So… part of the reason I like booking mistake fares is it makes it easy to decide where I’m going… When I’m using miles and the world is basically my oyster, I can never decide! Let’s take my summer trip to Asia as an example…

I’m going on a Durian Tour in Malaysia with the lovely people from Year of the Durian.  So, I know I have to be in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia at the start of the tour, and we will be ending in Kuala Lumpur. The tour is from July 12-19.

I want to go somewhere new in Asia for 2.5/3 weeks ahead of time. My only constraint here is that my friends’ wedding is on June 20, so I can’t leave before then… and really probably can’t leave on the 21st either.

I *should* be back in the States by July 24 because I have a previous somewhat commitment.

The countries I’ve been to in Southeast Asia are Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand (only Bangkok), Malaysia, and Singapore… and I definitely want to add somewhere new to that list.

Here’s what I’ve been playing around with:

  • Laos – but maybe 2.5-3 weeks is too long
  • Laos + Thailand – not enough time to do both justice
  • Myanmar – availability into Mandalay isn’t good, so would have to purchase a ticket or spend time on land transit
  • Bangladesh + Myanmar – not enough time?
  • Indonesia – can’t decide which island(s)  (+ Brunei?)
  • Bangladesh

Also, since it’s so far out and I still need miles to requalify for Alaska MVP Gold 75K, I could wait to see if a sub-$900 ish fare comes by in the coming months and let that kind of dictate where I travel.

The other dilemma is that availability back to Phoenix is not good on the dates I need from really anywhere in Southeast Asia, July 20-24, with really any mileage program… so I guess my best option would be to get as close a possible and either purchase an additional flight with dollars or miles, or drive.

Wanna help me decide where to go? Keep in mind my timeframe of 2.5-3 weeks. Any thoughts/comments are greatly appreciated!