[QUOTE=CVG_Kid;18174020]On the bus, yes. In the hired car, no. The road between Poipet and Siem Reap can best be described as a series of connected potholes. QUOTE]

Not any more. We did this trip to Siem Reap in 2011 and road from Thai border has been entirely rebuilt and is now the Cambodian equivalent of a superhighway. Apparently done with UN aid. Anyhow, it is now around a two hour trip on a very, very smooth road.

I think it's easier to fly to Thailand on star alliance carriers than OneWorld. Your 20k AA miles are pretty inconsequential and I don't recommend trying to collect more AA points for this.

I would say you should both try to sign up for the Chase United credit card, the Barclays US Airways card, the Chase Sapphire, and the Chase Ink Bold. The latter two cards give you Chase Ultimate Rewards points that can then be transferred to United.

You would need roughly 60k -65k each of US Airways or United miles to fly round trip to Thailand in economy, and you should then also be able to tack on a domestic flight on Thai to Phuket or Chiang Mai as part of that itinerary.

It will be harder to find availability for dates in mid to late December than in November.

Once you have enough United and/or US Airways miles, you can use them to fly across the Pacific on Thai (hard to find availability) direct to Bangkok, or Asiana via Seoul then Thai to Bangkok, or United via Tokyo or Seoul (possibly connecting via Thai to Bangkok).

I think it's doable if you start signing up for all these cards now and if your dates are flexible in November. Good luck.

I've never had much trouble getting seats on TG. I would not bother with US. Makes more sense to do the UA card, Sapphire and Ink Bold. Then you can move the latter two into UA miles. Of course availability comes and goes. But TG and UA seem to not be hard to get to Thailand. Seats often come available at the last minute, but I am guessing you would want to be able to plan ahead. :-)

You're right. Thai seats within Asia have good availability. Business class seats from LAX-BKK are a little harder, but I've done it myself, and it may be easier for economy.

You know, there's lots of interesting stuff that's been posted in this thread, but it may be worth noting that you are probably all just talking to each other now, as the OP made her first post 2 weeks ago and doesn't seem to have followed up at all. Not what I would expect to see from someone who was serious.

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. I'm trying to book another trip pretty soon.

Not any more. We did this trip to Siem Reap in 2011 and road from Thai border has been entirely rebuilt and is now the Cambodian equivalent of a superhighway. Apparently done with UN aid. Anyhow, it is now around a two hour trip on a very, very smooth road.[/QUOTE]

I am very interested in your expereince. How long did the trip take you from bkk and what was the cost? Did you arrange ahead of time or once you got there? I appreciate your answers. I'm torn between driving and flying and would prefer not to fly due to the cost but dont want to waste a ton of time either. One last thing, where did you get your Cambodian visa?

I am very interested in your expereince. How long did the trip take you from bkk and what was the cost? Did you arrange ahead of time or once you got there? I appreciate your answers. I'm torn between driving and flying and would prefer not to fly due to the cost but dont want to waste a ton of time either. One last thing, where did you get your Cambodian visa?[/QUOTE]

You can get a Cambodian visa on arrival at any airport or land border. Or you can get an e-visa online.

[QUOTE

You can get a Cambodian visa on arrival at any airport or land border. Or you can get an e-visa online.[/QUOTE]

what about the visa scam that keeps getting mentioned. How do you know who you are actually supposed to avoid at the border not the airport?

Be careful and use common sense if crossing the border by land. The last time I was in Thailand (about 3 years ago), a family member had a friend that was waylaid by thugs at the border and got into desperate circumstances - he got into a taxi and was taken to the wrong crossing (tricked), then he was robbed and was forced to have friends wire him a bunch of money (to payoff some toughs) to get himself out of there. After a couple days stuck in some Cambodian casino, once he got some money he turned around and headed back to Bangkok, very glad to be out of Cambodia - he never got to Angkor.

I apologize if this is a little bit off topic but can anyone confirm when is the best time to visit Bangkok weather wise and what about Dec/Jan (X-mas, new year time)? Otherwise what are the best ideal times.

best weather I would say is December/January. But November can often be OK as well. Last year it was hot up until about the 2nd week of December when things finally got nice...just in time for me to leave.

The holidays are probably the best time weather-wise. Of course it is also more crowded with tourists then too since everyone else wants good weather too...and have time off then.

I would say April is the worst time. Very hot and then things close in mid-April for Thai New Year.

Also, you may want to look up the Thai public holidays and schedule your trip around them. They actually forbid the sale of alcohol on a number of public holidays and the bars have to close. Not good.

I don't know that no alcohol sales for a day is necessarily a bad thing. I suppose it depends on what your objectives are for your holiday. If it requires booze I suppose that might be an issue. But I have been in Thailand on plenty of holidays and haven't had a bad time...at least not as a result of that. And not all Thai holidays are created equal. Not every holiday requires bar closings

Maybe she applied for all these credit cards and got declined.