Angkor

June 29, 2011 - Andrew

Sunrise over Angkor Wat, photo by Andrew Ingersoll

As you read this post by Andrew, we are winging our way across the Pacific to Beijing for ten more days of exploring.

This post brings back fond memories for Katy and me. The people, the sites, smells, heat, humidity and culture so different from the good old USA. Put Angkor Wat on your short list. You will not be disappointed. There is a nice Le Meridien nearby. — Rick

There are a few places on the planet where words do not truly do a place justice. The ancient archaeological temples of Angkor, outside of Siem Reap, Cambodia is one of those places.

Built in the 12^th century, the temples are part of the Angkor World Heritage Site and comprise a large area well worth enduring the hot humid Cambodian weather. I spent three full days in the area, waking up early, arriving at the temples just after sunrise, and then retreating back to the B&B just before the midday heat became unbearable. I returned in the evening as the sun set, which provided eerie shadows and pockets of light in and among the stone carvings.

This place is truly amazing. Those of you who have also visited it would surely agree. However, I fear for the future and the preservation of the temples. Angkor, rightfully so, has become a tourist for those traveling in Southeast Asia. I was, in fact, one of those travelers. Be prepared for throngs of tourist buses and, as a local described it, mobs of organized tours groups. Numerous charter and scheduled flights service the Siem Reap airport and thousands of vacationers decent upon the temples throughout the year.

Unfortunately, the word is out. This is a cool place to see and I would say, a must-see. I can attest to the awesomeness of feeling like Indian Jones, Mowgli from The Jungle Book or Angelina Jolie as Laura Croft Tomb Raider while I was exploring the temple’s wonders.

If you’re ever in the Southeast Asia neighborhood, make the side trip. But do not expect to be the only one.

Reap-Angkor International Airport is served by numerous low cost and alliance member airlines, including AirAsia and Jetstar, as well as Asiana, China Southern, Korean Air, and Vietnam Airlines among others. Depending on your hunger to dive into Cambodian culture, there are numerous hotel options in Siem Reap, from local “mom and pop” bed and breakfast inns to luxurious five-star accommodations. Those looking to redeem some hotel points can do so at either Le Meridian or the Sofitel.

25,000 MR Points, $200 Airline Incidental Credits, 1 Year Lounge Access

Carl

Hope you are enjoying your journey. Thanks for the China tips. Regarding BA, the LAN trip to Easter Island is a good bargain in business at 80k miles with stopovers in each direction. You just have to arrange your gateway flight to Miami.
David

I would transfer enough to have 100K BA to use on a Cathay Business award to somewhere in Asia. (This should be useful, even if you have plenty of AA or AS miles.)
Mel

Do you know if the Alaska Airlines 40k offer is still on?
Harry

If you only have the BA miles you said and don't plan on getting more, I would say it's still a good value for MR points. First of all it's a 50% bonus, which is always nice. Second, you can fly to south america round trip for two, for only 70k points. That means if you spend only 17.5k on the card, you will have two round trip tickets to south america or the carribean. The same for hawaii.

Another perk is the companion ticket on BA metal after 30k spend. Since it's BA metal only, you can't avoid the fuel fees or surcharges, but you can get a business class trip to europe for two including their generous stopover policy for 120k points and about $750 in fees. That's an awesome deal on those tickets.
Shawn

Where can you get new USD bills?
Quote "USD cash needs to be in superb condition to exchange, new bills are best."
jerry

I have been thinking of the BA transfer and then off to Easter Island with a couple of stops in South America on LAN. Using just enough miles and the rest to Continental
Daraius Dubash

Stefan,

That's a great itinerary for Rick! What are you likely to use your miles for?

100K BA miles will get you a business class ticket to most of Europe, but you'll have to pay higher taxes and fees, but will likely have better availability.
Learpax

Watch out for some of the games they play in China with Credit cards and exchange rates. Many of the biggest hotels including US chains and famous restaurants do the Dynamic currency exchange. Under some circumstances that can run you up to 10% of the value of the transaction on top of the actual amount of the transaction.
If you are not familiar with it, Flyer talk has a long detailed explanation on top of their Chines section.
Greg

Hi, I'm trying to figure out the best option for my family (of 3) to travel to London from Detroit. We could fly direct via Delta using my Delta Skymiles, but I'm wondering if the following might be better:

American Airlines has a great airfare right now $680 per person round trip with a stop in Chicago. I'm wondering if its possible for me to buy that flight and use British Airways points to upgrade to business class? I could get 100K points if both my wife and I sign up for the BA credit card, and I could exchange Amex points for up to 60K more miles (I have 40K Amex points). What do you think?

One other thing: my wife's flight will be paid for via her work. Just mentioning that in case anyone knows of a buy one get one free type of option…
Josh Stecker

One option for getting hotel points out of your MR is to transfer them to Hawaiian Airlines at 1:1 and then into Hilton at 1:2. 75,000 MR = 150,000 Hilton points at that ratio. Not the best value, but not terrible if you need the hotel room help.

Angkor

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