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Inter-Thailand Flights   Bangkok Airways (PG)

PG flights are bookable on points through JAL, CX, EY and AB.

JAL
Required Mileage: Transferable from SPG. JAL uses a distance based award chart and allows up to a maximum of 7 stopovers (8 segments). To figure out how many points you will need, add up the total amount of miles that will be flown (can do this on GCMap.com) and then find the appropriate row in the award chart (http://www.ar.jal.com/ar/en/jalmile/use/partner_air/p_jmb/jmb_mile_ar.html). If you are traveling before 3/31/2017 there is a promotion for trips up to 4,000 miles (see http://www.jal.co.jp/121campaign/pg_discount/index_en.html for reduced mileage rates). The promotion makes JAL the best award redemption option for PG flights. 

Booking the Flight: The only way to find out if there is availability on the flight that you want is to call JAL. Recommended that you do so before transferring points. JAL doesn't allow you to hold a reservation so you have to hope that the flight doesn't get booked up while you're waiting for the point transfer to go through. Once the points post to your JAL account, call JAL back to book.
+1 800-525-3663 (5:00 - 18:00 PT) press 1 - 4 - JAL membership number - # - pin - # - 0 (for human or 1 for computer search)

Traveling with Infant: Tell JAL that you are flying with a lap child. They will put the infant on the reservation, but they will also tell you that you need to call PG directly to get the infant's ticket issued and pay for any taxes etc. JAL will only charge you for the adults on the reservation. Unless you speak Thai, calling PG won't work (when you press 9 for English when calling any of the Asian offices, the message will tell you to go to their website, and the office in Germany can't issue tickets). To add the infant, send an email to reservation@bangkokair.com with your confirmation number and tell them you want to have the lap infant's ticket issued. They will email you back with the price (data point: it was ~$96USD for CNX-USM-HKG for me) and ask you to reply with your cc info split into two separate emails for security (one email with first 8 digits, exp. and name on card, second email with last 8 digits, cvv, and billing address). I believe they only take Visa or MC. You'll then get an email back with confirmation.

Baggage Allowance: Economy passengers are allowed 20kg, infants (and dolls) are allowed 10kg. Excess weight on domestic flights will incur a charge of 80thb ($2.25ish) per kilo. International overage fee chart can be found here. Join the PG FlyingBonus program to receive an additional 10kg.

Contacting PG: In general, if you have any questions, the only way to speak with them in English besides email is PG Live Chat. You can find the link if you log in to your Flyer Bonus account. Chat reps are very helpful.

IMPORTANT: MAKE SURE TO PAY (JAL AND PG) WITH A CC BELONGING TO SOMEONE THAT IS TRAVELING ON THE ITINERARY. PG WILL SOMETIMES ASK YOU TO SHOW THE CC USED TO PAY FOR THE TRIP WHEN YOU CHECK IN, AND RESERVE THE RIGHT TO DENY BOARDING IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT.

CX
Required Mileage:

EY
Required Mileage:

AB
Required Mileage:



Bangkok   BKK/DMK

Hotels                                              Activities                                          Chabad                                                                Additional Info
Viengtai Hotel (Ohr Menachem)
Davis Hotel (Beth Elisheva)
Shangr-La (Even Chen)
Sheraton Resort (Hua Hin)
Riva Surya
Kao Sahn Rd
Night Markets (near stadium)
Shopping Malls
Grand Palace
Kanchanaburi (2 hrs away)
Floating Markets
Beth Elisheva (Financial & Shopping district)
Even Chen
Ohr Menachem (Kao Sahn Rd)
ALWAYS use meter in taxis and
   try to say destination in Thai - if you
   need help with numbers as Cbs ;)
(Free) sim in airport at kiosks -(true move(h- sim), dtac
   (happy(micro) sim for iPhone)
Songkran (water fight week)- April 13th!
Kosherthailand.com
BKK Luggage Lockers - 100 baht/day/bag (~$3)
Public Transport
Domestic flights:
   Air Asia, Tiger Air, Thai, Bangkok Air
Tailor:
   Rajawongse




Phuket/Patong/Koh Phi Phi/Krabi   HKT/KBV

Hotels                                                            Activities                                                                            Additional Info
Westin
JW Marriott
Sala Resort
Sheraton Krabi
The Pavilions
Holiday Inn Koh Phi Phi
Ritz Carlton Reserve
places w/ private pools
Beaches
Monkey Show
Cable Skiing
Longtail Boats
Island Tour
Koh Phi Phi:
Diving
Fire Show (wed is biggest)
Maya Bay (full day trip)
Nice Lookouts
Kayaking (to Monkey Beach)
Thai Boxing
Beware of summer weather; monsoon season
Best weather: Jan - May
Island Tour (can be done as a day trip or overnight):
   Andaman River, Maya Bay, Similian Islands, Krabi Islands,
   Koh Lanta (Emerald Cave)




Koh Samui   USM

Hotels                                                            Activities                                                                          Additional Info
The Conrad
Sunday Resort
Sheraton
Le Meridian
The W
Le Murrya (Near Chabad)
Fx Hotel (Near Chabad)
Beaches
Diving (Koa Phangan, Koh Tao)
Ang Thong Marine Park Islands
Water Sports (at chaweng and boh phut),
Safari Island (elephants, tigers, zip line)
Scooter (around island)
Kayaking $30
Koh Tao and Koh Nangyuan Island trip w/ snorkeling
The Conrad will gladly make arrangements with
   the Chabad restaurant for Kosher food. Email them at usmks.fb@conradhotels.com




Chiang Mai   CNX

Hotels                                                            Activities                                                                            Additional Info
Le Meridien (10 min. Walk to Chabad)
Shangri La (2 min. Walk to Chabad)
Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi
Sukantara Cascade Resort
Maese Elephant Show
Maetaeng Elephant Park
Patara Elephant Farm
Thai Elephant Home
Thoms Pai Elephant Camp
Bamboo Rafting
Tiger Kingdom
Monkey Shows
Snake Shows
Crocodile Shows
Zip Lining
Trekking
White Water Rafting
Longneck Tribe
Gun Shooting
Night Safari
Temples/Palaces
Chiang Mai River Boat (To Cooking School)
Extreme Sports!
Repelling
Caving,
ATVing
Bungee
Segways
Rent motorbikes (5$ day)
3D museum right down the road from Chabad
   (if you have an hour or two to kill)
Sunday Market (ratchadamonoen  Rd, old city)
Night Market (Changklan Rd, near Chabad & Le Meridien)
Sat Night Market (Wua Lai)
Tiger Kingdom is best in morning
Use ישראל 669  as travel agent for trips
   (next door to Chabad)
Recommended Zip Line: Flight of Gibbon or Flying Squirrel,
   can be reserved through Yackov (המרכז המטייל)
   for best price.
When reserving tours, ask for a discount due to
   using your own transportation
Tailors:
   CM Tailors
His and Hers- 3 minute walk from LM on the way to chabbad.




Chiang Rai   CEI/4hr drive from CNX

Hotels                                                            Activities                                                                            Additional Info
Le Meridien
Four Seasons Tent Camp Golden Triangle
Black House
Queens Residence
Night market
Day trip to Burma/Myanmar
Waterfalls
White Temple
Ruaamit elephant camp
Pai village (3 hr drive)
Hot Springs
Scooters
Golden Triangle

« Last edited by CR on July 26, 2020, 11:38:14 AM »

Author Topic: Thailand Master Thread  (Read 743044 times)

Offline Drago

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #700 on: March 06, 2013, 01:23:04 AM »

Offline chuchem

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #701 on: March 06, 2013, 03:58:59 AM »
Thinking of going with the kids in Juli. Can stay at Le meridien Kao Lak for cheap, weather is a risk or go to Koh Samui and have better weather, what do you think?

Seems the Kao Lak area has more to do, but food is really far (chabad) Will they deliver? Costs?

Offline Drago

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #702 on: March 06, 2013, 04:38:06 AM »
Thinking of going with the kids in Juli. Can stay at Le meridien Kao Lak for cheap, weather is a risk or go to Koh Samui and have better weather, what do you think?

Seems the Kao Lak area has more to do, but food is really far (chabad) Will they deliver? Costs?
W/ kids, Khao Lak seems better.
You can pick up food when you land in Phuket and bring it with you. Worst comes to worst, it's a 1 hr drive, and you can make a day trip out of it.

I've also emailed w/ them to see what that can arrange (s/o in FT gave me a contact guy) and I'll update you when I hear back.

Offline mena613

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #703 on: March 06, 2013, 07:55:45 AM »

Lets arrange a whole group to travel there for the summer !

Whos in ?

Offline zvmiester

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #704 on: March 07, 2013, 10:35:22 AM »
whats the closest rewards hotel near the chabad in bkk need a place to stay for shabb and want to use points

Offline Dan

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #705 on: March 07, 2013, 11:57:50 AM »
Why BKK and not CNX?
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline MAJ

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #706 on: March 07, 2013, 12:55:31 PM »
whats the closest rewards hotel near the chabad in bkk need a place to stay for shabb and want to use points
which chabad, there are 3 in bkk

Offline zvmiester

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #707 on: March 07, 2013, 04:29:51 PM »
Why BKK and not CNX?
landing in bkk on a friday but have no fear going to cnx for 5 days

Offline zvmiester

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #708 on: March 07, 2013, 04:32:00 PM »
which chabad, there are 3 in bkk
dont know much about the chabads there care to help me out ?? its me and the wife looking for a nice atmosphere for shabb which chabad do you recommend and hotel?? 

Offline Dan

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #709 on: March 07, 2013, 04:42:04 PM »
landing in bkk on a friday but have no fear going to cnx for 5 days
No good connecting flights?
5 days? Way too long.
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline Drago

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #710 on: March 07, 2013, 04:48:52 PM »
No good connecting flights?
5 days? Way too long.
There's some nice looking properties in Pattaya, but I've been told it's for older European men looking for Thai girls. (I'm not sure why they would look for them, but that's what I was told)

Offline businessmachine

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #711 on: March 07, 2013, 04:49:00 PM »
No good connecting flights?
5 days? Way too long.

Really? 5 days is too long for CNX? I thought its the place with the most things to do...

Offline AJK

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #712 on: March 07, 2013, 04:50:32 PM »
I'm going for 5 nights (over shabbas), and I think that'll be just a perfect amount of time.

At least according to tentative itinerary.
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline businessmachine

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #713 on: March 07, 2013, 04:51:56 PM »
I'm going for 5 nights (over shabbas), and I think that'll be just a perfect amount of time.

At least according to tentative itinerary.

That's what I have scheduled as well. 5 days with shabbat in the middle. I couldn't miss that Sunday night market everyone's been talking about..

Offline Dan

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #714 on: March 07, 2013, 04:55:51 PM »
Really? 5 days is too long for CNX? I thought its the place with the most things to do...
Dunno I was there for 3 nights including shabbos. Maybe we could have pushed it to 4 nights, but 5 nights seems like overkill to me.
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline TAVI

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #715 on: March 07, 2013, 05:28:25 PM »
That's what I have scheduled as well. 5 days with shabbat in the middle. I couldn't miss that Sunday night market everyone's been talking about..

5 days is probably too much for CNX, unl;ess you plan to take day trips to laos...
as to the sunday market, i think its way over hyped. nothing there but nick nacks. the regular night bazaar was much better in my opinion.

Offline AJK

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #716 on: March 07, 2013, 06:20:38 PM »
Zip-lining;
Massage;
Caving;
Massage;
Tiger Kingdom;
Massage;
Elephant farm;
Massage;
Rock climbing;
Massage;
Sunday night Market;
Massage;
Saturday night Market;
Massage;
etc etc

That'll eat up 5 days in no time.

2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline TAVI

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #717 on: March 07, 2013, 06:46:35 PM »
lol, i can provide more activities, if you are really trying to convince yourself that you should stay there longer. its thailand after all...

Offline AJK

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #718 on: March 07, 2013, 06:49:27 PM »
lol, i can provide more activities, if you are really trying to convince yourself that you should stay there longer. its thailand after all...

I actually WANT to stay married to my wife, but thanks :P
2015: 116K bkd | 1.6M brnd | F: OZ,NH,AA,EK | J: UA,CA,TK,DL,TN,AF,VA | LIH,NRT,ROR,PEK,CNS,BOB,MEL,TLV & Pacific Hopper

Offline ChikkyMonkey

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Re: Thailand Master Thread
« Reply #719 on: March 07, 2013, 07:02:01 PM »
Just ticketed our Thailand/Maldives Vacation(posting this in Thailand and maldives thread) b/w December 22nd and January 7th all in J. Keep in mind this is during high season for both of these locations so availability is scarce but I would appreciate any feedback tips on how to make it better. Also note that I had a one way to HNL set but cancelled it in exchange for the BKK-MLE on SQ biz instead of taking a raunchy Sri Lanka air economy flight. The Itinerary is below:

EWR - MXP(UA)- Depart 12/22
MXP - BKK(TG) - Arrive 12/24 6 AM- Fly to HKT and spend 3 nights and then fly to CNX and spend 5 nights there
BKK - SIN(SQ)- Depart 1/1/14
SIN - MLE(SQ)Arrive in MLE 1/1 at 11PM :-[- any thoughts on where to stay or go straight to resort which I didn't book yet
MLE - SIN(SQ)Depart 11:30 PM 1/5
SIN - BKK(SQ)
BKK - ZRH(TG)- Will have a full day in BKK before taking the midnight flight back home.
ZRH - EWR(UA)- Arrive

Thanks!

Couple quick thoughts:
Arriving late in MLE means having to stay the night on the mainland or someplace very close... Because most resorts require seaplane which operates only during daytime hours...

Definitely recommend deciding in advance which islands in Phuket area you're interested and go straight there... Israelis love the market scene in hkt...

5 days might be long but I've stayed more and found lots of things to do... If you like relaxing you can go to Pai about 3 hr drive from chiang Mai and spend a night or two there.. Very chilled village for backpackers in the mountains.. Great place to rent scooters and explore the surrounding areas.

I also recommend going elephant rising there as its much less formal... U can go bareback (bit painful) and u can have a great time in the Pai river with the elephants... Thom's Pai elephant camp..

The drive up there is very nice... If you do rent a car be careful!

They have hot springs there as well