Cheapskate month in SE Asia with status

[froggerADL]

Cheapskate Classic

I am flying to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow and I'll be staying at DoubleTree KL. Obviously, I booked a base room.

My strong preference is a room on the 34th floor, the same level as the exec lounge, so I decided to give them a call to make the request.

A cheapskate may well be concerned about the cost of such a call from Vietnam but I have a VOIP service with MyNetFone. The call lasted 2 minutes and 6 seconds and the total cost was four cents! The call quality was perfect.

I now have a room on the 34th floor so I'm a very happy cheapskate .

I highly recommend MyNetFone for International calls. I also highly recommend HH Diamond.

 

[froggerADL]

Early drinks

Wow, the exec lounge at the Opera keeps getting better. I arrived ten minutes before the free booze starts and was immediately asked if I'd like a beer. I've never had that happen at any exec lounge.

 

[Austman]

Re: Early drinks

Wow, the exec lounge at the Opera keeps getting better. I arrived ten minutes before the free booze starts and was immediately asked if I'd like a beer. I've never had that happen at any exec lounge.

After a day or two - the staff, well, errr, know...

 

[froggerADL]

Re: Early drinks

This is my selection from the food on offer tonight.

Grilled duck breast with orange sauce and braised chicken with mushroom.


Various desserts.


All of it was outstanding, even the pineapple which was so sweet.

 

[Buzzard]

Re: Early drinks

When are you running your "Boutique Escorted Cheapskate Tour" ?

I may need to book a place on the tour.

An amazing TR FroggerADL, thank you for taking the time to post.

 

[potm]

Re: Early drinks

Just read through your whole thread. I really like your writing style, somehow 11 pages of you checking in and out of hotels and flights while drinking beer was very entertaining.

Just a little tip for you in case you didn't already know. You can get laundry services for 1-2 dollars a kilo in Vietnam, even cheaper if you venture further out. No need to spend 3 days of your trip!

I travel to Vietnam a lot and your experiences make me want to move from my $30-50 hotels to try and gain some status at a big chain. It's a shame that there is no Hilton on Ho Chi Minh though.

 

[I love to travel]

Re: Early drinks

When are you running your "Boutique Escorted Cheapskate Tour" ?

I may need to book a place on the tour.

An amazing TR FroggerADL, thank you for taking the time to post.

Count me in for the trip too

 

[froggerADL]

Re: Early drinks

When are you running your "Boutique Escorted Cheapskate Tour" ?

I may need to book a place on the tour.

An amazing TR FroggerADL, thank you for taking the time to post.

Thanks Buzz.

You'd all have to get walking sticks to experience the joys of "wheelchair assistance".

Actually, I reckon it would be pretty hard to do a trip like this with multiple people. When these really good hotel and airfares appear you have to jump on them pretty quick. No real time to seek permission from the boss etc. Also, getting single award tickets is a lot easier than multiples.

Fortunately, being a genuine cheapskate significantly increases your chances of being single .

 

[froggerADL]

Re: Early drinks

Just read through your whole thread. I really like your writing style, somehow 11 pages of you checking in and out of hotels and flights while drinking beer was very entertaining.

Just a little tip for you in case you didn't already know. You can get laundry services for 1-2 dollars a kilo in Vietnam, even cheaper if you venture further out. No need to spend 3 days of your trip!

Thanks potm. If you increase the number of posts per page you can reduce the number of pages you have to go through. See, I'm just bursting with handy tips .

I think you are being a little unkind with your comment about "checking in and out of hotels and flights while drinking beer". If you go back to the fourth paragraph of post #21 you'll find that I did actually drink some whisky sours .

I've often used local laundry services in the past but it's getting a bit difficult to wander around looking for them these days. Coincidentally, there is one almost directly opposite the Hilton Hanoi Opera.

A couple of years ago I was staying at a Comfort Inn on Long Island, New York (for US$60 per night) and there was a laundry directly opposite that charged US$8 for about four or five kilos. Amazing value and they did a great job. While I'm talking about New York, any genuine cheapskate must try Rudy's Bar and Grill which is a dive bar just a few blocks from Times Square. They do $3 pints and you get a free hotdog with every drink, or four with a pitcher (jug) for $8! Again, I digress.

Maybe we should start a "Cheap local laundries near five star hotels" thread!

 

[froggerADL]

Departing Hanoi

I checked out of the Hilton Hanoi Opera without issue. I paid my VND693,000 (A$40.50) bill in cash as I wanted to use all remaining dong before I left Vietnam. From my experience it is almost impossible to exchange dong once you’ve left the country. If anyone has any experience contrary to this I’m happy to be corrected.

My US$12 (A$16.25) limo ride to the airport with Hanoi Transfer Service arrived at the requested time. 45 minutes later we arrived at the airport.

My flight was scheduled to depart at 12:35pm. I always assume that airlines open check-in three hours before scheduled departure time. Unfortunately, I am not always correct! I had timed my arrival perfectly for a 9:35am check-in only to find that they open at 10:05am. That gave me the opportunity to do some people watching. I saw this:


People really do wear these hats!

Check-in went smoothly and I was asked if I needed wheelchair assistance. Yes please, there is no other way to travel. Within seconds a wheelchair arrived and I was asked to sit down while check-in was completed. This turned out to be a blessing as it was to take a few minutes. You may remember that on the way to Hanoi I remarked about how Qatar Airways didn't properly check my eligibility to enter Vietnam (post #25 if you don’t believe me). I was asked if I live in Malaysia or just visiting. Then I was asked for my onward flight documentation. As discussed in a rather verbose post #76, I bought a KUL-BKK flight on Malaysia Airlines, but I didn’t bother printing the e-ticket. My heart skipped a beat but then I remembered that I had the documentation for the Air Asia flight that I now had no intention of taking. So I handed that over and all was good.

There was a long queue at immigration but I was just wheeled straight past it and I was through within two minutes. This is the life!

We then made our way to the Vietnam Airlines lounge which Singapore Airlines use at Hanoi.

 

[froggerADL]

VN Lounge Hanoi

I was quite impressed with the Vietnam Airlines lounge. It felt quite spacious and wasn’t at all busy. They had a room with three massage chairs which looked really good and they were quite popular.

The VN Lounge


Airside view. It was raining.


Ba ba ba. See, I'm learning Vietnamese from AFF!


Another view with beer goggles filter attached.

 

[froggerADL]

Noi Bai International Airport - Getting On & Off

As I was enjoying a cool beverage in the lounge, a VN Airbus pulled in right below me. I thought it was a bit strange that it stopped a couple of metres short of the aerobridge. Then the stairs arrived, then the buses. It was raining quite heavily. The passengers disembarked and were whisked away.

Passengers disembarking in the rain.


Then they moved the plane forward and attached the aerobridge.

Aerobridge attached.


This terminal opened in January 2015. If they designed it this way so that arriving and departing passengers don’t mix, I’m shocked. Maybe it’s a one off, I don’t know. But I did think it was quite funny to see them using stairs and buses when they had a fully functioning aerobridge two metres away.

 

[froggerADL]

Tạm biệt Hanoi

Something that this lounge has, that I’ve never seen in any other, is lockers for storing your carry-on if you want to go duty free shopping etc. You just put your stuff in there, lock it, and take the key with you. Great idea.

My personal assistant arrived to wheel me to the gate so it was time to bid farewell to Hanoi. I really enjoyed my 11 days here. The people are so friendly and welcoming. It is also the perfect price point for a cheapskate like me. I highly recommend it.

Socialism must be good!

One last tip before I leave this wonderful city. When you are crossing the road, do not stop. Do not change pace. The traffic will make assumptions about where you are likely to be when they get to you, and if you do something unexpected (like pooping yourself and hesitating), you are likely to become Vietnamese roadkill.

I saw my aircraft land from its inbound leg. It is a 14 year old refitted B777-200ER.

The aircraft touched down at Hanoi at 11:31am. It was airborne again at 12:49pm. For the mathematically challenged, that's one hour and eighteen minutes from wheels down to wheels up on a B777. I think that's a pretty amazing turnaround. Socialism at its best. Sorry, am I over-doing the Socialism thing? :evil:

My tin can with wings


As usual I was the first to board after being wheeled to the aircraft door. I was in 12A, a window seat in the second row. As a wannabe cripple I get better treatment than anyone on board and I have absolutely no status with Star Alliance. It's so nice to be welcomed by people who can pronounce my surname correctly. Apparently you have to be from any country in the world other than Australia to be able to perform that feat!

A business class seat apparently


The cabin. 1-2-1. Sweet. Nine across in Y. Suckers!


This seat is 30 inches wide. No, I didn’t measure it, but that’s what SeatGuru states. It actually feels a bit too wide for my slender frame (kidding) but the passenger behind me made full use of it. I find it difficult to differentiate between this seat and the one I had on an SQ B777-300ER in First from MEL-SIN. I kid you not. They serve real Champagne too, but more on that later.

In case you are new to this thread, this three-and-a-bit hour flight cost me 17,000 KrisFlyer points plus A$174, and that includes a connecting flight still to come. This is cheapskate heaven. I think this has to be my best use of FF points ever. And those points started their life as Virgin Velocity points courtesy of a ridiculously good credit card sign-on bonus .

Champagne was served.

 

[moa999]

Sometimes it takes me that long to get motivated . All done now so I'm going to treat myself to a burger at The Moose & Roo Smokehouse as my reward.

Funny name, but it's a nice bar and Western comfort food in the heart of Hanoi

 

[moa999]

Re: Early drinks

I've often used local laundry services in the past but it's getting a bit difficult to wander around looking for them these days.

Google Maps make it easy these days.. just type in laundromat when you get to hotel and check the reviews -- and the US in particular is very good with wash and fold services

I did a quick trip through NY last week and used a laundromat about two blocks from the Doubletree Jersey City (being cheap for one night -- but it's a 5min walk from the PATH which is easy access from WTC thru 35th St).

Cost US$8.50 for a large bag (about a week's worth of clothes). Don't think I could have done it any cheaper in the machines.

 

[Buzzard]

I hope you don't come back anytime soon, I want this trip report to continue

 

[froggerADL]

I hope you don't come back anytime soon, I want this trip report to continue

If you're happy to fund it, I'm happy to stay .

 

[froggerADL]

Sq175

The pilot had obviously been practicing a bit which ensured a successful take-off.

So, now to the food & booze.

The Champagne on this flight was a Charles Heidsieck NV. Being the connoisseur that I am, I rate it perfectly drinkable and a bargain for the price charged. They serve it in a beer glass which makes it taste even better .

The first course was smoked salmon which is one of my favourites if I'm not paying for it. The bread was very nice and they had a range to choose from. The salmon was very fresh and delicious. It was served with a strange clear liquid.

Salmon with bread & butter. A deconstructed sandwich.


There was a choice of three mains and I selected the Vietnamese pork dish which was accompanied by bok choy, fried rice and a decorative orange vegetable. The chilli sauce was great. Even though I hadn't finished my Champagne I selected a 2010 Red frenchie. Quite drinkable. It came in a self-filling beer glass.

Lunch


Dessert was nice. What more can you say about a square squishy thing?


I'm considering a new career as a disabled food and wine critic. I need to work on a speech impediment first though to give me that edge when I get my own TV series.

 

[Fifa]

I hope you don't come back anytime soon, I want this trip report to continue

I had the same thought Buzz!

 

[mmchow]

What a trip report. Just caught up from the beginning, *thumbs up*. Thanks for sharing!!