My folks have just returned from a well earned visit to Penang, and have dazzled me with the prices they've paid. They've dazzled me so much that I'm donig the math and trying to figure out if it's worth heading over there to combine a holiday with a MR of sorts.

The Sheraton Penang is stupidly cheap - about US$66 a night, and I figure if the flights are cheap enough, I could head over for a few days for the sole purpose of MR'ing and earning some Starwood points. Of course, cheap shopping (AU$1.20 per DVD is nice and handy) helps convince me to go as well.

I'd of course prefer to stay on OW, however it's seeming difficult and costly. Cathay seems to be my best option, with a BNE-HKG-PEN routing, however I was wondering what chances I had of being creative to assist in finding something more cost effective.

Anyone with any advice on a good routing for BNE-PEN ?

And I suppose I also need to ask if it's really a viable option to head over there on a MR, cost/point wise.