With the year drawing to a close, it’s time for me to take stock of a year’s travels, the experiences that have made an impression on me and that I’d recommend to you, and even those that I’d urge you to avoid, and to take the opportunity to look at it all from a distance with a bit of hindsight.
You’ve asked us to write articles with a more personal and less analytical approach than the usual reviews, so this is the perfect opportunity to start getting into this.
But before going any further, I have a practical question. Are we talking about the trips of 2023 or the trips whose articles were released in 2023? As you may have noticed, writing articles takes time, and each trip is the occasion for a long series of articles, in order to be exhaustive. So, in a given year, we publish articles on trips made that year, but we also have the remainder of the previous year’s trips.
So articles from 2023 or travels from 2023?
I opted for a mixed solution. We’re going to talk about trips whose articles were published in 2023 (because talking about things without having an article to explain behind it doesn’t make much sense) but, as a teaser, I’ll be distilling some info about trips from 2023 that will only be published in 2024.
One last point: I’ll be doing a specific post later on about my management of loyalty programs in 2023 and my plans for 2024. We’ve got lots of questions from you about how we handle this, and this will be a good way to start dealing with it.
- 2023: between classics and new discoveries
- Airlines: Singapore Airlines and…SAS stand out from the crowd
- Trains: Trenitalia on top, Deutsche Bahn disappointing
- Hotels: two pleasant surprises and some disappointments
- Lounges: pleasant surprises at Air New Zealand and Eva Air
- Restaurants: bonus for creativity, kudos to chefs Etchebest and Ljubomir Stanisic, shame on US restaurants.
- What projects for 2024?
- Bottom line
2023: between classics and new discoveries
To talk about 2023 is to start with my last travels of 2022, with a superb second half of the year that took me to Australia for the first time and ended in December in sunny Malaysia.
I’ve been dreaming of Australia for a long time, already for the discovery but also a little because of the length of the flight, which is something I really wanted to experience once. And then I had a revenge feeling: I had found an unbeatable fare to Sydney on Singapore Airlines in 2020 and all my plans had fallen through because of COVID. I promised myself that as soon as it was possible to get there, it would be one of my priorities, so I put my plan into action when the country’s borders reopened.
As for Malaysia, it was above all a question of opportunity: it’s a destination I like, with Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi in particular, and it was by hunting for good airfares that I opted for this destination. It was also an opportunity to fly long-haul on Singapore Airlines, something I hadn’t done for a decade.
The start of 2023 was much more classic, with mainly French and European escapades: London to celebrate Oliver’s move to the USA, Lyon, Lisbon, Sesimbra, Bordeaux, Rouen, Strasbourg, Lille….
Very, very nice, but that’s not how you maintain your status in a frequent flyer program, and I had to give it a boost at the end of the summer (my qualification period ended in October). I had initially planned a trip to Vietnam (the first articles of which you are reading right now), a country I already knew and to which I am happy to return, again because a promotional rate had passed before my eyes.
But when I calculated, I realized that it wouldn’t be enough and added a trip to Chicago at the last minute, which gave me the opportunity to see Olivier and his wife again, who joined me there.
Bottom line?
Very few trips outside France in the first 8 months of the year. I hadn’t really planned to limit myself to France, but things worked out that way, with a multitude of long weekends caused by public holidays, and I preferred to do a series of short hops without the constraints of air travel. For once….
And strange as it may seem, I really liked it.
As for the rest, apart from Australia, only well-known destinations, which isn’t a bad thing. There are times when you want to discover and visit, and others when you just want to take your mind off things and relax. In this case, the advantage of a destination you already know is that you don’t feel guilty if you don’t visit everything from top to bottom.
Chicago is as beautiful as ever, Vietnam as nice, Langkawi as pleasant and restful, Kuala Lumpur as lively, and the discovery of Australia was really interesting both culturally and for the atmosphere and quality of life.
And by the way, as a teaser, 2023 ended in Australia too, and you’ll be reading about that in a few weeks’ time.
And, as always, in the background, many trips to Scandinavia. Firstly, because I particularly like the area, and secondly (and this begins to answer one of your requests about an article on how to find the best rates), this region is very spoiled in terms of cool market fares. Inexplicable given local purchasing power, but that’s the way it is.
Airlines: Singapore Airlines and…SAS stand out from the crowd
I’m not going to dwell on well-known things like medium-haul Lufthansa or TAP: the German airline is as solid as ever, without being sexy, and the Portuguese as bad as ever from an operational point of view.
Unsurprisingly, flying long-haul with Singapore Airlines was an excellent experience, with the airline living up to its reputation.
An excellent but not perfect experience. Maybe my expectations were too high because I’d heard such good things about it , but I found inconsistencies in the service, especially on the return flight. Details, yes, but when you’re aiming for a certain level of excellence, that’s where it counts.
Similarly, I was very disappointed by the on-board service between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, especially compared with what an airline like Malaysia Airlines offers on a flight of barely an hour.
On the other hand, the best surprise of the year was my trip to Chicago on SAS. We can’t say that the Scandinavian airline’s medium-haul service is the stuff of dreams: in economy you’ll see little difference with low-cost airlines, and premium economy isn’t bad without being fantastic (there’s no business class in medium-haul).
On the other hand, I’d heard great things about the airline’s long-haul product from Olivier, and I really wanted to try it out for myself to be sure, and I wasn’t disappointed.
I was a little apprehensive about the outbound flight, which was not operated by SAS but by HiFly on a wet lease basis. But the cabin was identical to that of SAS and the staff followed exactly the same protocol as that of the Scandinavian airline, so apart from the logo on the fuselage there was no difference.
As for the return flight, it was perfect.
Whether we’re talking about the cabin or the service, it’s the best experience I’ve ever had on a transatlantic flight and, generally speaking, I can’t remember a long-haul business class flight that was significantly better! I’ve had better, but not much better.
In the long-haul segment, with its small fleet and limited network, SAS business class is truly a little-known nugget.
A nugget that Air France customers are likely to discover in the near future, even if we have to admit that we’re not too keen on this rapprochement.
I’d also like to mention Virgin Australia, which I tested in premium economy (Economy X).
Nothing exceptional but it does the job perfectly and the staff are lovely. When you see the prohibitive fares charged by Qantas in comparison, the choice is quickly made. And you’ll discover their business class in a while, as I tried it out during my second trip to Australia.
On the other hand, I was a little disappointed by my experience with Thai to get to Australia.
There’s nothing wrong with the excellent service, but you can tell from the cabin that the airline is in financial difficulties. A cabin designed over 10 years ago on brand-new A350s, but worse still, seats that are already worn and damaged.
And finally, a reason to be optimistic with a medium-haul economy flight on Air France between Bordeaux and Paris. Nothing exceptional in terms of product, to say the least, but a really pleasant and attentive crew that contrasts with the sad, unhelpful and unmotivated staff we see all too often on the airline’s short/medium-haul routes. So much so that it motivated me to give the airline another try for a future flight.
In a few months’ time, you’ll be rediscovering Turkish Airlines, the airline I flew to Vietnam with: unsurprisingly, it lives up to its title of best European airline. But you’ll read about that in articles to come. On the other hand, I’d give it a bad mark for its customer service, which likes to drag things out and complicate your life when it comes to compensation.
In the same way, you’ll discover ANA, which I took on my recent trip to Australia and which left an excellent impression on me.
Trains: Trenitalia on top, Deutsche Bahn disappointing
Contrary to popular belief, we also take the train. Not often, but it happens.
To get to Lyon I took Trenitalia as usual, with a level of service that doesn’t make me regret taking the train at all – quite the contrary!
Truly a quality product that should serve as a model for our beloved SNCF for its Business Première, especially on this Paris-Lyon line where its promise of upmarket service seemed like a rip-off to me when I tried it.
My stay in Strasbourg gave me the opportunity to discover Deutsche Bahn’s ICE. Strange as it may seem, this was something I was looking forward to: as a young man, I was an intensive user of the Strasbourg-Nancy-Paris line on its Nancy-Paris segment, and remember the German and Austrian trains I preferred to those of the SNCF. The reason? A real restaurant car with tablecloths, cutlery, a real kitchen and table service. Of course, the length of the journey at the time justified this, especially for passengers going as far as Munich, Vienna or even further afield.
I thought that with the reduction in journey times made possible by high speed, the offer had been reduced, but not to this extent. I’ll pass over the restaurant offer, which is fine, even if the dishes are now reheated and the restaurant car no longer has the charm of its predecessors, but the cars themselves are more than disappointing. Everything looks very cheap, even in first class, with no sense of intimacy, giving a very low-cost impression compared with a TGV.
I’ll finish with a word about SNCF and the TGV I took between Paris and Lille. A well-known product, a service logically absent on such a short journey, but when you’ve taken the ICE a few days earlier you appreciate the TGV’s 1st class even with an old seat model. Proof that it’s always useful to compare before criticizing. And it’s impossible to close this subject without giving high marks to a regional train, the TER Nomad, which links Paris to Rouen, with a product of surprising quality.
Hotels: two pleasant surprises and some disappointments
If I had to spontaneously name the hotels I discovered this year and would gladly return to, or even justify the trip on their own, I’d say the W Brisbane and the Ritz-Carlton Langkawi.
Two excellent experiences, but, above all, in chains with which we have a somewhat mixed relationship. W Hotels are in the process of reinventing themselves and modernizing their concept to be more in tune with customer expectations, but you’re never safe from coming across an “old” W with dubious taste. As for Ritz Carlton it is like Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde: shamefully dusty and stuck in the past for some, and delightfully modern and up to date for others.
In fact, my stay in Malaysia gave me the opportunity to explore both sides of Ritz Carlton, because before the superb Langkawi resort I was confronted with the horrible Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur.
For the rest, nothing exceptional: hotels that generally do the job without leaving an indelible impression.
If I had to make a few efforts to stand out from the crowd, I’d say in bulk: the Four Points Sesimbra, very pleasant and inexpensive, especially out of season, the Hotel de Bourgtheroulde in Rouen, for its location, historic setting and bar, the very affordable Courtyard in Roissy, which replaces the increasingly disappointing Moxy Roissy as my base camp in Roissy, the Radisson Blu Scandinavia in Gothenburg, not super sexy but with one of the prettiest and most pleasant spas I know, and the Avalon in Gothenburg for its design.
One day I’ll have to think about doing an article on what I love and hate about Scandinavian hotels. I love this region and find it extremely high quality, but always with a detail that spoils the party or frustrates a little. In fact, I’m curious to know if this applies to your own experiences.
As a teaser, you’ll have more to look forward to in the coming months, including the JW Marriott in Hanoi and Phu Quoc, the superb Ritz-Carlton in Melbourne, the Draken and Jacy’s in Gothenburg or, perhaps, the W Sydney (I’ve yet to form a definitive opinion on the latter). Late 2023 and 2024 will be a much better vintage.
Lounges: pleasant surprises at Air New Zealand and Eva Air
Air travel means lounges, and I’ve been to quite a few of them this year, particularly during an interminable connection in Bangkok where I tried out no less than 6.
After that, if I had to pick two, I’d say the Air New Zealand lounge in Sydney and the Eva Air lounge in Bangkok.
The Lufthansa lounges, while not sexy, are still solid with good catering, the Singapore Airlines lounges are of excellent quality when they’re not overcrowded as was the case on my last visit, the SAS lounges are very pleasant but too weak in terms of catering, and the Thai lounges are rather poor.
Restaurants: bonus for creativity, kudos to chefs Etchebest and Ljubomir Stanisic, shame on US restaurants.
Certainly the most complicated section, because with one or two exceptions, there isn’t a table that has really disappointed me. So I’ll start by highlighting the two that really surprised me: Maison Nouvelle, by Chef Philippe Etchebest and 100 Maneiras by Chef Ljubomir Stanisic.
No need to introduce Chef Etchebest, but I’d like to talk a little more about his latest restaurant, Maison Nouvelle in Bordeaux. Its promise is a bit like eating at the chef’s, who has put a lot of himself into both the menu and the design of the place. It’s a promise we’ve heard many times before, but this time it works. There’s a very special atmosphere in this restaurant, the staff are adorable, and the name of each dish on the menu sounds a little like a wink from the chef in reference to his tastes, his past, the stories he wants to tell us and share with us.
And it’s a similar story at 100 Maneiras in Lisbon, with a menu that tells the personal story of chef Ljubomir Stanisic and takes us on a journey that begins in his childhood Serbia and ends in Portugal, where he now lives. Lots of creativity in the dishes and, here too, plenty of references to the chef’s past, to his parents and the dishes they used to prepare for him.
A restaurant that also had a special flavour for me: it had been recommended to me several years ago by someone very important to me, and I had never managed to find a table there when I was in Lisbon. So when I finally did it, I couldn’t help but think “you saw I finally did it, and thanks for the tip” as I posted the photos on Instagram.
Then I’d like to talk about two historic restaurants on the road to renewal: Lucas Carton in Paris and Le Crocodile in Strasbourg.
Two historic restaurants that have had their ups and downs, lost some of their stars, and are now regaining their former lustre under the impetus of a new team.
At Lucas Carton, young chef Hugo Bourny has taken over the helm of the kitchen where Alain Senderens used to work. The result is a highly creative, high-quality menu. J’ajouterai également la disponibilité du chef très présent en salle, à l’écoute des retours des clients et c’était très agréable de discuter avec lui.
As for Le Crocodile, which had been awarded 1, 2 then 3 stars, it ended up losing them all until a new team took over the reins of the restaurant in 2020 and regained one. Once again, a very good meal from a property on the right track, even if the food is much more conventional and classic than at Lucas Carton.
Still on the gastronomic front, I may have witnessed the emergence of a future star at Cromagnon in Bordeaux.
A young Moldavian-born chef arrives in Bordeaux to study design and realizes she can apply her skills to cooking. I won’t tell you more, but I recommend you go there before the Michelin gives it the recognition it deserves, because for the moment it’s very affordable.
And let’s not forget La Tupina, the flagship of Southwestern cuisine in Bordeaux, or Takara in Paris, the oldest Japanese restaurant in Europe.
I’d also like to mention Cura in Lisbon, 28+ and Carbon in Gothenburg, and Cilantro in Kuala Lumpur.
But there’s more to life than gourmet restaurants, and contrary to popular belief, TravelGuys also gives pride of place to simpler properties ranging from bistros to bistronomic restaurants.
In this style, I really loved Chez Yvonne, a historic winstub in Strasbourg, aux Lyonnais in Paris, which has dusted off the traditional bouchon, O Batel, very good and inexpensive on the seafront in Sesimbra, or Pascaline in Rouen, Un soir à Shibuya, an authentic and inexpensive Japanese restaurant in Bordeaux and, still in Bordeaux, my madeleine de Proust: l’Entrecôte.
Among the disappointments, I’d like to mention the restaurants in the USA. The quality is often questionable, the rooms are dark and far too noisy, and above all, the service ranges from very average to downright bad. A veritable freefall in over 10 years, with prices out of all proportion to the services provided. And I would add Drouant in Paris, more than disappointing.
What projects for 2024?
I always avoid making plans too far in advance, as there are too many factors that can make a destination suddenly interesting or not. There are fares that can’t be refused when they appear, usually for a limited time.
So in 2024, as in other years, there will be two factors to take into account: my desires on the one hand, and the reality of the market on the other.
Since by definition I don’t know what’s going to happen on the market, I’m going to talk mainly about my desires.
Of course, there are also local destinations, for short stays that can be organized at short notice. It’s all up to the moment, but while it’s a given that I’ll be returning to Bordeaux, Gothenburg, Copenhagen or even Stockholm, there are a number of cities I miss and haven’t seen since the COVID: Berlin, Madrid, Rome, Palma de Mallorca, Istanbul and Athens. I was also delighted by a previous stay in Tallinn, so why not Riga, which I’ve been eyeing for a while.
No big deal about these trips, they’ll be done according to desire and opportunity as time goes by.
Let’s talk about more distant destinations. I’m in my “Oceania” period and I’d love to go back to Australia, why not New Zealand, and while I’m in the area, why not New Caledonia?
Closer to France, Jordan is very tempting. I had almost organized a trip there last year before opting for Portugal.
Then there are the destinations I already know but miss: Dubai, Oman, Cape Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, visiting a friend who retired in Thailand, returning to Tokyo and resuming my exploration of Japan…
The United States? I returned this year after a long period of abstinence and came away with a mixed impression. Nice and handy on the one hand, but having begun my discovery of the country in the 90s, I find that the quality of service has collapsed at the same time as prices have soared out of control. There was a time when Miami was a good deal in August, New York was still affordable and I thought French properties had a lot to learn in terms of service. Those days are long gone. So why not one day take a short break in New York, Boston or Miami. Maybe, again depending on opportunities, but it’s not high on my list of priorities.
And if I had to add a fanciful idea…why not Fiji!
Lots of possible options, and in the end maybe 5 that will become a reality at short distance and 2 at long distance at most…
Wait and see…
Bottom line
In the end, it would have been a very quiet year had it not been for a surge of activity in the last quarter, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t interesting from a tourist, gastronomic and new product discovery point of view.
I think, if I find the time and the planets align, I’ll be in an Oceanian logic for a few more years. Curiosity, the quality of life there and the experience of ultra-long flights: the destination has everything to please me. Besides, I think I’ll stick to my safe bet which is Asia and the Middle East.
As for France and Europe, they have the beauty of offering a wide variety of destinations just 2 hours’ flight from Paris, which is perfect for unplanned weekend getaways.
In a year’s time, we’ll see what the result is.
What about you? What have you done in 2023 that’s worth recommending? Any plans, or at least desires or dreams, for 2024? Tell us in the comments.
Images- : 2023 retrospective by Torkiat8 via Shutterstock.
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