Intro Pt 1: My Craziest Trip Yet. 10 Countries, 19 Flights, Top Hotels In Asia. All in 21 Days

I've always loved taking trips that some might find crazy, some might say I'm off my rocker for doing this. I love the thrill of it. Through this trip, you are going to get plenty of reviews from mainstream hotels such as the Four Seasons in Jakarta to smaller hotels such as Amankora and Lotus Blanc (Siem Reap). You will also get to see trip reports from some of the best airplane products in the sky like Singapore First Class (old and new) along with United's newest, most prestigious route from San Francisco to Manila.

Let's take a look at the route map below before we get into how I booked and cost.

As you can see it looks like a lot of flying, let's get into the routes and the products/hotels I will be reviewing.

United Los Angeles-San Francisco-Manila

Price Paid= 170K miles

United traditionally won't open up saver award space on new routes and this is the case with the Manila route. Biting the bullet I decided to book it since it was the cheapest way across the Pacific, along with Christmas fares going for over one way 5000$.

There might be a small chance if award space opens, that I switch this to Lufthansa First Class from Bogota-Germany-Shangai or Sao Paolo-Frankfurt-Singapore. However, it is already a unicorn award to find and around Christmas time it will be even more challenging. So I reckon I will stay on the original routing. I am currently assigned seat 1A for both legs.

In Manila, I will be staying at the Diamond Hotel due to my hotels.com gold status offering me free room upgrades along with other perks. Apart from the Raffles, there don't seem to be many "nicer" hotels in Manila. I look forward to reporting back on the Diamond Hotel.

Price Paid 209$ per night

Second Leg- Manila-Bangkok-Phnom Penh-Siem Reap

Flight Price United Miles 27.5K+11.30$

I have one night in Manila before I make my way to Cambodia to visit Angkor Wat (a bucket list item). I was able to snag a business class award seat through United miles for the Manila-Bangkok-Phnom Penh routing but the second leg being in economy. It's on the new Thai A320 so I'm not too fussed with a 45 minute flight. I will be reviewing the Thai 787-8 in Business class as well as the A320 in economy. You'll learn this more and more but I love Thai Airways weirdly, always have had great flights.

While not cutting a cutting-edge product I love TG!

Landing that evening in Phnom Penh I will check into the Anik Palace. It looked very nice for the price I paid as well as hotels.com gold privileges. Sign me up!

For 79$ a night, you just have to love Asia

I will then catch a private car service from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap in order to see Cambodia and some of the beauty as well as remaining safe. The price for this 6 hour drive in a Toyota Alphard is 155$, not bad at all.

Upon my arrival of mid-afternoon, I've booked the Lotus Blanc resort for 3 nights. I have also booked a massage for every day. The Lotus Blanc looks perfectly nice and since I will be out all day I decided against the Raffles or Park Hyatt. No point spending money at a resort you won't be most of the time in my opinion.

58$ per night and with hotels.com gold benefits

Third Leg- Siem Reap-Singapore-Jakarta

Price paid for flight= 27.5k united miles+19$ in taxes

Was that not enough fun? Just getting started! Next up is a flight onboard the Singapore Airlines 737-8 MAX in business class with a lie-flat seat on a narrowbody! I've lucked out and gotten a throne seat for the short hop!

Always a treat to have a lie-flat on a narrowbody

Upon arriving in Singapore I plan to stay at the Yotel in Changi to experience and review the special beds. It also made sense as I have a 6 am flight the next morning. The Yotel is quite expensive. I paid a rate of 170 USD per night.

The next morning I will wake up early to review the Singapore Business Class lounge at Changi before taking a 777-300ER to Jakarta. This seems like a great product but I have never flown it so we will have to see! I will look to snag a bulkhead.

Upon arrival back in Indonesia, I will review fast-track through Jumpa. I will then be escorted to the Four Seasons Jakarta which I am so excited to be at for Christmas Eve. I have stayed here many times and it feels like going back home. The staff have arranged a Christmas Eve set menu at Alto which might warrant a separate review. Hopefully, my normal suite has been assigned as there is nothing better than those views. A Christmas Eve massage has been booked as well so the review will entail the spa.

Price Paid= 199$ per night

Fourth Leg- Jakarta-Singapore-Delhi (First Class) (The Next Day)

Price paid for flight= 58K miles+48$ in taxes

The next morning I will take the fourth leg of the trip (Christmas day). I was able to snag saver award space on Singapore First Class/Suites from Jakarta-Singapore-Delhi which maximizes the best usage of Krisflyer miles. I will fly on the 777-300ER from Jakarta to Singapore. While a short flight, it is essentially a free flight filled with Krug Champagne and hopefully a Christmas breakfast.

Seat from Jakarta-Singapore

Arrival in Singapore is supposedly around 8 am which means I have 8 hours to kill before my suites flight to Delhi. I plan on reviewing the Private Room upon arrival and taking a nap before proceeding into Singapore to have Christmas lunch at my favorite restaurant Clos Pasoh. Of course, you will have reviews of everything.

Heading back to the airport I will get onboard the Singapore A380 on a 6-hour flight bound for Delhi. I will be seated in 1A for both legs hoping to luck out with 2A open on the Delhi bound leg which would allow me to have a double bed.

SQ First Class Suite

A Christmas arrival in Delhi (hopefully wearing Christmas Pyjamas) means it is time for Christmas dinner number 2. Unsure yet where that will be, possibly the first hotel I am staying at. Which is the Roseate House.

I opted to book the Roseate House for the first two nights as it looks nice and I don't have to travel very much from the airport. Especially since the whole day of the 26th, I will be visiting the Taj Mahal.

Price 214$ per night

Lastly, I will be staying at the Leela Palace in Delhi for one night. I am very excited to stay at this property since it could be the nicest hotel in Delhi. I hope to see what it has to offer.

Price Paid= 314$ per night

Conclusion

While this is only Part 1 of 2 for this trip there is plenty of reviews to come on what is going to be a trip of a lifetime. The future holds Amankora, Q suites, Four Seasons Hoi An and many more fantastic products.