Urban Trekking in Southeast Asia - Planning the treks

Step One - Getting there!

When traveling around the world, the amount of time spent just getting there can eat a substantial portion of a timeline. We are planning 5 destinations in 18 days, so timing is crucial. Stops add to the flight time, plus the added concern of missing connections, hassle of customs and security two or more times, made this the first adventure.

Our normal standby for international travel - United - offered no direct flights from the continental US. So much for using miles to get there. Further, a stop turns a 19 hour flight into a 26 hour experience, even with the most convenient transfers. And, because of the distance and the time of year, visiting northern cities en-route, like we did when we express-trekked Istanbul, holds no appeal.


Fortunately, Singapore Airlines has initiated the world's longest air flight - from Newark (EWR) to Singapore (SIN) - with a distance of about 9500 miles, represents a course extending 1000 miles further than the previous record. They did this by working with Airbus to engineer the A350 ULR (Ultra-Long-Range) liner which added fuel tanks to some of the space vacated by removing two of the engines. The plane is 30% more fuel efficient, so extends the range of the plane to over 10,000 miles. Like the dreamliner, it's also lighter and includes composite engineering which allows for a higher cabin pressure and more passenger comfort.

Of course, I'm flying in economy and my travel partner is in business class. As you can see below, business class is more than half the plane!