Day 1: We stayed just 1 day at the Neil Island (now renamed Shaheed Dweep). This island is much less tourist oriented compared to Havelock Island. After arriving late morning on a ferry ride from Havelock, we were driven by our transfer service to the resort (Seashell Samssara Neil Island). We only had the afternoon for sightseeing on the island and our first stop was Bharatpur Beach. It was low tide time and you could walk on knee deep water for close to 1/2 mile from the shore. Next stop was Laxmanpur Beach #2 that has the popular attraction, “Natural …
Asia Destination Trip ReportsNovember 2023: Neil Island, Andaman & Nicobar Islands Trip Report
Asia Destination Trip ReportsNovember 2023: Havelock Island, Andaman & Nicobar Islands Trip Report
Day 1: We started early in the morning from Port Blair to travel to Havelock Island on Makruzz Ferry. The journey takes about 1.5 hours and the ocean was not choppy so went by pretty quickly. I had already arranged private transport so the driver was waiting for us at the Havelock Ferry terminal and drove us to our resort (Tilar Siro Andamans, CGH Earth) where we were staying for 2 nights. We arrived around 10 AM and spent a couple of hours walking along the resort’s private beach. In the afternoon we had our driver take us to Radhanagar …
Asia Destination Trip ReportsNovember 2023: Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Trip Report
Day 1: Port Blair is the main island of the Andamans and your main point of entry and exit for all flights. We arrived at Veer Savarkar Airport just before noon and had our transport waiting to take us to our hotel (Lemon Tree Hotel Port Blair). The hotel is right outside the airport so pretty soon after checking-in we were ready for sightseeing. Our first stop was Corbyns Cove Beach. Its just 8 km from the airport on the south eastern part of the island. The beach had calm waters surrounded by beautiful greenery from 3 sides. The beach …
Hotel Reviews Independent ReviewsHotel Review – Sinclairs Bayview Port Blair
Sinclairs Bayview Port Blair MQ74+H7V, Corbyns Cove Rd, South Point, Shadipur, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 744106, India Sinclairs Bayview is a beach-front hotel in Port Blair only 2.5 km from Cellular Jail (biggest attraction in the island). The hotel does not have a beach but more than makes up with the amazing you get from quite a few of the rooms. The hotel has a nice on-property restaurant “The Bayview” where we had both dinner and a huge buffet breakfast. There are not any dining options nearby other than the on-property restaurant “The Bayview”. We had a …
Hotel Reviews Independent ReviewsHotel Review – Seashell Samssara, Neil
Seashell Samssara, Neil Neil Island, Beach, opposite Helipad, Lakshmanpur, Andaman and Nicobar Islands 744104, India Seashell is probably the most renowned chain in the Andaman Islands. They have properties in Port Blair, Havelock Island and Neil Island. In Neil Island they have 2 properties, Seashell Neil and Seashell Samssara Neil. Based on photos and reviews, I had picked the latter and was quite pleased with the choice. The hotel has its own private beach but its a bit rocky and not at all suitable for swimming. Our rate included complimentary breakfast for all guests but since the dining options were …
Hotel Reviews Independent ReviewsHotel Review – Tilar Siro, Andamans – CGH Earth
Tilar Siro, Andamans – CGH Earth Beach No. 5, Vijay Nagar Swaraj Dweep (Havelock Island, Andaman and Nicobar Islands) 744211, India Havelock Island is probably the most picturesque of all the Andaman Islands and has the most number of resorts. I wanted to splurge on this stay and after careful consideration chose Tilar Siro. This property is located closer to Vijay Nagar Beach on the east side of Havelock Island (renamed as Swaraj Dweep). The property has its own semi-private beach and another much larger beach next to it. Lush green scenery, amazing service, and well maintained property are just …
Hotel Reviews Independent ReviewsHotel Review – Lemon Tree Hotel, Port Blair
Lemon Tree Hotel, Port Blair Opposite Airport Exit Gate, Lamba Line, Junglee Ghat, Port Blair – 744103, India Lemon Tree Hotel, Port Blair is located right next to Veer Savarkar International Airport at Port Blair, Andaman Islands. The hotel provides transportation to and from the airport (not hard to do when you are right outside the airport gate). I stayed for 1 night at the hotel on arrival at Port Blair. Cash rate was USD $100/night. Since I booked the room for 3 travelers (me and my parents), the hotel provided a complimentary roll-away bed for the additional guest. In …
Airline Reviews China Airlines ReviewsAirline Review: China Airlines – Business Class (Airbus A330-300 Business Class with Recliner Seats) : Taipei – Bangkok (CI 833)
Flight: China Airlines CI 833 from Taipei to Bangkok Duration: 3 hours 45 minutes Aircraft: A333(Airbus 333-300) Class: Business Seat: 2K (Middle row) Seat Specification: Recliner Seat, Seat pitch: 63.0 “. Seat width: 20 ” I flew on the Airbus A330-300 (A333) aircraft from Taipei to Bangkok by China Airlines. The business class cabin had 6 rows of recliner seats in 2 x 2 x 2 configuration. Service began with a pre-departure beverage of fruit juice and was handed menu for the flight. After lunch I tried to take a nap by increasing the recline of the seat and was …
Airline Reviews China Airlines ReviewsAirline Review: China Airlines – Business Class (Boeing 777-300ER Business Class with True Flat Beds) : Los Angeles – Taipei (CI 7)
Flight: China Airlines CI 7 from Los Angeles to Taipei Duration: 14 hours Aircraft: B773(Boeing 777-300ER) Class: Business Seat: 11A (Window seat with direct aisle access) Seat Specification: True Flat Bed, Seat pitch: 78.0 “. Seat width: 22 ” China Airlines operates a 777-300ER on its flight out of Los Angeles to Taipei. The business class has flat bed seats in 1 x 2 x 1 configuration in 2 different cabins with the forward cabin having 6 rows and 4 in rear cabin. China Airlines (similar to the other Taipei based carrier EVA Air) makes available an expanded menu for business …
Hilton Hotel Reviews ReviewsHotel Review – Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Los Cabos
Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Los Cabos Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 24.8, San Jose del Cabo, BCS, 23400, Mexico Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Los Cabos is located in the “tourist corridor” zone in Cabo. The hotels in Cabo are grouped into 4 zones – San Jose Del Cabo, Tourist Corridor, Cabo San Lucaso and Pueblo Bonito. The zones come into play when booking for round-trip hotel transfers from Cabo Airport. I stayed for just 1 night at the hotel to basically catch a flight the next day (to start my month long India trip). Cash rates were cheap …
Trip SummaryNovember – December 2023: India Trip – Introduction
Just came back from my yearly family trip to India. My parents had always wanted to visit the Andaman Islands and so I decided to do some quick planning and squeeze in a 5 night trip to these islands. At the beginning of my trip to India, in order to redeem some Delta Skymiles for the outbound journey, I had to position myself to Cabo San Lucas to start the trip (pricing arbitrage). Airline reviews, hotel reviews and trip reports for this trip: Hotel Review – Hampton Inn Los Cabos Airline Review – China Airlines Business class from Los Angeles …
Airline Reviews Cathay Pacific ReviewsAirline Review: Cathay Pacific – Business Class (Boeing 777-300ER Business Class with True Flat Beds) : Hong Kong – Los Angeles (CX 880)
Flight: Cathay Pacific CX 880 from Hong Kong to Los Angeles Duration: 13 hours 15 minutes Aircraft: B773(Boeing 777-300ER) Class: Business Seat: 17A (Window seat with direct aisle access) Seat Specification: True Flat Bed, Seat pitch: 81.0 “. Seat width: 21 ” Yet another review on Cathay Pacific Business class on Boeing 777-300 ER? I know, I know!! I have plenty of reviews on this same aircraft type that I have flown over the years. I had high hopes for the lamb but unfortunately I was expecting (my fault) a lamb leg or a variation of some sort. Having it shredded over the …
Airline Reviews Cathay Pacific ReviewsAirline Review: Cathay Pacific – Business Class (Airbus A350 Business Class with True Flat Beds) : Bangkok – Hong Kong (CX 708)
Flight: Cathay Pacific CX 708 from Bangkok to Hong Kong Duration: 3 hours Aircraft: A350-1000(Airbus A35K) Class: Business Seat: 20A (Window seat with direct aisle access) Seat Specification: True Flat Bed, Seat pitch: 75.0 “. Seat width: 20 ” I have flown the Cathay Pacific Business class on Boeing 777-300ER (on long haul flights) and Airbus A330 (on short haul flights). This was my first time flying the CX business class on A350 so was excited (although it was a very short flight of 3 hours). Business class is still on a 1 x 2 x 1 configuration and look and …
Airline Reviews Cathay Pacific ReviewsAirline Review: Cathay Pacific – Business Class (Boeing 777-300ER Business Class with True Flat Beds) : Los Angeles – Hong Kong(CX 883)
Flight: Cathay Pacific CX 883 from Los Angeles to Hong Kong Duration: 14 hours 45 minutes Aircraft: B773(Boeing 777-300ER) Class: Business Seat: 15A (Bulkhead Window seat with direct aisle access) Seat Specification: True Flat Bed, Seat pitch: 81.0 “. Seat width: 21 ” Cathay Pacific Business Class on the Boeing 777-300ER is one of my most frequently traveled hard product along with the EVA Air on the same aircraft. This was the first time I was flying Cathay Pacific post-pandemic and what a difference it was compared to before. I ordered the wok-fried cod on corn sauce. It was very bland and had …
Airline Reviews EVA Airways ReviewsAirline Review: EVA Air – Business Class (Boeing 777-300ER Royal Laurel Class with True Flat Beds) : Taipei – San Francisco (BR 18)
Flight: EVA Air BR18 from Taipei to San Francisco Duration: 11 hours 15 minutes Aircraft: B773(Boeing 777-300ER) Class: Business (Royal Laurel Class) Seat: 2D – 2G (2 Middle seats each with direct aisle access) Seat Specification: True Flat Bed, Seat pitch: 81.0 “. Seat width: 26 ” For its long-haul routes EVA Air operates its Boeing 777-300 ER with the industry standard 1 x 2 x 1 seat configuration in Business class. The only thing different on this flight was a different color scheme in the cabin (compared to my previous flights on EVA Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft). I have traveled probably the most times …
Airline Reviews EVA Airways ReviewsAirline Review: EVA Air – Business Class (Airbus A330-300 Premium Laurel Class with True Flat Beds) : Cebu – Taipei (BR 282)
Flight: EVA Air BR282 from Cebu to Taipei Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes Aircraft: A333(Airbus 333-300) Class: Business (Premium Laurel Class) Seat: 7A – 7C (Window + Aisle) Seat Specification: True Flat Bed, Seat pitch: 62″. Seat width: 22 ” EVA Airways operates lie-flat seats in 1 x 2 x 1 configuration in mostly long-haul routes (branded as Royal Laurel Class) and in 2 x 2 x 2 configuration in mostly shorter routes (branded as Premium Laurel Class). On our Airbus A-330 flight from Cebu to Taipei it was the latter. Oddly Seatguru marks these seats incorrectly as angled-flat which …
Hotel Reviews Independent ReviewsHotel Review – Hennan Prime Beach Resort, Boracay
Hennan Prime Beach Resort Station 1 Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, Philippines Hennan Prime Beach Resort located in Station 1 of Boracay White Beach belongs to the Hennan Chain of resorts that have several other properties in Boracay. The hotel is divided into 2 wings – the beach wing that is on one side of the road and the East Wing that is on the other side of the road away from the beach. We stayed in a double room in the Beach wing. One big difference between the wings is that the East Wing has a much nicer and spacious …
Hotel Reviews Independent ReviewsHotel Review – Ambassador In Paradise Resort, Boracay
Ambassador In Paradise Resort Station 1 Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan, Philippines Ambassador in Paradise is a non-chain hotel property located towards the northern end of Station 1 at White Beach in Boracay. The resort features a decent size pool right on the beach with an adjacent restaurant where you can dine with toes on sand. We stayed 4 nights at the resort making up the bulk of our stay in Boracay. The hotel provides transfer option for bus + ferry from the airport but we had opted for a different company. Check-in was quick and easy however one thing to …
Asia Destination Trip ReportsMay 2023: Boracay, Philippines Trip Report
Day 1: We arrived at Caticlan International Airport on a short 1 hour Philippines Airlines flight from Cebu International Airport. I had already pre-booked a transfer package for seamless transfer for the trip. It included Bus transfer from Caticlan Airport to Jetty – ferry from Caticlan to Boracay – Bus transfer from Boracay Jetty to hotel and back in reverse order at the end of our trip. Total cost was 20 USD per person round-trip. It was late afternoon when we checked into Ambassador in Paradise hotel in Boracay (located in Station 1). We decided to have dinner at …
Hotel Reviews IHG ReviewsHotel Review – Holiday Inn Cebu City
Holiday Inn Cebu City Lot 5 & 6 Block, 20 Samar Loop, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu, Philippines Holiday Inn Cebu City is located 12km from Mactan International Airport and just 10 minute walk from the famous Ayala Mall of Cebu City. I booked a Grab taxi from the airport to the hotel and came out to about $8 USD one way. We stayed 2 nights at the hotel, first stay was with points (11,000 IHG points per night) and next with cash ($75 USD per night). We arrived early around 10 AM and front desk informed us that they could …