Ever since I’ve been travelling I’ve generally backpacked. Not because of any hard held beliefs that lugging around a backpack and staying in crowded hostel dorms was the be all end all of travel. It was more because I knew I wanted to travel and if I waited for the day where I could afford to travel and stay in ‘nice’ hotels, well then, I’d probably not see much of the world.
These days I’ve added a little more variety in my travel style and when I travel with a backpack now I have probably reached the giddy heights of ‘flash packer’.
We all have a list or at least I have a list of things that I want to do or achieve as I go though that journey called life. It’s a living document in a way since as I achieve things they obviously get crossed off the list and new things get added. Some things on that list, well just aren’t ever going to happen. Like traveling in space, I’ve always wanted to do that but figure it’s never going to happen. It’s still on the list though, can’t bring myself to take it off.
Another one of those things on the list that I never really thought would happen is to travel on a long haul flight in First Class. Now wouldn’t that be something? Yet short of winning lotto I figured that one would never happen either. That was until now.
One of the advantages of travelling a bit is that one tends to accumulate points, lots of points. A couple of months ago when I booked my flights to Canada just for the heck of it I requested an upgrade. I had the points there but never did I think I would actually get the upgrade.
Then I got the text:
‘Your points upgrade to First on QF0007 from SYD to DFW has been confirmed. Enjoy your Flight!’
I had to read that one a few times before I could quite comprehend that I was actually being awarded the flight upgrade. I’m finally getting the chance to fly in first class. Not on just any long haul flight but on one of the longest non stop flights in the world.
So I’m heading off today for my holiday. This one is more of the regular holiday rather than a backpacking one. Still it’s ticking off another one of those things on my list. The Rocky Mountaineer is one of those train rides I’ve wanted to go on for a long time through some reportedly spectacular scenery. What can I say, there is just something about trains, right from when I was a kid and getting to ride on the train from the small country town I lived in to the city, not that we did it much, we generaly traveled by other means but it was exciting. Then spending all that time on my very first round the world backpacking trip riding from country to county via train in Europe.
So this journey will cross off two things off ‘The List’. The Rocky Mountaineer and a first class flight.
