Boring Administrativa
This post has no pictures. Rather, it recounts my overplanning for my SE Asia trip in February.
First, though, a New Jersey update:
Since my last post, I have made, I believe, three more trips to South Jersey. Each time, I somehow wound up with a different PT Cruiser: blue, grey, and white. We'll see what goes down during this week's trip. Incidentally, I only have one deposition in NJ this week, but it will likely be a long day, so I am driving down Tuesday and staying overnight, to conserve some energy. Days Inn, here I come!
On to the next Big Trip:
I have successfully booked a roundtrip ticket to Bangkok, leaving New York on February 11 (arriving on February 12), and departing on February 24 (at 1 am). I'm getting not quite two weeks on the ground, which is obviously less time than I'd like, but as I am burning up all nine vacation days I will have stored up at that point (the trip occurs over the Presidents' Day holiday), and the flight was a good deal, there you have it.
The flight is nonstop both ways! It is a 17-hour flight on Thai Air, which I've heard very good things about. I have been advised to bring books, and obviously, I will. If I did not worry about dragging my badass new laptop all over the place, I'd bring it and watch movies or something. Anyway, we'll see how that goes.
Rather than do the cool thing and just figure out my hotels and flights once I arrive in Bangkok, I'm trying to do advance booking. It's high tourist season, and let's face it, otherwise there is the chance I'll just hang out in Thailand the whole time. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
So, I have reserved a hotel room for the night of the 12th in Bangkok, which I'll be leaving early the next morning, because I've also reserved a flight, on Bangkok Airways, to Luang Prabang, Laos.
I was toying with the idea of reserving a room at the 3 Nagas, which some folks have intimated is the swankiest hotel in Luang Prabang. A regular room would have been a little over $100, and let's face it, it'll be a long, long time before I can spring for a room in the swankiest hotel in Vegas (though, now that I think of it, the swankiest hotel in Egg Harbor Township, NJ is probably within reach -- the Days Inn might be the ONLY hotel there). However, the regular rooms were all booked. What was left? The Executive Suite!
That's right, the swankiest room in the swankiest hotel in Luang Prabang. It was only about $180 a night, but considering that I could probably get something decent for well under $40 a night, I declined. I reserved a room elsewhere, and we'll see if it's there when I show up. I've heard a couple of reports of this hotel (the Senesouk Guesthouse) losing reservations, but I'll cross that bridge if I come to it. Since I didn't have to put down a deposit, I can't say I'm worried all that much.
The past few weeks have been devoted to figuring out how to get where I'm going next. I believe that Siem Reap Airways flies from Luang Prabang to Siem Reap, Cambodia (near Angkor Wat) on Thursdays, so I have been trying to get a ticket on a flight on February 15. However, I haven't been able to book on the website, and a travel agent I visited today was also unable to help. I e-mailed the airline, which suggested that I contact their Luang Prabang office. So, that's my next task. Alternatively, I think Lao Airlines also flies that route on Thursdays.
Also, I need to get my vaccinations. The travel agent gave me the number of a clinic in town (since, when I called my doctor about it, the receptionist seemed confused and said they didn't do travel medicine).
First, though, a New Jersey update:
Since my last post, I have made, I believe, three more trips to South Jersey. Each time, I somehow wound up with a different PT Cruiser: blue, grey, and white. We'll see what goes down during this week's trip. Incidentally, I only have one deposition in NJ this week, but it will likely be a long day, so I am driving down Tuesday and staying overnight, to conserve some energy. Days Inn, here I come!
On to the next Big Trip:
I have successfully booked a roundtrip ticket to Bangkok, leaving New York on February 11 (arriving on February 12), and departing on February 24 (at 1 am). I'm getting not quite two weeks on the ground, which is obviously less time than I'd like, but as I am burning up all nine vacation days I will have stored up at that point (the trip occurs over the Presidents' Day holiday), and the flight was a good deal, there you have it.
The flight is nonstop both ways! It is a 17-hour flight on Thai Air, which I've heard very good things about. I have been advised to bring books, and obviously, I will. If I did not worry about dragging my badass new laptop all over the place, I'd bring it and watch movies or something. Anyway, we'll see how that goes.
Rather than do the cool thing and just figure out my hotels and flights once I arrive in Bangkok, I'm trying to do advance booking. It's high tourist season, and let's face it, otherwise there is the chance I'll just hang out in Thailand the whole time. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
So, I have reserved a hotel room for the night of the 12th in Bangkok, which I'll be leaving early the next morning, because I've also reserved a flight, on Bangkok Airways, to Luang Prabang, Laos.
I was toying with the idea of reserving a room at the 3 Nagas, which some folks have intimated is the swankiest hotel in Luang Prabang. A regular room would have been a little over $100, and let's face it, it'll be a long, long time before I can spring for a room in the swankiest hotel in Vegas (though, now that I think of it, the swankiest hotel in Egg Harbor Township, NJ is probably within reach -- the Days Inn might be the ONLY hotel there). However, the regular rooms were all booked. What was left? The Executive Suite!
That's right, the swankiest room in the swankiest hotel in Luang Prabang. It was only about $180 a night, but considering that I could probably get something decent for well under $40 a night, I declined. I reserved a room elsewhere, and we'll see if it's there when I show up. I've heard a couple of reports of this hotel (the Senesouk Guesthouse) losing reservations, but I'll cross that bridge if I come to it. Since I didn't have to put down a deposit, I can't say I'm worried all that much.
The past few weeks have been devoted to figuring out how to get where I'm going next. I believe that Siem Reap Airways flies from Luang Prabang to Siem Reap, Cambodia (near Angkor Wat) on Thursdays, so I have been trying to get a ticket on a flight on February 15. However, I haven't been able to book on the website, and a travel agent I visited today was also unable to help. I e-mailed the airline, which suggested that I contact their Luang Prabang office. So, that's my next task. Alternatively, I think Lao Airlines also flies that route on Thursdays.
Also, I need to get my vaccinations. The travel agent gave me the number of a clinic in town (since, when I called my doctor about it, the receptionist seemed confused and said they didn't do travel medicine).
posted by A-Bomb at 10:44 PM
1 Comments:
Who knew it was so hard to get a flight to Cambodia? Have you looked into skulking through the complex aqueduct system underneath the main portcullis at the entrance to the country, and the coming up through a piece of grating or a pothole and surprising the passersby? I had to do that once, it wasn't Cambodia it was Nottingham, but boyhowdyhoodyday let me tell you little lady, that was a hootin and a holler the look on all their surprised faces. They said, "Ooo awr you, ye scoundrelly knave?" And I retorted, "I don't ave to answer to the likes of you fellows what wit your pitchyforks and spears and yer local superstishee-us
believins!" And they said, "Well then, ye have to answer to the likes of Prince John!" And I handily replied, "Well if ye grab me by the knickers, I'll just snake out of em I will and make a run fer it, along wit them there fancy meat pies ye be carryin!"
Which is all to say, sounds like the trip is gonna be a hoot! Bring a comfortable corset and fresh pair of hikin slippers. And if the locals get fresh in yer face, take to some jugglin, usually turns em to thinkin yer a right decent fellow.
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