Cheap Flights

[Bee964]

Bee964,

Your lady would be booking the room/reservation, ....Not paying for it !!! You sort out the payment arrangement when you get there. Normally i would pay anywhere from the first to three nights in advance (when booking in at  reception) then pay the remaining nights i stay at the hotel just prior to my departure, or at the end of each week in arrears....

So your lady will not have to pay anything up front when making your reservation....

David.....

I don't know what the hotel policy is on bookings. Some hotels here want a nights stay for deposit when you book the room. I also didn't think it would a good idea to put her in that position if it were to arise. I have asked her to check and see if she could get a better price though. I will see what she says. Personally myself if it were me looking for a room without her help I did not think that $49 per night CDN was a bad price when most hotels were in the price range of $125 to $210 and more. And this was their discounted price? This is Singapore BTW. She is not in China but she is from China.

[mustfocus]

Bee964

In Singapore, getting a good hotel will usually cost you more than $49.  Hotels are not cheap there.  Since you're in Toronto, let me give you two tips (may or may not help) as I've done that trip before...

1) Visit Tour East and Tai Pan Tours.  Both travel agencies specialise in trips to Asia... $2700 is hideously expensive for a plane trip.  I just did a quick quote off of Tour East's web site and a ticket from Pearson to Changi starts at $1285 round trip (mid-March).  And that's from Air Canada.  If you don't like them and would prefer Cathay, it's $1941.  If you actually visit a store, you might get cheaper.

2) Depending on how much of a rush you're in to book the hotels, the "integrated resorts" on Sentosa (southern part of the island) are just opening up.  Given another short while, there will be a flood of new rooms available.  The prices might go down then.

I usually stay with relatives there, so I can't confirm how quickly the prices change there.  Food is quite cheap there if you use hawker centers (good food for low prices) and food courts (decent food, higher prices).  Restaurants can be killer.

Hope this helps!

[ttwjr32]

Carnegie,

did you see the bit on the internet about the madden game they have picked the last 5 out of 6
super bowl winners with the only exception being giants verse the patriots everyone thought the
patriots were going to go undefeated that year. it picks the saints to win it

[Bee964]

Bee964

In Singapore, getting a good hotel will usually cost you more than $49.  Hotels are not cheap there.  Since you're in Toronto, let me give you two tips (may or may not help) as I've done that trip before...

1) Visit Tour East and Tai Pan Tours.  Both travel agencies specialise in trips to Asia... $2700 is hideously expensive for a plane trip.  I just did a quick quote off of Tour East's web site and a ticket from Pearson to Changi starts at $1285 round trip (mid-March).  And that's from Air Canada.  If you don't like them and would prefer Cathay, it's $1941.  If you actually visit a store, you might get cheaper.

2) Depending on how much of a rush you're in to book the hotels, the "integrated resorts" on Sentosa (southern part of the island) are just opening up.  Given another short while, there will be a flood of new rooms available.  The prices might go down then.

I usually stay with relatives there, so I can't confirm how quickly the prices change there.  Food is quite cheap there if you use hawker centers (good food for low prices) and food courts (decent food, higher prices).  Restaurants can be killer.

Hope this helps!

The $2700 was for the flight and the hotel stay for 11 nights, not the flight alone. I'm 3 hours away from Toronto, Windsor, and I visit there quite often. I would prefer to fly out of Detroit as opposed to Toronto. Metro airport is about 30 minutes drive from my house including the border crossing and they don't soak you for parking. From Toronto I would have to drive for 3 hours to get home after a 22 to 29 hour plane trip. I would not want to chance that. I could stay there overnight with friends I suppose. Like I said the flight was not the cheapest, it was arriving the most convenient time for her to pick me up. 6:00 pm. There were a couple other flights at around the $3000 to $4500 mark that got in at 4:30 pm but that was too much as you have noted. My step father is a doctor. He flys from Pearson to Timmins once a month. The airfare....$1200 round trip. Anybody can get to Paris and back on half that! Because it is for work it is a tax write off for him. He gets reimbursed anyways. But back to the trip and the hotel, I think that the hotel room was a good price for a 3 star hotel. And I know that the hotels are expensive in Singapore. I have looked at them. The advise about the food is most welcome though. I just heard from my lady there, she would have to have my passport to book a room for me so that is a no go. I will have to do it from my end. Besides, I would rather have my flight and hotel room paid for before I leave and only have to worry about expences for sightseeing, entertainment and food. Maybe some shopping too, I have 23 year old daughters that are electronic gadget freaks.

[David5o]

Bee964,

That's total rubbish, ... you don't need a passport to book a hotel, you only need the passport as you check-in!!!
That goes for anywhere in the world....

David....

[Bee964]

Bee964,

That's total rubbish, ... you don't need a passport to book a hotel, you only need the passport as you check-in!!!
That goes for anywhere in the world....

David....

I'm just quoting what she told me. Quite true that you may not need a passport to book a room but I don't know what the hotel told her. I don't even know if she went at all. I was not there. Besides, I don't mind booking the hotel myself. The next time I go to visit her I will be a little more insistant on her help though. BTW you don't need a passport everywhere in the world to check-in, I have checked-in to most hotels in my travels of north america with just my drivers licence. And for late check-in all asked for a credit card number.

[David5o]

Bee964,


 
Very true, just basically saying, that if you needed a passport, it would only be at the point of check-in....

I think you'll find though, that if your in a country outside of, lets say your locality (for you North America, for me Europe for arguments sake) you would probably have to produce a passport at time of check-in, especially in these times of a security conscious world....

David.....

[ttwjr32]

i have seen it a few different ways when wanting a room from
asking for it, to not asking for it , to also being told, they would
hold the room till a certain time. my experiences from my travels

[Bee964]

I can see where you are going to have to produce a DNA sample to do anything in this world soon.

But back to cheap flights... so you don't think that $49 per night is too bad either David? And the flight, The reasons for the flight that I will book, It is about $400 more than the cheapest flight, I cannot sleep in a vehicle while someone else is driving or flying it. There is a long stop over in Paris and I thought that I could get some shut eye while I was there. And like I said earlier, the arrival time is most convenient for my lady to meet me. I have seen flights as low as  $1200 to singapore. ($1170 I think) Every day they change. If anybody notices any travel site that is a good one , let me know. I have found a fair few in the past 2 weeks. I am always in the market for a deal but I also like convenience too.

Dave C.

[David5o]

Dave C,

I really have no-idea about airline fares from Canada/USA ...so can't comment on that score.
The hotel price seems pretty good i must admit, but again, it's been a long time since i've spent any time in Singapore, so again i can't really comment ....

If your going via Paris, god help you...haha!! I hate both of the main Paris airports. I've come accross some of the most unhelpful airport staff, that i've ever encountered there. The signage leaves a hell of a lot to be desired too, especially at Charles De Gaulle, it may take you most of your stopover to find the departure gate for your continuing flight!!!...haha!! Never found either of the airports particularly clean either....

If your worried about getting into Singapore at an ungodly hour, so be it!!  English is freely spoken there, so finding the hotel shouldn't be any problem. You can then have a good sleep before meeting up with your lady the following day, ....Refreshed!!! Instead of meeting her looking like ''Death Warmed -Up'' ...lol!!!

Why are you going the long (wrong) way round to get to Singapore anyway?? Now wonder your going to be tired Dave, ...29 hours travling, that's just crazy!!!! I once flew London via Alaska and Narita (Tokyo) to Hong Kong, ....i can tell you, ...NEVER again!!!...24 hrs it took, compared with around 14/15 hrs going the right way round. ....haha!!


David.....

[ttwjr32]

from past experiences searching for flights i remember the cheaper ones had this ungodly
layover somewere for like 10 or 15 hours which i never took. that would probably made me sleep for
2 days when i got there as i was never one to sleep on planes and for sure not airports
and the rooms close buy would probably cost a fortune

[mustfocus]

Bee964,


 
Very true, just basically saying, that if you needed a passport, it would only be at the point of check-in....

I think you'll find though, that if your in a country outside of, lets say your locality (for you North America, for me Europe for arguments sake) you would probably have to produce a passport at time of check-in, especially in these times of a security conscious world....

David.....

It could be that you may need a passport as a chinese citizen to book a room at a hotel.  And if the person answering the questions misunderstood, then that would not be a surprise.

The $2700 was for the flight and the hotel stay for 11 nights, not the flight alone. I'm 3 hours away from Toronto, Windsor, and I visit there quite often. I would prefer to fly out of Detroit as opposed to Toronto. Metro airport is about 30 minutes drive from my house including the border crossing and they don't soak you for parking. From Toronto I would have to drive for 3 hours to get home after a 22 to 29 hour plane trip. I would not want to chance that. I could stay there overnight with friends I suppose. Like I said the flight was not the cheapest, it was arriving the most convenient time for her to pick me up. 6:00 pm. There were a couple other flights at around the $3000 to $4500 mark that got in at 4:30 pm but that was too much as you have noted. My step father is a doctor. He flys from Pearson to Timmins once a month. The airfare....$1200 round trip. Anybody can get to Paris and back on half that! Because it is for work it is a tax write off for him. He gets reimbursed anyways. But back to the trip and the hotel, I think that the hotel room was a good price for a 3 star hotel. And I know that the hotels are expensive in Singapore. I have looked at them. The advise about the food is most welcome though. I just heard from my lady there, she would have to have my passport to book a room for me so that is a no go. I will have to do it from my end. Besides, I would rather have my flight and hotel room paid for before I leave and only have to worry about expences for sightseeing, entertainment and food. Maybe some shopping too, I have 23 year old daughters that are electronic gadget freaks.

Well, if you live in Windsor, that's a different issue altogether. :dodgy: I just have one more question.  Which area is this hotel in?  After reading a few of your messages, I have a sneaking suspicion I know where it is... And if it's true, then I have a feeling I know why she might say you need a passport to register.

[ttwjr32]

ok i am curious on this. the passport is needed for???
in this certain area??

[mustfocus]

Most likely, they want a confirmed registration.

As for the 2nd possibility, I don't want to say just yet because I don't want to prejudice the answer...(I'll tell afterwords)...

[Bee964]

I will have to find the picture. I was in one of the airports october '08. May have been CDG. i remember it was not the cleanest. Some kicka## coffee though! The passport, well I am not sure either. Could be because she is chinese. Maybe to confirm the registration. I just can't say right now. The area, is near little india. Lets see if I remember the address right, 183 selegie road. Does that help you? This is a hotel that is near where she lives? or works? I will have to check for sure. It is one that she suggested because of the proximity to her place. The hotel was called the Fragrance selegie road hotel. Best price I got was through agoda.

The flights from here go either east or west. The choice is up to you. The first leg of the journey is about 6 hours and the second is about 12 hours. Not sure of the second time. I have thought more about the flight and may take a different one. I was on ugoigo lastnight and found a few new flights, one that gets in at 4:30 pm. I like that site because you can check off about 10 different sites for them to check for you. Easier than changing web pages and entering in all the information again and again.

Dave C