A summer to remember

Thailand,
Vietnam
& Hong Kong

Twelve days, three cities, three countries — and the in-between finally figured out.

22
July
Wheels Up
5
August
Home
Until wheels up
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Days
--
Hours
--
Minutes
--
Seconds
Crafted with ♥ by Dad
Scroll to begin
Itinerary at a glance

The Journey

A pretty good way to spend a couple of weeks, if I say so myself.

Wed · Jul 22
LAX → HKG
Wheels up around dinnertime on the 22nd. Lie flat, sleep across the Pacific on United, and watch July 23 vanish into the date line somewhere over the ocean.
Polaris First · 3D · 3F · 3L
United AirlinesUnited · Polaris First · LAX → HKG · nonstop
#unitedpolarispolaris firstpolaris suite
The three of us in the car
on the road, summer '26
Fri · Jul 24
HKG → BKK
A short stop in Hong Kong, then onward to Bangkok — touchdown around 9:30 AM on the 24th, a full two calendar days after wheels-up in LA, courtesy of the date line.
First Class all the way
Jul 24 – 29
Bangkok
Five nights at the Marriott Surawongse. Two-bedroom suite. Shop. Eat. Spa. Repeat.
Wed · Jul 29
BKK → SGN
Late-afternoon hop to Saigon. Depart Suvarnabhumi 5:35 PM, on the ground at Tan Son Nhat by 7:05 PM. Dinner in Vietnam.
Thai AirwaysTG 556 · 17:35 → 19:05 · Airbus A320 · 1h 30m
#thaiairwaysthai airways reviewsuvarnabhumi
Jul 29 – Aug 2
Ho Chi Minh City
Four nights at Vinpearl Landmark 81 — up in the clouds of the tallest tower in Vietnam.
Autograph Collection
Sun · Aug 2
SGN → HKG
Late-morning flight across to Hong Kong. Wheels up 11:05 AM in Saigon, on the ground at HKG by 2:55 PM local — Hong Kong runs an hour ahead of Saigon, so it eats a little more of the day than it looks. In for dinner with family.
Cathay PacificCX 766 · 11:05 → 14:55 · Boeing 777-300 · 2h 50m
#cathaypacificcathay 777 reviewhkg airport
Aug 2 – 5
Hong Kong
Three nights at The St. Regis Hong Kong. Family. Dim sum. Skyline.
Wed · Aug 5
HKG → LAX
11:30 AM departure. Crossing the date line in our favor this time.
Economy Plus · don't ask
Out before the seatbelt sign.
Five Nights · Jul 24 – 29

Bangkok

Home base for the first leg: a two-bedroom suite on the 18th floor, and a rooftop infinity pool you've already seen on TikTok.

Marriott Surawongse 18th-floor infinity pool with Bangkok skyline
The rooftop bar at twilight, looking out at Bangkok at sunset The rooftop bar at dusk with the MahaNakhon tower in the distance

Bangkok Marriott Hotel The Surawongse

262 Surawong Road · Si Phraya · Bang Rak

#marriottsurawongsemarriott surawongsesurawongse pool
5
Nights
Jul 24 → 29
The Suite
Two-bedroom residence
The Pool
18th-floor infinity
The Rooftop
Yào Restaurant + Bar
Getting to Siam
2 stops on the BTS
Four Pillars of Bangkok

Shop. Eat. Spa. Cafe.

🛍️
Shop
The capital of Asian retail therapy
🍜
Eat
From street to sky-high
🌿
Spa
The ancient art of Nuad Thai
☕
Cafe
Viral spots, local legends
Westbound · Half-Day Loop

Day Trips

Two markets, one chaotic day west of the city. Leave Surawongse early, hit Maeklong for the train pass, push another 30 minutes west to Damnoen Saduak, back to Bangkok by mid-afternoon. Both are on every Thailand reel for good reason.

🚂
Maeklong Railway Market
Talad Rom Hub · "The umbrella-folding market"
  • The ShotVendors set their canopies and produce baskets directly on live train tracks. Eight times a day a horn blows, the train rolls through inches from a basket of mackerel, and the entire market collapses canopies in about four seconds — then puts everything back like nothing happened.#maeklongmarketmaeklong railway#trainmarketthailand
  • Getting There~80 km southwest of Bangkok. About 90 minutes from Surawongse by private car. Skip the public train into the market — too slow for a day trip.
  • Train TimesTrains pass at roughly 6:20, 8:30, 9:00, 11:10, 11:30, 14:30, 15:30, and 17:40. Times drift — confirm same-day. The 8:30 arrival gives the cleanest morning light.
🛶
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
The canal market on every Thailand reel
  • The ShotNarrow canals so packed with longtail boats they can barely pass without scraping. Sellers in conical hats paddling grilled prawns, mango sticky rice, fresh coconut ice cream straight off the boats. Drone-style overhead frames are the move.#damnoensaduakdamnoen saduak#floatingmarketthailand
  • Getting There~30 minutes further west from Maeklong — same road, same direction. They pair into one westbound day. Maeklong first thing, drive over for lunch on the canal.
  • When To Be ThereBefore 10am, full stop. That's when the working market is still selling to locals and the canals are jammed for real. After noon it tips into tour-bus mode and quietly becomes a souvenir circus.
Four Nights · Jul 29 – Aug 2

Ho Chi Minh City

The mystery, solved. Four nights in Saigon — high in the clouds of the tallest tower in Vietnam, the river and the whole city spread out under the windows.

Ho Chi Minh City skyline at blue hour, Landmark 81 lit up over the Saigon River

Vinpearl Landmark 81, Autograph Collection

720A Điện Biên Phủ · Vinhomes Central Park · Bình Thạnh

#landmark81vinpearl landmark 81#saigonskyline
4
Nights
Jul 29 → Aug 2
The View
Floor-to-ceiling glass, 49th floor up
The Pool
47th-floor infinity — highest in Saigon
The Restaurant
Oriental Pearl · 66 floors up
The Tower
Landmark 81 · tallest in Vietnam
Five Pillars of Saigon

Shop. Eat. Spa. Cafe. Glow.

🛍️
Shop
Malls, markets & the tower downstairs
🍜
Eat
Street legends to a restaurant in the sky
🌿
Spa
Saigon knows how to unknot you
☕
Cafe
Ground zero for Vietnamese coffee
💄
Glow
Nails, lashes & brows — Saigon's glow-up is cheap, fast & flawless
Three Nights · Aug 2 – 5

Hong Kong

The reason this whole trip exists. Family first, skyline second, dim sum third.

Hong Kong skyline at dusk from Victoria Harbor

The St. Regis Hong Kong

1 Harbour Drive · Wan Chai · Hong Kong

#stregishongkongst regis hong kong#hongkongluxuryhotel
3
Nights
Aug 2 → 5
The Service
Signature St. Regis butler
The Location
Wan Chai · steps to MTR
The Address
1 Harbour Drive
The Vibe
Modern grand · perfectly polished
The two of them.
The real reason we're here

Visiting Pau Pau & Sai Lo

Three days with family. Dim sum mornings. Skyline evenings. The kind of trip that gets remembered.

GrandmaPau Pau
UncleSai Lo
+The whole family
The trips that got us here

Postcards

Greece, Italy, London, Paris, a cruise none of us wanted to get off. A few from before this one. In twelve days we add Asia to the pile.

Santorini. The sun did exactly what it was told.
Capri. The water really is that color.
Dinner kept moving. So did Paris.
Dinner on a bus in Paris. The tower rolled by with dessert.
Vintage hunting at the flea market.to be continued at Chatuchak →
Wind off the caldera. Nobody's hair made it.
A clip from the road.
Lunch above the marina in Capri. They brought the whole fish.
Cooling off. The phone went up first.
Out on the water. Packed that scarf for ten days, wore it once.
The beach club at Le Méridien, Monte Carlo. Nobody moved for hours.
Mid-cruise. A robot made the drink.
Our street in Paris ended at this.
London. Every flag out, no one could tell us why.
Me, an espresso, and an orange juice I didn't order.
Last night in Paris. The tower behaved.
Wednesday · Aug 5

Homeward Bound

Wheels up HKG at 11:30 AM.
Crossing the date line in our favor now, clawing back the day it took on the way out.
Touching down LAX the same day — the same Wednesday we left Hong Kong, somehow. Economy Plus · Don't ask
United AirlinesUnited · HKG → LAX · nonstop