Weird and Wonderful World

25 Sep

So in the age of budget travel, your friends discuss lunch plans in Bangkok, weekend jaunts out into other regional destinations “to see the Angkor Wat”/ “go to Borobodur”. It’s lovely and wonderful.

Then there are “friends who fly 4 hours from Bangalore to Singapore to buy a MacBook Pro”:http://jace.livejournal.com/432320.html, at a price which is similar to flying to Calcutta and less than flying to Delhi. Price of MacBook Pro + air tickets + expenses for one night still comes up to less than the cost of a new MacBook Pro in India (computers are absurdly expensive there, compared to prices we’re used to).

And in the age of budget travel, a “blogger”:http://www.preetamrai.com/weblog/ raised in Rajasthan ends up working in Singapore, going off to Japan, China, Cambodia on weekends, and returning time and time again to China because he has a great affinity for that country. While “another blogger”:http://www.popagandhi.com/, who calls this place her home and is of Chinese descent, goes off to Southeast Asia on weekends and term breaks, and returns again and again to India because of my great affinity for the subcontinent.

It’s an age of great opportunity for the clash of culture — as he, an Indian, wanders around China passing himself off as a native from Xinjiang (thus he speaks ’strange’ Mandarin; though his Mandarin is probably better than mine); while I, a Chinese Singaporean, wanders around India passing myself off as a Northeast Indian from Manipur (thus explaining my ’strange’ Hindi). While planning for lunch in Bangkok, romantic escapes to remote spots in the mountains of northern Thailand, breakfast at Mavalli Tiffin Room in Bangalore.

This year alone, I flew return to and from Chiang Mai for S$98, taxes included. One way to Calcutta for S$120. One way back from Bangalore for $200 (what was possibly the cheapest return flight to India in history — usual prices hover above $800-1000). And if I really wanted to go to northern Australia next year, I could do that for S$8. I can talk to someone at home from a back lane in Calcutta, for more than an hour for less than one euro on Skype; call anyone in the world for “US$1 per week”:http://www.rebtel.com/getstarted/.

What a great age it is to be in.

possibly related

More Asia Travel /It Was A Very Good Year /Only in India /Planning Vacations, or Expeditions /MacBook Pro /
  • chinbaj
    Hmmm...

    Me travelling to Mumbai.
    But you need to chk out the one way fares to M'bai at this tme of the year.
    Malaysian - 588 sgd
    SQ - 600 somehing sgd
    so on and so forth....

    So came up with this novel idea of reaching b'lore by jet star and then hopping on to kingfisher flight to m'bai at 7 morning.
    If the flight reaches 2 hrs late,even then i m safe, considering tht i dont have to cover much distance from international to domestic terminal.
    BTW the whole thing is costing me arnd 450 sgd(considering 3500 INR for kingfisher)...so some savings..

    Hope things fall in place.
  • I haven't had that issue on Jetstar going to thailand, while with the other budget airlines this happens frequently.

    You need to know, however, that any flight within india — or going into, or out of india — you NEED to expect delays. i'm not sure why but that's just the way it is. So while jetstar hasn't delayed me on any route, flying in to bangalore was a 1 hour delay. when you get on a 3pm flight in india.. what that means, it seems, is that they start preparing the gate for boarding at 3pm and you finally get to board at like, 4pm :) That's india for you! Indian stretchable time!
  • chinbaj
    Hey Popagandhi,
    Recently I flew to bangkok by air asia.
    Both times, (while leaving frm Singapore and thn while come back)
    the flights were delayed by 2.5+ hrs.
    Made a mess of the whole holiday schedule.
    Now I am set to fly JetStar to Banglore.
    Anybdy who has travelled on this route on jetstar and experianced
    schedule changes???
  • mo
    Dammit, I was afraid you'd say that :)
  • That's just selfish Adri, shame on you :P
  • popagandhi
    All these deals are available from the various budget airlines' websites.

    jetstarasia.com
    tigerairways.com
    airasia.com

    just to name a few.

    However, to get insanely cheap tickets (as i had), you kinda have to jump on the buy button, pay instantly, and plan your vacation around the date you bought tickets for. :) suffice to say insanely wonderful deals come around maybe 3 times a year and getting on their mailing lists, or checking the sites everyday (like me) is the best approach.. so, no links to deals. :) you have to make your own deals.
  • mo
    Umm. (This is going to come out sounding so lazy...) Could you also post links to these travel deals that you come across seemingly by magic? Spread the joy not the envy? :)
  • Next time you're tech shopping in Bangalore, call me (If such a bizarre scenario ever comes to pass). I'll show you where the best deals are. The retail stores are usually overpriced.
  • popagandhi
    Ah. Maybe i've been shocked too frequently every time when I want to buy something on the road. Most of the items I checked — compactflash, apple accessories, even high end PC stuff — but it could also just be the products I looked at. At least in places much less techie, like Jaipur, a simply spec-ed up PC or notebook usually went for a figure that seemed too high for my head to handle. Heh. Enjoy your new MBP! I want one too!
  • Actually, Adri, the difference in price usually isn't much. It's just with Apple that it's humongous. I wouldn't have been able to afford the trip with any other brand.
  • oli
    I sometimes think that the inter-cultural communication that will result from the expansion of air travel over the next few decades is worth risking the planet for.
  • oli
    ah nothing. just wait till the scientists get their act together and build a network of pneumatic tubes like on Futurama. I thought we're supposed to be in the future already.. and when are those affordable jetpacks coming?
  • popagandhi
    w: well.. we are only backpackers once... when you're young and broke :) i don't blame the wheelers for 'selling out', i think their business empires had wonderful intentions from the start but i resent what it has done for the travelling climate. created a class of backpackers who know a country only by what lonely planet says. the minute i can afford something other than economy class, i'll go for it. oh well.

    s: Jetstar Asia was having a promotional rate for flights to Darwin, for S$8 one way w/o taxes.. but for flights in January 2007. not sure if it's still on.

    oli: well. i try not to fly whenever i can, i.e. i take a tremendous number of trains and buses and boats. but what can we do about it?
  • s
    S$8 for australia? where on earth did you get that fantastic price??
  • oli
    Flying is the most polluting form of transport there is. Perhaps a little dollop of guilt on the side then you'll taste what kind of age we're living in.

    "writers of Lonely Planet stopped flying economy class about 10 years ago."
    Sounds like a joke about how LP writers are detatched from the average backpacker, not fact. They're a disparate bunch of jobbing writers, not a corporate team with unified ticket buying policy. The management team probably fly business class, and why not. They probably don't wear sandals and 'I *heart* Pad Thai' t-shirts either.
  • w.
    Rather tangential, but I just read, while in Bangkok over the weekend, that apparently the writers of Lonely Planet stopped flying economy class about 10 years ago.
  • J.
    Maybe LDRs just became easier too. Haha.
  • And we wouldn't have it any other way. =)
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