- Began the flight planning
- Booked major segments SFO->SYD, AKL->CNX, BKK->TPE->SFO
- Investigating each location we are interested in and making lists of what to see
- Decided on the Doubtful Sound cruise in New Zealand
- Booked 5 nights in Sydney in Chinatown area near CBD
- Trip planning is like painting a picture. It’s not really visible until the major pieces are in place, then the full picture emerges.
- Realized a major mistake in going to Queenstown the week of November 12th – A huge marathon is in town! Had to cancel and rebook the Doubtful Sound portion
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, we’re now diving into the details—exploring each destination and making lists of what we want to see.
The big win so far: we’ve booked five nights in Sydney, staying in the Chinatown area near the CBD, and decided to do the Doubtful Sound cruise while in New Zealand. But as with any evolving plan, there was a hiccup—we discovered that Queenstown will be packed the week of November 12th due to a major marathon. That meant rethinking our route and rebooking the Doubtful Sound portion. Planning a trip like this is a bit like painting a picture: you don’t really see the whole scene until the key pieces are in place. Then suddenly, it all starts to come together.
| 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 (Day stopover) |
| Chiang Mai | 11/22-11/27 |
| Bangkok | 11/27-12/2 |
| Taipei | 12/2-12/6 |