muskan ka sath uperkhutti layera...hehe
Those who want to buy cheap ticket and also prefer to fly over the pacific route, my humble suggestion, do call the number below on a banner, unrise travels. During my inquiries, the lady there named Pushpa was very freindly and courteous.I recieved incredible customer service.
She mentioned the ticket to be somewhere close to $1200 plus tax, usually another 100 or 2, and the route was via hongkong. She also mentioned that you'd have to reclaim, not recheck your luggage either at bankok or Hongkong. So do give them a call. my case is different since I used united airlines mileage thingy, i had accumulated till now.
Rest, all those who are in KTM this September, I want to get in touch. Please let me know by banging on my name above.
good luck
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| marich |
Posted
on 16-Jul-03 01:07 PM
oh forgot , i have not heard anything about that transit visa in bankok , but i dont mind, if i find a good fellow as a company, and check the gallies as Chiple had done , for one or two nights.
may be more..just kidding.hehehe... tara jana chahi janai parne thau ho ke .
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| Arnico |
Posted
on 16-Jul-03 03:07 PM
It sounds like I'm turning into the air travel resource person of sajha... oh well, let me try my best.
You do not need a transit visa for Bangkok if your connection time is less than 12 hours AND you remain inside the terminal, where you can rent a transit hotel room by the hour (minimum 4 hours for about US$ 30). In a previous thread I have already described this option. Do a search.
You DO need a transit visa if you plan to go outside of the airport. You can apply for the visa by mail from a nearby Thai embassy or consulate (which one depends on what state you are in)... call them to have them send you forms and alert them that you are sending your passport. The visa fee is something like $ 15 per entry, valid for upto 1 month stay.
If you go outside the airport you can find cheaper hotels (nice ones), but once you add visa costs, taxi fare and the airport tax to reenter the terminal you don't end up spending less.
Of course, if you are younger and less spoiled than me, you can also spend the night wandering around the transit hall without renting a room... I'm sure you will run into at least a few dozen compatriots on their way to Malaysia who are spending their first night abroad. Might learn some interesting stories about why they are seeking work overseas.
And Marich... if I understand your last line correctly regarding spending a few nights in Bangkok... before you get any ideas from the city's "reputation", do read up on both the very high prevalance of AIDS and on the near-slavery conditions and coersion that brought many of the women working in the city's redlight district to their current fate. Many of their stories are not different from those of your Nepali didi-bahini slaving away in Bombay... sold by friends, fiances, uncles, even parents!!!
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| Arnico |
Posted
on 16-Jul-03 03:14 PM
As for RNAC... I am sure you know you are exaggerating. Depending on what part of the aircraft you sit on, you will even find Lufthansa's gleaming new A340 making strange noises, as well as shaking and flexing during turbulence and while on the runway. RNAC's aircrafts don't fall apart in mid-air the way you described. And I won't comment on your story about the flight attendants.
That said, I do not recommend flying RNAC on your connection from the US because the airline is extremely unreliable in sticking to a schedule, because its ground staff in Delhi (especially) are rude, and because it DOES neglect some standard safety precautions. For example, on a recent Delhi to Kathmandu flight that I was on, the flight attendands barely finished clearing meal trays by the time the aircraft flew past Chapagaon (30 seconds before touch-down).... though the food WAS quite good. And there was Twin Otter a few years ago that landed with a hole in the luggage hold... because someone had transported a lead-acid battery that leaked (hazardous material that should never be transported by air).
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| jaya_nepal |
Posted
on 16-Jul-03 04:59 PM
Marich brother, I am not sure about the Sky Miles but trying flying Austrian Air. USA to Vienna(Austria) and then a connecting flight to Kathamandu via one hour stop in Delhi. I guess they fly thrice a week to Kathmandu. You will have no hassles of baggage claims or anything anywhere. And if you live in East coast, theres no point travelling all the way to Bangkok and then back to Kathmandu. Moreover, you can take a visa for Austria and spent couple of days there.
This route is much cheaper and yeah better for sure.
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| by |
Posted
on 17-Jul-03 06:09 AM
Last year, around this time, we bought our tickets from Peaceland Travels for $1200. The route was as follows:
Northwest: Detroit - Los Angeles
Cathay: Lost Angeles - HongKong
Cathay: HongKong - Bangkok
Thai: Bangkok - Kathmandu
We'll certainly be looking for a similar route, perhaps try ANA this time as per suggestion above.
There was an ad earlier that Singapore Airlines was running a promotion deal of $250 for LA to Singapore roundtrip. I think they said you have to buy the ticket by July 31st and complete your travel by August 31st.
Najar, when exactly are you flying over? We are targetting Sept 27th departure date. Perhaps you can join us? And how about meeting up for some Fanta and Chicken Chilli in the valley? Maybe I can coax my old friend Ashu and his team to take us along in their next adventure.
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| najar |
Posted
on 17-Jul-03 07:11 AM
By ji, i would be delighted to join you guys but looks like my trip will be little earlier than yours--early sept. But in Kathmandu, for sure we will meet up! The adventure idea sounds good, we totally should tag along! Marichji, you are up for it also, hoina ta? And i gather there will be some other sajhaites too around the festive season. Anybody else going home in dashain or around that time please write here or send e-mail to one of us!
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| lonely |
Posted
on 17-Jul-03 07:56 AM
by jiu, when did you say Singapore airlines had this offer?? I can't see it any more...can you please give me more info if possible...
thanks
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| Ruby |
Posted
on 17-Jul-03 08:17 AM
For future references , if you are in the east coast and have time to spare on the way back home:
1) take aeroflot from nyc-moscow-delhi , then RNAC del-kth . The planes are kind of dingy and Delhi airport sux!!
2) Take Qatar/Gulf airways from major European cit. Both fly direct into Kathmandu. Planes are nice and service is great.
I have done both of the above and got tickets for less than 1000 dollars.
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