Cheapskate month in SE Asia with status

[froggerADL]

Conrad Hotel Bangkok

My next stay was to be at the Conrad Bangkok. It is approximately 7km from the Hilton Millennium and I would use UberX for the journey. Estimated arrival time was 6 minutes but it took about 15 due to the traffic. The car was a nice clean Honda City. The traffic was atrocious and the trip took 42 minutes. Total cost was 101 baht (A$3.80). Because it took so long I offered the driver a 40 baht tip, but she refused. At least I didn’t drink the bottled water that was hanging from the back of the front seats as I had taken one from the hotel.

I’ve stayed at this Conrad before, but not at this price. I was here for six nights. Cost including tax and service charge was A$124.30 per night. WiFi quality was perfectly adequate again and a little better than the Millennium.

I got “upgraded” to an Executive room. The bathroom was great with a walk in shower and separate bath. They have the most amazing soap here. They provide a 40 gram bar for the sink and a 60 gram bar for the shower/bath. On the first day they provided two new bars with the turndown service so I put them in my bag. The original bars lasted the entire stay so I pocketed 2 small and 2 large bars every day. My bag is getting heavier. This is cheapskate heaven!

The Executive lounge here is excellent. They do breakfast, complete with egg station, morning tea, afternoon tea and evening canapes and coughtails from 5:30 to 7:30pm. The food was excellent at all times. My favourites were teriyaki chicken and a hot salmon dish which appeared a couple of times. They have a coughtail menu and I developed a liking for Whisky Sours. Due to the magical powers of my sympathy stick, I was not permitted to serve myself food. I would walk around saying what I would like and then it would be plated and brought to my table.

The Conrad is attached to the All Seasons mall which is quite large. It has an excellent supermarket and loads of restaurants, banks, chemists etc. I loaded up on Panadol, Tiger Balm and Imodium all at very reasonable prices.

I had advance warning that the sale and serving of alcohol would be banned during the weekend of the Thai Referendum which was during my stay here. There was a letter in my room explaining that there would be no alcohol served in the Exec Lounge. However, the in-room mini-bar would be available. As if a cheapskate would use anything from a hotel mini-bar! So I stocked up on Tiger beer at the supermarket. Large 630ml bottles were 53 baht (A$2) each and I did not run out.

As Hvr has pointed out in a previous post, the highlight of this stay was catching up with him at the Conrad. Very convenient for me, not so much for him . We met in the Conrad lobby and had a good chat there before heading to the mall.

I had had a good look at the restaurants in the mall prior to his arrival so I was able to guide him around so that he could choose where we ate. As you do when dining out in an exotic country like Thailand, we ended up in an American burger joint. Total cost was a little under 800 baht (A$30) including cola for him and a couple of beers for me.

After my six nights it was time to check out. But I’d be back.

Additional amount to pay – zero. And I had my soap booty!

 

[froggerADL]

UberX - in the fast lane

I had planned to use UberX for the drive from the Conrad to BKK. About an hour before I was due to check-out I used the Uber app to check on general availability of cars. To my horror, surge pricing was in effect. It was at 1.2X. That was OK, I just wouldn’t tip. I had a shower and checked again. It was now 1.5X. Oh well, I might have to get a taxi. I finished packing and then it was 1.8X. Ouch. This is not what a cheapskate wants to see. I checked out and when I was asked if I would like a taxi I said “yes please”. There was a short queue for the taxis so I checked Uber again. It had gone down to 1.2X. I told the guy I no longer wanted a taxi and went back inside. I proceeded to book the UberX and at that very moment surge pricing finished. Woo hoo, the cheapskate wins! My Toyota Camry arrived five minutes later.

My bags were loaded and I crawled into the car. As I was fastening my seatbelt the driver said “no lock”. It didn’t exist. Being the risk taker that I am I replied “OK, don’t crash”. He smiled and off we went. The traffic was the best I had seen so far. After 20 minutes or so we got to the toll road. It was at this time I realised that my driver was in fact a reincarnation of Ayrton Senna :shock:. We were now travelling at 100kmh about one metre from the back of a taxi. When the taxi in front eventually moved over the foot went down and off we went. Total trip tine was 40 minutes. When we started the journey I checked Google Maps and it gave an estimate of 51 minutes. I gave him a five star rating because, to quote another poster, “if you give them anything less than five stars you may as well pi*s on them”.

I was under the impression that Uber rates to and from BKK were fixed price. That was certainly the case for the ride from BKK. The fare estimate was 425 baht and that’s what I paid, including tolls. For this trip the fare estimate was again 425 baht but I was only charged 375 baht (A$14.10) including tolls. I gave him a 50 baht tip for obeying my instruction to not crash.

 

[froggerADL]

Wheels @ BKK

Check-in was a breeze. I requested wheelchair assistance and within five minutes I had wheels. Qatar use Thai Airways J Lounge at BKK even though they are a member of OneWorld. I could have used the Cathay lounge as a QF WP but that will happen on my way home anyway. My assistant dropped me at the lounge and said he would return in 90 minutes. I gave him 40 baht. He was happy.

The Thai Lounge was quite pleasant and not at all busy. My man returned 95 minutes later and took me to the plane.

 

[froggerADL]

Flight QR834 BKK-HAN

I was looking forward to my flight to Hanoi and the time had arrived. As noted earlier, I paid 9000 BA Avios and ~A$90. This was Qatar flight 834 BKK-HAN in a 3 year old B777-300ER. I could have paid 26,000 QFF points and the same taxes but the BA deal seemed better :mrgreen:.

This was a great flight. I had the entire J cabin to myself and was seated in 2A. I was offered a glass of Champagne immediately after boarding. It was a Billicart Salmon NV. We were about to start pushback when I was given a refill. My glass was taken from me no more than one minute before takeoff. We departed on schedule.

I was served warm nuts, a cold duck appetiser, and a trio of deserts. It was very nice. As I was the only person drinking the Champagne I felt obligated to finish the bottle.

We arrived on schedule.

A wheelchair was waiting for me and I was first to arrive at the baggage carousel. Unfortunately, priority baggage was a big fail and my bag was one of the last out. Eventually we headed to immigration.

 

[froggerADL]

Immigation at Hanoi

I had recently applied for and received a British passport. My last one expired in 1993. I got the new one to make it easier for my son to apply for his, which he is entitled to because he has a pommy born father who was actually married to his mother at the time of his birth.

Fortunately for me, a British passport means I can enter Vietnam without a visa for up to fifteen days. That saved me US$35 and no queuing for a visa in my wheelchair. The cheapskate wins again.

This was my first time traveling with dual passports. I did some online research to make sure I knew which one to use and when. I left Australia using my Australian passport and have used, and will continue to use the British one until I check in for my BKK-SYD flight. I will have to use the British passport at immigration when I depart BKK.

I was a little concerned about immigration at Hanoi so I made sure I had printouts of flight and accommodation bookings. When I got to the counter the lady said “no visa”. I replied “British passport, 11 days”. She stamped the passport and didn’t even ask for my documents, let alone check them.

I just realised that when I checked in for the flight, Qatar didn't check my eligibility to enter Vietnam. If I had been staying longer than 15 days I could have been denied entry. That seems a bit weird.

 

[froggerADL]

Car to the hotel

I had a car booked to take me from the airport to my hotel. It took a while to find him but we did after five minutes or so.

The price was US$16. I’d booked here:
Hanoi airport to city - Price from 12USD/per car. Book Now

It's US$12 for the reverse trip and I will be using them again.

The car was a new & clean Toyota Vios and the driver spoke quite good English. The trip took about 40 minutes. The price was better than what taxis seem to charge as I have read that you should refuse to pay more than US$20. I would definitely recommend these guys.

 

[romney]

Re: Car to the hotel

Loving your trip report - as another cheapskate, I am taking notes

 

[froggerADL]

Visit to the dentist

I forgot to post about my cheapskate visit to the dentist. Six weeks before this trip I chipped a tooth that had been filled quite a few years ago. I had used the dentist at the All Seasons mall during my last stay at the Conrad for a clean and two replacement fillings, so decided to return during this trip. I wasn’t sure whether I’d need a crown or re-filling. I’ve had a bridge and crown done in Thailand in the last few years and always get a clean when in Asia.

Immediately after checking in at the Conrad I went to the dentist on the third floor to make an appointment for a clean and repair of the damaged tooth. They asked if I would like to see the dentist immediately. Yes please. The tooth just needed to be re-filled.

Total cost 4500 baht (A$170).

 

[froggerADL]

Hilton Hanoi Opera

I’m in Hanoi for 11 nights and the first four will be spent at the Hilton Hanoi Opera. I noticed on my booking that I had a NOR1 upgrade offer to a King Hilton Executive Suite for $0. I thought this was a reasonable offer and accepted about four days before my stay. I've never accepted a NOR1 offer before. On check-in I got a King Hilton Executive room even though they had plenty of suites available. As I said previously, I’m on my own and better off in a smaller room anyway. The furniture and walls tend to be in closer proximity as I stumble around.

When they see me stumble in I think they just assign me a room close to the lift regardless of what my profile says. Probably a good idea, but I do feel special when I get a suite for a dirt cheap rate. I suppose it's also possible that there's no way I'm getting a suite for the price I've paid. The length of my stays may also be working against me.

I like this hotel. The staff are very helpful and friendly and the Executive lounge is very comfortable. They have excellent hot food options in the evening.

Cost including tax and service charge was A$93.50 per night. WiFi quality is perfectly adequate again.

I've been having breakfast in the restaurant as they have an excellent spread and everyone is very helpful. I doubt that anyone could complain about the options available.

 

[Major]

Re: Visit to the dentist

Just love the exec lounge at the BKK Hilton Millenium. We have also used those 2 little restaurants next door

 

[get me outta here]

Re: Visit to the dentist

Love your style froggerADL. Keep em coming.

 

[froggerADL]

Buying a cheap ticket cheaply

I forgot to mention that as well as getting double QFF points for my $599 ADL-SYD-BKK-SYD-ADL flights, I used a $50 gift voucher (which I very generously gifted to myself) to avoid the $30 credit card charge and put it on my Citibank Signature fee free for life credit card to get free travel insurance. A cheapskate indeed .

 

[LadyC]

Loving all your tips - keep them coming!

 

[froggerADL]

Dessert at the Exec Lounge

Dessert at the Hilton Hanoi Opera Exec Lounge. They had five so I thought I'd try them all.

 

[froggerADL]

The cheapskate pays for lunch - surely not!

This may shock some of you but I ate food in a Hilton that wasn’t free! It cost 693,000. Can you believe that? OK, it was Vietnamese Dong which is A$40.50.

This was the deal: http://www3.hilton.com/resources/media/hi/HANHITW/en_US/pdf/en_HANHITW_SatLunch_ORIGINAL_July16.pdf

For those of you who can’t read the flyer, the deal is limitless ocean fresh oysters, lobster, charcuterie and open flame grill. It’s on every Saturday between noon and 3pm at the Hilton Hanoi Opera and they call it the Saturday Sparkling Lunch. The food is VND600,000++ and free flow sparkling wine, house wine, beer and soft drink is an extra VND200,000++. The ++ is 10% tax and 5% service charge.

I didn’t have the free flow booze as that would write me off for the day and also probably require someone to carry me to my room.

There was only one other Caucasian there and the vast majority appeared to be local. The place was full of kids, which surprised me until I remembered that kids under 18 eat free, with up to two kids per adult! I remember how much my son ate as a 17 year and I can assure you they would regret offering him that deal! He’s 23 now and eats even more, but I digress. Anyway, I’m not a huge eater so there would be some profit in it from me.

A female violinist and male guitarist duo performed the entire time. They were brilliant.

They didn’t have any oysters, which was a little disappointing, but they had a lot of other stuff not advertised.

I’m not a great photographer and rarely take pictures of food. But I did take two.

The Lobster - Check out the claw on that baby!


Prawns, with a clam and something else that used to live in the sea.


The food was excellent. For the open flame grill you select raw meat and seafood which they take away and then bring it back cooked. I had Australian prime rib beef, huge prawns, and baby octopus.

They also had various hot dishes in large pots, salads, sashimi and smoked fish etc. Mt favourite dish was “Beer Can Chicken” and I still can’t work out how the hell they get a 2kg chicken in a beer can . It actually looks like a normal roast chicken but it was the best tasting, most succulent chook I have ever eaten. The skin was to die for. And I can cook a pretty mean roast chicken! My mouth is watering as I write this. They had a chef standing there the whole time carving it for you.

They also had at least a dozen different desserts. I had five of them with a scoop of delicious vanilla ice-cream. By now I was stuffed and still had an hour to go! So I left.

All in all this was the best forty bucks this cheapskate has spent in a long time. Well, at least since I bought my ex-wife’s wedding ring in 1988!

If you are ever in Hanoi, assuming they’re still doing it, I highly recommend this. You don’t have to be staying here. I’ll be back next Saturday. I might even bring a couple of street kids with me. And they’d better have bloody oysters!

 

[froggerADL]

Sales pitch for Imodium

I've come up with a sales pitch for Imodium - which cost 49 baht (less than A$2) for 6 in Thailand.

Weeing out of your bottom? Take a few of these and you won't cough for a week!

 

[froggerADL]

Conrad points

Conrad points have posted. 13,085 HH points & 1932 Avios.

 

[JessicaTam]

Re: The cheapskate pays for lunch - surely not!

A great cheapskate trip report froggerADL. So far I have stayed at all the places you have and agree with your sentiments about each.

 

[froggerADL]

Re: The cheapskate pays for lunch - surely not!

A great cheapskate trip report froggerADL. So far I have stayed at all the places you have and agree with your sentiments about each.

If you've stayed at Hanoi Hilton Garden Inn that won't change. Unless you disagree with my sentiments there and DoubleTree KL of course!

 

[JessicaTam]

Re: The cheapskate pays for lunch - surely not!

If you've stayed at Hanoi Hilton Garden Inn that won't change. Unless you disagree with my sentiments there and DoubleTree KL of course!

I haven't stayed there, so our paths will digress!

I am sure we will agree on the DT.