Greater & Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus & Dicrurus remifer)

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Tara

Since these two species are so similar and are found in roughly the same area, I am going to combine the profiles of the Greater & Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus & Dicrurus remifer). You can tell them apart by the size of the bird, the crest on the Greater RTD and the shape of the tails. The Greater has a fork shaped tail and the Lesser’s tail is more of a wedge shape.

This is a Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo from Mae Ping NP in Thailand with the smooth head and wedge-shaped tail.

Here is a Greater Racket-tailed Drongo with the forked tail in Taiping.

Both birds have a large, varied range in South-east Asia with the Greater having a larger distribution including India than the Lesser. I saw both birds in northern Thailand, in Doi Inthanon and Mae Ping, also in Taiping and Taman Negara in Malaysia.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE BIRDS

VIDEOS

A Gretaer RTD in India.

And another one singing.

See how his tail floats while in flight!

And here’s a Lesser from Singapore.

Changi Transit Programme – Free Spending Money!

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Tara

Your transit experience in Singapore is now more rewarding. Redeem a S$40 Changi Dollar Voucher when you transit through Singapore, from now until 31 March 2014.

Who is eligible?

Singapore Airlines and SilkAir customers whose point of origin, as stated in their e-ticket, is one of the following countries:
Australia, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey or the United Kingdom.
Customers must be on transit through Singapore, which means that Singapore is neither the point of origin nor the end destination in the e-ticket. For example, a passenger whose itinerary is “Sydney – Singapore – Hong Kong” would be eligible, but a passenger whose itinerary is “Sydney – Singapore – Sydney” would not be eligible.
E-ticket numbers should also begin with 618 or 629, and both inbound and outbound flights must be on Singapore Airlines or SilkAir.
For passengers whose transit (through Singapore) itinerary was issued over two separate e-tickets, please present the two e-tickets to the iShopChangi Collection Centre located within the transit areas of Terminal 2 or 3. Please note that voucher redemption is subject to the terms and conditions stated below.

Where can I use the voucher?

Issued while stocks last, the vouchers are valid for:
A one-time use in retail, food and service outlets located at the transit and public areas of Terminals 1, 2 and 3*
A one-time access to the Ambassador Transit Lounge at Terminals 2 and 3 for up to six hoursLounge usage includes showers with basic toiletries, light refreshments, free flow of non-alcoholic beverages, local and international reading materials, as well as complimentary Wi-Fi

*Changi Dollar Vouchers are not accepted at the following outlets:
Transit area: all Cheers outlets, all 7-11 outlets, all money-changing counters, Hermès (Terminals 1, 2 & 3), the left baggage counters (Terminals 2 & 3), the SATS Rainforest Lounge (Terminal 1). Public area: all money-changing counters, all hotel reservation counters, all Avis and Hertz Car Rental counters, All M1 Shop outlets and counters, all Passenger Meeting Services counters, all Cold Storage & 7-11 outlets, all NTUC & Cheers outlets, Presto Drycleaners (Terminal 3). Arrival Baggage Claim Halls: all outlets.

Where do I collect the voucher?

To claim your S$40 Changi Dollar Voucher, simply produce your e-ticket containing your full itinerary and arrival boarding pass at the iShopChangi Collection Centres, which are situated near the GST Refund counters in the transit areas of both Terminals 2 and 3.
The iShopChangi Collections Centres are located near the transit GST refund counters, and are open for 24 hours.

Terms and conditions

Only effective for tickets issued on 01 October 2012 – 31 March 2014, both dates inclusive.
Only effective for transit passengers whose departure date from point of origin is between 01 January 2013 and 31 March 2014, both dates inclusive.
S$40 Changi Dollar Vouchers are valid from date of issue to 31 March 2014.
A S$40 Changi Dollar Voucher may only be claimed once for each ticket issued, either on the outgoing or the return leg of the itinerary.
Multiple vouchers may be used for payment.
Vouchers may not be used with ongoing in-store promotions.
Vouchers can be used in conjunction with Singapore Airlines Boarding Pass Privileges.

Getting To South-East Asia With Frequent Flyer Miles

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Tara

The countries of South-East Asia’s bird populations are as colourful and diverse as you could expect from this culturally rich region. let’s concentrate on the countries which are classified as “South-East Asia” by the frequent flyer programs and have great birding and eco-tourism opportunities such as (alphabetically) Burma, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. If you are married to or involved with a non-birding partner, this is a great region to plan a trip to as they will find plenty to do while you are off chasing birds. Unfortunately, being so far from everywhere except Australia, it can be very expensive to get there whether you use miles or cash. Let’s look at a few options.

South-East Asia

ONE WORLD ALLIANCE

AMERICAN AADVANTAGE

For most people, joining American Airline’s AAdvantage will be the best option. They have quite a few credit card options to quickly build your miles stash and a few partners such as E-Rewards and various hotels where you can transfer points in. The region is called “Asia Zone 2” on this chart and includes Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Guam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Saipan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam. Airlines which serve this area include Cathay Pacific and Qantas with Malaysian Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines and Qatar Airways joining very soon.

Peru Award2

These figures are one-way so double if you want a round trip. The nice thing about AAdvantage is the flexibility, you may choose to go one way in economy and one way in business, or do an open jaw where you fly into Bali (DPS) for example and out of Bangkok (BKK). Please note that awards between South-East Asia and South America Zones 1 & 2 are not available so if you want a route like that you will have to join up two awards such as Asia-North America and North America – South America.

USA and Canada: Each way is 35,000 economy; 55,000 business; 72,500 first. You can use Qantas, Cathay Pacific, and Malaysian but there are no stopovers allowed.

UK and Europe: Each way is 35,000 economy; 52,500 business; 70,000 first. You can use British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Etihad or (coming soon) Malaysian Airlines and SriLankan Airlines; or use Finnair, Air Berlin or Iberia to get to Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong or anywhere Qantas flies.

Australia and New Zealand: Each way is 25,000 economy; 35,000 business; 45,000 first. You can use Qantas, Cathay Pacific and Malaysian.

QANTAS

For Aussies who have easy access to Qantas points via their employer or Everyday Rewards, it’s worth checking out QF’s awards to South-East Asia. Use their points calculator as the awards are distance based, not by country. A long distance award such as Brisbane – Bangkok will cost more than a short one like Darwin – Denpasar/Bali. The awards look expensive compared to AA, UA and US but if you got your points for free, might as well enjoy them!

Qantas Awards

AVIOS (BRITISH AIRWAYS AND IBERIA)

By the time you read this, Malaysian will have joined One World, though the booking engine may not be online yet. Look for bargains in one way awards between Kuala Lumpur and nearby cities such as Singapore, Jakarta, Bali, Bangkok, Vientiane and Manila. In the examples below, the awards will range from 4500 Avios to 10,000 Avios.

AVIOS AWARD CHART

STAR ALLIANCE AIRLINES

No matter where you live, the two best programs to use in Star Alliance are United and US Airways. Both have their pros and cons. With United, you can book partner awards online, book one-way awards and get lots of miles via several Chase credit cards; but if you can’t get these cards it can be hard to get miles in United Mileage Plus. With US Airways, the major drawbacks are you have to book round-trips and you can’t book online, you have to call them. The advantage with US Airways is that they offer frequent “Buy miles, get 100% bonus free” promos and in the past, they had the wonderful Grand Slam promos where it was possible to do partner transactions and with careful planning you could get about 120,000 miles for $400-600 incremental cost. The US Airways Grand Slam hasn’t been seen since Sept-Nov 2011, unfortunately they didn’t do it in 2012. Depending on where you live, Avianca/Taca Lifemiles could be useful too, but it is hard to use their booking engine for complicated routings so I suggest saving them for USA-Central/South America where they offer better value and ease of booking.

US Airways Chart

US AIRWAYS (round-trip only) Region is South & Central Asia which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Chagos, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

USA and Canada: Economy 80,000; Business 120,000; First 160,000. You can use United, Air Canada, Air New Zealand (hard to get) or sometimes take the “scenic route” via Asia using Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Asiana or ANA (All Nippon Airlines). US has recently started enforcing MPM (maximum permitted miles) so some Asian routings may not be acceptable.

UK and Europe: Economy 70,000, Business 90,000; First 110,000. Most people try to get routings using Singapore, Thai, Lufthansa, Swiss and Turkish Airlines. Some airlines do not give US Airways business or first class awards such as Singapore, Lufthansa and Swiss.

Australia and New Zealand: Economy 70,000, Business 90,000; First 120,000. You can fly on Singapore, Thai and Air New Zealand.

UNITED AIRLINES (can book one-way or round trip.

The award chart is too big to copy paste here so please follow this link to see the whole chart.

USA and Canada: (each way) Economy 40,000; Business 62,500; First 80,000. You can use United, Air Canada, Air New Zealand (hard to get) or sometimes take the “scenic route” via Asia using Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Asiana or ANA (All Nippon Airlines). You can easily see the routings via their online award booking engine.

UK and Europe: (each way) Economy 55,000, Business 75,000; First 90,000. Most people try to get routings using Singapore, Thai, Lufthansa, Swiss and Turkish Airlines. You can easily see the routings on their online award booking engine but be careful if you are looking at business or first class awards as sometimes they offer mixed class awards and the long-haul section could be in economy with a short sector in business or first.

Australia and New Zealand: Economy 30,000, Business 45,000; First 60,000. You can fly on Singapore, Thai and Air New Zealand.

Here’s an example of London to Bangkok, as you can see they quote both the miles and taxes and the business class award are “mixed class” and if you hover over the fare, you can see which flight is in which class.

United Chart

You can see how much cheaper it is to fly from Brussels due to the very high UK departure taxes.

United Award ex-Brussels

These are just a few examples, please feel free to ask questions in the comments.

If you need ideas on how to acquire frequent flyer miles, please see the Resources tab and Miles and Points tab. which I will update with new offers for free or cheap miles.