Terrific Thailand!

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Flying Thai Airways was extra special and set the tone for Thailand. We arrived in Bangkok, staying at the Grand Hyatt, using our annual free nights. This was a great property and close to the Sky Train.

Since time was limited and I wanted to see as much as possible, I booked a private tour with Tour with Tong. (Some benefits of a local, private guide: photo spots, avoid crowds, and bargains when you shop)! The prices seemed reasonable, but I would skip the private canal tour; it seemed expensive and not worth it.

We started early in the morning and did the flower market, Grand Palace, Wat Arun, Wat Pho, canal tour, and the Chatuchak weekend market. This was fast paced, yet fun! Here’s some photos…

We booked Happy Taxi (that’s the real name) for the two hour ride to a coastal, beachy destination ~ Hua Hin, where we stayed at the IHG, using points. This is a lovely property!

We did some research and booked another local to take us along the coast and to the Mrigadayavan Palace. We also did some shopping and visited the Hua Hin night market. 

And we used Happy Taxi to take us back to Bangkok for our second first class flight to Germany, what a treat! 

Thai people are SO friendly and I’d love to go back some day and see more of the islands and/or coastal areas. 

Next up, turquoise coastal cruise in Turkey…

Thai Airways ~ FIRST!

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Thai Airways first class deserves its’ own post! We flew from Sydney to Bangkok and used the sweet spot to book this flight for 40,000 United miles (no longer available). 

Flying from Fiji to Sydney, we were able to just transit the airport for a few hours, and that’s when lounges are really appreciated! We had the option of the Air New Zealand lounge, but chose the Singapore Airlines Kris Flyer first class lounge, which was outstanding, but I didn’t get any photos! ):

After being spoiled in the lounges, we headed to our 747 plane. We had seats in the very front nose of the plane, and it felt completely private with the first four windows to ourselves!

Goodbye Sydney…it was fun (even in the airport)!

Service and food were top notch!

Leaving Bangkok for our second flight, we stopped in Germany, then on to Turkey (more on that later). The ground experience was unbelievable in Bangkok. We were driven via golf cart to the first class lounge, where we got a meal delivered to us in our private room!

To top it off, we made an appointment for our complimentary hour long massage!

We had the same kind of plane and the exact same seats, with excellent service and food once again.

What can I say about all this? Getting and using miles and points is a LOT of work, but it pays off when you get to experience something so over the top and one you could never afford!

Next up, Thailand…

South Pacific summer!

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This is part of a trip report to the South Pacific, Thailand and Turkey. We were able to fly Thai Airways first class TWICE, using 155,000 miles, costing $134, but with a value of $11,574! These tickets were booked on United, using transferred Chase Ultimate Reward points


My 2019 “round the world” summer trip was amazing and you won’t see much text because the pictures speak for themselves!

I was able to get a very cheap economy ticket to our first stop, Samoa, on Fiji Airways. Getting to the island of Savaii via ferry was somewhat easy and we mostly just relaxed at the Savaii Lagoon Resort.

We ferried back to the island of Upolo, and stayed at the Sheraton Samoa Beach Resort. One day we hired a guide to explore the island and I will let the pictures do the talking!

Our next island nation was Vanuatu (van ooo ah tu) where 90% of the people fish and consume fish. We stayed at the most wonderful Holiday Inn (15,000 points per night) in the world! This is NOT your typical Holiday Inn…

Tourism is a big part of these islands’ economy; lots of tourists from Australia and New Zealand come here. We were on the island of Efate and one day we went sightseeing.

 
The people on all the islands were so welcoming and friendly!  (:


Next up, Thai Airways First class!  

NE Leaf Peepers!

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Hello, I’ve missed my blog, (life is busy) but I’m going to get better at sharing more often!

Our fall trip to New England was absolutely amazing – it far exceeded my expectations and that doesn’t happen very often!  We flew to Boston using our Southwest Airlines companion pass, costing about $44 round trip; the companion pass is one of the best deals around!

Most of our hotels were booked with points, except for Bar Harbor. They were all OK, nothing outstanding. 

We immediately picked up our rental car and left for Maine. In less than a week, we drove 1,234 miles in 35 hours of driving time, and my sweet hubby did it all while I “oohed” and “aahed” over the leaves and asked him to stop every few miles feet to take photos!    

We feel like we hit the height of the leaf peeping, arriving Columbus Day weekend.  I did lots of research and used a friend’s itinerary to maximize our leaf viewing.  Our route was up Maine, hitting the coast at Camden and following the coastal road to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Here’s some pictures…

After spending a couple of days, we hit the road for New Hampshire, driving across Maine, with lots of stops!  My hubby was born in Maine, and we were driving right by the capitol, so we made a quick stop. We did the “Kanc.” which is NH route 112, a 56 mile-long east–west state highway in northern New Hampshire. The highway winds across the state, connecting Bath to Conway through the heart of the scenic and mountainous White Mountain National Forest.  It was spectacular and my very favorite; I’ll let the pictures do the talking!

It was then on to Vermont, where we stayed near Ascutney Mountain.

On the way back to Boston, we visited Shelburne Falls, MA and Starrett Tool Factory and museum in Athol, MA.  My husband got to visit old tool stores, tool museums, Ben’s Mill in Barnet, Vermont (opened just for us), and the American Precision Museum in Windsor, VT.  Some of these were planned and some were happenstance, but it made the trip so much more interesting, especially for him!  (;

I can’t say enough about the leaves – the trees were simply beautiful.  I remember staring at a tree that had more than twenty shades of color from green to red to yellow. We have lovely autumns where I live also, but the trees in NE are just everywhere with colors that look unbelievable, almost fake!  It was Mother Nature at her finest!  

Next up, my summer trip to the South Pacific, Thailand, and a Turkish gulet cruise.