Running for my Disney - Now a PTR!

[zanzibar138]

Wohoo! 2 holidays to look forward to. You'll be back from your USA trip and then you'll be going away again only about a month later. How exciting!

Are you spending the whole trip in Bangkok?

I've been doing quite a bit of research into Sydney lately for my December cruise. I need to book a hotel for one night and I am looking at The Rocks area. Are you familiar with Sydney? is this a good area to stay?

I'm not keen on Bangkok at all, especially with all the political tension at the moment. We plan to use it as a transit point, but will probably have to stay there our first night because we don't get in until late. DH has a friend in Chiang Mai, so our potential plan could be to catch the overnight train up there, spend a couple of nights with him, then head across to either Laos or Myanmar for the rest of the trip.

Hmm Sydney... well I'm familiar with the hospital I'm thinking The Rocks is the area where the bridge starts on the Opera House side. If I'm wrong about that, disregard whatever else I have to say If that is where I'm thinking, it would be very handy for touristy things like a cruise on the harbour, obviously the bridge, opera house, and various parks and gardens in the area. And Circular Quay train station is right nearby so you could easily get to other areas. That whole area was way out of our price range for our trip, but I say if you can afford it, it's probably a great place to stay!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Unfortunately though even if that is the case there's nothing that can be done about it There's no way that they would refund MORE than we paid them to make up the difference!

I also missed out on the 9 points per $ with Qantas hotels so generally feeling a bit frustrated at the moment!

On a positive note, we have another holiday in the works! After about 3 hours of time out messages, we finally managed to nab one of the 'take a friend for free' Jetstar fares to Bangkok for the first week of November

Bangkok???


Hopefully things settle down by then.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Wohoo! 2 holidays to look forward to. You'll be back from your USA trip and then you'll be going away again only about a month later. How exciting!

Are you spending the whole trip in Bangkok?

I've been doing quite a bit of research into Sydney lately for my December cruise. I need to book a hotel for one night and I am looking at The Rocks area. Are you familiar with Sydney? is this a good area to stay?

Where else are you looking at?

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Where else are you looking at?

Not many areas to be honest. I was looking at Darling Harbour, but discovered that it's largely under construction.
The Rocks looked good since we can wheel our suitcases straight from the ship to the hotel. We'll close to ferries if we decide to go to the zoo, and the area looks like it's full of history.

But like I said, I haven't really investigated other areas, so I may be missing somewhere just as good, if not better.

Any advice you can give, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I'm not keen on Bangkok at all, especially with all the political tension at the moment. We plan to use it as a transit point, but will probably have to stay there our first night because we don't get in until late. DH has a friend in Chiang Mai, so our potential plan could be to catch the overnight train up there, spend a couple of nights with him, then head across to either Laos or Myanmar for the rest of the trip.

A trip to Laos and Myanmar sounds exciting (not that I know much about either). It's wonderful that you're taking the opportunity to visit lesser known countries.

 

[zanzibar138]

Bangkok???


Hopefully things settle down by then.

I know. It's just my luck at the moment that we would book the flights one night, then by the next morning the army's running the country

Worst case scenario we'll just fly into Bangkok and straight out again on another international flight.

A trip to Laos and Myanmar sounds exciting (not that I know much about either). It's wonderful that you're taking the opportunity to visit lesser known countries.

Laos is probably the frontrunner. I'd prefer to give Myanmar a bit more time than we'll have available. I love visiting somewhat undiscovered countries

 

[zanzibar138]

I just realised my ticker has ticked over the 100 day mark!

Who wants to join me for a double digit dance?

 

[PrincessInOz]

Me!! YAY for getting to 100 and double digits!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Awesome

 

[zanzibar138]

So my replacement dress arrived yesterday. I just tried it on and it's still too big!

It's only a little bit too big this time, and hopefully a nice wide belt will help to cover it up. The next size down would probably be a little tight at this point in time. My only concern is that I'm planning to lose more weight before our trip, and by that time it might be really big! So I've decided to take it down to the local dry cleaner who also does alterations and see if they have any suggestions.

I just can't believe that they suggested I order a dress two sizes too big, based on my measurements! I know I've got a weird body shape, but seriously guys! I'm not going to go through the re-order and return process again, but I will be sending them a quick email letting them know exactly how wrong they initially were. Hopefully they will offer to send me a free belt

 

[PrincessInOz]

At least you'll have time to get the adjustments done. Will you wait a while until you lose a bit more weight?

 

[PrincessInOz]

Not many areas to be honest. I was looking at Darling Harbour, but discovered that it's largely under construction.
The Rocks looked good since we can wheel our suitcases straight from the ship to the hotel. We'll close to ferries if we decide to go to the zoo, and the area looks like it's full of history.

But like I said, I haven't really investigated other areas, so I may be missing somewhere just as good, if not better.

Any advice you can give, I'd really appreciate it.

I'm investigating myself.

 

[zanzibar138]

At least you'll have time to get the adjustments done. Will you wait a while until you lose a bit more weight?

I wasn't going to, but I probably should. I'm far too impatient

 

[WanderlustNZ]

So my replacement dress arrived yesterday. I just tried it on and it's still too big! :

How annoying!

I hope you can get it tailored to fit perfectly, and good luck with the free belt.

 

[zanzibar138]

How annoying!

I hope you can get it tailored to fit perfectly, and good luck with the free belt.

I got a voucher for a 20% discount on my next order

I'm not planning to order any more clothes through them, and there weren't any suitable accessories right at the moment, but I'll keep an eye on the website and see if anything jumps out.

 

[zanzibar138]

Yesterday DH and I decided on my domestic flights for the US. We figured out that if I include a relatively well-priced first class ticket from San Antonio to LAX via Chicago, I'll re-qualify for platinum with AA I'll have to wait until payday for that one. But in the meantime, I've bitten the bullet and booked my other domestic flights, all through AA of course, even though the flights are both operated by US Airways.

I've booked a morning flight from SNA to Phoenix, so I'll arrive about lunch time. That will give me time to pick up a hire car, drive out to Apache Junction where I'm looking at staying, check into my accommodation, and be at the horse riding place for a sunset ride

The next day I've got a lunch time flight to San Antonio, arriving late afternoon. I decided to pay a bit more for the direct flight, rather than having to go through Dallas, since I'm not worried about status points with that one. Turns out though, that I've actually gone up to the next fare class with it and get 1 point per mile instead of 0.5. I won't plan to really do anything that night, and prepare for my DisMeet the next day

I probably could have got cheaper flights for both of these, but my status with AA is enough to make it worthwhile. I'll get lounge access everywhere (which is especially good since I'll be on my own), and 2 free checked bags up to 23kg. Plus priority check-in, security and boarding. And I got to choose from the elite status seating on the plane Plus I'm pretty excited about flying out of John Wayne airport instead of having to go through LAX!

And now I've got my flights locked in, I can get my accommodation and hire cars sorted. I've already booked at the KOA in San Antonio, but I will have to change the dates. I'm trying to keep accommodation as cheap as possible, so I'll probably try to book at the KOA in Apache Junction too.

 

[PrincessInOz]

YAY. Sounds like you're sorting out all the internal bits and pieces.

 

[zanzibar138]

Next up, accommodation in Anaheim for my first couple of solo nights.

I'm still hanging out for a good deal on Priceline, but it seems to be the general consensus among Priceline experts that I have a back-up option. So I have booked the cheapest fully refundable hotel with reasonable reviews that I could find - Motel 6 Anaheim Maingate.

And have realised that I may need to up the ante on my bidding I'm trying to go up a couple of star ratings for less than I have just booked the Motel 6

I've still got time though, so I'll keep plodding away with the ridiculously low bids for now

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Next up, accommodation in Anaheim for my first couple of solo nights. I'm still hanging out for a good deal on Priceline, but it seems to be the general consensus among Priceline experts that I have a back-up option. So I have booked the cheapest fully refundable hotel with reasonable reviews that I could find - Motel 6 Anaheim Maingate. And have realised that I may need to up the ante on my bidding I'm trying to go up a couple of star ratings for less than I have just booked the Motel 6 I've still got time though, so I'll keep plodding away with the ridiculously low bids for now

Good luck! I think that if you stick with it, your patience will pay off eventually.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Sounds like you are ticking the last bits off. Who are you having a DisMeet with in San Antonio if you don't mind me asking? and I'd love to hear the details of the horse ride! Unless I have already missed this being AWOL as always; we did have a snake under the bedside table yesterday evening to deal with always something keeping me away from the computer. DH discovered it while getting ready for bed, probably a tree snake but could also have been a brown, we do get them, so I am afraid it is no more as much as we hate hurting them.