Category Archives: Trip Reports

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Best Places to Eat on Oahu: Part 2

As I mentioned in Part 1, on my most recent trip to Hawaii, I was curious to see if there had been any additions or changes to the local coffee scene. After all, it has been a while since I wrote about the best places for coffee in Hawaii. There are no newcomers to the coffee scene worth mentioning, however, it is worth noting that Honolulu Coffee Company, which is my favorite, has expanded. They have taken over two spots at the Sheraton in Waikiki that were previously used by Peet’s Coffee. Strange but true, Peet’s Coffee did not make it in Hawaii.

So instead of writing about coffee in Hawaii, I decided to ask some local friends on Oahu what their favorite restaurants were. I’ve lived in Hawaii, so I have a few of my own to mention, but let’s start with their recommendations first. In Part 1, I wrote about restaurants you can walk to if you stay in Waikiki. In Part 2, I’m writing about places outside of Waikiki, so let’s start with Chinatown. One of my friends mentioned how many dining options were cropping up in Chinatown. His two favorites are Senia and Fête. I haven’t tried these two places, but the menus look interesting and creative. Fête calls themselves “part Hawaii and part Brooklyn,” so that certainly sounds appealing :) I do trust my friend’s taste in good eats, so I’m letting you know about these places.

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a road with yellow leaves on it

7 Things to do in New York City (First Day of Fall Edition)

Autumn is here! I’m definitely biased, but in my opinion, Fall is hands down the best season in New York City. With the leaves changing, holidays vastly approaching, pumpkin spice everywhere and, most importantly, the weather is finally cooling off. Although this Summer in New York City was fairly mild, it was still overbearingly warm and humid. With Fall here, the weather begins to cool down which makes being outdoors much more pleasant. Here are 7 things to do as we close the chapter on Summer and welcome Fall with open arms.

1. Explore Central Park

Central Park is a hot spot every season, but especially in Fall. The leaves begin to change to the most beautiful multi-color shades, fall to the ground and make great piles to toss in the air and watch them sprinkle down. You’re transported from a bustling city to a calming oasis. For an even more special view of New York City, rent a rowboat at the boathouse for $15 an hour (seats 4).

a couple in a boat on a river

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir in New York’s Central Park. Image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/166703623678724252/

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Trip Report: ANA 787 Business Class MEX-NRT

a plane parked on the tarmac

I had a work trip to Hong Kong in June, and I asked the people booking my ticket to put me on the new ANA nonstop from Mexico City to Tokyo-Narita. This flight launched earlier this year with ANA’s 787 Dreamliner, and is one of the only options to get to Asia from Mexico City without transiting the US (which requires early departures and long layovers). Luckily, the ticket got booked into a fare class that’s eligible for mileage upgrades, so I was able to use 28,000 ANA miles (transferred from Membership Rewards) to upgrade from Economy to Business.

I flew the reverse in economy in May coming back from Tokyo, so I was excited to see what business class would be like on this flight. The flight departs Mexico City at 2:20AM and arrives in Tokyo around 6:30AM the next day.

At the MEX Airport

I wasn’t able to print a boarding pass online for this flight. I arrived at MEX just before the cutoff time for checked bags, so there was no line at the ticket counter (but even if there had been, there was a separate checkin line for Business Class and Star Alliance Gold customers). Checkin was fast and efficient, and I was on my way to security in just a couple of minutes.

Since both of the Star Alliance lounges at MEX (Avianca and United) were closed at this hour, my boarding pass indicated that I could access the Grand Lounge Elite, a 24-hour Priority Pass lounge. The lounge was so far away from the gate though that by the time I went through security and had my immigration paperwork processed, it wasn’t worth trekking down to the lounge before the flight started boarding. I bought a big bottle of water (since there’s nowhere to fill a reusable bottle with drinkable water) and waited for boarding to start. Continue reading

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Best Places to Eat on Oahu: Part 1

On my most recent trip to Hawaii, I was curious to see if there had been any additions or changes to the local coffee scene. After all, it has been a while since I wrote about the best places for coffee in Hawaii. There are no newcomers to the coffee scene worth mentioning, however, it is worth noting that Honolulu Coffee Company, which is my favorite, has expanded. They have taken over two spots at the Sheraton in Waikiki that were previously used by Peet’s Coffee. Strange but true, Peet’s Coffee did not make it in Hawaii.

So instead of writing about coffee in Hawaii, I decided to ask some local friends on Oahu what their favorite restaurants were. I’ve lived in Hawaii, so I have a few of my own to mention, but let’s start with their recommendations first. They did know that I’d be writing about their suggestions, so I asked them to keep in mind that many tourists don’t rent cars if they stay in Waikiki. We took this into account. Let’s start with the restaurants that are easily accessible if you stay in Waikiki.

Diamond Head Grill is for sure a local favorite. There’s not much space to sit and eat there. It’s best to take your food down to the beach or as a picnic in the park. Everyone, including me, loves their plate lunch. And their baked goods are good, too!

a plate of food on a table

Diamond Head Market Grill lunch plate. Image source: https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g60982-d1009927-i153755380-Diamond_Head_Market_Grill-Honolulu_Oahu_Hawaii.html

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OC Travel Meetup Saturday, September 23 @ 12pm at Tustin District In-N-Out

Good afternoon everyone.  I am visiting my parents this weekend in Orange County, so I decided to do a miles and points meetup on Saturday afternoon.  If you are free this Saturday, I would love to meet you and talk travel, miles and points, MS, and blogging.

  • Where: 2895 Park Ave, Tustin, CA 92782 (Google Maps)
  • When: Saturday, September 23 @ 12-2PM

In-N-Out Tustin District Map

There is no need to RSVP to the OC Meetup, just show up at 12pm and be ready to talk talk travel.  I will do a reminder post later this week.  I hope to see some of you there!