Welcome to my seventh monthly update post of my Year Long Honeymoon! December was a very unique month for us in our Year Long Honeymoon. We started and ended the month in Asia but also came home to the United States to celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah with our families! This caused December to be the month we flew the most times in than any other month this year with nine flights!
Continue reading my December update post to hear about our travels from Nepal to Singapore, home to the United States, then back to Asia again, this time in Thailand! I also discuss our budget in Nepal and Singapore, give an update on our credit card points and miles, and rank my Top Three Meals of the Month.
Nepal
Andrew and I arrived in Nepal in mid November and spent time in Kathmandu and Pokhara before attempting to trek the Annapurna Circuit. I got really sick and my boots broke so we cut the trek short and returned to Pokhara a week and a half early. To read more about what we did in Nepal in November, read my update post here: Year Long Honeymoon – November 2022: A Month in the Mountains.
Pokhara, 7 days
We weren’t supposed to spend so much time in Pokhara, but I got sick while attempting to trek the Annapurna Circuit in November and we had to turn back. I spent my time in Pokhara working on my blog, making Instagram Reels, and planning the next few months of our trip. Andrew ran most days and shopped for souvenirs. Together we were enjoying all the affordable restaurants in Pokhara and I even made a blog post of the best ones here: The Best Restaurants in Pokhara, Nepal.
Kathmandu, 3 days
We didn’t do much of anything in Kathmandu this time around. The first time we were here in November before flying to Pokhara we were busy buying gear for our trek. This time I got sick, which I think was just a relapse of my previous sickness that made us cancel the trek. I woke up with a terrible stomach ache on our first full day back in Kathmandu and later threw up twice. The next day I felt a lot better but couldn’t eat too much. It was honestly a relief to leave Nepal after a month and head to a country with clean drinking water and a much much lower chance of food poisoning.
Singapore, 5 days
After an overnight flight from Kathmandu to Singapore, we arrived at the Conrad Centennial Singapore at 8am and were able to check into our room right away! I booked this stay through the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts program which comes with $200 off our stay, a $100 credit to use at the hotel, plus early check in and late check out. The early check in was such a relief and we slept until noon before going out to explore a bit. I was still recovering from getting sick in Kathmandu a few days before and we didn’t stray too far on our first day.
A majority of our time in Singapore revolved around the amazing food scene. We visited a few Hawker Centers which are open buildings with rows of food stalls. They are generally affordable and you can find any kind of Asian cuisine you want. We also had the famous Chili crab at Jumbo Seafood (pictured below.) Our meals in Singapore ranged in price from $5 to $170!
Beside the food, we also walked around Gardens by the Bay, the Singapore Botanic Garden, Chinatown, Little India, and the Arab Street. I loved my time in Singapore but it was very hot and extremely humid so I sweat like crazy every time I went outside. If it wasn’t for the extreme wether, I think I would want to move to Singapore!
United States
Coming home for the holidays wasn’t originally in my plan for our Year Long Honeymoon, but after seeing my family in Amsterdam in July I thought it would be a nice idea. I found award availability on round trip flights from Singapore to Los Angeles on Singapore Airlines. It took 168,000 points to book these flights, but I had plenty of American Express points to transfer to Singapore Airlines to book them. We would not have been able to afford to come home for the holidays if it wasn’t for credit card points and I’m very thankful we are in a position where that is possible.
California
Andrew is from Los Angeles and most of his family lives there. We flew into LAX from Singapore and got to spend several days with his family celebrating Hanukkah and just catching up. I finally got to meet Andrew’s parents dog, Panda. He is one year old and so cute and fluffy! Andrew’s mom hosted a Hanukkah party one night and I got to help make latkes which are always so good! I also got my Chipotle fix and Mexican food which are two things I missed the most while traveling.
Indiana
After we visited with Andrew’s family we flew to Indiana to see my family and our baby dog, Hoosier! We had a busy schedule trying to see all my friends and family but it was so nice and worth all the extra travel time to be with family for Christmas. While I obviously missed my friends and family, I do talk to them often so I was really really excited to see my dog after six months because I don’t get to talk to her while I’m gone lol!
Our Long Journey Back to Asia, 3 Days
Andrew and I had quite the long journey leaving the States and flying to Chiang Mai, Thailand. First we flew from Indiana back to Los Angeles and got to visit with Andrew’s family again for just over 24 hours. Then we flew for 16 hours back to Singapore where we had a 10 hour layover. We had fun exploring the Jewel (a mall and indoor jungle combo?) and seeing the tallest indoor waterfall before settling into a Priority Pass lounge for a few hours before our flight. Finally after a layover in Bangkok we arrived at our final destination of Chiang Mai!
Thailand, 2 days
Our final flight of our long travel day(s) arrived in Chiang Mai the evening of December 30th. We went right to sleep after we checked into our hostel and woke up bright and early on the 31st to start enjoying our nearly one month stay in Thailand! We walked around the Old Town to find some breakfast, and had khao soi for lunch (my favorite Thai dish). Our hostel threw a free bbq dinner to celebrate the New Year so we enjoyed that before walking to the New Year’s Eve festivities hosted by the city of Chiang Mai. There was a band, dancers, fireworks and hundreds of lanterns let off by the revelers. It was the perfect end to the most amazing year yet! Cheers to 2023!
Top Three Meals of the Month
#3 Natssul Korean Restaurant - Pokhara, Nepal
This Korean restaurant was one of our favorite meals in Pokhara! I had the kimchi soup with pork and tofu and Andrew had the chicken bibimbap. Both were excellent and served with five banchan that were wonderful as well. The meal was our priciest in Pokhara, we spent 1800 rupees for the two entrees and a coke. Compared to US and other Western prices though, this was still a bargain at around $14 USD. The only negative here was that we had to wait a bit for our food, but it ended up being worth it.
#2 Chili Crab at Jumbo Seafood - Singapore
Chili crab is one of Singapore’s most famous dishes and even though we’re on a budget, I really wanted to experience it. Jumbo Seafood is a famous chain restaurant originating in Singapore and I made us a dinner reservation to try it. In addition to the chili crab we ordered fried rice, stir fried morning glory and fried shrimp. All the dishes were amazing and the crab was very meaty and fresh. The claws were so big that I was pretty full after one of them, although I was recovering from a bout of food poisoning. I will say the food was amazing, but with a price tag of $170 for two people, it was rather pricey. I would say it’s worth it if you’re a crab fanatic, but otherwise I would skip it because there is a lot of cheaper food options in Singapore that are just as delicious.
#1 A Tie for Christmas Dinner & Hanukkah Dinner - USA
My favorite meals of the month were both home cooked holiday meals. For Christmas dinner my mom’s boyfriend made sauerbraten (a German style marinated braised beef), apples and cabbage, spaetzle, and gravy. It was so good and I completely stuffed myself. Besides the food being amazing, being around family made the meal that much more special and memorable.
Equally as delicious, Andrew’s mom made homemade beef brisket and potato latkes for Hanukkah. I love helping her make latkes every year! Also, no, they’re not burnt, we like them way 🙂
Budget
Nepal
Budget: $2,080 or $80 per day
Actual Spent: $2,265.41 or $87.13 per day. We were in Nepal for a total of 26 days from mid November to mid December. We spent $745 on hiking boots (that broke), warm trekking clothes, trekking backpacks and trekking permits. And then we didn’t even get to trek because I got sick!
Singapore
Budget: $850 or $170 per day for 5 days
Actual Spent: $886.87 or $177.37 per day. We had one expensive meal that took up the majority of our budget. Our chili crab dinner at Jumbo Seafood cost $172 out of $383 total spent on food. I’m still trying to decide if it was worth it or not.
Credit Card Points Update
New Points Earned
I signed up for a new credit card for the first time since April 2022! I got the World of Hyatt card because I plan to stay at a lot of Hyatt properties in 2023. The card give you automatic status with the hotel and helps you earn a higher status faster. Once I meet the minimum spend I’ll earn 30,000 Hyatt points.
Updated Points Totals
After booking 22 flights and 42 free hotel nights we have the following points remaining.
Kailyn American Express: 3,578 points worth ~ $43
Kailyn Chase Ultimate Rewards: 4,576 points + Andrew Chase 21,259 points worth ~ $387
Kailyn IHG: 46,628 points worth ~ $233 + one free night certificate
Kailyn Hyatt: 738 points worth ~ $15
Kailyn Delta : 39,796 points + Andrew Delta: 21,307 points worth ~ $794
Kailyn United: 6,552 points + Andrew United: 21,137 points worth ~ $313
Kailyn American: 8,210 points + Andrew American: 50,554 points worth ~ $705
Kailyn Turkish Airlines: 55,000 points worth $825
Kailyn Citi Thank You: 4,954 points worth ~ $74
Kailyn Capital One: 37,885 points + Andrew Capital One: 34,308 points worth ~ $1,083
Total Rewards Points Remaining: 356,482 redeemable for about $4,473
What's Next For Us?
We’ve only been in Thailand for two days so we’ll be exploring more of this beautiful country for most of January. Towards the end of January we’ll be flying over to Vietnam! I am so excited to visit some places in Thailand we haven’t been before and then explore a new country. Vietnam will be my 28th country!!
Happy New Year,
Kailyn (& Andrew)
Don’t forget to check out my 2022 Year in Review post for a look back at all my travel adventures for the year!
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