Back on the Road: An Introduction

Mrs. Selfish and I have been living in San Francisco for the last few months, exploring the city and the Bay Area. Well, “living”, might be more accurate.

While we’re physically in San Francisco, most of our stuff is still in a pod somewhere in Orlando, Florida, so we’re still living out of suitcases. Normally, I’d view this as a disadvantage, but after traveling for a year I’ve become pretty accustomed to the lifestyle. It’s nice to be able to leave and hop on a plane at the drop of a hat.

So it was with much anticipation, that Mrs. Selfish and I started our annual Thanksgiving trip. This year we decided to visit the Maldives, and Okinawa, Japan, stopping by Hong Kong, Fukuoka, and Tokyo along the way. An odd routing, to be sure, but we were in pursuit of an elusive beast.

The whale shark.

More on this guy, in a few posts.

Flights and Accommodations

I booked a One World Explorer ticket in business class for a grand total of 130,000 AA miles each. Our routing went slightly over the requisite 20,000 miles, so I had to book the Okinawa –> Tokyo segment using British Airway miles for 7500 BA miles each in Economy.

The routing was almost entirely in business class, with the exception of flights into and out of Okinawa. We managed to snag seats on Cathay Pacific’s new flight from Hong Kong to Male and also on Japan Airlines new Dreamliner from Haneda to San Francisco.

While the flights were pretty amazing, the accommodations were even better. Thanks to miles & points, we were able to enjoy a bevy of awesome hotels.

View from the Intercontinental Hong Kong.

The amazingly clear waters at the Conrad Rangali in the Maldives.

Back to the Grand Hyatt Fukuoka, with a suite this time!

The ridiculous decadence of the Ritz Carlton, Okinawa.

Back to an (unplanned) stay at the Park Hyatt Tokyo!

While the flights and the hotels were splendid, it’s the experiences which truly stood out. The sights. The sounds. The food. All and all a successful, and very, very selfish trip.

Check back tomorrow, when I’ll talk about our stay at the Intercontinental Hong Kong.