RTW Ticket Paid For!!!

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Well the most recent developments are that on Wenesday 18.07.07 i popped into Trailfinders to pay the balance on my ticket, a moment i had been building upto for months......as can be seen by my months of blogging of stuff happeing and my other randomness.

Well it couldnt quite go smoothly.....as nothing in life ever does, so i was going to hand my notice in a month before my leave date for work, which is the 23.11.07.......as i wanted a month or so off work before i travel to get everything double and triple checked and to spen time with my family before i disappear for 18 months- 2 years.

Anyway long story short, someone had blabbed and my boss took me to one side and said she had heard a rumour i was planning to leave to go traveling..................so i was honest and fessed up and then i put my notice in writing and now i think most people at work know im off at the end of november and most people have been fairly stoked and wishing they could go to and telling me to go for it....................so none of the your crazy type remarks which is amazing.

Well i had handed my notice in on Wenesday and then i went to pay my balance and was advised that trailfinders had been advised by OneWorld (the airline alliance im using for my RTW ticket) that the RTW tickets are now down to 20 sectors per ticket..........not sure how the sectors work as appose to flights used.............anyway i had 28 sectors....................OMG.................months of planning and One World where trying to shaft me.....so then my next query to Trailfinders was could i replicate my booking with Starallaince or Escapades (The other alliances that do RTW tickets)..........id even be willing to pay more.

No that was not viable as Escapades only use 4 airlines and don't cover a quarter of my trip/grand tour and Star Alliance don't have any South American airline partners..............lots of head scratching ensued and calling my family and friends and texting my girlfriend.................all though all they could do was empathize.

So then followed the cutting of five flights and some rerouting and now i pretty much have a similar itinerary but now i have more overlanding to do.

I now only have a flight in and out of the US and no internal flights and no flight to Vietnam, so i may get an Airasia flight from Bangkok to Vietnam.Although the reworking saved me £254 which will go towards my Insurance.

So it all worked out in the end, but quite tense as id worked on my route for months and also handed my notice in, but hey nothing goes smooth and its the bumps along the way that make the smooth bits better😊

So now i have my ticket and its general knowledge that im leaving work never to comeback again...lol

So the next purchase is my Insurance and after some thinking i have decided to go for the WorldNomads policy..........the are cheaper ones. But a hell of alot of backpackers swear by them, also you can extend the policy and claim online and they cover most of the activities i want to do. So i have decided to go with Nomads and you can also for a few pounds extra specify stuff like cameras and Ipods which is handy.

Link to WorldNomads:-http://worldnomads.com/

WorldNomads also are set up all over the world so no matter were you are they may be able to insure you.

Just waiting for some more cash and then i will be ordering my LP Guides (Lonely Planet Guides) and im also getting a point and picture book so when i am in the likes of China i can point to a toilet instead of asking for the toilet in mandrain and mistakenly saying can i eat your head......lol

So things are well on their way and 161days 3871hours 232282 minutes 13936967 seconds to go till on the Grand Tour.................. i really can not wait.

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Photos

Me @ Salford Quays
Me getting snapped on camera by Randi

Comments

[Jase]

work
I'm puzzled - why have you handed in your notice now? surely they can't force you ? does your notice confirm your intended leaving date of 23/11/07 or sooner ?

[Mikey M]

Work
Hey Jase, my boss heard a rumour out i was going away and she asked me to be honest and tell her if i was going and the would be no worry's about my job, so i was honest with her and so to make sure it was all above aboard i gave her my written notice confirming my intended leaving date of the 23.11.07 and confirming the days holiday i have left and wanted paid for.They did not force me .......but to be honest it has been good to get it out in the open as i can speak freely to work colleagues about it and no more hidden internet searches or muffled calls...lol. Also this way they know im leaving and they have the date in writing and everyone i work with knows what a good job i do and so they couldn't terminate we early or id be able to take the to a tribunal. I feel a weight is lifted and we are practically into august and so it would have only been a few months till i told them anyway, id like to think that me being honest would stand me in good stead for references in the future and it means not having to go through pointless training or appraisals when they know im going. I suppose the are pros and cons to it, but its done now and out in the open. I think as far as they are concerned im not off to some competitor and i have known i was going to leave for sometime and my work is fine and has not suffered. It also means they can find someone to replace me before they get stuck without staff at the year end. I would like to leave sooner Jase, but i don't have enough saved yet, but that is only a matter of time. Thanks for your concern Jase:) Take care Mike

[Jase]

That sounds okay then .... thought they may have been being arsy with you ..! now you can go aroun with a big smile on your face at work and they'll know why :0)

[Mikey M]

Work
Thanks for the concern Jase, they have been arsey with me before and im not exactly fond of the job and will be glad to leave. But any trepidation i had seems so far to unfounded and instead i can walk around with a big smile and tell everyone and make them jealous, i will miss the leaving my notice to last minute trick. But i can get on with stuff without the work headace Mike:)