# Round the World Ticket - Where to go in SE Asia?



## Jwerking (Apr 23, 2011)

Yahoo - I am going to retire in exactly one year and going to get a Oneworld (AA miles) ticket.  This will allow me to go visit my daughter who lives in Seoul twice as well as see some of SE Asia - but need some advice. 

Definitely want to do Thailand (Bangkok and Pulket) and Japan (hope things will be okay by next year) - but need some advice on other areas to visit.  This will likely be in November 

Any comments on where to visit in Japan - use of RCI timeshares would be desireable if possible. 

I have already been to Hong Kong and Beijing - loved Bejing so much better than HK due to the awesome historical sites.  Would be great to visit Shanghai - or some areas with awesome ancient sites.

Would appreciate comments on the pros/cons of Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.  

Will likely go from SE Asia to New Zealand (Auckland) - probably Dec or January  with possible stopover in Perth.

Thanks for any help. 

Joyce


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## Jimster (Apr 23, 2011)

*SE Asia*

A visit to Angkor Wat in Cambodia is a good start (not so easy to get to).  It is a world heritage site and has been listed as one of the 7 wonders of the world (revisited).  Bangkok, Chaing Mai, Phukett in Thailand are good too.  I enjoyed my visit to Hanoi but wish i had added Ho Chi Minh City.  I would avoid places noted for Muslim extremests such as Southern Mindinao and Bali (having said that I am planning a trip to Bali LOL).


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## Kagehitokiri2 (Apr 25, 2011)

what kind of accommodation budget?

where else are you going?

if flying J/F >
J - BA/QF are all flatbed (not true of CX)
F - JL has suites cool to jakarta and USA  http://www.jal.co.jp/en/newjal/

+
borobudur
bhutan


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## bass (Apr 25, 2011)

Just returned from Hong Kong and Singapore.   Liked Hong Kong but absolutely loved Singapore.   It's very upscale and clean with lots of green space.    Skyline is beautiful too.   I've been to Tokyo (really liked) and Bangkok (okay).   New Zealand and Australia are very nice also.

Nancy


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## MichaelColey (Apr 26, 2011)

We're tentatively planning a RTW trip with AA miles, too.

Make sure you read all of the restrictions.  When you say that you can visit your daughter twice, that makes me think that you may be hoping to book something that wouldn't be bookable with that ticket.  You can't stopover in any city more than once, you can't stopover in your originating city (i.e. you can't use it to make two or more RTs), and you can only have one open jaw in your itinerary.

There's an extensive thread on FlyerTalk that gives all the details:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...s-miles-info-not-info-all-partner-awards.html

This can be an incredible use of miles, but you have to work around the restrictions.


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## am1 (Apr 27, 2011)

The only way would be starting and ending in her daughters city.


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## MichaelColey (Apr 27, 2011)

I don't believe that's the case either.  You can't stopover in your starting or ending city.


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## Margariet (Apr 29, 2011)

Joyce, a trip to SE Asia must include Indonesia, especially Bali. We have been there about seven times. It is one of our favorite destinations. There is great timeshare in Bali - if you book in advance. You will love the smells, sights and sounds!


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## Wombat (May 1, 2011)

For Southeast Asia, I think the following places are worth visiting: 

Cambodia - Siem Reap / Angkor Wat, give Phnom Penh a miss
Vietnam - Hanoi (and side trip to scenic Halong Bay), plus Hoi An in central Vietnam (a well preserved ancient town). Compared to the north, HCMC is less interesting and chaotic except for CuChi tunnels and the Vietnam war historical sites and history.
Thailand - Bangkok (for the city bustle, food and shopping), Chiang Mai (hills, tribes, elephants. If you're a beach person, add Phuket.
Indonesia - Bali for its Hindu culture and beaches. Maybe Jogjakarta if you would like to see the Borrobudor temples but the Angkor ones far eclipses it.
Laos - Luang Prabang - a royal town trapped in time, with a procession of monks every morning. 
Malaysia - Penang (Chinese culture, colonial architecture, temples). KL is a typical big city with high rises, not particularly noteworthy except for the food
Singapore - a major city, but a good intro to the region with its melting pot of Chinese, Malay and Indian cultures in a compact, safe package.

Hope this helps and happy planning


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## Jwerking (May 5, 2011)

MichaelColey said:


> We're tentatively planning a RTW trip with AA miles, too.
> 
> Make sure you read all of the restrictions.  When you say that you can visit your daughter twice, that makes me think that you may be hoping to book something that wouldn't be bookable with that ticket.  You can't stopover in any city more than once, you can't stopover in your originating city (i.e. you can't use it to make two or more RTs), and you can only have one open jaw in your itinerary.
> 
> ...



Hi Michael:  I owe my planned RTW trip to your TUG thread on the Amer Exp AA CC where you chatted about the Oneworld ticket.  Went to the Flytalker link and checked it out and posted my questions to try to fully understand all the rules about the 16 max segments, one open jaw, only two connections thru the same city, max miles, etc.  Seoul, Korea - where my daughter is living for the next 3 yrs - has two airports (Gimpo and Incheon) that are not Co-terminals - so I am allowed to stopover twice by using the two diff airports.  I live in the Wash DC area - so will return to JFK or Richmond, VA when I come back to the States after the first trip to Korea.  

Thought I would stopover in Tokyo at a stopover if things are more settled in a year enroute to Seoul in late April or May 2012.  We will spend a month or more in Korea just visiting the country as well has visiting with my daughter.   After returning home, we will leave from JFK or RIC again in the fall to Seoul and may visit HK and Shanghai enroute.  After Seoul again, plan to go to Bangkok - with side trip to Pulket in late November when the rainy season ends.  Hopefully, we could stay in Marriott timeshares in Bangkok and Pulket since we are Marriott owners.  But these are the problems that may be encountered - I may not be able to get to Thailand when I need using FF award availability.

Anyway, we then want to do another SE Asia country before we go to New Zealand.  I am just trying out to figure which country to see.  It may have to be  Singapore - because that is where Oneworld flies.  However, I was going to check out other countries so I could decide where I want to go and then see if I can get there on Oneworld.  Will then spend a few weeks or month in New Zealand.  May stopover in Australia enroute to NZ or back home - but we have been before - so may not be able to afford it.

These is quite a dream, but don't know if it is even possible with depending on FF seat availability.  Even though we are flexible since we will be retired by then - don't know if it possible with the inflexibility of timeshares.

Has anyone ever tried such a trip on FF availability?

Joyce


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## Jwerking (May 5, 2011)

Margariet said:


> Joyce, a trip to SE Asia must include Indonesia, especially Bali. We have been there about seven times. It is one of our favorite destinations. There is great timeshare in Bali - if you book in advance. You will love the smells, sights and sounds!



Thank you, I will definitely check out Bali. 

Joyce


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## Jwerking (May 5, 2011)

Wombat said:


> For Southeast Asia, I think the following places are worth visiting:
> 
> Cambodia - Siem Reap / Angkor Wat, give Phnom Penh a miss
> Vietnam - Hanoi (and side trip to scenic Halong Bay), plus Hoi An in central Vietnam (a well preserved ancient town). Compared to the north, HCMC is less interesting and chaotic except for CuChi tunnels and the Vietnam war historical sites and history.
> ...



Thank you for the great comments, can't wait to check them out in my tourbooks. 

Joyce


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## MichaelColey (May 5, 2011)

Jwerking said:


> Hi Michael: I owe my planned RTW trip to your TUG thread on the Amer Exp AA CC where you chatted about the Oneworld ticket. Went to the Flytalker link and checked it out and posted my questions to try to fully understand all the rules about the 16 max segments, one open jaw, only two connections thru the same city, max miles, etc. Seoul, Korea - where my daughter is living for the next 3 yrs - has two airports (Gimpo and Incheon) that are not Co-terminals - so I am allowed to stopover twice by using the two diff airports. I live in the Wash DC area - so will return to JFK or Richmond, VA when I come back to the States after the first trip to Korea.


Perfect!  Glad to hear you worked out all the restrictions and requirements.  If you do this before we do our RTW trip (which sounds likely), I'll be curious to hear your experience with availability, timeshares, etc.


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## Kagehitokiri2 (May 6, 2011)

btw >

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/thailand-624/
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hong-kong-436/
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japan-509/
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/australia-new-zealand-south-pacific-461/

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/asia-460/
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china-613/
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/singapore-510/


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## Carlsbadguy (Jun 5, 2011)

I am in the early stages of planning one of these OneWorld trips using mileage also for late 2012 or 2013.  I was wondering if anyone has been able to work out the logistics of being able to get award flights to coincide with timeshare stays.  Also can you start booking 360 days in advance then continue to add stops.
I am looking at visiting New Zealand(South Island)- Sydney(Marriott Hotel points)-Carins( Timeshare hopefully)- Thailand(Marriott Hotel Bangkok and timeshare Puket)- Shanghai-Bejing-Tokyo - West Coast- then 6 months later picking up the trip in another west Coast City and flying to European Cities. I live in San Diego so was thinking starting there then doing my stopover and continuing my trip from LAX.

Also trying to build up my Strawood point balance


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## MichaelColey (Jun 5, 2011)

I haven't booked one yet, so this is just based on my research (and potentially faulty memory <G>):

A few things to keep in mind (and please double-check them to make sure I'm telling you right), which could throw a kink into things...

You're only allowed one open jaw in the entire routing.

Once you return to your origin city, you're done. You can't fly SAN-Asia-SAN then LAX-Europe-LAX. It would have to be something like SAN-Asia-LAX then LAX-Europe-SAN.

Domestic flights are cheap, and if you're planning on doing Europe you might want to pay OOP for a domestic flight to keep from needing as many miles. For instance, SAN-Asia-LAX then NYC-Europe-SAN. (I don't think you could do NYC-Europe-NYC because you would then have two open jaws.)

Regarding matching up timeshare stays with flights, I figure with ours we'll end up having to fill in some days with hotel (or RCI Points) stays (and we have tons of Starwood and Hilton points we can use), and that we may end up leaving a few days of some weekly stays unused.

Even with shorter domestic stays in high-availability areas, this can be a challenge. I can't imagine the headaches when I start to plan our RTW trip, but I know it'll be worth it.


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## Jwerking (Jul 16, 2011)

Carlsbadguy said:


> I am in the early stages of planning one of these OneWorld trips using mileage also for late 2012 or 2013.  I was wondering if anyone has been able to work out the logistics of being able to get award flights to coincide with timeshare stays.  Also can you start booking 360 days in advance then continue to add stops.
> I am looking at visiting New Zealand(South Island)- Sydney(Marriott Hotel points)-Carins( Timeshare hopefully)- Thailand(Marriott Hotel Bangkok and timeshare Puket)- Shanghai-Bejing-Tokyo - West Coast- then 6 months later picking up the trip in another west Coast City and flying to European Cities. I live in San Diego so was thinking starting there then doing my stopover and continuing my trip from LAX.
> 
> Also trying to build up my Strawood point balance




The real challenge of the RTW ticket is that it must be Completed within one year of BOOKING the ticket - not from the start of the actual trip - which makes getting award seats very difficult.  Typically, for AA award seats, they are loaded at the earliest 330 days prior to travel.  Here is my challenge:

May to June 2012 - From Wash DC area ( IAD) go to Seoul (long visit with daughter) via Tokyo and return via Chicago ( will use Marriott rewards points for hotel stay in Tokyo,  hope to book some Korean timeshares, and book some timeshares in WI where my oldest daughter lives )

October 2012 - back to Seoul for a few weeks, to Thailand in November (Marriott Bangkok and Pulket timeshares), to Bali ( timeshare),  to North Island of New Zealand for a few weeks and return home in late Jan 2013.

So here is the problem - if I am returning about Jan 2013 - I have to wait until Feb 2012 to book the ticket - because of the one year window from time of BOOKING.  So are two award seats going to be available for booking for May 2012 travel - that is only 3 months max in advance. I have never waited this late to book award tickets and would guess that it is going to be an issue.  My only saving grace is that I will be retired and can easily go any time - will reserve the Marriott hotel for start midweek with hopes that a midweek award seat will be available. 

Since my daughters live in Korea and WI - hopefully I can just stay with them - so will have more flexibiltiy with any timeshares booked as long as I am in the area about the approximate time. 

The timeshares for Bangkok and Bali will be more problematic - they will likely be confirmed by the time I try to book the RTW ticket.  It is just whether I can get into and out of Bangkok and Bali about the times I need to coincide with any reserved timeshares.  Because this will be near end of NOv - I need to get to NZ as early as possible in December as award seats are impossible the closest to XMAS.  Wonder if I can get seats up to the second week in Dec???   So I will be stuck in NZ until mid-Jan - after the holidays, when hopefully I can find some Award seats home. 

Gives me a headache thinking about it and still have not placed my RCI searches yet for May 2012 Korean timeshares or June/July WI timeshares.  Keep thinking that I need to be retired to plan this trip - not still working - LOL.

Joyce

Ha


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## Margariet (Jul 16, 2011)

Just put in ongoing searches for the timeshare weeks asap. I'm sure you will get them in time and confirm them! But be sure to make the reservations far ahead. Sounds like lots of fun!


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