Gosh we have had incredible weather this week! I'm sure we'd be having a grand time regardless, but the literally picture-perfect autumn glow making everything golden and cozy sure doesn't hurt. Other than exclaiming in delight at the landscape as we…
We've invented a new game on this road trip, having exhausted our previous car-ride favorite of Airport Code Jumble, and while I don't have a catchy name quite yet, the theme is "Name Hotels That Were Literally The Worst." I'm not quite admitting to…
To start off our second full day in Romania, we headed out to the countryside of Transylvania, and the tiny hamlet of Veseud. I can't remember where I first heard of these Saturday brunches, but I was instantly enamored by the idea. The brunch moves…
I really have to thank you guys for all your insights into Romania as we were planning this trip. I ultimately chose our itinerary by pasting all your suggestions on hotels and activities into a geographically-grouped table, chunked things out by how…
One of the trickiest things about redeeming miles is accurately searching award space. You have to know where to search for it, the foibles of each search engine, and that's before you even get into the thick of what partners each airline has and the…
I can't believe I forgot to write about this earlier. Well, I can, as it's been a complicated summer here, and this is one of those things each year where I know I'm going, pretty much everyone I know seems to be going, and at some level I think I just…
This won't apply to everyone, but just in case it's relevant to you I wanted to share a quick note of caution regarding making multiple transfers from American Express Membership Rewards (at least the US program) to Air Canada Aeroplan in a single day.…
I had to be in New York for meetings earlier this summer, and decided to take the opportunity to check out some of the new World of Hyatt properties in the city, starting with The Beekman, a Thompson Hotel. The Beekman is a Category 6 property for World…
Once upon a time, before the days of revenue-based mileage earning and other lifestyle complications, Ben and I used to fly together a lot. Granted, these were almost always miserable-sounding mileage run itineraries where we'd spend two weeks going…
Well, this doesn't look good. For the past week or so we've been hearing about issues with Marriott Bonvoy points getting "stuck" when members have initiated transfers to Lufthansa Miles&More. This isn't entirely unusual, as post-merger many Marriott…
We get a lot of questions about what blogging is like, and even more questions about writing trip reports. Having just wrapped up an extremely lengthy series on my trip to Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, the process is pretty fresh in my mind, so I thought…
This will be the final segment of my trip report on Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, which feels bittersweet. This has been a very long series (and was a long trip to start with), so it's taken a ridiculous amount of time to put together, but I've so enjoyed…
There are places you travel to with a certain vision of what the experience will be like -- sitting streetside in a Parisian cafe while an accordion plays; inhaling scents of saffron and sumac in a crowded Turkish spice market; being enveloped in the…
There are a surprisingly large number of domestic carriers in Cambodia (though the majority are owned or at least subsidized by Chinese companies), and all have very tiny fleets. Most of these carriers operate a mix of aircraft, including some Airbus…
While you can certainly spend as much time exploring the areas around Siem Reap as you'd like, it's certainly possible to experience at least a taste of the UNESCO site at Angkor on a shorter trip. We planned our itinerary such that we had an evening…
I've actually stayed at the Park Hyatt Siem Reap previously, when my husband and I visited in 2014, and it feels much the same now as it did then. Siem Reap, on the other hand, has since changed to the point of being nearly unrecognizable, as extremely…
While applying for Vietnam e-Visas for our group was fairly annoying (an unclear website, weird payment funnels, and having to do separate applications for each person), and Laos visas are arranged on arrival, getting Cambodia visas in advance was basically…
Let's start this off with an unpopular opinion that I'm probably going to regret sharing: While Satri House felt like the hotel you'd obviously stay at when disembarking from The Jungle Cruise, that paled in comparison to the Adventureland-without-the-Dole-Whip…
Sorry for the delay on this folks -- not to get too much into the sausage-making, but we had planned to pause this particular narrative while Ben finished sharing details on his trip to Sri Lanka, with the idea being that I'd publish the rest of this…
Airports can be confusing, particularly in the case of terminals designed for the jet era that haven't adapted as well to modern aviation. The terminal shift at Los Angeles International Airport earlier a few years ago has inspired improved wayfinding,…
Well this is a bit of a surprise. As of July 1st 2019, El Al passengers will have the option to credit flown miles to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, rather than El Al's own Matmid frequent flyer program.
