2nd this! NOW! is the time to visit Thailand. Yes, there are hoops to jump through to get there but the end result is well well well worth it. just came back from a 1 month visit and it was simply awesome. As Bob says… hardly any tourists /Chinese at all (in Bangkok no less) makes for living the Dream. Don’t over think it, just go.
side note: Kauai is truly #1, enjoy a slice of Hawaii from back in the day (I’m from Oahu)

the hotel sites…Middle of February $36 at the Courtyard Bangkok, $41 at Hyatt Place Suvkumvit, $41 Doubletree

Guess expect more traffic for May?

I have a trip to Bali planned for May with my wife but if the island isn’t reopened I’m considering Thailand as an alternative. We’ve been a few times before and like Thailand. I’ve been looking at rates both soon and for May but I’m not getting anywhere near the <$40 a night that you mention with Hyatt/Marriott/Hilton. What channels did you use to find these prices and were loyalty benefits honored? Any help appreciated.

My favorite thing about Kauai was Waimea Canyon. I assume it’s on your list already so I won’t try to sell you on it but I was surprised to see a place like that on such a tiny island.

I had a bad dream last night I was attacked by a dog…so meow it is lol.

Missed that packing feeling…

One of my favorite things was eating so many different tropical fruits. I loved the longan, the star apple, the different varieties of bananas, and the fresh coconut, plus I had probably the best pineapple I’ve ever eaten (a white variety via Kauai Sugarloaf at the Culinary Market on Wed). Another option if you are there during the week (Wed/Thu) is one of the Sunshine Markets (though if you see the Noni fruit or the egg fruit then run the other way).

We also had a great helicopter tour with Blue Hawaiian. We got lucky and saw an enormous shadow of a blue whale in the ocean. I wish we also took a boat out to see one up close – next time.

One cloudless night we drove inland and saw the Milky Way. It was only the second time I had seen it so clearly. It is so engrossing. If you go now though it sounds like you might have a full-ish moon to deal with.

Not sure if the restaurants we went to are still around, but I do remember eating lots of fresh fish. My favorite memory was seeing some guys in a pickup truck stop by Da Crack while we were eating outside – they sold the restaurant what looked like a huge fresh tuna fish. Truly fresh fish tacos!

We marked Sunday as a good beach day since almost everything was closed.

Watch out for the feral chickens when you are driving! Hopefully those roosters don’t wake you up early.

We stayed a couple of nights in Princeville but most of the time in Poipu – definitely liked Poipu better. The Grand Hyatt looked amazing (we stayed right next-door in an airbnb so we walked the property). If we ever go back to Kauai I’d want to stay there next.

I hope you have an awesome trip!

Thai government might bring back Test and Go soon since Omicron hasn't been as bad as they expected so it's just a 1 day quarantine until your PCR test comes back.

I'd seriously consider coming to Thailand before the throngs of tourist show back up. The locals I've spoken to say it's like 'The Thailand of old'

Seeing the big bonuses drop into our accounts is always a great moment…and yes, I agree, it gets even better, when you burn them…I ‘ll take a few from the Kauai Grand Hyatt in my suite 🙂

I keep hearing Kauai is the best island…so expectations are high….hope they are not dashed like, you know, we have expectations as Diamonds getting whacked on that upgrade 🙂 Best part of that $8k Hilton promo is the night cert posts FAST, like the very next day, very impressive.

Chase Ultimate Rewards points as of now: 1,010,557 so, about 21% of my balance. As I said, I live in the Chase sphere and been meaning to cross over to Amex MR sphere, hear it is still going nuts over there 🙂