BKK, USM, REP, DPS, SIN in a week - how?
 

Hello.

My gf and I want to see a bit of South East Asia.

We have made the following plans so far:

03/18 - Arrival at BKK
03/20-22 - Beach vacation in Koh Samui
03/27-28 - SIN
03/28 - Return flight home

We would like to put in both Siem Reap (REP) and a couple days in Bali.
I guess it would make most sense to do REP as a day trip from BKK on the 19th. Cash tickets aren't too expensive.

But now I saw that JAL have extended their Bangkok Airways promotion.
Maybe I could convert some starpoints and book that?
Ideally, I would be able to book an itinerary like this:

03/18 - Arrival at BKK
03/19 - BKK-REP
03/19 - REP-BKK (layover)
03/20 - BKK-USM (stopover)
03/22 - USM-BKK (or wherever else I need to go to get to DPS, KUL?)
03/22 or 03/23 - BKK-DPS
03/27 - DPS-SIN

I guess it wouldn't make much sense to do USM-DPS on JAL as I currently don't have any miles there and the promotion does not apply to longer flights.

But would BKK-REP-(BKK layover)-USM-BKK (or KUL or so) work with the promotion?
I guess that should be 10k per person at most, if booked as to separate round trips?
Can I redeem points for my gf as well?
She just opened an SPG account, so I guess I can't transfer starpoints to her account yet, to convert from there...
I've called JAL (Tokyo and US number), but didn't get through. Their European callcenters are closed at the moment.

Otherwise I have about 30k on A3 and 55k or so on Miles&More.
A3 demands 20k for USM-DPS if I interpreted the award chart correctly, so that's not too bad.

What would you do?

Have you booked flights USA-Asia?
JAL is OneWorld so a partner of AA.
Short haul flights in Asia can be cheap with the likes of AirAsia, Jetstar, Malindo Air and other low cost carriers. http://www.flightconnections.com/
But check the t&c's carefully, including baggage. Assume nothing, if USA airlines are your only point of reference

If the question is only about JAL, then the JAL forum is the place for this thread

BKK, USM, REP, DPS, SIN in a week - how?
 

A couple of thoughts. First, you are making a lot of connections in Bangkok - is that intentional because it's going to eat into your time. Second, when you say BKK I assume you also mean DMK but if not, don't forget Bangkok has two airports and there are nonstops from DMK to REP. Third, if going to REP just for the Angkor Wat temples you can do that in a day. Fly in the night before, get up early and fly out that night. Fourth, Google low cost Asian airlines. There is a Wikipedia page that lists a couple of dozen. You can fly cheaply and not worry about points and multiple connections that eat your time.

I'm from Germany, my flights to Asia are revenue on QR.

I am aware that short haul flights in Asia can be cheap, but not to USM.
BKK-USM round trips are about 300 dollars per person!
REP is more affordable, but not exactly what I would call cheap either.
That's why I was thinking about redeeming miles.

Yes, of course I meant DMK in addition to BKK, sorry for the confusion.
Yes, I was thinking of going to REP the night before, BUT there are no direct flights to neither USM nor DPS from REP, so I would have to connect in BKK/DMK or something like that anyway.
That's why I was thinking I'd just leave my baggage in BKK, so I don't have to pay for checked bags on Air Asia (should I not redeem miles).

That sure is a lot of going places in a short period of time.
I hope you are immune to jet lag and be sure to drink your red bull.

Sorry, but this is mental. The part of Southeast Asia you'll see most of is taxis and airports. Stick to Bangkok and Koh Samui. They're both nice and interesting. Save the rest for another time.

Yep, pick two. I'm a fast traveler, but what you are proposing will be to see very little of these places and lots of planes and airports.

IMHO, you can probably only cover SIN and BKK in that timeframe. Just visit those two cities and that's a lot of SE-Asia already.

I'm going to guess you are a Millenial with lots of energy. Do not do what you are thinking. You will be spending more time in transit then anything else and will not get a feel for anyplace.

Two places, max. You will enjoy everything more.

I am doing a similar trip but a little more consolidated - 3 nights in BKK, 2 nights in USM and 4 nights in DPS - and some may say that is too much. I feel like with the itinerary you outlined above, despite all the connections you will feel like you have missed out on BKK (unless you've been before).

Called JAL's German office today, of course there are no award seats left on the BKK-USM route...

Yeah, it sure is a lot of places in a short time.

We actually wanted to do two nights in Bangkok (btw, that's after visiting Doha for 15 hours ;) ), then 2-3 days Koh Samui, then 4 days Bali, then 1 night in Singapore.

Three weeks ago, I had the following itinerary with a friend:

TXL-ATH (1 night in Athens)
ATH-IST (connection)
IST-KUL (connection)
KUL-LGK (2 nights in Langkawi)
LGK-KUL (1 night)
KUL-SIN-KUL (day trip)
KUL-HKG (1 night)
HKG-IST (3 nights in Istanbul)
IST-LHR (1 night in London)
LHR-CGN (back to Germany)

I only wish I had stayed in Langkawi another night (but that was also due to the fact that the hotel was very expensive) and Istanbul was a complete waste of time (worst service of my life EVERYWHERE), but apart from that, that trip was PERFECT.
Ok, we didn't get to see anything of Kuala Lumpur, but the trip to SIN was very spontaneous because my buddy wanted to meet someone there.

I like seeing many different places in a short period of time, I have also driven from Strömstad in Sweden (far in the South) to Tromsø in the North of Norway, and back, in 10 days, and it was one of the best trips ever.

That way, it also feels like I've been traveling much longer than I actually have.

I don't mind flying (this is FlyerTalk, after all), but for instance, I don't like riding a bus or ferry for hours. So I'll need to check the details about Bali for instance, but in general I think this should be fine.
There should still be enough time to relax. :)

No, I haven't been to BKK before, and yeah, sounds like we have quite similar plans.
I also did not intend to go to REP on top, but now that I've seen photos of the temples, I feel that I just can't miss out on that.

What flights did you book to get to USM and DPS?

BKK-USM on Bangkok Airways and USM-SIN-DPS on Silk Air.

We had to throw REP out because the visa rules don't allow daytrips. :(

At least that makes the itinerary simpler.

Now it's going to be 1 day Doha, 2 days in Bangkok, 2 days Koh Samui, 4 days Bali, 1 day Singapore.

Oh and, USM-(BKK layover)-DPS cost 12,500 A3 miles + 93€ in fees&taxes, with Thai Airways.

I still think you are actually wasting your time.

- Doha is forced on you because of your QR flights I would imagine, so nothing to do there.
- I would then do three days in Bangkok and five days in Koh Samui (or the other way around, depending on whether you are more interested in a beach vacation to wind down or one of the world's most interesting cities to explore).
- If you want to see Bali (I personally think it's monumentally overrated, and the beaches are nowhere near as nice as some of the Thai islands) then skip Koh Samui. Doing both compromises at least one, probably both.
- Krabi is nice, Hua Hin could be an option...
- Singapore is like any other modern city but probably hotter and cleaner. Whether you're there for a day or three won't make much of a difference.