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If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again! I’ve been trying to get us to both Singapore and NZ for years. In fact, I had locked down Singapore for our 20th anniversary… which was in March 2020. As the pandemic continued on, I kept rebooking our flights to Singapore with the hope of actually getting to go. My persistence paid off when we finally got to go in December of 2022!

These are my notes from that trip: they’re sparse, but they’re enough to remind me of the trip and maybe (okay, probably not) I’ll get around to finishing this post some day…

Singapore

Flights: ORD-EWR (AA points in Econ, EP upgrade), EWR-SIN (370k SQ pts, $170 for 2 business class tickets)

Hotels: EWR Sheraton, Intercontinental Singapore Robertson Quay

Activities: walking, eating, food tour, eating, eating, eating… Highlight: dinner at Labyrinth

New Zealand

Flights: SIN-AKL (part of the SQ points booking), AKL-CHC (Jetstar cash booking), DUD-AKL (Air New Zealand cash booking).

Hotels: Park Hyatt Auckland, The George in Christchurch, Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Glacier, Scenic Suites Queenstown (stunning views!), Scenic Hotel Southern Cross in Dunedin, Hilton Auckland

Activities: no wine! Train travel from Christchurch to Franz Josef Glacier, car rental from FJG to Queenstown to Dunedin. Lots of walking and absorbing culture. Managed to lose and recover my purse over the Christmas holiday.

Returning home

flights: AKL-DFW-ORD (AA cash booking, securing Chris with AA Plat status for 2023).