While it most likely will not qualify as an offical "DO", I've been in contact with 3 or 4 other FT'ers who have plans to be in SIN sometime between Jan 15-21, 2003. Nothing has been set yet (except for flights!), so all and any recommendations are welcome. This will be my first time there, so I'll bow out to the more experienced among you

I'd be up for dinner on Saturday night, 18 January, but am flexible on both 18 & 19 January.

My first time as well....and looking forward to it.
Dinner on Saturday the 18th sounds very good, but either 18 or 19th would work.....
Best wishes.

Instead of SIN, several of us are looking at BKK around that time. (Actually earlier; that's MLK weekend, when I want to be somewhere else.) Just waiting for the fares to drop.

Hi,

I'll be in BKK for 5 nights from the 23 Jan if anyone wants to have a FT catch up. I'll be staying at the Hilton, so will hopefully have exec floor access to bring a few FT'ers up.

Agreed to both BKK or SIN.

Mauld, did you manage to get a cheap airfare to SIN?

Depends on what you consider cheap.... I'm of the spoiled sort, who would rather face an eternity of non travelling than sit 'behind the curtain' on a trip this long. I got a $1184 CO HoKeY fare which I was able to upgrade to BF at time of purchase using miles. As far as rooms go, I'm paying S$ 180 (US$ 90) at the Sheraton Towers for the first night, S$ 220 at the Hyatt for night #2 & using a Free Night at the Hyatt for #3. I know there have been some $500-600 fares on UA and others, but they required a 6 night stay and may possibly have been (HORRORS) un-upgradeable.
Are you thinking of joining us??? The more the merrier

Yes I would love to join the SIN trip, but my version of cheap to SIN is in the 500-600 range on UA (w/o the 6 night stay).

The fare guru Kiethguy came up with a SIN run on CO for in the 500-600 range but I don't know if this was an upgradeable fare.

Well it certainly will not do to have this event being a strictly East Coast/ Chicago affair so count me in to represent the Left Coast and Asia.

Arriving on the 17th very late and staying at the IC 17-20.
Michelle, I will also be arriving into SFO on 1 Nov. about lunchtime from Tokyo. I need to be in the East Bay by late afternoon, but might be up for a coffee someplace (can easily enough swing by the City on the way in from the airport). E-mail me what your your day looks like that day and maybe we can catch up briefly to say Hi and get caffeine?

Willie, are we looking at possibly breaking bread for the first time in Southeast Asia instead of over a mess of BBQ?
Looking forward to getting back to SIN and hooking up with you guys.

Mike


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Currently all cheapie fares on United in January require a 6 day minimum stay.

Please would anyone post here if they find this situation changes.

Thanks!

Welcome Aboard mjm
How did you decide where you'd stay on this run? Is the IC centrally located, expensive, or anything in particular?
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
Best wishes.

Thanks for the welcome. I'm very pleased to finally be joining one of the trips to SIN.

I picked the IC for a couple reasons. It is where I stayed for a week a month during the two years I was commuting to Singapore, and its kind of a second home. I spent enough time there to attain their Ambassador status which entitles me to a suite upgrade, a free mini-bar, and a generally warm welcome.

All that aside, I think their 21 day advance purchse online room rate of S$154 is pretty good. During the time we are there though, they are doing some rennovation work on the higher floors so the exec. floors are largely out of commission.

It is located in Bugis Junction which is not central but not non-central. It is two subway stops from Orchard Road, and directly adjacent to Little India. Nothing is very far from anything else in central SIN so I think it is always good advice to stay at the hotel there that affords you the best extras, is cheapest, or has the most amenities to pamper yourself with on a trip that is often "just because".

Many good choices there. I know and like the Grand Hyatt (central, great restaurant, and consistent), the Ritz Carlton (perhaps the most complete high quality hotel in SIN/SE Asia), and the Conrad (a perennial FT favorite for its quality, deals, rooms and HH tie-in).


Is there particular chain, type of hotel you are looking for? Some options are much cheaper and have fewer frills but as it is SIN, these will be clean and safe also. For these I would do a Google search for hotel travel agencies in SIN. A bunch of them pop up and you can get a decent idea of what is out there.

If I can offer any assistance, or if you simply have a question, I am happy to try to answer it. Many SIN run specialists around here so you'll likely see some good ideas offered.

Looking forward to meeting in SIN

Mike

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How many of you guys are part of the CO/NW run? As I consider this; I would consider going when the CO FT'ers are running.. I've never done one like this before.. What a pain in the tookus (sic?) to plan

Been to SIN once already....BKK fares are too danged expensive (still)....Hey, how about EZE?

ozstamps and Joh have been raving about Buenos Aires since their recent visit there.

I checked fares SFO-EZE on UA and AA and cheapest fares for the January dates I checked are $650-ish (including taxes). Mileage varies depending on routing but can easily be upwards of 15,000.

Just a thought.... For those of us "wimpy mileage runners" who really want a combo mileage run/vacation/socializing opp.

Kathy

That would be great, although seeing as it is SIN, we should probably say "slurp noodles" instead of "breaking bread"

Is not going to happen in SIN until UA nixs the stay requirement on the cheapie SIN fare

I might be able to hook up w/you in SFO, IF I can work out some personal biz there. I'll keep you posted via email if something works out.