And Thus It Begins

I believe this trip will require an 8-part series, covering flights, hotels and everything in between. We have a whirlwind tour of Southeast Asia, but while there are 12 flight segments (CLE > ORD > HKG > BKK > USM > BKK > SIN > DPS > SIN > PEK > LAX > ORD > CLE), 5 countries (USA, China, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia) and 4 hotels – all within 12 days – the trip was carefully planned out to provide maximum rest, relaxation and exploration.

Neither NSPfiance nor I slept last night, given that Thailand is 11 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. When we arrive at 11pm, we want to hit the airport hotel, get a good night sleep and wake up refreshed for our first of four days in a heavenly Thai island resort.

Of course, the journey is part of the fun, and relaxation. While travel can be hectic, stressful and at times painful, we carefully orchestrated our trip to make the actual travel part of the trip.

My AMEX Platinum card comes with a Priority Pass Lounge Access. There was one shared lounged in Terminal 5 at ORD:

Our First Class seats on Cathay Pacific from ORD > HKG allowed us access to British Airways First Class Lounge:

We are about to board. We are in seats 1A and 2A. This Bird looks awesome. Happy Thanksgiving to all!!