I posted earlier this month how I really wanted to surprise my wife with the gift of travel for our 1 year anniversary and after checking in for our flight today, I could tell Andrea was surprised to find out we are going to Bali!

Her friends for months insisted we were only going to Thailand and while I could neither confirm nor deny those guesses, I was secretly glad no one mentioned Bali as a possible destination. Andrea finally found out where we were going when the attendant checking us in asked if we wanted our bags checked all the way to Bali. The surprise and happiness on her face when she heard Bali was the destination made the whole waiting game worth it. I booked this trip last November (before United’s devaluation) so its been a tough 10 months to hold this secret but I’m glad I did.

Using 140,000 United miles each (total cost in miles roundtrip) we are flying Asiana First Class (in their new suites) from JFK to Seoul which is about 14 hours. From there, we have a 2 hour layover followed by a Asiana Business Class flight from Seoul to Bali, which is about a 7 hour flight. Definitely a long day of travel (over 23 hours) but it will be worth it in end. We are staying at the Conrad Bali for 5 nights before heading to our next destination, which I’m keeping as a surprise.

My posts will be more sporadic over the next 10 days as we celebrate our 1 year anniversary but I suggest following me on Twitter and Instagram to see all the photos and adventures we embark on.