2016 – Travel Highlights

I started this year aiming to travel less. For the first two months of the year and for a good portion of the summer I didn’t leave the DC area. The rest of the year however, was filled with destinations near and far. Check out my travel highlight posts from years past: 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012.

Here’s where I went this year:

Cities Visited: 22
Countries Visited: 7 countries
Miles flown: 97,352 miles
Weekends away from DC: 23
Total miles redeemed: 217,500 miles
Total dollars spent: $4,024.16

And here’s what all that traveling looks like for this year:

March

Cities visited: London, Johannesburg, Cape Town, New York
Miles flown: 20,748 miles flown
Travel Costs:

IAD-JNB: 80,000 united miles + $110.96
JNB-CPT: ZAR 851.72 – 61 USD

London

I started my travels this year with a 12-hour layover in London where I met up with my brother. It was his first time visiting Europe!

Tower of London

Cape Town, South Africa

Explored Stellenbosch and the Cape Winelands of South Africa

View at Jordan Winery

Climbing Table Mountain

April

Cities Visited: Boston, New York, Santa Barbara
Miles flown: 5,373 miles flown
Flight/bus costs:

DCA-BOS: $170.20 on American
WAS-NYP: $45 on Greyhound
IAD-LAX: AA Travel Credit + $64.96

Boston

Reunited with my college squad for a friend’s pre-wedding party in Boston.

Post Scavenger Hunt Race in Boston

Brooklyn

Took the Greyhound (!) up to New York to run in the Brooklyn 10k, my first 10k race.

2016 Brooklyn 10k

Sampling a few reds at New York Vintners

Santa Barbara

Used a travel credit I had with American Airlines to visit my brother in Santa Barbara.

Gainey Winery in Santa Barbara

May

Cities visited: Phuket, Boston, Newport, Montreal, Quebec, Los Angeles
Miles flown: 24,492 miles flown
Flight costs:

DCA-HKG: 55,000 AA miles + $39.30 on Cathay Pacific
BKK-HKT: 1555THB (45 USD) on Thai Airways
HKT-DXB: $411.03 on Emirates
DXB-BOS: 42,500 Alaska Miles + $50.76 on Emirates
BOS-YUL: $96.58 on Porter
LAX-IAD: $189.10 on American

Phuket

Flew halfway around the world to be one of the groomsmen in my college roommate’s wedding in Phuket. I was there for a total of 22 hours, and considering I used miles to get there in business class, it was totally worth it!

Cathay Pacific Business Class

Infinity pool at dusk at Phuket’s Villa Amanzi

Breakfast at Villa Amanzi

Wedding time in Phuket!

Boston

At the night of my friend’s wedding, I took a redeye flight to Boston via Dubai to make it to my other friend’s wedding happening Sunday afternoon in the Boston suburbs.

Wedding time in Boston!

Newport

The next day we took a day trip to Newport, Rhode Island.

The Breakers in Newport, Rhode Island

Sailboats in Newport

Quebec City

Later in the week I flew up to Quebec for a few days road-tripping between Montreal and Quebec with my mom and brother.

Crossing the St. Lawrence

Montreal

Climbing Mount Royal

Orange County

Finally, I ended the month in Orange County, California for my uncle’s 50th birthday party.

Orange County Mining Company

Sunset over Orange County

District Market in Los Angeles

June

Cities visited: Chicago, Syracuse, New York
Miles flown: 1432 miles
Flight costs:

DCA-ORD $388.20 on American Airlines
SYR-JFK $81.10 on JetBlue

Chicago

After kicking off Pride Month in DC, we headed over to Chicago for their Pride.

Ohio Street Beach in Chicago

2016 Chicago Pride

Watching Daya in concert during Chicago Pride.

Daya at 2016 Chicago Pride

Syracuse

I spent a Saturday afternoon in Syracuse for a friend’s wedding. It as such a great day!

Wedding time in Syracuse!

New York City

We ended the month in New York for NYC Pride.

On the Google float during NYC Pride.

Marching with Google at 2016 NYC Pride Parade

2016 NYC Pride Parade

July

Cities visited: Philadelphia, Rehoboth Beach

Miles flown: ZERO!

Philadelphia

Did a day trip up to Philadelphia.

Mural in Passyunk, South Philadelphia

Hanging out at Spruce Street Park

Rehoboth Beach

Visited Rehoboth beach for my annual trip to the beach!

Roadtrip to Rehoboth

Beach chairs at Rehoboth Beach

August

Cities visited: Pittsburgh

Miles flown: ZERO!

Pittsburgh

I spent most of the month home in DC, but the last weekend of August took a road trip up to Pittsburgh to explore this cool city over the weekend.

Pittsburgh Skyline

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater

September

Cities visited: Seoul, Philadelphia, New York
Miles flown: 16,066 miles
Flight costs:

DCA-ICN: $507.96 on American
DCA-LGA: 7,500 AA miles + $5.60
LGA-DCA: 7,500 British Airways Avios + $5.60

Seoul

Spent labor day weekend exploring the amazing city of Seoul!

Morning view of Seoul from Ansan

Walking around at night in Myeongdong

Walking along the Changyecheon in Seoul

Philadelphia

Then later in the month drove up to Philly where I ran the Philadelphia Rock N Roll Half Marathon. It was the first time running this race, and the first time in over two years for me to run a half-marathon.

2016 Philadelphia Rock N Roll Half Marathon

New York

I ended the month with an impromptu trip to New York for a good friend’s birthday!

Friend’s birthday weekend in New York

October

Cities Visited: San Francisco, New York, Doha, Everest Base Camp
Miles flown: 18036 miles

Flight costs:

IAD-DOH: $1074.97 on Qatar Airways
IAD-SFO-EWR: work sponsored
NYP-WAS: $49 on Amtrak

San Francisco
I began the month in San Francisco for my only business-related trip of the year: Dreamforce 2016.

Dreamforce 2016 Badge

Brooklyn

Three weeks after the Philadelphia race, I took the train up to New York to run the Brooklyn Rock N Roll Half Marathon. Like in Philly, this was my first time running this race and course.

2016 Brooklyn Rock N Roll Half Marathon

Doha

In mid-October, I had a 20 hour layover in Doha. Just enough time to explore the one thing I wanted to check out in this city: the Islamic Museum of Art.

Museum of Islamic Art in Doha

Sunrise in Doha

Everest Base Camp

I spent the latter half of October trekking in the Himalayas to Everest Base Camp.

Leaving Kathmandu Guesthouse for Everest Base Camp!

Lukla Airport Runway

View of Namche Bazaar

View of Ama Dablam

Intrepid Travel Group at Everest Base Camp!

November

Cities Visited: Kathmandu, Las Vegas and Grand Canyon, Cerritos (Los Angeles)
Miles flown: 8,787 miles

Flight costs:

BWI-LAS $247.96 on Southwest
IAD-LAX BA 25,000 British Airways Avios + $11.20 on American
LGB-BWI $151.60 on Delta

Kathmandu

I began November still in Nepal. We had a full day in Kathmandu after our trek before heading back to the States.

Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu

Las Vegas

Spent a weekend in Las Vegas visiting my parents and brother, who flew up and drove up from Hawaii and Los Angeles, respectively. The highlight of this weekend trip was visiting the Grand Canyon.

Visiting the Grand Canyon

Cerritos

At the end of the month I spent the Thanksgiving holiday in the LA area with family.

Surfers at Seal Beach, California

December

Cities visited: Dallas, Philadelphia, Toronto
Miles flown: 2,417 miles flown
Flight costs:

DCA – DAL $83.10 on Virgin America
DAL-DCA $123.98 on Southwest

Dallas

At the beginning of December, I did a quick weekend trip down to Dallas. It was my first time visiting Texas!

Fort Worth Stock Yards

Heims Barbeque in Fort Worth

George Bush Presidential Library

Philadelphia

I also did a road trip up to Philadelphia for a birthday weekend / reunion with my college squad.

College holiday reunion in Philadelphia

Toronto

And finally, as of this writing I’m currently in Toronto, on a weeklong road trip with my brother to Ontario.

At the Canadian Border near Buffalo, New York

Roadtrip to Toronto

How did I afford to do all this?

A combination of redeemed miles and some (relatively) cheap flights.

United: 80k miles to Johannesburg
AA: 55k miles to Hong Kong
Alaska: 42.5k DXB – BOS
BA: 25k IAD-LAX; 15k DCA-LGA

Purchased some affordable fares:

$507.96 to Seoul

Total Spent on Travel: $4,024.16

Did I stick to my travel goals?

At the end of last year I set a number of travel goals for 2016:

Goal #1: Decrease my travel budget to finally pay off my student loans
Goal #2: Do a lot more road trips to explore more of the mid-Atlantic and the Eastern Seaboard.
Goal #3: Mitigate travel burnout by limiting the number of times I’m flying, both with domestic and international travel.

I did a great job at cost of transportation, but ended up staying in more hotels this year than last year which made my overall travel budget slightly higher than last year. Regardless, I managed to put another ~$8,500 to my student loans. Regarding goal #2, I did a fair bit of driving, particularly around the mid-Atlantic. For my last goal from 2016, giving myself a few months during the beginning of the year as well as the summer to not travel helped in making sure I didn’t experience travel burnout again this year.

Conclusion:

Unlike in years past, most of my trips this year was spent traveling with others (friends, significant other, family). Traveling with others rather than my typical solo adventures really gave me a different perspective on travel. It’s really nice to be able to share my adventures with loved ones and recount the memories back home, something that for many of my adventures I really can’t do. 2016 was another fantastic year of travel, and am looking forward to exploring more destinations in the new year to come!

Review: Japan Airlines Business Class Tokyo to New York

A while back, I managed to redeem my American Aadvantage miles to book a business class seat on a flight between Tokyo and New York JFK on Japan Airlines’ 787 Dreamliner. With a total flight time of nearly 13 hours, I had a lot of time to enjoy the experience. Here’s how it went:

Flight Stats:

Seat: 2A
Carrier: JL 004
Route: Tokyo, JP to New York, US
Flight Time: 12 hours, 55 minutes

Departure Time: 6:30 p.m.
Arrival Time: 6:25 p.m.
Aircraft: Boeing 787-900

At the Airport:

Business class passengers queue up in a separate area.

JAL Business Class Check In

At Narita, business class passengers have access to the Sakura lounge, which is identified on your boarding pass.

Sakura lounge

The lounge itself is spread over two floors: sitting area on the 1st floor, and dining on the 2nd floor. After checking out the area downstairs, I headed upstairs to get some food.

Japanese curry: one of my favorite dishes!

A while later, it was time to board. Here’s a view of the aircraft:

JL 004 NRT-JFK

In-Flight Experience

Seating configuration on the flight in business class is in a 2-2-2 configuration. And here’s my seat!

JL004 Seat 2A

I’m a pretty short guy (5’ 5’’) and my legs couldn’t even reach the foot rest!

Can’t reach the foot rest!

A view of my monitor. Nice and big!

Our route map

Seat controls. More than I’ve ever seen on any flight!

JL004 seat controls

The seat is definitely more than just a seat. In fact, Japan Airlines officially calls this their “SkySuite.”

Seat length

Ready for take off!

Ready for takeoff!

For those sitting near the window, a sort of wall separates you and your neighbor, which made this seat particularly private.

JL004 seat dividers

For perspective, here’s how the business class section looks like.

JL004 business class section

When you’re ready for your bed to be made up, you can request turn-down service from the flight attendant. The padding JAL used was amazingly soft.

JL004 lie-flat seat

Another interesting aspect about flying with JAL was the bathrooms. Specifically, it was my first time seeing a bidet (or any option frankly) available on an airplane.

Toilet options on JL 004

JAL Business Class Dining

Business class passengers had the option of going with either Japanese or Western cuisine. Here’s the menu.

JL004 Menu

JL004 page 1

JL menu food options

I opted for the kobachi bowls as my appetizer. Here’s one of them:

JL004 Kobachi bowl

I also thought this simple crane to rest your chopsticks was a nicely done touch.

JL004 crane chopsticks holder

View from the Wing:

This was my first time traveling on a Dreamliner. One thing that I thought was interesting was how you raise and lower your window shades. Rather than a manual window shade, the Dreamliner had a button that gradually made the window opaque. I definitely thought that this was something different, and I’m not sure I quite like it. It’s a lot easier to simply pull up or down a shade rather than pressing a button.

JL004 Dreamliner window shade button

A favorite part of flying between the US Northeast and East Asia is the wonderful scenery we got to fly over.

View of the Canadian Arctic

Frozen waters somewhere over Canada

Overall

Japan Airlines Business Class Sky Suite was definitely a memorable and worthwhile experience. I’d highly recommend opting for a seat near window as it affords extra privacy. Overall I highly enjoyed this particular journey, and can’t wait to do it again!

A Decade on the Mainland: Five Things I Like About Living in the Northeast

This month marks my tenth anniversary of living in the U.S. Northeast!! Hard to imagine that I moved to Philadelphia for college way back in July 2006, and moved down to DC for my first job in June 2010. As a kid from the West Coast (okay, far West Coast), I always imagined that at some point, I’d eventually move back closer to home, either all the way back to Hawaii or to California. Ten years later though, and I’m still loving it here in the Northeast! Here are the top 5 reasons why I absolutely love being out here in the Northeast:

#1: We have seasons!

A massive tree changing colors in Philadelphia’s Washington Square Park.

In Hawaii, we have two seasons: summer and winter. And really, the only noticeable difference between the two seasons is that it rains much more often during the winter in Hawaii.

Compare that with the four seasons that we have in the Northeast.

I’ll still remember the first time I saw snow: December 7th, 2006. It was my freshman year of university, and I had just finished my last afternoon class for the day. Walking back to the dorms, snowflakes started falling!! I had seen snow before then, but always from a distance. I’d never seen it falling from the sky, let alone touched it. Definitely an unforgettable feeling.

And it’s not just the snow during the winter that I enjoy.

I really do enjoy the culture that comes during each season. Endless outdoor activities during the summer, apple and pumpkin picking in the fall, holiday parties and drinking warm drinks in the winter, and seeing the trees and flowers bloom and come back to life in the Spring.

I admit that I really don’t like the humidity and heat during summers in the Northeast, but thankfully the gross weather lasts just only a few weeks in July and August. I’ll put up with that if it means I can experience the rest of the seasons!

#2: It’s so easy to travel around the Northeast!

Flying over Central Park en route to La Guardia. Thank you British Airways Avios points for making flying to NYC a viable option.

One thing that I absolutely did not like about Hawaii is that it was so expensive to travel inter-island, let alone traveling to the U.S. mainland or anywhere outside of Hawaii. Spending $200 on a 30 minute flight is certainly not uncommon in Hawaii.

Contrast that with traveling between cities or exploring other parts of the Northeast. First off, the sheer variety of options you have to travel in the Northeast is unparalleled to any other region of the U.S. Whether by driving yourself, taking a bus, riding Amtrak, or catching a flight, there are a ton of options for getting around in the Northeast. Best part of all is that it’s pretty affordable to.

For as little as $1, I can travel to pretty much any city that Megabus goes to from DC. Or, if I’m willing to live a little, tickets from DC to NYC on Amtrak, when booked far in advance, cost just $49 one way, not bad for a 3.5 hour journey (and a great way to avoid the traffic on 95). For example, even though I’ve never lived in New York, I’ve probably visited the city at least two dozen times since I moved to the Northeast a decade ago. I would’ve never imagined I’d be visiting New York that many times when I first moved to the Northeast.

#3: There’s so much to see and do, and if you’re ever bored, there’s another city to explore!

Watching Ariana Grande in Concert at Philadelphia, Wells Fargo Center.

I think those of that live in the DC area are seriously spoiled with the sheer number of activities we can do in the city, that are unique to DC. From exploring the EU during embassy day, or doing something offbeat, there’s so much to do just in the DC metro area.

I’m a big fan of music, and one thing that I hated about living in Hawaii was that few bands ever visited Hawaii, for obvious reasons. In the Northeast however, pretty much any artist will have a stop in any of the cities from DC to Boston. I’ve driven up to Philadelphia to see one of my favorite singers, Ariana Grande (!), went to New York to see my favorite DJ Armin van Buuren perform, and have gone to Baltimore to see Justin Timberlake in concert. Simple day trips that living in Hawaii would’ve never been possible.

#4: We have public transportation systems that are actually a viable means of getting around.

At just $7.75 each way, the fastest, affordable and relaxing way to get to midtown from JFK is on the Long Island Railroad (LIRR).

The first time that I ever rode on a subway was way back in the Spring of 2002. I had gotten 2nd place during Hawaii’s National History Day Competition, and I was eligible to go to DC for the National Competition, which was being held at the University of Maryland College Park. During that week at UMCP, my family and I rode the subway from College Park to the Smithsonian to tour all the monuments. I remembered everything about that first ride: waiting on the platform for the train to arrive, shuffling onto the subway, trying to “surf” the subway while it was in motion, and looking at the metro map and being amazed by all the places I could go on the subway.

Fast forward ten years and I’ve pretty much used all of the public transportation systems in the Northeast: Boston’s T; New York’s MTA, LIRR and NJ Transit; Philadelphia’s SEPTA and Regional Rail, and DC’s Metro. Each system not only has an extensive rail network, but has an even broader bus network that is fairly simple to follow. Yes, I know that people have died using the Washington Metro, and personally I feel like the DC metro has gotten considerably bad and unreliable when I first moved here in 2010, but I still appreciate the fact that if I ever had to get rid of my car, getting around by public transportation wouldn’t be completely unfeasible.

#5: My life is here.

My humble apartment in Arlington, Virginia, where I’ve lived for the past five years!

Probably the biggest reason why I like the Northeast is that my life truly is here. Although I was born and grew up in Hawaii, I’ve spent significant time (defined as more than three months) in Boston, Philadelphia, DC, Shanghai, Tokyo and Taipei. In each city that I lived in, one of the central themes that kept coming back to me was that people (aka your friends and family) truly make a place home. Having gone to college in Philly, I still have a number of close college friends living along the Northeast that I still see fairly regularly. Something that I wouldn’t be able to do if I lived in another part of the country.

When I moved to DC, I literally knew nobody. Fast forward six years and I’ve cobbled together a professional and personal life that I truly feel would’ve never been so awesome if it weren’t for the people that I’ve met and befriended along the way. As much as I’ve considered moving to another city, my ties to DC, to the Northeast, are an aspect of life that I’m not yet ready to give up on.

Summary:

When I first moved to the Northeast ten years ago, I would’ve never imagined that I’d still be here. Along the way, I discovered so many unique aspects of this part of the country that I still appreciate. But above all, what’s gotten me to stay and make this place truly feel like home are the friends whom I’ve met along the way. Thank you for making this west-coaster feel at home in the Northeast!

Three Days in Toronto

Heading to Toronto for the first time? Here are my suggestions on how to spend three days in and around Toronto.

Take in the views at the CN Tower

Visiting the CN Tower was one of the first things I did on my trip to Toronto, but at $45 for an adult ticket, the ticket may be expensive for some. If you go, you’ll need to book your ticket a minimum of 24 hours prior to your visit. If I had to do it over again, I’d try to time my visit up the tower to be around sunset.

Downtown Toronto from the CN Tower

Toronto Harbour from CN Tower

At the CN Tower

Tour a Brewery

Located right next to the CN Tower, the Steam Whistle Brewery. For $15, you’ll get a tour of the brewery and a souvenir of your choice.

Steam Whistle Brewery

Tour of the brewery

Learn about Toronto’s history and architecture at Casa Loma.

I’m a huge lover of history and architecture. Although a relatively young city compared to cities in say Western Europe or parts of Asia, Toronto’s Casa Loma provides a great introduction to how the city of Toronto developed during the 19th and 20th century.

Flags inside Casa Loma

Discover Toronto’s Neighborhoods

Toronto is a city of neighborhoods. And given that it’s a relatively flat city, it’s really easy to walk around this city without feeling overly bogged down by climbing up and down steep hills. During my visit to Toronto I mostly explored the neighborhoods around my hostel.

Poutine in West Bloor Village

Street art in Toronto

Visit St. Lawrence Market.

Whenever I visit a new city, as much as possible I’ll try to visit a city’s main local market to get a glimpse of everyday life. Main markets have a tendency to be a little touristy, so I’ll also try to see if there’s a local neighborhood farmers market near wherever I’m staying. During my visit to Toronto, I visited the St. Lawrence Market. It’s huge!

While there definitely were a fair bit of tourists, it also seemed like a lot of locals were at the market that day.

Entrance to St. Lawrence Market.

The market was voted as the number one food market in the world by National Geographic!

Black Rice at St. Lawrence Market

Delicious Canadian Bacon sandwich at the market!

Visit Niagara Falls

One of the great things about Toronto is how close it is to get to Niagara Falls from the city! I’ve always wanted to visit Niagara, and the Falls is just a quick 90 minute drive from downtown. Check out this great resource on how to get to Niagara Falls: How to Get to Niagara Falls.

Rainbow at Niagara Falls

At Niagara Falls

Check out the largest Chinese Mall in North America: Pacific Mall

The Greater Toronto Area is home to Canada’s largest concentration of Chinese Canadians. Over in Markham, a suburb of Toronto, sits the Pacific Mall, the largest Chinese Indoor Mall in North America. Visiting this mall truly feels like you’re back in the endless maze of shops throughout Hong Kong. You’ll find pretty much everything you can imagine at this mall.

Entrance to Pacific Mall

Mango Boba at Pacific Mall!!

Markham is about a 30 minute drive from downtown Toronto.

Best Views of the City:

Unlike Chicago’s skyline that runs along Lake Michigan, Toronto’s skyline runs perpendicular to Lake Erie. For the best views of Toronto, I’d recommend going out on the water and exploring Toronto’s Islands. The view from Billy Bishop Airport is also pretty amazing!

View of Toronto from Billy Bishop Airport.

View of Toronto from Casa Loma

Where to Stay:

Toronto has a range of accommodations to choose from. For those on a budget, I’d highly recommend staying at Planet Traveler. Located near the University of Toronto, the hostel is a short 10 minute walk to the Queen’s Park subway station, and is near a bunch of different neighborhoods worth exploring, including Little Italy and Chinatown.

Planet Traveler Toronto

Get Around:

If you’re looking to just stay in the city, Toronto has an extensive public transport system that’s pretty easy to use. If however you’re looking to head out to Niagara Falls and explore Toronto’s suburbs, you’ll need to get rent a car.

Toronto’s streetcar network is one of the most extensive in North America.

How to Get There:

Toronto is serviced by two airports: Toronto Pearson, located in the nearby suburb of Mississauga, and Toronto Billy Bishop, located in Toronto Harbour and just a few minutes drive from downtown. Billy Bishop is serviced solely by Porter Airlines; all other airlines fly through Pearson. Toronto is just a quick 90 minute flight from most of the US. East Coast. Billy Bishop Airport.

If you live in a city that Porter services, I’d highly recommend flying Porter! Great service, and gets you right into the heart of Toronto!

One Foot on Sand

Thinker, Dreamer, Explorer

The Adventurous Explorer

2016 – Travel Highlights

Review: Japan Airlines Business Class Tokyo to New York

A Decade on the Mainland: Five Things I Like About Living in the Northeast

Three Days in Toronto