There is however still some decent value to be had with the 90k redemption to most of Europe in business. Such awards also allow 2 stopovers along the way. I guess I will burn the rest of my Aeroplan miles on a mini vacation to Europe this winter.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Sad day for award redemption
Sad to say, the days of awesome mileage redemptions on Aeroplan are over. Today, they just raised most redemptions by at least 25%, my favorite redemption 120k in First to as far as Singapore went from 120k to 175k, almost a 46% hike. This was the redemption I used for my mini Round The World trip to Seoul and Singapore I took back in January. Sadly no more.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Highlights from my First Class Experience to Asia
This past Holiday season, I embarked on a trip of a lifetime, sampling First/Business products from the likes of United, Turkish, Singapore and Air China. This was all done using 120,000 Aeroplan miles transferred from SPG account. Here is the summary of the whole trip...
My routing-SNA-SFO-ICN-PEK-HKG-SIN-HKG-IST-JFK-LAX
The final destination being SIN with a stopover in Seoul. I just love the flexibility of Aeroplan Awards.
Some photos from the SFO-ICN Leg...
United First Class Lounge at SFO
The Seat
Had Sea Bass for Dinner
Westin Chosun and scenes from around Seoul...
My Welcome Message at the Westin Chosun
Giant Dumplings...
Giant Dumplings
$65 piece of meat
MyeongdongAir China PEK-HKG and around Hong Kong & Singapore...
Seat fit for a King
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Hong Kong
This is long overdue but here are some shots from the trip I took to Hong Kong back in October...
Liver Porridge
Me picking the claypot clean
Conrad Ducky
Conrad Welcome Gift
Foggy Skyline
Finalized Trip to Asia
I waited and waited but it like Asiana will not be releasing any F availability on LAX-ICN...So here is my final itinerary... Not perfect but perfectly acceptable.
- SNA-SFO in United First (320)
- SFO-ICN in United First (744)
- ICN-PEK in Air China Business (738)
- PEK-HKG in Air China Business (333)
- HKG-SIN in United First (744)
- SIN-HKG in Singapore Business(772)
- HKG-IST in Turkish First(77W)
- IST-JFK in Turkish First(77W)
- JFK-LAX in United PS First(757)
Not bad for 120,000 Aeroplan miles plus $110 in taxes. I will get the opportunity to sample Turkish's wet leased 77W from Jet Airways, with its First Class Suite before they are returned to Jet. Also United PS, and United 747 First.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Shopping and Family Gathering
We had some time before dinner so my brother Tommy and I decided to check out Huaihai Rd. Huaihai Rd is another busy shopping street stretching over 5 miles. Unlike Nanjing Rd, Huaihai rd features more upscale western shops ranging from Gucci to Zara.
Typical Mall in Shanghai
Huaihai Rd
Welcome to Shanghai?
Brightly lit Highway Overpass
Are we entering the Twilight Zone? No, its Barbie World!
If 2 guys going shopping wasn't gay enough, Tommy and I decided to step inside the Barbie World. This 5 story monstrosity is filled with Barbie Dolls, Accessories and even a Cafe!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao
No trip to Shanghai is complete without a visit to Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao in the Yu Gardens.(No not the fake Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao they have in Singapore or New York or other major cities around the world) If you enjoy the Xiao Long Baos from Ding Tai Fung, you will surely enjoy these even more. Why you may ask? Well...
1. Shanghai is the birth place of these Little Dragon Dumplings
2. They are filled with crab meat from the famed Shanghai crabs
3. You can stick a straw in one of Xiao Long Bao's Big Brothers Tang Bao and suck the scorching hot juice...Who doesn't enjoy burning the roof of their mouth
Entrance of Yu Gardens... Surrounding Yu Gardens is basically a bazaar filled with shops selling touristy souvenirs
Love the old Shanghai Architecture
Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao is housed in a 4 story building by the entrance of the garden. Each floor houses different dining environments from take out on the first floor to fine dining on Floors 2, 3 and 4. As you can imagine, as you make your way up the floors, the price for the buns become progressively more expensive. Our preferred floor is the 3rd floor where the dumplings are high quality and the pricing is still reasonable. The 2nd floor is restricted to offering only one type of buns while the 4th floor is restricted to a set menu. The 3rd floor is a happy medium offering a sit down restaurant environment with the ability to order as much or as little as you like.
The Xiao Long Bao crew busy at work
Our first round of Xiao Long Baos
Yummmm!So there is an etiquette to eating these bad boys...
1. Pour some vinegar to the shredded ginger.
2. Gently pick up a Xiao Long Bao with the chopsticks and make sure that you don’t break the skin.
3. Gently dip the Xiao Long Bao in the ginger vinegar sauce.
4. Lift it up and place it on the spoon.
5. Nibble the side of the Xiao Long Bao and suck the soup/broth inside the Xiao Long Bao. (This is the best way of savoring the meaty, juicy, and flavorful broth/soup inside the dumpling. And o yeah, suck gently so you don't burn yourself!)
mhhhhh....
Our neighbors got a Tang Bao filled with soup. You use a straw to suck the soup out. Not my cup of tea but interesting idea.
Check out how much juice is in there!
My Brother Tommy and I had a friendly competition to see who can eat more Xiao Long Baos. He had heard I ate 16 last time I was in Shanghai so we made a friendly wager on who can eat more this time around. I ended up breaking my own record with 20 while Tommy came in at 21, only because he had a sneaky fast chopstick grab that snatched the last one from me. grrrr, I'm definitely calling for a rematch next year.
Sights from the bazaar...
After a heavy breakfast at Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, we decided to walk off the fats by doing some shopping. There are 2 major shopping boulevards in Shanghai, Huaihai Rd and Nanjing Rd. Nanjing Rd is a pedestrian only shopping street stretching close to 5 miles. We settled on Nanjing Rd and I took a few pics along the way...
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