Monday, December 18, 2006

Cathay Pacific All-Asia Pass 2007 :: Kota Kinabalu is back in the list!

This is great news for those who plan to travel to Kota Kinablau (Sabah, Malaysia) but it's a few months too late for me!

I had planned to take advantage of the All-Asia pass last spring since in 2005, as touring Kota Kinabalu was the main reason for my trip. But no, it was not to be. For 2006, no matter how hard I read the list of free add-ons via Hong Kong, I couldn't find it anywhere.

I emailed my Hong Kong tourism contact and she double-checked with Cathay : Nope, not there. Nor was Beijing that year. (Beijing isn't on this year's pass, but the flight from Hong Kong is relatively inexpensive. (Find the best deals)

But now, for 2007, here's the full list of 22 destinations plus Hong Kong:
Bali, Bangkok (Thailand, photos), Cebu, Colombo (Sri Lanka, photos), Fukuoka, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Jakarta, Karachi, Kota Kinabalu!, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Nagoya, Osaka, Penang, Phuket, Phnom Penh, Sapporo, Seoul, Singapore, Surabaya, Taipei and Tokyo.

You can add on (for a very reasonable fee) Dhaka, Delhi, Mumbai, Hanoi, and in Australia, the cities of Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney or Auckland, N.Z. As well, you can add on days/weeks to the pass, again for a fee.
The all-Asia pass takes a bit of planning to work out the best value and itinerary, but it's worth it if you want to cover a number of destinations. Just be aware that you'll be starting each leg in Hong Kong. But that's a great airport, and it will soon feel like an old friend. (Remember, you can now take the cable car from the airport in Hong Kong to see the Giant Buddha on Lantau Island.)

In early January, I'll be processing my photos and travel tips for Kota Kinabalu, and Sarawak.
Stay tuned!
March 2008 The Borneo pages are now online at snapshotjourneys.com