Asia Tour 2017 – Settling into Ship Life

All Aboard the Celebrity Constellation cruise. Eating, drinking, socializing, relaxing! Asia Tour 2017 Begins

Day 2 – Checked onto the Celebrity Constellation cruise ship at Port Mina Zayed in Abu Dhabi. We were welcomed aboard with a glass of champagne and lots of friendly faces milled about. We scooted up to the Oceanview Cafe buffet for a light lunch before checking out all of the amazing facilities on board. I won’t go into great detail as I will dedicate more time in another blog to address the ship itself, so watch for that blog. After attending the mandatory lifeboat drill, we settled into the truly relaxing ship life.

Friendly Check In staff, Abu Dhabi, Celebrity Cruises
Friendly Check In staff, Abu Dhabi, Celebrity Cruises

Abu Dhabi is an amazing starting point; we have been here before, so make sure you check out my blog on that destination! Our second day

Asia Tour 2017 – Berlin to Abu Dhabi, Day 1

Berlin, Germany to Abu Dhabi, UAE. Travel day diary including mode of travel, experience and costs. First part of our Asia tour is a cruise.

January 10, 2017 – 12 noon – Train / bus to airport. € 3.30 / $3.40
Arrived at Berlin Tegel Airport. Our flight has a 45 minute delay – Ukraine Air $180.00 (Berlin/Kiev/Dubai)
Sunny takeoff, on our way to Kiev, Ukraine
Arrived in Kiev, 1/2 hour late landing. (1 hour time change). Airport chaos. Worst airline ever? Staff do not

Asia Tour 2017 – Packing Day

What do I need to pack? What will I forget? How much is too much? What if I need (fill in your item here) that? Medications, Deo, Toothbrush and Underwear top the list!

In just two days we will be heading out on our big Asia Tour. Excitement is building albeit nervous, last minute preparations.  Cleaning the flat, doing the laundry, last minute shopping and the dreaded packing.  The suitcases are sitting in the corner, reminding me that it is time to start this frustrating chore of travel.

To complicate things further, this trip is not so cut and dry as it includes a 15 night cruise taking us from Abu Dhabi to India and Sri Lanka, ending in Singapore where we have planned a 3 night city stay to partake in the Chinese New Year celebrations. From Singapore we are off to 8 nights in Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi before heading to Thailand where we will trade in the suitcases for backpacks and make our way around Thailand, Vietnam and possibly Laos. And you thought your packing was complicated?!

Luggage
Luggage ready for Packing

So what am I packing?

On the Road Again – Asia Tour 2017 – Berlin, Germany

Asia Tour starting from Germany. Itinerary includes United Arab Emirates, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and possibly Laos. I am excited!

First I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!  Hopefully it has started out good and you have a wonderful year ahead of you. I will do my best to keep you up to date as we travel so you have an idea of our path, costs, what we see and where we stay.

In four days, we will be flying with Ukraine Airlines from Berlin, Germany to Kiev, Ukraine for a short layover (1.5 hours) and then on to Dubai, UAE.  Total Cost: $187.79 USD /pp including taxes, fees and flight.

Berlin, Germany
Berlin, Germany

Still to come:
United Arab Emirates, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and possibly Laos. (click here for the blogs as I go)

Can you guess what we will be doing in Dubai?

Stay tuned!

Next blog: Packing Day – Packing list, what travel apps are best for my phone, what needs to be taken care of

Check out our Asia Travels blog for a complete listing of destinations as we go!