Trip Reports

Category Archives for Trip Reports.

Bangkok Airways Business Class, Koh Samui – Bangkok: “Burn Avios, Burn” Cathay Pacific First Class and Amazing Conrad Suites

Index: Planning the trip US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite Bangkok Airways Business Class, Bangkok – Koh Samui Conrad Koh Samui, 2 Bedroom Ocean Pool Villa Conrad Koh Samui, Resort Bangkok Airways Business Class, Koh Samui – Bangkok Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok – Hong Kong and Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong – Chicago United Airlines Back Home I called the hotel for checkout, and a representative came to our villa to handle it in-room. There was a golf cart for us and one for our bags, and we were swiftly taken to the entrance of the resort. We had reserved…

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Conrad Koh Samui, Resort: “Burn Avios, Burn” Cathay Pacific First Class and Amazing Conrad Suites

Index: Planning the trip US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite Bangkok Airways Business Class, Bangkok – Koh Samui Conrad Koh Samui, 2 Bedroom Ocean Pool Villa Conrad Koh Samui, Resort Bangkok Airways Business Class, Koh Samui – Bangkok Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok – Hong Kong and Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong – Chicago United Airlines Back Home In my last post I focused exclusively on my room at the Conrad Koh Samui. The room deserved its own post because it was special in its own right, and also because the focus of a stay at this property is very much…

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Conrad Koh Samui, 2 Bedroom Ocean Pool Villa: “Burn Avios, Burn” Cathay Pacific First Class and Amazing Conrad Suites

Index: Planning the trip US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite Bangkok Airways Business Class, Bangkok – Koh Samui Conrad Koh Samui, 2 Bedroom Ocean Pool Villa Conrad Koh Samui, Resort Bangkok Airways Business Class, Koh Samui – Bangkok Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok – Hong Kong and Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong – Chicago United Airlines Back Home The Conrad Koh Samui was a long-anticipated property. At one point I think it was supposed to open in 2010. That kept getting pushed back, to June 2011… to July and then to October even, and it opened somewhat unexpectedly at the beginning…

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The First Class Terminal Rubber Ducky

Lufthansa Flyer offers a retrospective on Lufthansa’s first class rubber duckies. I admit, I’ve never taken a bath at the First Class Terminal in Frankfurt (I much prefer a shower) but on more than one occasion I’ve asked the shower attendant for a rubber ducky. She opens the closet, full of plastic ducks, and hands me one. And I let her know I’d appreciate one for my wife as well, and she obliges.. I had no idea there were so many variations on the classic rubber duck, so check out the whole post. For more on the Lufthansa First Class Terminal, including photos and menus, see here, here, and here. For detail on using the First Class Terminal as a connecting passenger, see here.

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Bangkok Airways Business Class, Bangkok – Koh Samui: “Burn Avios, Burn” Cathay Pacific First Class and Amazing Conrad Suites

Index: Planning the trip US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite Bangkok Airways Business Class, Bangkok – Koh Samui Conrad Koh Samui, 2 Bedroom Ocean Pool Villa Conrad Koh Samui, Resort Bangkok Airways Business Class, Koh Samui – Bangkok Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok – Hong Kong and Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong – Chicago United Airlines Back Home I had pre-arranged a car through Image Limo for our return trip to the airport, much earlier than necessary I had arranged it for 12:30pm and my flight didn’t depart until 2:45pm. But I wasn’t doing much around Bangkok in the morning, I…

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Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite: “Burn Avios, Burn” Cathay Pacific First Class and Amazing Conrad Suites

Index: Planning the trip US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite Bangkok Airways Business Class, Bangkok – Koh Samui Conrad Koh Samui, 2 Bedroom Ocean Pool Villa Conrad Koh Samui, Resort Bangkok Airways Business Class, Koh Samui – Bangkok Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok – Hong Kong and Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong – Chicago United Airlines Back Home We pulled up to the Conrad and were immediately assisted with our bags and directed to the front desk. Upon identifying myself, the woman at the desk went for assistance. I had a momentary panic — I had booked the room on a…

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The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok: “Burn Avios, Burn” Cathay Pacific First Class and Amazing Conrad Suites

Index: Planning the trip US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite Bangkok Airways Business Class, Bangkok – Koh Samui Conrad Koh Samui, 2 Bedroom Ocean Pool Villa Conrad Koh Samui, Resort Bangkok Airways Business Class, Koh Samui – Bangkok Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok – Hong Kong and Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong – Chicago United Airlines Back Home We landed in Hong Kong, proceeded to transfer security, and took the train over to Cathay Pacific’s The Pier lounge which was adjacent to our onward connecting gate. Though we were flying business class Hong Kong – Bangkok, as an arriving first class…

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Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong: “Burn Avios, Burn” Cathay Pacific First Class and Amazing Conrad Suites

Index: Planning the trip US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite Bangkok Airways Business Class, Bangkok – Koh Samui Conrad Koh Samui, 2 Bedroom Ocean Pool Villa Conrad Koh Samui, Resort Bangkok Airways Business Class, Koh Samui – Bangkok Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok – Hong Kong and Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong – Chicago United Airlines Back Home Cathay Pacific first and business class check-in is with British Airways at the end of Terminal 7, it’s quiet and has its own dedicated security so no real waiting. With no one ahead in line it took a surprisingly long time for an…

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US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK: “Burn Avios, Burn” Cathay Pacific First Class and Amazing Conrad Suites

Index: Planning the trip US Airways Shuttle to New York and the Sheraton JFK Cathay Pacific First Class, New York – Hong Kong The Pier Lounge and Cathay Pacific Business Class, Hong Kong – Bangkok Conrad Bangkok Deluxe Suite Bangkok Airways Business Class, Bangkok – Koh Samui Conrad Koh Samui, 2 Bedroom Ocean Pool Villa Conrad Koh Samui, Resort Bangkok Airways Business Class, Koh Samui – Bangkok Cathay Pacific Business Class, Bangkok – Hong Kong and Marriott SkyCity Hong Kong Cathay Pacific First Class Hong Kong – Chicago United Airlines Back Home There’s little detail to share about the start of the trip. Since we’d be taking the morning Cathay Pacific flight, a 9am departure, we flew up to New York the night before. Since I was using British Airways miles (in their pre-Avios incarnation),…

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Reader Question: Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal in Frankfurt as a Connecting Passenger

After sharing some of my e-mail back and forth with a reader about Citibank debit card mileage earning on Wednesday, something pretty obvious occurred to me. I get reader questions all the time, every day, and I’m sharing answers with individuals that others may find interesting or useful. And at the very least, even if they aren’t interesting or useful at the moment I publish them, The Google means that folks asking the very same question in the future will find the answers quite easily. If I blog them. So I might start sharing reader email questions and answers more regularly, towards that end here’s a question that came in and an answer I shot back from my blackberry while walking my dog today. R.F. asked: Hey, if I fly in First Class Newark-Frankfurt and…

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