3. Chennai - Singapore

The Tiger Airways flight from Anna Airport in Chennai to Singapore Changi was 3 hours and 50 minutes, and went perfectly smooth.

The seat pitch was the narrowest I've ever experienced, my knee caps was firmly placed in the back of the passenger in front. A wild guess: could it have something to do with the average lenght of Asian citizens? More than likely.

Luckily I managed to change to an exit row seat - hence the smooth flight.

Touchdown at Changi, what an excellent airport. I was in my hotel in Singapore in a flash. Now I have two whole days of rest before the next leg. Nice.

2. Sharjah - Chennai

I went by taxi from Dubai to Sharjah airport (approx one hour and a price of 20-25 euros). From Sharjah I flew Air Arabia to Chennai in India.

Flight time was 3 hours and 55 minutes.

Best possible ticket price right now is 105 euros, and you have to make your booking online at www.airarabia.com.

Service on board was just fine and the prices fair.

Coffe or a can of soda: 1,20 euros
Noodles: 1,50 euros
Headphones 1,20 euros (the film was Bollywood!)

Beer and Wine? Forget about it. Air Arabias flights are strictly halal - no alcohol allowed. Neither served, nor BYO.

1. Stockholm - Dubai

Today I started off by flying from Stockholm Arlanda Airport to Dubai, on the low cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle (www.norwegian.no).

They've been operating the route since October 28 this year, using a Boeing 737-800, which really is stretching the limits for the aircraft. Norwegian never allows the flights on this route to be fully booked, that would mean an extra landning for refueling on the way south to Dubai.

The best possible price for a one way ticket between Stockholm and Dubai on Norwegian is 1367 sek, or 130 euros. Checked luggage is 6 euros per piece if payed for online. A hot meal on board is 8,50 euro, coffe is 2 euro.

Tomorrow I continue east. Check out the map of my travel at www.bortabra.se/jordenrunt.

Cheers,
Goran

The journey starts today!

In five hours I'll depart from Stockholm Arlanda Airport, heading for ... Nope, I will not give that away just yet ;-)

I have to admit I'm a little bit nervous - there are many things that could go wrong on this trip. Airline companies could go out of bussiness or cancel the route I'm about to travel. Bags could be left in India when I'm on my way to Australia.

I've promised my girlfriend to be back by christmas, I hope I'll manage.

I have a Swedish web site for the around the world trip as well. If you have problems reading Swedish (that's ok, most people do...) you can always check out the map I've put up there. Tonight, around midnight CET, I'll update it with my new destination.

www.bortabra.se/jordenrunt

//Goran

How to fly around the world for 1 200 euros

Is it possible to fly around the world using only budget, or low cost, airlines?

The question has been discussed many times in travel forums on the web. Being a travel journalist I got the question from a friend on a party in Stockholm a couple of weeks ago.

My instant answer was no. But after many hours of browsing through airline web sites - I've found a way to do it.

It is possible to see the world for approx 1200 euros, 1500 dollars, making 7 to 10 stops in the most popular backpacking spots in Asia, Australia, North America and Europe.

From November 28th I'll show you how to do it! Just follow my blog as I travel the world on budget airlines.

Cheers,
Goran