• Blog
  • About
  • The Trip
  • Selfish Guides
  • Best Of

The Selfish Years

~ Over 200 cities, 42 countries, 6 continents and counting.

The Selfish Years

Monthly Archives: March 2013

They have baby elephants in Khao Lak!

31 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Accommodations, Asia, Thailand, Travel Hacking

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Accommodations, Le Méridien Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort, Selfish Years, Travel Hacking

When planning the Thailand portion of our trip, Mrs. Selfish and I decided to spend a week on the west coast of Thailand.  We knew we wanted to dive Richelieu Rock, and visit Thailand’s Halong Bay, the man made Khao Sak lake, but getting there was a problem.  The closest airport to both natural wonders is in Phuket, which is known as one of the seediest places in Thailand – even the natives warned us against going there.

Fortunately, Khao Lak was only a one hour drive north.  While searching for accommodations, I found Le Méridien Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort with one important benefit: a baby elephant.

Continue reading →

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Khao Sok – Trekking Around Cheow Lan Lake

30 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Thailand

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Asia, Cheow Lan Lake, Hiking, Khao Sok, Khao Sok National Park, Namtaloo Cave, Selfish Years, Thailand, Trekking

Our 2 day/1 night trip to Cheow Lan Lake included two treks. The first trek was to Namtaloo Cave. It took about 45 minutes of hiking through the jungle to reach the cave. Our guide’s name was Ya Ya, and he was good-natured and easy going. When we told him that I was a slow walker, he assured me that we would take lots of breaks for photos.

Trekking 01 Trekking 02Helloooooooo

Continue reading →

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Khao Sok – Boating on Cheow Lan Lake

29 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Thailand

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Asia, Boating, Cheow Lan Lake, Long Boat, Rajjaprabha Dam, Ratchaprapha Dam, Selfish Years, Thailand

Other than the accommodations on Cheow Lan Lake, Mr. Selfish and I enjoyed our 2 day/1 night to the lake. Cheow Lan Lake is a man-made lake that resulted from the construction of the Ratchaprapha (Rajjaprabha) Dam in 1988. The lake measures approximately 168 square kilometres and is full of beautiful limestone cliffs. Riding a long-tail boat on Cheow Lan Lake was certainly one of the highlights of our tour.

First, we arrived at Ratchaprapha Dam for our last bathroom break before heading off on the long-tail boat. We had one of our big bags with us, so Mr. Selfish had to haul it down to the boat.

The Lake 01 The Lake 02The Lake 03

Continue reading →

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Understanding Transfer Partners: Starwood (Bonus)

29 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Travel Hacking

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Credit Cards, Selfish Years, Travel Hacking

This is the 10th post in my intro series to travel hacking.  For a list of other posts, check out my post on how to travel hack your way around the world.

While not a bank card, the Starwood Preferred Guest card offers a great alternative to some of the aforementioned programs.

SPG points transfer at a 1:1.25 rate when converted into bundles of 20,000 points.  Unlike Chase and American Express, partner transfers typically run 1-2 weeks. On the other hand, while Chase has only 9 transfer partners, and American Express has 15, Starwood has a staggering array of transfer partners: 31 airlines:

  • Airline Partners

Aeroplan (Air Canada) – 1:1
Air Berlin – 1:1
Air China – 1:1
Air New Zealand – 65:1
Alaska Airlines – 1:1
Alitalia MilleMiglia – 1:1
All Nippon Airlines – 1:1
American Airlines – 1:1
Asia Miles (transfers to Cathay Pacific) – 1:1
Asiana Airlines – 1:1
British Airways (Avios) – 1:1
China Eastern Airlines – 1:1
China Southern SkyPearl Club – 1:1
Delta Airlines – 1:1
Emirates – 1:1
Etihad Airways – 1:1
Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) – 1:1
Hawaiian Airlines – 1:1
Japan Airlines – 1:1
King Club Miles – 1:1
LAN LANPASS – 1:2
Mexicana Frecuenta – 1:1
Miles and More – 1:1
Qatar Airways – 1:1
Saudi Arabian Airlines Alfursan – 1:1
Singapore Airlines – 1:1
Thai Airways – 1:1
US Airways – 1:1
United Mileage Plus – 2:1
VARIG Smiles – 2:1
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club – 1:1

Continue reading →

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Khao Sok – Freaking Out About Leeches and Trekking

28 Thursday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Thailand

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Asia, Khao Sok, Khao Sok National Park, Leeches, Selfish Years, Thailand

I am not much for trekking but I knew that me and Mr. Selfish would at least do one short hike in Khao Sok National Park. When I started googling the best hikes in the park, I came across many blogs about how the trails are crawling with leeches. The blogs told gruesome tales of how the leeches will chase you through the trails, find a way to slither up your legs, and suck your blood even through your socks.

Mr. Selfish started freaking out. He wanted to leave Khao Sok the next day and not even doing any hiking. I attempted to calm him down and told him that it was probably only bad during rainy season. We were there on the cusp of dry season and hot season.

The next day, I somehow convinced Mr. Selfish to do one hike in the park and told him as soon as we saw any leeches on the trail, we would turn back. I am happy to report that during our short hike at Khao Sok National Park, we didn’t see a single leech.

Khao Sok 07 Khao Sok 08 Khao Sok 11 Trekking

Continue reading →

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Understanding Transfer Partners: Citi

28 Thursday Mar 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Travel Hacking

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Credit Cards, Selfish Years, Travel Hacking

This is the 9th post in my intro series to travel hacking.  For a list of other posts, check out my post on how to travel hack your way around the world.

Citi is the ugly stepchild of bank transfers, and their ThankYou points aren’t nearly as flexible as Chase or American Express. However, if you’re maxed out on Chase and American Express they may be a decent alternative, since all signs points to Citi increasing their transfer partners in upcoming years.

Thank You points typically convert to cash at a 100 to $1 ratio. With Citi Premier you’ll get a 33% bonus on travel, so you can convert 10,000 Thank You points into $133 worth of airfare instead of a $100 gift card.

Transferring ThankYou Points

Citi Thank You points currently only have one transfer partner in Hilton, and transfer into HHonors points at a 1:1.5 ratio. Points can be transferred another person’s account, but the transferred points must be used within 90 days.

Citi ThankYou Cards

There aren’t a lot of Citi ThankYou cards with sign-up bonuses worth getting excited about.  At the moment only the Premiere card looks alright, though my understanding is that the bonus periodically increases to 50,000:

Citi ThankYou Premiere Card: 25,000 ThankYou points after spending $2000 in 3 months. No foreign transaction fees. Annual fee of $125 is waived the first year.

Conclusion

While I wouldn’t rush out and start applying for ThankYou cards willy-nilly, Citi’s ThankYou points program is one to keep an eye on.

Although they only have one transfer partner at the moment, it’s quite likely Citi will try to increase its transfer options if it wants to compete at the same level as Chase and American Express. Couple that with a few cards with bonuses of 50,000 points or more and the bonuses they give on occasion for opening a Citibank account (sometimes upwards of 30,000 TY points!) and I’d consider investing in the ThankYou points program.  Until then, I’d stay away.

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Understanding Transfer Partners: American Express

27 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Travel Hacking

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Credit Cards, Selfish Years, Travel Hacking

This is the 8th post in my intro series to travel hacking.  For a list of other posts, check out my post on how to travel hack your way around the world.

American Express’s Membership Rewards has a ton of transfer partners 14 vs. Chase’s 8. Unlike Chase, however, the transfer rates vary.  While most transfer at a 1:1 ratio, some partners transfer at a rate as low as 3:1, while others transfer as high as 1:1.5.

Whereas Chase usually caps their sign-up bonuses at 50,000 points, American Express tends to run bonuses upwards of 75,000 to 100,000 MR several times a year.  They can also be extremely generous with point transfer promotions, such as the 50% bonus to British Airways back in January, or the 35% transfer bonus to Flying Blue last September.

Continue reading →

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Understanding Transfer Partners: Chase

26 Tuesday Mar 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Travel Hacking

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Credit Cards, Selfish Years, Travel Hacking

This is the 7th post in my intro series to travel hacking.  For a list of other posts, check out my post on how to travel hack your way around the world.

Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program is the best in the industry, hands down.  Transferring Ultimate Rewards points into partner programs is quick and painless, taking minutes for some programs (e.g. United and Hyatt) and upwards of 48 hours for others (e.g. Marriott).

chase-ultimate-rewards-travel-transfer-partners

Points transfer from Ultimate Rewards into partner programs at a 1:1 ratio.  Partners Include:

  • Airline Partners
  • United Airlines
  • Korean Airlines
  • British Airways
  • South West Airlines
  • Hotel Partners
  • Hyatt
  • Marriott
  • Priority Club (Holiday Inn, Intercontinental, etc.)
  • Ritz Carlton
  • Other Partners
  • Amtrak

Continue reading →

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Mr. Selfish Let Me Book Our Accommodations in Khao Sok

25 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Accommodations, Asia, Thailand

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Accommodations, Asia, Khao Sok, Khao Sok Treehouse Resort, Khaosok, Selfish Years, Thailand, Treehouse Resort

Mr. Selfish and I had a week allocated for the western part of Thailand. We landed in Phuket but knew that we had to get out of there as soon as possible. We stopped in Khao Lak for a couple of days in order to scuba dive at Richelieu Rock and then we headed to Khao Sok to spend a couple of nights in a tree house and one night in a raft house. Khao Sok is a national park encompassing 738.74 square kilometers. It is pretty rustic and not yet overrun with tourists, which means that there are no chain hotels in Khao Sok.

Mr. Selfish has been expertly collecting airline and hotel miles and points since September 2011, which has enabled us to stay at some really nice hotels during our selfish year. Because we could not use any points for Khao Sok, I was left in charge of planning the accommodations.

For our tree house, I booked the Bamboo Orchid Tree House at Khao Sok Tree House. It had air conditioning and an outdoor rustic bathroom, and cost 4,000 baht ($136 USD) per night.

Khao Sok 01Khao Sok 02BathroomKhao Sok 05Khao Sok 06

Continue reading →

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Understanding Credit Card Transfer Partners

24 Sunday Mar 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Travel Hacking

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Credit Cards, Selfish Years, Travel Hacking

This is the 6th post in my intro series to travel hacking.  For a list of other posts, check out my post on how to travel hack your way around the world.

Credit cards that give you miles or points come in two flavors: cards that give you miles or points for a particular airline or hotel, and cards that give you points in the banks’ own currency.

 

Airline/Hotel Credit Cards

When you sign up for a card like the American Express Hilton Honors card and receive the 50,000 points those points deposit straight into your Hilton Honors account and are now yours.  The banks buy points and miles directly from companies like Hilton or American Airlines at a reduced rate and then use them as bonuses to lure in new customers.

Should you cancel a co-branded card, the points you received are yours to keep, and will remain in your account.  In rare cases the points can be “clawed back” by the provider, but the general rule of thumb is that this can be avoided by keeping the card open for at least 6 months.

Co-branded cards are probably the easiest to understand. For instance, with the American Express Hilton Honors card you’ll earn 6x points at hilton properties, drugstores, supermarkets, gas stations, and phone/internet/cable purchases, and 3x points for all other purchases.  These points automatically deposit into your Hilton account after your billing statement closes, and are indistinguishable from any other Hilton points you have in your HHonors account.

 

Bank Issued Credit Cards

Bank issued cards are a different beast altogether.  Using their own currency, these types of cards come in two types: points that effectively become money, or points that transfer into miles or points.

While cards like the Capital One Venture One card give you $1 back for every 100 points you earn, the programs we’re really interested in are the Chase’s Ultimate Rewards Program, American Express’s Membership Rewards Program, and Citi’s Thank You Points program.

 

Conclusion

While co-branded credit cards are a great way to earn points on your airline or hotel of choice, padding your wallet with a few bank issued cards are a great way to increase your award options.  Over the next few days I’ll cover the 3 major programs.

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Behind the Great Firewall of China

23 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Asia, Chengdu, China, Panda, Selfish Years, Xi'an

Mr. Selfish and I are currently in Xi’an, China. Good news: we’re seeing the Terracotta Soldiers soon. Bad news: Internet is spotty and we aren’t able to sign into our WordPress blog. As a result, we may not be able to post daily.

Don’t despair. We are alive and well in China and will try to post more as soon as we can.

Panda Me!

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

When to Cancel a Card

23 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Travel Hacking

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Credit Cards, Credit Score, Selfish Years, Travel Hacking

This is the 5th post in my intro series to travel hacking. For a list of other posts, check out my post on how to travel hack your way around the world.

Most credit cards with a good sign up bonus also come with an annual fee. Fortunately, the vast majority of these are waived the first year. Unfortunately, most people get rid of the card immediately after getting the bonus, which can be a huge mistake. Not only will the credit card company take notice, but it may negatively impact your credit score much more so than waiting until the end of the year.

So what do you do when your annual fee hits on all of the new cards you just applied for?

As I see it you have four options: keep the card, convert the card, downgrade the card, or cancel the card.

Continue reading →

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Diving in Thailand at Richelieu Rock and Koh Tao

22 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Thailand

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Asia, Diving, Koh Samui, Koh Tao, Richelieu Rock, Scuba Diving, Selfish Years, Thailand

Scuba diving is a very time-consuming hobby. After spending so much time and resources getting scuba certified, you want to go diving as much as possible. You start planning destinations and vacations around scuba sites. Moreover, scuba diving is an expensive hobby. It typically involves a boat, a boat, a crew, a guide, and lots of scuba equipment. It all adds up to lots of time and money to scuba dive. However, as cliché as it may sound, it is a whole another world under the water. It can be amazingly peaceful and beautiful under the water.

Mr. Selfish and I planned part of Thailand itinerary around the scuba sites in Thailand, in particular Richelieu Rock. Richelieu Rock is usually rated as one of the top diving sites in the world. In truth, Richelieu Rock was the most beautiful place I’ve ever dived. There were tons of schools of fish and the most luxurious purple coral. We even saw the elusive yellow seahorse, the difficult to find sea whip pipefish, and the more common Moray eel.

Richelieu RockRichelieu - Yellow SeahorseRichelieu - Sea Whip PipefishRichelieu - Eel

Continue reading →

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

The Delicious but Expensive Food at the Conrad Koh Samui

21 Thursday Mar 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Accommodations, Asia, Food & Drinks, Thailand

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Asia, Conrad, Conrad Koh Samui, Food & Drinks, Hilton, Koh Samui, Selfish Years, Thailand

Mr. Selfish and I truly enjoyed our stay at the beautiful Conrad Koh Samui. The only downsides were: (1) the location and (2) the food.

As to location, the Conrad Koh Samui is quite far from the airport and pretty much everything else on the island. Mr. Selfish already went over how we hired Mr. Samui Samui to solve the issue of transportation. However, the location also made it very expensive and inconvenient to leave the property. As a result, other than a diving trip that we took, we stayed on property, which meant that we had to eat on property.

The food was tasty but man, was it expensive! Luckily, I am a Gold Hilton Honors member so we had free breakfast at Zest. We typically ate breakfast as late as possible to make it into a brunch and then had an early dinner. The breakfast spread was quite impressive. You could order an egg selection from the menu, including eggs benedict, English breakfast, etc., and then still eat from the buffet.

Koh Samui 263Koh Samui 269Koh Samui 271Koh Samui 267

Continue reading →

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Beyond the Infinity Pools of the Conrad Koh Samui

20 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Accommodations, Asia, Thailand, Travel Hacking

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Conrad, Conrad Koh Samui, Hilton, Infinity Pool, Koh Samui, Mr. Samui Samui, Selfish Years, Thailand, Travel Hacking

After a week of roughing it at the Sanctuary, Mrs. Selfish and I packed our bags and left Koh Phangan, heading for its sister island, Koh Samui. While planning the Thailand portion of our trip, I scheduled us for 4 nights at the Conrad Koh Samui.

Why?

Three words: Private infinity pool.

Continue reading →

  • Tweet
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...
← Older posts

Who’s Selfish?

Mr. and Mrs. Selfish are an obsessively organized couple who sold all their junk to travel abroad for a year. Now settled in San Francisco, they have since visited over 200 cities in 44 countries over 6 continents. This site chronicles their travels.

Looking for something?

Current Location

Next Location

Subscribe to our RSS Feed!

  • RSS - Posts

Recent Posts

  • Heading back to Japan for one more Selfish Trip!
  • Our Earning and Burning in 2015
  • Traveling with an Infant Means Less International Travel for Now
  • Where to Spot Geishas in Kyoto
  • Keeping it Short and Suite at the Park Hyatt Tokyo

Archives

  • August 2016
  • January 2016
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • May 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012

Categories

  • Accommodations
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Athens
  • Australia
  • Bali
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Best Of
  • Bosnia
  • Busan
  • California
  • Cambodia
  • China
  • Club Carson
  • Croatia
  • Cross Country
  • Disney
  • Dublin
  • Dubrovnik
  • Edinburgh
  • Europe
  • Flashback
  • Florida
  • Food & Drinks
  • France
  • French Polynesia
  • Fukuoka
  • Game of Thrones
  • General
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Gyeongju
  • Hilton
  • Hong Kong
  • Hyatt
  • IHG
  • Infant Travel
  • Ireland
  • Istanbul
  • Istanbul
  • Japan
  • Kanazawa
  • Kyoto
  • Lake District
  • Living Abroad
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Madrid
  • Malaysia
  • Marriott
  • Melbourne
  • Morocco
  • Mykonos
  • Naxos
  • New York City
  • New Zealand
  • News
  • North America
  • Northern Ireland
  • Northern Ireland
  • Oceania
  • Okinawa
  • Orlando
  • Paris
  • Philippines
  • Portugal
  • Queenstown
  • Rant
  • San Francisco
  • San Francisco
  • Santorini
  • Searching for the Best . . .
  • Seoul
  • Shanghai
  • Singapore
  • South America
  • South Korea
  • Spain
  • Split
  • Starwood
  • Sydney
  • Taiwan
  • Tanzania
  • Tasmania
  • Thailand
  • The Maldives
  • Tokyo
  • Tons of Pictures
  • Travel Hacking
  • Uncategorized
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • Vienna
  • Vietnam
  • Virginia
  • Zadar
  • Zurich

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • The Selfish Years
    • Join 205 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Selfish Years
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: