The Ghosts of Christmas Past flew Business Class

(with Qatar Airways for £200)

Okay, that was somewhat of a clickbaity subtitle, I’ll admit it. But like all good clickbait, it is not strictly untrue.

In reality, I booked a flight from Sofia to Bangkok a couple of months before my trip. The entire journey cost somewhere around £800, with a short layover in Doha on the way there and a return from Denpasar via the same destination. 

But before I give it all away and tell you who the ghosts onboard my flight were and why it actually cost just £200 …

Let’s set the scene 

It was my first solo long-haul flight, and I could barely rest the night before. I got up early to finish some final bits of packing, exchange local currency, triple check I had everything I needed and head towards the airport. 

The first leg of the trip went pretty smoothly. I was chatting with the person sitting next to me, solving a crossword puzzle and watching Netflix. We got to Doha and took the airport bus and headed towards the connecting flight.

That’s when I saw my name. 

A bored-looking member of staff was sitting at the top of the staircase I was climbing, holding a sign with my name on it. No other information available, I had the urge to walk past and pretend I hadn’t seen it. But I didn’t. I stopped to ask. 

My flight had been overbooked, and Qatar Airways had sorted out two alternative options for me and two other passengers who had found themselves in the same predicament.

Option number one included 7 hours at Doha airport, a flight to Bangkok and a potential undisclosed monetary compensation from the carrier. Option two included boarding a Business Class flight to Singapore immediately, a three-hour wait at the world’s best airport and an AirAsia flight to Bangkok. Both options would arrive at approximately the same time to our final destination. 

I chose option two and handed in my passport to the airport attendant. Now I don’t want to brag but I’m pretty sure I was the trendsetter for our little group of three because the other two passengers took notice and chose the same option. 

Singapore Airport

Who was I flying with

When you travel alone you expect to encounter a plethora of unusual characters but this was too Dickens even for my expectations. My flight companions were a 40-year-old marketing executive travelling to Bangkok to essentially boost his own ego and a 60+ year-old retiree travelling to Thailand for the cheap prostitutes. 

Together, we were like a Bulgarian reiteration of the Ghosts of Christmas Past.

There I was, new to the concept of paid sex and dead dreams. Wide-eyed and hopeful for the future, travelling to experience new things, meet new people and expand my horizons (or something to that effect). 

P. had only just turned 40. He told me he has a lot more luck with the ladies when he’s swiping right on Asian territory. It often turns out they were using Google Translate when they meet in person but that doesn’t bother him too much. He was eager to light his next cigarette and share stories from the ayahuasca hallucinations he’d recently had. 

N. was somewhere in his 60s or 70s, spoke virtually no English and was a stark example of a very specific part of Bulgarian culture. His itinerary mostly consisted of paid sex with some excursions and local attractions in between because “how much sex could you possibly have”. Unlike P. he didn’t seem sad or disappointed with life. If I have to be completely honest, I’m not sure he had the emotional capacity for such complex emotions but still… for a person who doesn’t know how to navigate an airport, he was determined, self-assured and brain-meltingly relaxed.

The Qatar Business Class experience

A few years ago “Happy” received the award for best restaurant in London. Many were shocked to hear that the franchise with the annoying waiters and overly done politeness had received such recognition, myself included. 

What I didn’t know was that flying business class is a lot like eating at Happy.

Every two minutes a well-intended stewardess will swing by to ask if you need anything, bring food, offer to make your bed or suggest you put your seatbelt on. 

My working theory is that rich people enjoy being treated like little children. 

Jokes aside, it was kinda motivating. I’m not a very financially oriented person but I wouldn’t mind working harder if it meant I could easily afford to fly business class forever.

Was the food nice?

You certainly have more options than coach and it’s nice that you can choose them when you board. I had three dips with pitta bread for the starter. If you know me well enough, you also know you can find hummus in my fridge at literally any point in time. Naturally, I gave the starter a 10/10.

The main dish was a veggie pasta that reminded me of the frozen Tesco pasta I used to make in my first year of university. I shouldn’t be harsh though, they are making it all 12,500 m above land.

There was breakfast just before we landed. Again, I had three options to choose from plus hot and soft drinks. I chose a yoghurt and granola bowl, orange juice and a black coffee. I received a croissant, a yoghurt bowl and a plate of fruits plus the black coffee 🤷‍♀️ 

What else was there?

The seats are nicer and convert into an uncomfortable bed that you can barely sleep on (but at least it allows you to lay horizontally) - that’s pretty much the main advantage. You get more privacy and something that you can actually call a blanket. There’s also a pyjama set from The White Company that you can wear to sleep and a complimentary bag of cosmetics-inside it the soap smells like flowers and everything else smells like soap.

Overall, I could have done without most of the added bonuses. It is the space and maybe the food that you actually pay for. Or receive as a “sorry for the fuck up” in my case.

Why did it only cost £200?

I paid around £700-800 in total for the return ticket. Because the one flight was overbooked and I had originally departed from Europe, I could file for Regulation 261/2004. Based on the duration and length of the flight I missed the airline had to compensate me with 600 EUR. The prices are all set by the EU legislation and determined by the circumstances you find yourself in.

I also had travel insurance. My insurance paid out 100 EUR for the interruption. If I factor in things like the estimated amount of food and drinks I consumed, the cosmetics and the socks I accidentally stole (🤫) I may have come away on top.

Do I regret it?

Absolutely not. One, it is a fun anecdote. Two, travelling is meant to put you in unexpected situations and teach you how to deal with them.

Three, the airport in Singapore was a great stop along the way. If you ever find yourself there, be sure to check out the cactus garden (but not the butterfly one - it’s creepy), the rooftop swimming pool and the 24/7 cinema. Other notable attractions like the famous waterfall aren’t available unless you exit through immigration but you can check it out if you take the connecting train from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2.

Please forgive the typos.

Yours & delightfully dyslexic,

Dimana ✌️

Digital Nomads

Sigiriya; Sri Lanka

I first got introduced to the concept of “digital nomads” when I was still in university. Sat in my seven-bedroom student apartment, curtesy of LSE, I scrolled past countless posts on a newly-discovered Facebook page. The now banal photos of open laptops with a gorgeous beach in the background were a glimpse into an alternative universe at the time. Back then, the notion was still quite fresh, and nobody I knew had a remote job or the luxury to work from anywhere while travelling. 

The hypothetical opportunity drew me in instantly.

If you grew up in a country that was a member state of the USSR in the 90s, there are a couple of things your parents almost certainly told you - to study foreign languages, to eat cabbage in winter and to travel as much as you can. I profusely avoided the second and wasn’t very good at the first, but travelling… that’s where I shine. 

How do you start?

Up until late 2023, I was still a part of a few Facebook groups that mentioned the words “digital nomads” in the title. Without exception, almost daily, there would be a comment in at least one of them asking “How do I do what you guys do - what job do I find?”.  The answers were almost always patronising and unhelpful, but in their defence, the reality is just as unhelpful. 

I’m pretty sure there is no manual. A few things might help, like not having close family you need to care for and acquiring a higher education that affords you a computer-based job. From then on, it’s a wild, wild West. 

Probably 70% of the people I met in coworking spaces were in tech - developers, QA, marketing, HR, account/sales - you name it, people do it.

About 10% were just kind of lost. Not in a bad way, but they either do little jobs here and there or are changing careers or are taking a longer sabbatical to travel and pursue a hobby.

The rest are fortunate, talented and self-driven enough to make money from something creative - designers, artists, writers, editors and other people who make magic. 

I didn’t meet any OnlyFans stars, feet-selling entrepreneurs or virtual financial dominatrixes, which is, honestly, quite disappointing. But I did meet a girl who makes a living reviewing niche porn. 

Is it difficult to work while travelling?

Short answer - it’s not necessarily easy or difficult. A few things I wasn’t anticipating were the inevitable decision fatigue and the impact of the climate on my overall motivation and performance. 

Decision fatigue is pretty self-explanatory, but I truly hadn’t realised how many things I take for granted when I’m at a familiar place. When you relocate somewhere for slightly longer, you need to build your entire routine from the start - the gym, the grocery store, the route to the coworking - everything needs to be re-discovered. It’s a bit draining and very time-consuming. 

Performance in different climates is another aspect I never considered. Growing up with four seasons made me think I could operate in any weather. I was very, very wrong. 

The people you meet.

You meet a plethora of novel-worthy characters. It’s like Tolstoy, Marquez, and Hemingway had a field day. If I did have to generalise tho, most are in their mid-thirties, white and regularly participate in either yoga classes or some kind of adrenaline-inducing sport that takes place in nature.

Yes, there are a lot of tech bros and “eat pray love” girlies, but some of them are cool and genuine people, too. 

Who you run into is largely dependent on the location you’ve chosen. Here are some completely biased observations (that are mostly my own):

Bansko

Visit enough co-working spaces around the world, and you’ll inevitably hear the name of the mountainous Bulgarian resort town. I’ve lived two hours away from it for the majority of my life and never knew just how popular it was among the slow travellers who are cringe enough to snowboard or posh enough to ski. 

Expect heartwarming yet slightly weird board game nights in the co-working, partying in a Berlin-style basement club, cheap apres-ski and gorgeous views. It attracts a very diverse range of people, so whatever your age, interests and intentions - you’ll find a tribe.

7/10

Madeira 

A magnet for the surf bros who need to stay in European time zones and those that were based in Africa and are only now starting to travel. People are there for the waves and the hikes and because they left it too late and couldn’t book anything in Lisbon (🙋‍♀️).

The overall vibe is slightly introverted. Funchal’s coworking, for example, had amazing views, great air-con and virtually no aspirations to form a community. There are semi-regular events that fill that gap, organised by a local nomad community group.  If you go, expect roof-top pool parties with a DJ, an open-air tattoo corner and a capoeira class. 

6/10

HoiAn

This one is a soft spot for me. I had the best time in this little digital nomad paradise. Genuine people, intelligent conversations, plenty of social activities and many things to do solo if that’s what you are in the mood for.

10/10

Bali

The first-stop destination for the ones coming from Australia and New Zealand. An Instagram-infused spot for wanna-be influencers and various forms of “entrepreneurs”. Expect guys with funny accents and big arms, women with disproportionate lips and geeky men behind laptop screens.

5/10

Is it a sustainable lifestyle?

That really depends on your own definition of sustainable. For me, it is not. I give a lot of care and attention to the personal relationships in my life - both romantic and platonic. It’s important for me to be a part of a community, and the older I get, the more important I envision this to become. 

You get soaked into different communities when you travel and they all give you something new, but then they are gone. Building lasting relationships is difficult but worthwhile, and it doesn’t bode well with a life of constant uprooting. 

That said, it is a ton of fun while you are at it.

Please forgive the typos.

Yours & delightfully dyslexic,

Dimana ✌️