My first day in Hong Kong was a rainy one. With the weather looking to be better for the other days, I decided to make it an indoor day, staying mostly in Kowloon until the evening. I started the morning by taking the subway to Mong Kok. From there, I walked to a shopping center. […]
After my last layover in Kuala Lumpur, and a visit to the Golden Regional Lounge, it was time to fly to Hong Kong. I flew on Malaysia Airlines in business class on a Boeing 737-800 on an award ticket. The boarding area was warm & humid, as if there was barely any air conditioning. I […]
With my 2nd layover in Kuala Lumpur complete, I was now off to Hong Kong on Malaysia Airlines on a business class award ticket. I was on autopilot on my way through the Kuala Lumpur airport, so I nearly headed to the remote terminal before realizing my flight was departing from the regional gates. This […]
On my way back from New Zealand, I had another layover of almost 24 hours, just as I had on my way there. You can read all about my first layover in Kuala Lumpur here. Thanks to a shorter journey & better schedule on my way back through, I was able to get a bit […]
On my first overnight layover in Kuala Lumpur, I stayed at the Aloft Kuala Lumpur. While it was nice enough, I like checking out new hotels, so on my second overnight layover, I stayed at the Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur since it was about the same price. Since my flight arrived at a reasonable time, I […]
My two weeks in New Zealand were finished, and I was sad to be leaving. It was time to begin my long return journey home, again through Kuala Lumpur on Malaysia Airlines. Since I was flying in business class, I had access to the Malaysia Airlines Emperor Lounge before my flight. Had I not been […]
I closed out my trip to New Zealand with a trip to Auckland. While Auckland might not quite have the craft beer scene that Wellington does (though I imagine they’d like to make an argument about it as the two cities often do), that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some great craft beer bars & […]
The weather on my second full day in Auckland wasn’t any better than the first. I got a late start, but eventually I forced myself to get out and make the most of the day by seeing a couple more museums, the Auckland Art Gallery and the New Zealand Maritime Museum. Both are great rainy day […]
It was New Year’s Day in Auckland, and 2016 wasn’t kicking off with the best weather. In fact, it was the worst I’d seen my entire time in New Zealand, with lots of rain and wind making outdoor activities impossible. Most of my plans for Auckland had involved being outdoors, since the city is surrounded by […]
New Zealand is one of the first places in the world to ring in each New Year, so for 2016, I chose to go to Auckland, which hosts the largest show. By the time I checked in to my hotel after taking the long bus ride from Wellington to Auckland, it was already 9pm. It […]
After a few days in Wellington, it was time for my final journey through New Zealand on the bus ride to Auckland. Thanks to booking early on Intercity, the ticket cost only $1 NZD. Following the 20 minute walk from my hotel, I arrived at the bus station in Wellington about 35 minutes early, and […]
Craft beer is growing in popularity in New Zealand, and nowhere is that more visible than in the capital, Wellington. The city is fairly small, with a compact CBD, making it easy for drinkers to get around on foot. Within a few blocks of my hotel there were at least a dozen great places to […]
Much like how I felt about Queenstown, I wished that I had more time to spend in Wellington. It’s a small city, but I liked everything about it, from the nice green spaces & access to water to the great craft beer scene. On my last day in Wellington, I tried to see as many museums […]
As I’ve mentioned previously, one of my reasons for going to New Zealand was to experience some of the places where the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed firsthand. I took a Lord of the Rings tour when I was in Queenstown. Wellington is home of Weta Workshop & Weta Digital, which have produced […]
My time on New Zealand’s beautiful South Island was coming to an end, but not before one last journey through some of the most scenic parts of it. To get from Nelson to Wellington, you first take a bus from Nelson to Picton, then a ferry from Picton to Wellington. Each part of the day […]
