My Travels

Planned a trip to meet a friend while using up some vouchers from United Airlines . I was able to sit on a PS (Premium Service) flight. United has a specific configuration for this Boeing 757 plane and all the seating in all three classes are fairly comfortable, every seat has a power port and there is wireless access available. Upon arrival, I checked into the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers . The hotel is conveniently located near Times Square. The rooms felt a little worn and the a/c unit was definitely on the old side. I cranked up the heat but it never felt warm in the room. In general, it was an OK experience. I called the front desk about the TV service not working and they said it was due to weather. It seemed they didn't really care much, so much for 100% satisfaction guarantee promise. Maybe this location didn't get the memo. :p I later lost a pair of new boots. It is my fault for leaving the bag unattended but it was right outside the hotel room door as I was g...

So, my week ended up in Texas for the weekend. American Airlines did a fire sale to Dallas and I jumped on the promotion. Decided to use this as an opportunity to visit some friends in the city to catch up on old times and deviate from Star Alliance . I don't typically fly American too often and it was interesting to experience a non-frequent flier status. One of the things I noticed is that even choosing seats in economy requires a fee when checking in online. I think that is more specific to American. I usually get on the plane pretty quickly so I wasn't sure what being in group 2 was going to be like. Even though both my flights were full, being in 2 wasn't bad. It is near the middle to back but plenty of space to still stuff your carry-on in the overhead storage. Any later, you'd have trouble finding spots for your carry-on stuff. Dallas Fort Worth airport is a nice airport for American. The terminals were nicely designed unlike the drab LAX version. Grabbed a ve...

Went down for an overnight stay for work in San Diego. Checked into the Doubletree Golf Resort . The hotel wasn't what I thought it would be but the room was generously sized. The hotel is a bungalow style layout. The hotel's website indicates there is a parking fee but when I checked in, it was complimentary. Makes sense as there isn't a high demand to park in the hotel's area. Not sure if this is routine or not. Before checking out the next morning, had continental breakfast in the hotel restaurant. If you're looking to have some toast and jam with coffee, it would be fine. I did notice that the locals seem to hang out here as there was a number of regulars inside the restaurant before they went golfing. An okay location, excellent cookie but not someplace I would choose to hang out.

For some reason, I also had a long layover at Narita International Airport . I had about 8 hours and decided to do some quick research in the United Lounge on what to do in Narita. Took a quick shower. I was lucky that most people had not arrived into the international terminal as the lounge was empty. It was packed when I came back in the afternoon and there was a line for the showers. At the airport, you can store luggage by the day in the arrival lobby. The storage is located near the baggage shipping area. Afterwards, I took the Keisei into Narita which is about 36 minutes by rail from the airport. In Narita, I visited the local temple Naritasan Shinshoji Temple . I found the temple grounds peaceful and really really big. It can take a couple of hours to tour the facilities. On the way to the temple, I noticed that many restaurants were slicing eels and preparing them for the day. It seems that eel is a really big dish in the town. Grabbed lunch at one of the restaurants; can'...

Arrived into Saigon in the afternoon. I had opted to fly out at midnight and had enough time to go back to my grandma's. Still feeling a little under the weather, my grandma's advice was to have some "medicine." Old school remedies, gotta love those. :) I didn't really do much as the typhoon rain storms was in full effect in Saigon. Apparently, it has been raining all week almost continuously. I left a request with my grandma for some Vietnamese desserts and she went a little overboard. It also didn't help telling her I could take 25 kg to the US. Packed up like a mule after dinner and went back to the airport. On my way from the airport, the taxi driver jacked up the price. I think partially because of my aunt's conversation. Luckily, on the way to the airport she avoided talking about money and it was the cheapest taxi fare I had seen. :p

Came back from KL to begin my travels back to the US. Rolled into the Conrad Centennial Singapore for my final night in Singapore. The second Conrad in Southeast Asia that I have stayed and my experience was reminiscent of my stay in Hong Kong a few years back. A pleasant hotel in the marina area, service was obviously their focus. Yet, I found myself preferring the Hilton Singapore even though the service was better at the Conrad. The lounge was a little small, I was actually asked if I would mind being in the conference room. I guess they get enough business to even have conference rooms integrated into the lounge. The room was nice enough and I always like the little bear and ducky. Feeling under the weather, I wasn't able to go out but I heard that going out to bars is really really expensive in Singapore. I will have to try a singapore sling next time. Headed out the next day back to Ho Chi Minh via Vietnam Airlines . An interesting note about the flight. I was told not to ha...

I was told that Singapore can be done in a few days and I would get bored. I haven't found that to be the case but had planned a one day excursion to KL prior to arriving in Singapore. Found a budget airline to fly, Jetstar based out of Australia. It was nice pleasant enough of an experience. Being on a budget airline, I didn't realize that everything is chargeable even water on the flight. For the price and shortness of flight, I suppose I can suffer through the flight. Landed into Kuala Lumpur International Airport . Not as nice as Singapore but I found it interesting they incorporated a jungle garden in the middle of the arrival hall; it is an outside garden. Took the airport express rail into KL Stesen Sentral Station. The website shows the stations in a very modern light but the station is still under heavy construction, so it isn't quite like the pictures online. Transition to the subway lines to the Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpar . The monorail was closer to the ho...

Flew out of Saigon on Vietnam Airlines . It's the second foreign carrier I've flown as part of the Skyteam alliance. Haha, too bad I don't fly Delta much. I also forget that foreign carriers still serve full meals even on short trips unlike the domestic carriers. It's like the 80's all over again for flight travel... Landed into Changi Airport . I'm once again reminded why everyone has such high opinions of this airport. It really feels like a high end mall that happens to have planes landing through here. The combination of Western chains and local tastes is interesting. I've become a fan of kaya toast and was able to have some at the airport. Public transportation is really easy in Singapore and took the SMRT to the Hilton Singapore. Located in a central location on Orchard Avenue and near a MRT station, it was nice getting out of the muggy weather. The humidity gets worse as you get closer to the equator. I'm impressed that the body odor smells are ...

It isn’t too often that I will hit multiple cities in an international trip but I will be doing so on this particular trip. In some ways, it reminds me of my trip in 2008 but a much shorter timeframe. Headed to Saigon aka Ho Chi Minh City on United Airlines . Direct flights to Saigon are not possible from the States. One usually has to layover somewhere before getting into the country. On this trip, I had to do two stops (SFO and Hong Kong) before getting into the city. Funny thing, United gave me complimentary upgrade on the two short segments so I opted to use points and cash to upgrade the transpacific flight to pass the time comfortably. The planes were the Boeing 747-400 which is a double decker airplane. On the way over, I was on the main deck. On the return, I was sitting in the upper deck. I would say that it isn’t as convenient as staying in the main deck because of smaller overhead storage and luggage stuff up and down stairs. For those on a window seat in the upper deck, th...