It took me about an hour to get to the airport from the Grand Hyatt by taxi. I was flying JAL out of CGK, and at check-in, I was told that JAL uses the Pura Indah lounge. There were a lot of different lounges at the airport, including a Citibank lounge. I didn’t realize that…
For my relatively brief stay in Jakarta, I decided to redeem points for the Grand Hyatt Jakarta. Since it was a category 3 Hyatt property, it cost 12,000 points per night. Chain hotels in Jakarta are ridiculously pricey given how inexpensive other things in Jakarta are, as rates were over $300 USD per night, so I felt…
To get from Singapore to Jakarta, I flew Lion Air, which is an Indonesian low-cost carrier. Traveling around Southeast Asia can be super affordable thanks to all of these low-cost carriers (e.g. AirAsia, Jetstar), although you often have to be cognizant of fees. It’s a little misleading for me to title the post “Lion Air…
Some practical advice and tips around money when traveling abroad: Tip #1: Wait until you get to the country before getting any local currency. You generally shouldn’t exchange money at home before you leave for your trip because your home bank will almost certainly offer a worse exchange rate than what you’d get if you had waited…
On my second Emirates first class flight on this trip from Dubai to Singapore, I was the only passenger in first class. This flight departed at around 3am, and we were delayed a bit due to congestion. Funny how 3am is a congested time at DXB! Only in the Middle East. Based on the first interaction,…
On this trip, I also decided to check out the business class lounge at Dubai. The quick summary is that the business class lounge is like a slightly-less nice version of the first class lounge. It offers nearly identical amenities, but just a little less nice. The layout of the business class lounge is very…
I’ve reviewed the Emirates First Class Lounge at Dubai before, but that was in 2013, so here’s an updated review. The entrance to the spa is right in front of the entrance to the first class lounge. As a First Class passenger, you’re entitled to a complimentary treatment. This time, I chose a haircut since…
This was my second flight in Emirates Airlines First Class on their A380. Emirates was actually the first airline that I ever flew in international first class, so it has a special place in my heart. Boarding was a bit delayed due to a late-arriving aircraft, but I was welcomed warmly on board once boarding…
This next trip from the depths of my photo archives occurred in February 2015. I had a wedding to go to in Jakarta, so I decided to make a pit stop in Singapore–one of my favorite food cities in the world–on the way there. To get to Singapore, I flew Emirates first class, booked with 100k…
I’m currently staying at the Danna Langkawi, a hotel that–at least according to its Trip Advisor reviews–should have outstanding customer service. I haven’t had what I consider an outstanding experience so far, which has made me think a bit about what I think makes service good vs great vs outstanding. First, there’s a matter of…
