Yes they do, but it is a separate issue from that. SFO is already in USA, and we are going SFO-LAX-SYD but on separate tickets,
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I would guess that you wonât get your bags checked through since theyâre different tickets.
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I had booking like that back in 2019 and it was a pain, So next time I drove from SF to LA, hired an old Mustang cheaply and pretended I was Steve McQueen. It is a great road trip and takes about 6 hours. Ended up quicker than flying.
Almost zero chance of them either through checking luggage or giving you boarding passes unfortunately.
Enjoy, itâs an incredible part of the world. Totally inhospitable but the landscapes and wildlife are totally worth it. Seas are usually fine, fog often an issue in the mornings. Recommend an eye mask due to the near 24hr daylight that time of year!
Re internet, itâs quite fast in Longyearbyen but once the boat leaves there never had any phone/internet until returning. This was 2017 mind you so the situation may have changed these days
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We fly to Milan via Dubai on the 26th of April, Emirates changed our connecting flight, we now only layover in Dubai for 90 minutes, it was 2 and half hours previously. So not too bad, they have swapped our plane from the A380 to the retrofitted 4 class 777 as we paid for premium economy, hope those seats are still comfy.
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I did the reverse trip a couple of years back. Booked the cheapest, smallest, most efficient car I could because fuel is ridiculous. When I went to pick up the buzzbox I got the âoh weâve upgraded you for free as weâre booked outâ.
As I grizzled about the point of a booking system if bookings are not actually booked, they pointed at the window at one of these â â â â â â â things:
Yeah, well⌠I supposeâŚ
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I had a similar but different story a few years ago. Got to LAX with a booking for a mid sized sedan. Wife, 3 younger kids and myself. The booking agent saysâ would you like to check out the upgrade options?â I say, sure. So a nice young man takes me out to see all of the ultra cool higher end SUVâs they had, with the upgrade dollars involved. Then I see it. Nirvana. I say âwhat about this one?â He goes, âReally??!â Iâm âYepâ. He says , same price, shaking his head at the strange big Aussie guy who wanted the most uncool US barge he had on the lot.
I come back to the wife and kids, with the rental- and they just laugh and shake their heads going âDaaaaad!!â
The beast:
Ford Flex Wagon
Like driving an oversized XB wagon or feelin like the head of the Brady family.
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Mrs Azza and I got upgraded from a standard sedan to an Audi A6 when we were driving from Adelaide to Melb a few years back.
Beautiful car to drive, even if we did spend a solid 10 mins at the rental place trying to work how to get the thing started haha.
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Something similar happened to me back in 2016.
I flew to Sydney and hired a car to drive the coastal route to Melbourne.
The rental office was busy so they just did the paperwalk and said your car is âover thereâ
Found it, put my luggage in the back (it was an SUV) and then sat for about five minutes trying to figure out where the key went to get it started.
A staff member noticed and asked me what was wrongâŚI told him I couldnât figure where the key wentâŚhe almost smothered his laughter before telling me it was a push button start and that I just had to wave the key near the button to unlock the process.
Needless to say, it was the first time Iâd driven a keyless car.
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if anyone will be in Phuket in the near future, thereâs a teenage girl who has a band that regularly plays at Naka Market. For her age, sheâs quite a talented musician!
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My family (and I) spent the day with Brad in Kamakura today and it was fantastic. Yes heâs an Aussie, but heâs been in Japan for 23 years now and his knowledge is exceptional.
I highly recommend his tour. And heâs happy to adapt it to your needs, depending on your interests.
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I went to Kamakura.
aside from visiting the big Buddha I hiked back to kita kamakura station in the bush by myself.
Found some ancient caves with a statue in it off a beaten track. Also some really old maybe Shinto stuff?
And the trail was just really pretty.
Met a few nice locals on the track as well who wished me well
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I really underestimated the size of the town and the things to do. Next time weâll plan to stay a few nights there and have a decent look around.
And probably check the footy scores instead of ignore our first win. 
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Yeah I tagged onto some tours around the big Buddha which was nice to get some info. That day I was doing some solo travel and my time was limited. I just wanted to get a bushwalk in to reconnect with nature.
Iâd like to return to Japan and do a lot more in more rural/natural areas.
Did a wonderful cycling tour in Tokyo which was part sites, part cultural/history tour.
The guys tour was Soshiâs cycling tour in Tokyo. Highly recommend. Easy cycling .
Tokyo is an incredible city. I get why the cliche tshirts read NYC/Paris/Tokyo - then your city.
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Out of curiosity, are flights departing australia via Etihad, emirates and Qatar still running as scheduled or limited?
Very limited and of course TI wonât come to the party in some cases either.
I would do it but many wonât
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I know the flight weâd organised for May 20, via Emirates to Paris via Dubai, has resumed flying. It took off on time from Sydney on Thursday.
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