We’ve begun the flight planning for our upcoming adventure and locked in the major segments: SFO to Sydney, Auckland to Chiang Mai, and Bangkok to Taipei to SFO. With those anchors in place, the trip is finally taking shape—each new booking filling in another stroke of the larger picture.
The first stop: five nights in Sydney, right in the Chinatown area near the CBD. From there we’ll explore the city—tour the Opera House, walk across the Harbour Bridge, wander Darling Harbour and the Rocks, and relax at Bondi Beach. Then comes New Zealand and the much anticipated Doubtful Sound cruise. But even the best-laid plans shift—we discovered that Queenstown will be packed the week of November 12th with a marathon crowd, so we reworked our schedule and rebooked the cruise. Trip planning, I’ve realized, is a lot like painting: the image stays fuzzy until the major pieces fall into place—then suddenly, it all comes alive.
Since our flight out of Auckland to Chiang Mai was already set, we’ll spend three nights in Auckland before flying south to Queenstown, and then return for a few more days before heading onward to Thailand. In Auckland, I’ll finally meet a distant cousin I connected with through my father while researching the Reeves family—after more than twenty years, we’ll finally meet in person!
Our route to Thailand includes an eight-hour layover in Singapore—just long enough to slip into the city, maybe, for a quick look around before continuing north. It’ll be a long travel day, but we’ll arrive in Chiang Mai just in time for a cold Thai beer. We’ll spend about ten days in Thailand between Chiang Mai and Bangkok, with time for a cooking class, some temple wandering, and unhurried nights at the markets. We’d planned to meet Zhaoyang’s sister in Bangkok, but that fell through—so this time, we’ll simply take it easy and let the days unfold.
On the way home, we’ll spend four nights in Taipei. I’ve been there many times for work, but it will be Zhaoyang’s first visit, so we’ll do the essentials—ride up Taipei 101, eat our way through the night markets, and soak up the lights of a city that never quite slows down.
| Place | Dates |
| Sydney | 11/2-11/7 |
| Melbourne | 11/7-11/12 |
| Auckland | 11/12-11/16 |
| Queenstown | 11/16-11/19 |
| Doubtful Sound | 11/19-11/20 |
| Auckland (2nd time …) | 11/20-11/22 |
| Singapore | 11/22 (long layover) |
| Chiang Mai | 11/22-11/27 |
| Bangkok | 11/27-12/2 |
| Taipei | 12/2-12/6 |
You can read the trip blog here!
