Elaine Yang, an independent Chinese woman, 34 years old, optimistic with passion of life. She is full of curiosity about the unknown world; her intent is to travel around the world. “I can’t stop exploring as I've finally realized that the more I know, the more unknowns there are.”
She promised herself 1-2 times a year for overseas travel as a reward of hard working. “The meaning of earning is using them to explore the unknowns.” She said: “And the memorable travel experiences always encourages me to work harder & earn more money." It's a cycle.
Elaine’s ‘be there’ travel list is much longer than that of her colleagues and friends: Thailand, Indonesia, Korea, France, German, Russia, Malaysia, Czech, Australia, Spain, Japan, Iran, The United Arab Emirates and Vietnam etc. “My next stop is Kenya - another wonderland full of power & unknowns! ”
Making a holiday is not so easy.
Elaine is a typical self-service traveler who is always well- prepared for every journey. “There’re too many things I have take into consideration,” she sighed. She always does a lot of work to make plans e.g. screening, budget setting, time arranging, flight/hotel booking, etc. Her biggest concern is her visa application. “There’s still less countries that provide visa-free / visa on arrival for Chinese passport holders which may cause a lot of time on application and may face the possibility of rejection.” She really hopes for more convenient solutions in the future.
Cost is the key consideration of making a holiday.
Elaine is good at budget control. “Flight tickets and hotels cost a lot, so I spend a lot of time on searching economical options. I’d also consider the exchange rate for cost saving.” She is quite proud of being financially smart. “Enjoying a great holiday doesn’t mean spending extravagantly, even if I were to become very rich,” she said. “I believe in a Chinese saying: ‘Spend your money where it’s needed most.’ ”
After landing, the holiday really starts.
Elaine doesn’t quite care about the airline service. In her mind, there is no big difference among the airline companies, especially for economic class service. “Taking flight is a mandatory tool to bring me where I want to go and my holidays start after that. I’d pay more attention to the local conditions and customs.”
Her flying experience:
Elaine had the best experience on Korea airline. She got a free upgrade to business class. She was really impressed by the on-board service. “It was my first time in business class; the air hostess were really considerate; no wonder that cost so much.” She treats this experience as a bonus, “Versus the cost, the comfort could be sacrificed.”
The transit visa service offered by Emirates is also attractive. Once she traveled to Iran, she also got the chance to have a 3-day tour in Dubai which left her with great memories. Finally, I asked if she has some expectations, she said. “I’m not greedy, I just hope for something little but warm.”
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