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  • Rangeball

    May 14, 2009 7:40 a.m. Rangeball Reader

    So one of the things I promised my wife on our first anniversary was a trip to Asia. It was originally planned for when I finished grad school Dec '10. Well she can't wait and the timing 'might' be better for THIS Dec ('09). Long story short is now she is dead set on doing the trip earlier rather than later; no matter what I tell her... I just hope she is this gung-ho when I find the track car I want...

    So I would appreciate any insight on websites for booking airplane tickets on the cheap. (I know flying to China cheaply is an oxymoron) We want to start the trip in China (probably Beijing) and end our trip in Thailand around New Years (for a full-moon party). Other countries along the way include Taiwan and Vietnam.

    Do you all know of websites where you can find cheaper flights within Asia? Something similar to a Ryan Air?

    Any other insights I could get would also be helpful (take the train?). Thanks in advance!

    -Will

  • May 14, 2009 10:46 a.m. szeis4cookie New Reader

    Kayak.com is probably a good place to start. So are travel agents in your local Chinatown. Also, flyertalk.com is a good place for info.

    I'm not sure if this is true for Beijing, but when I was planning a trip to Taipei, it was cheaper to enter and exit Asia through Hong Kong rather than flying directly from the West Coast to TPE.

    Cathay Pacific has a flat rate multicity 3-week ticket called the All Asia Pass. Caveats to this are firstly, that only a travel agent can book it, secondly that CX serves only select airports (LAX, SFO, JFK, maybe a couple others), and the All Asia Pass does not include getting you to one of the aforementioned airports, and thirdly that CX's alliance partners tend to be on the expensive side as well (American Airlines). That said, with a multicity itinerary like that it may work out to be cost-effective for you. CX also has the best airline food I have ever had.

  • Dr. Hess

    May 14, 2009 12:14 p.m. Dr. Hess SuperDork

    I haven't been out that way in a while, but Singapore Air was fantastic. I also liked Singapore a lot, except for it being almost as hot as Louisiana. Maybe not as adventuresome as Nam, but I bet it will be cleaner and safer.

  • Rangeball

    May 14, 2009 4:27 p.m. Rangeball Reader

    Thanks for the info. I looked at CX and they are above what we can spend to get there. Will look into Singapore Air.

  • May 15, 2009 9:29 a.m. szeis4cookie New Reader

    Singapore is probably going to be on par with CX prices, if not more.

    I've seen some screaming deals on Continental out of Newark to HKG - get sub-$1k across the Pacific and you're doing really good. The 777 service on Continental is pretty good too. United's got decent service and decent prices. Avoid Delta (and all of their alliance partners) at all costs.

    You may do better booking your within-Asia segments through a local travel agent. Try http://www.ctshk.com/english/index.htm as a starting point for within-China tours/transport.

  • Rangeball

    May 15, 2009 1:37 p.m. Rangeball Reader

    szeis4cookie wrote:

    Singapore is probably going to be on par with CX prices, if not more.

    I've seen some screaming deals on Continental out of Newark to HKG - get sub-$1k across the Pacific and you're doing really good. The 777 service on Continental is pretty good too. United's got decent service and decent prices. Avoid Delta (and all of their alliance partners) at all costs.

    You may do better booking your within-Asia segments through a local travel agent. Try http://www.ctshk.com/english/index.htm as a starting point for within-China tours/transport.

    Awesome! Thanks for the link. My wife is trying to talk to a travel agent in NY (China-town) about flights. The cheapest we found so far have been out of Newark; big thanks for that tidbit.

    The other problem facing us is the cost of tickets once we are in Asia. Some are cheap others are $$$$$$$. Then again, its not like the flights are puddle jumpers either.

  • May 15, 2009 2:04 p.m. szeis4cookie New Reader

    When I get home from work, I'll see what else I can dig up for you - my home computers are set up for Chinese text display, and I don't think this one is. I have used China Travel Service before, and can vouch for their reliability and legitimacy - in fact, they are the primary issuer of travel visas into China from Hong Kong. You may need to adjust expectations on price on some of those flights - HKG to Beijing is six hours, so expect a flight cost along the lines of an NYC to LAX.

    Also, you've probably run into this already, but you will need a travel visa to enter the PRC. I forget what the procedure is to get one here in the States; last time I did I had to appear at the embassy in person (I was working in DC at the time, so it was no big deal). If you don't want to deal with it, G3 Visas will do it for you. http://www.g3visas.com G3 is also capable of turning around a replacement passport within 6 hours if you pay them enough, ask me how I know.

    Also, just saw this WSJ article, you might want to look into this: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124233904907421135.html

 
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