Two years ago I had the amazing opportunity to experience 5 Asian countries on my honeymoon. I had never been to Asia before and my experiences were beyond words! My husband and I both were enthralled with the vast differences of culture. We went to Japan, China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. (www.connerhoneymoonadventure.com). So many asked “where did you like the best” – it is much too hard to answer that question. There are things I loved in all the places we have travelled- for different reasons. Each country so completely different, and within each county, each city or town was different. To me traveling is an incomparable way to learn – not only about others, but about yourself. Each travel experience has made me grow in different ways. I overcome fears each time I travel to a new place. I become more confident and more aware.With travel you find that as different as each culture may be, there are also so many universal similarities – a smile, ( as corny as this sounds) is indeed universal.

My husband and I made a pact that each year we would travel to at least 2 new places. Last year we embarked on an awesome journey through Morocco and Spain. I documented our adventures on this blog along the way.

We had been dreaming of a return to Asia, so this year when we realized my brother and his wife would be traveling through Asia all year, we figured it was the perfect time to go back! We decided to meet them in 2 countries we have not been- Myanmar and Laos. We have seen specials/ documentaries on these countries and have been really interested to experience them for ourselves! They are both newer to western tourism, so they are not touristy and true history and culture remains. We wanted to see these places before they become tarnished and overrun with tourists.

Myanmar and Laos, both being in Southeast Asia, are not directly reachable from the United States. A layover in either Japan, Thailand, or China is most likely. Using our earned airline mile points, we were able to book our flights to Asia free of charge with a layover in Japan! We absolutely LOVED Japan during our honeymoon! Our 24 hour layover for this trip gave us just enough time to get our Tokyo fix! But before we get to Tokyo, lets back up a little—-

We research our destinations in the months prior and book hotels, transportation etc. ourselves. We have never used a travel agent , and find the researching ourselves to be part of the adventure! Using other travelers’ blogs and trip advisor, we feel pretty confident in our travel plans!

My husband has enlightened me that traveling lighter is better. When he first told me that I was only bringing a “pack” on our 2 month honeymoon, I thought he was joking. “What is he thinking? Does he not know I need heels, flats, dresses, pants, shirts, skirts …” I thought. I managed to do it though, and it makes travel so much easier. It is not practical to lug around a suitcase when moving from city to city , country to country. A traveler’s backpack can be carried on instead of checked (most of the time), so you are less likely to have lost luggage, and more likely to make connecting flights. You can also maneuver around crowded cities, airports and trains easier with your pack on instead of pulling a suitcase.

So this time I was mentally prepared to pack my “pack”. (Just when you think it is as full as it can be you can sneak one more thing in through a side zipper-in this case my international hair iron)

I felt excited and ready to go! I booked a last minute travel clinic appointment 3 days before we were departing to get a malaria pill prescription. My husband had already decided he would  opt out of taking the pills and would just douse himself in insect repellant. Although I was not in agreement with this decision, I couldn’t force him to take the pills ( although I did consider hiding them in his food- shh!). I arrived at the travel clinic appointment and was shocked to hear the nurse practitioner tell me I was due for an updated Hep A and also was recommended to get a polio booster. Yes- polio. Although we are vaccinated as children in the US, in certain countries it is not eradicated and contagious.

As the nurse looked through the records she also realized my husband John ( I refer to him as Conner, so don’t get confused- same husband ;)), was due for a typhoid vaccination. I was so upset with myself for not being more proactive. I am usually very on top of these things. I knew we got the typhoid and Hep A for our honeymoon, so I did not think we were due again. I got mine and began frantically texting my husband. He was out of town for a work meeting and would be returning at 5pm the night before our trip. There was very little time for him to get vaccinated! I was so nervous and anxious! I found a CVS minute clinic that would stay open until 7:30pm. I convinced Conner to go and get his vaccines right after he landed. Talk about a last minute save! It was not easy to convince him, like many men he thinks he is invincible. I stressed that typhoid and Hep A are spread through water and food- not like malaria- you cant just put on some repellant. Whew! A huge weight lifted off my shoulders after he was vaccinated!

My brother Michael flew in town the night before we left. He offered to cat and condo-sit for us! Another huge weight lifted off my shoulders! He did this for us last year for a month, and the year prior my dad flew up for a good portion of the time, and great friends helped out the rest . How fortunate I am to have amazing family and friends to take care of my sweet kitties while we are gone!
A bright and super early Saturday AM, we set out on our adventure! Tokyo- here we come!  We arrived to DCA airport with our pre-check tickets. The pre-check is nice and makes security much faster- usually. My bag got selected to get searched. They opened my bag and started taking things out. Ugh! They obviously had no idea how tough it was for me to get everything packed in there just right! The security inspected all my liquids which were in the regulated ziplock bag. Finally he cleared me to move on. We boarded our flight and Conner put our packs in the overhead compartment. The stewardess had trouble closing the compartment because of my bag. My bag was trouble all morning! Conner opened the top portion of my bag to remove something so that it would close. Stuff started falling out. I saw something fall on the head of the man sitting under the compartment. I jumped up “ I am so sorry!” I said. I soon realized it was my shaving razor that fell on the man. Of all things to fall out! Oops! I apologized 3 more times.

We had a short flight to Chicago with a quick layover, where we enjoyed lounge access. So, yeah, that’s another nice perk to earning airline points with one airline. Lounge access makes layovers quite comfy! Conner ran into an old friend he worked with years ago in FL in the lounge! Small world! We boarded our next flight- the big one- the 12+ hour trek to Japan! We were seated next to a biker looking guy with a braid and leather jacket. He looked rough and tough but we soon learned he was a sweet teddy bear man. Conner had sprained his ankle a few weeks earlier and as we settled in our seats we realized we forgot to get him some motrin. His ankle was swelling on flights and I knew he needed some motrin to calm down the swelling for the long flight. Our biker friend overheard our concerned conversation and said, “ I have a bunch of 800mg martin if you want some”. As it turned out he was a retired army veteran who lived in South Korea. He got his “vitamin M” as they call “motrin” in the military, from the VA,and was very willing to share. I did some visual inspection to confirm to was indeed motrin, and Conner accepted graciously.

Our new friend was very kind and interesting. He loves the US but also loves living in South Korea. We really enjoyed talking to him. I began the long flight with a movie- “The light between Oceans”- a really well -done movie. I cried quite a bit. Conner said he can never understand why I choose movies where I know I will cry. I just enjoy a good story and good character development. And hey, what’s wrong with a good cry? To me , it means the actors and writers did a great job of expressing their story. I followed that movie with another well- done tear jerker- “ The Hollars”, and yet another , “ Me Before You”. Yes, I watched 3 movies with meals provided in between, and 2 glasses of red wine. Then it was nap time. Who says a long flight has to be grueling? I thought it was fabulous for the most part. Very relaxing!

We arrived to Narita airport, which is an outside suburb city of Tokyo. Conner had a free night voucher for the Intercontinental in Tokyo, so we boarded the train for the hour or so ride. The train system in Tokyo is spectacular! It is clean, efficient, comfortable and effortless. The Japanese are so helpful and considerate. There are people whose job is literally to stand in the train stations looking for people who look lost or need help. They speak decent English and tell you exactly where to go, which is extremely helpful. While the trains are efficient, the stations are confusing and everything is mostly in Japanese.

The train rides are peaceful, like the people. The Japanese are quiet, polite, and keep to themselves. Hundreds of people on a train car and it is quiet. They are so respectful. You don’t hear people on cell phones. This is true even in the streets of Japan- hundreds of cars, no honking. Hundreds and hundreds of people in an area and no litter in the streets. It is absolutely fascinating!

We arrived at the beautiful Intercontinental and were impressed with the lobby and our suite!

With only 24 hours in Tokyo we had no time to waste! We headed out in the area of Roppongi ( a district in Tokyo) which we had not explored in our previous travels. A really cool area with many shops, restaurants and businesses. After some exploring we settled in at a restaurant highly recommended by our hotel concierge. It took us some time to find it since all the signs were in Japanese. SO glad we found it! The place was amazing!!! It was the Tokyo we remembered! The amazingly delicious , artistic food. The Japanese take food very seriously. Culinary art is a real thing – the chefs in Japan are artists and connoisseurs of their specialties. Each dish is prepared with passion and preciseness. I am not exaggerating one bit! They take it so seriously and it shows. We split a few dishes to include- decadent waygu beef, fresh mackeral, marinated cucumber. All delicious!

not sure what I am eating here….

We walked around a bit more after dinner but the jet lag hit us – and it hit us hard!

We slept well in a nice comfy bed and awoke with a few hours left to enjoy the lovely Tokyo. As we walked the streets, Conner and I kept saying to each other how much we would love to live in Tokyo.  We have decided it may be in fact our favorite large city that we have been to in the world! Yes- it beats out NYC, San Fran, Miami, LA, Bangkok,  DC, London…etc. There are just so many fabulous things about Tokyo! I highly recommend to anyone and everyone to travel there!

Conner had researched the top ramen places in the city, because we were determined to have another amazing Tokyo meal before our departure. The 2nd highest rated ramen restaurant in the entire city was located near our hotel! Perfect- but they didn’t open until 11. We stopped at a lovely cafe to have a coffee and get Conner an “appetizer”. He ordered an egg thing that looked good on the menu. You never really know what you are ordering in some Asian restaurants due to the language barrier. Pointing to pictures on a menu is often the way to choose. Conner chose well. His egg thing came with mashed potatoes and gravy. Sounds weird right? But oh, so delicious ( yes, he saved me a bite).

Our coffees were so good! They gave me some clear stuff to put in it- I later found out it was gum water- like a a sugar basically. After our coffees we enjoyed the best ramen we have ever had! I opted for a more spicier version. Served with gyoza dumplings , we thoroughly enjoyed our meal!

We only had a short time before we had to head back to the airport to board our next flight. Oh, let’s back up – when we awoke in the morning in Tokyo we were surprised to see our flight time had changed. It had been pushed back about 45 minutes. We were super nervous, thinking there was no way we could catch our connecting flight in Hong Kong to Myanmar. Our stress was relieved when the airline emailed us offering us another flight at a closer airport that would get us there in time. Thank goodness! I must say American Airlines, being part of the Oneworld alliance does take good care of us sometimes. It is nice to have international airlines who recognize that you are an American airlines rewards member.

We took the train to Haneda airport (about a 30 minute ride). We checked in without much trouble and enjoyed another lounge access. They had an awesome selection of Japanese treats and my favorite – sake!

John (aka Conner) accidentally spilled a beer on the nice lounge carpet. We felt so bad! A poor woman was on her hands and knees trying to scrub the carpet. We apologized many times and offered to help clean it.

Our flight to Hong Kong was uneventful, and we slept most of the time. We arrived to Hong Kong, and having only a 30 minute layover we had to hustle to make our connecting flight. Our connecting gate was a satellite location, so we ran (with our packs on) and caught the shuttle. We made it, and felt like we were on “Amazing race”. We have had this feeling many times before, and often joke that we should apply to be on the show. With Conner’s navigation skills and my patience, and ability to communicate with people who don’t speak English, we feel like we could dominate that show! Maybe , next year 🙂

The flight from Hong Kong to Myanmar was about 5 hours or so on DragonAir. They fed us a couple of times and I watched a movie, “The Edge of Winter”, as well as a couple “Sex and the City” episodes. The woman sitting next to me was from Colorado. She is a lawyer and was on her way to Myanmar to do some volunteer work. She had never been to Southeast Asia before, let alone Asia. She was only there for 2 days! Crazy to travel so far for such a short stay!

Our long travels were over- we had made it to Myanmar!! Our first impressions were a bit disconcerting- stay tuned as the Conners meet the Coopers in Myanmar for more adventures!

Stay Tuned-

Kinz