19 Sunday Jan 2014
Posted in Accommodations, Japan, Marriott, Okinawa
After packing up the car, Mrs. Selfish and I drove an hour north from Naha to our next stay, the Ritz-Carlton Okinawa. This was our first Ritz-Carlton stay, so I was a little unsure what to expect.
Golden chandeliers? Martini-fueled Bentleys? Diamond-encrusted butlers?
While it didn’t have any of these things, the Ritz-Carlton Okinawa still managed to ooze luxury.
16 Thursday Jan 2014
Posted in Accommodations, Hilton, Japan, Okinawa
Tags
Doubletree Naha, Japan, Naha, Owinawa, Selfish Year, Selfish Years
After leaving Fukuoka, Mrs. Selfish and I boarded a Japan Airlines flight to Naha, Okinawa, Japan’s southern most prefecture. Okinawa is often called the Hawaii of Japan, and for good reason. The weather is warm and tropical, and the traditions and food are completely different from mainland Japan.
Up until the late 1800’s, Okinawa was known as the Ryūkyū Kingdom, and was a tributary of both China and Japan. As such, Okinawa has its own unique blend of Japanese and Chinese traditions and food that make it distinct from mainland Japan. Okinawan architecture is unique, and beautiful.
They also have a huge American military presence, which further adds to the flavor of Okinawa. Wandering across this small island, you’ll notice an American influence on all sorts of foods – from Okinawan ice cream, to taco dogs and taco rice. Continue reading
13 Monday Jan 2014
Posted in Accommodations, Fukuoka, Hyatt, Japan
Tags
Fukuoka, Fukuoka Castle, Grand Hyatt Fukuoka, Hyatt, Japan, Ohori Park, Selfish Year, Selfish Years
During our selfish year abroad, Mrs. Selfish and I made a pit stop to Fukuoka, on our way to idyllic Kurokawa Onsen Town. As Japan’s 7th largest city, Fukuoka is often overlooked in favor of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. Most visitors I’ve talked to aren’t even aware it exists!
Fukuoka is a thriving city with a unique food scene, and the birth place of gyoza and tonkatsu style (pork broth) ramen. Having only spent one half day in Fukuoka on our previous go-around, Mrs. Selfish and I decided to stay two days this time, in order to better explore the city (and it’s ramen scene!).
We decided to stay at Grand Hyatt Fukuoka once again, since we had enjoyed it so much our previous time around. On the previous visit, Mrs. Selfish was a diamond member, thanks to a diamond challenge, but this time we were lowly platinum members. Since we had enjoyed the GHF’s lounge so much on the previous go, however, we decided to pay in cash and use one of Mrs. Selfish’s diamond suite certificates!
Checking in in pretty much any Japanese hotel usually goes smoothly, in my experience, and the Grand Hyatt Fukuoka was no exception. After arriving in the lobby, we were escorted to the lounge to complete the check-in process. A few minutes later, we were in our suite.
Upon entering, I was immediately struck by the size of the living room. While our previous stay had been pleasant, the standard room was a bit cramped by Western standards. The suite, on the other hand, was large and modern.
There was a thermostat in each room for individual temperature control, motion detector lights in the closet that lit up upon entry, and a classy wall-mounted CD player playing welcoming jazz music.
The living room also had a welcome amenity: a small bottle of wine, some grapes, and green tea flavored cookies.
The room itself was modern and clean though a bit sparse, which I find to be quite typical in Japanese hotels.
The bathroom came with a bathtub and separate shower and a glass sink – a feature I’m still obsessed with.
Only a wide angle camera could capture the majesty of the glass sink.
While we didn’t snap any pictures of them, I should mention that the amenities kits in Japan tend to be pretty slick. Especially the shaving cream, which comes in a miniature can and foams up. Probably not that impressive to some of y’all out there, but typically hotel shaving creams come out of a little tube more like a lotion or cream – it’s always these little differences that I enjoy about traveling.
11 Saturday Jan 2014
Posted in Accommodations, Hilton
Tags
Bora Bora, Conrad Koh Samui, Conrad Rangali, Hilton Bora Bora, Koh Samui, Maldives, Selfish Year, Selfish Years
Mrs. Selfish and I recently completed a stay at the Conrad Rangali in the Maldives, back in November of last year. In the miles & points world, this was considered one of the most desirable Hilton properties in the world, up there with the Conrad Koh Samui and Hilton Bora Bora.
Somehow we managed to stay at all three properties last year, so I thought I’d do a comparison post explaining their relative strengths and weaknesses.
While Mrs. Selfish and I like traveling in luxury, we’re actually tremendous cheapskates – so I’ll be rating each of the properties by what you get for your hard spent cash. Not necessarily who is the best, but who gives you the most bang for your buck.
Editor’s Note: If you’re deciding between the three properties it’s a decent read (or if you like pretty pictures of tropical locales), otherwise it is a loooong post.
09 Thursday Jan 2014
Posted in Accommodations, Food & Drinks, Hilton, The Maldives
This is the fifth of six posts on the Maldives. Check out our other posts here:
When it comes to dining, Mrs. Selfish and I don’t really do expensive. If anything, we usually opt for street food over a 3-star Michelin restaurant. Unfortunately, the Conrad Rangali is a resort-style property, which means you are trapped on an island and can ONLY eat food on said property. Which means the food is expensive.
While the Conrad has many fabulous restaurants to choose from, we ended up eschewing the majority of those options for the cheapest, most Maldivian food we could find.
As gold members, Mrs. Selfish and I ate complimentary breakfast at Vilu, which is located on the smaller of the two islands. Vilu is primarily a seafood restaurant in the evening, but in the morning they give you the choice of an entree and access to the continental buffet.
The location is spectacular. Since it’s on the quieter of the two islands, it’s mostly utilized by honeymooning couples and has a cozier, more intimate feel. The other breakfast option is at the Atoll Market on the other island, which we never made it to since Mrs. Selfish and I were far too lazy to cart ourselves over there in time for breakfast.
06 Monday Jan 2014
Posted in Accommodations, Hilton, The Maldives
This is the second of six posts on the Maldives. Check out our other posts here:
As much as I enjoy flying, Mrs. Selfish and I are less about the journey and more about the destination. After a grueling 20 hours of flying, and 36 hours of jetlag in Hong Kong, we had finally reached our destination: The Conrad Rangali.
The Conrad Rangali has been relentlessly hyped up over the years as one of the premiere destinations to reach on miles & points – and with good reason. While the Conrad Rangali is difficult to get to, it is without a doubt one of the most gorgeous places on earth.
05 Sunday Jan 2014
Posted in Accommodations, Hilton, The Maldives
This is the first of six posts on the Maldives. Check out our other posts here:
When Mrs. Selfish and I started talking about our Thanksgiving trip, I had originally planned on traveling to the Maldives to stay at the Conrad Rangali before the great Hilton devaluation. Unfortunately, Mrs. Selfish, sensing a large number of flights, axed the trip. I kept our reservation, however, secretly hoping something would change.
Fortunately, luck was on my side when Cathay Pacific announced the opening of their Hong Kong – Male route back in July 2013. The trip was on!
Others have covered the numerous ways one can get to the Maldives on points & miles, way better than I can, so this post will deal with the trip from Male to the Conrad Rangali itself.
The Conrad Rangali is in no way a cheap, or affordable hotel. While you can get a room for free with HHonors points the food, activities, and extras can add up very, very quickly.
Case in point, the sea plane. At roughly $450 per person, this sucker ain’t cheap. It is luxurious, however, as is the entire experience from beginning until end.
Mrs. Selfish and I ended up landing in Male around 9pm our first night in the Maldives, which was a good 4-5 hours after the last seaplane had left for the Conrad Rangali. Fortunately, I had booked us at the Hotel Octave, a small hotel in Male, which is a good 20 minutes by boat and car from the airport.
Transportation to and from the hotel was free, fast, and efficient. The next morning we were dropped back at the airport to the welcome counter for the Conrad Rangali.
02 Thursday Jan 2014
Posted in Accommodations, Asia, China, IHG
Mrs. Selfish and I arrived bleary-eyed and jetlagged at the Hong Kong International Airport at 6:30am, from our 11:30pm flight from San Francisco. After hitting the showers and grabbing a cup of coffee in Cathay Pacific’s Arrival lounge we jumped in the closest cab and headed straight to our first stop, the Intercontinental Hong Kong.
The Intercontinental Hong Kong is located right off of the Avenue of the Stars and is pretty easy to get to. If you’re low on bags and traveling by yourself, I recommend taking the express train into town and taking a cab from there, which should run you close to $120 HKD total.
If you’re traveling in groups of two or more, a cab is probably more economical (and definitely faster), and should run you closer to $230 HKD ($30 USD). From memory, it took us around 20–25 minutes to get to the Intercontinental, since there was relatively little traffic around 7:30am.
The check-in process was smooth and quick, since I had already arranged everything via email ahead of time. We opted to book an award night for 40,000 IHG points a night instead of paying the ~$400 it would have cost. As an Ambassador member, Mrs. Selfish was granted late check-out, and two drink coupons for the bar.
Intercontinental is pretty stingy when it comes to perks, and doesn’t guarantee their Ambassador members much of anything. They are supposed to upgrade members to a better room upon check-in, but in this case we would have been upgraded to a deluxe room with a view of the Sheraton. Instead, we opted to pay to upgrade to a Superior Harbor View room for an additional $1,200 HKD a night (+10% tax), since the harbor view was the whole reason we chose to stay at the Intercontinental. Otherwise I probably would have chosen the Conrad HK, or the JW Marriott again.
Amazing skyline views of Hong Kong from the lobby.
Impressively, our room was ready at 8 in the morning, so Mrs. Selfish and I headed to our home for the next 36 hours.
01 Wednesday Jan 2014
Mrs. Selfish and I have been living in San Francisco for the last few months, exploring the city and the Bay Area. Well, “living”, might be more accurate.
While we’re physically in San Francisco, most of our stuff is still in a pod somewhere in Orlando, Florida, so we’re still living out of suitcases. Normally, I’d view this as a disadvantage, but after traveling for a year I’ve become pretty accustomed to the lifestyle. It’s nice to be able to leave and hop on a plane at the drop of a hat.
So it was with much anticipation, that Mrs. Selfish and I started our annual Thanksgiving trip. This year we decided to visit the Maldives, and Okinawa, Japan, stopping by Hong Kong, Fukuoka, and Tokyo along the way. An odd routing, to be sure, but we were in pursuit of an elusive beast.
The whale shark.
More on this guy, in a few posts.
02 Wednesday Oct 2013
Posted in General
When we started traveling 14 months ago, we started this blog as a fun way for friends and family to follow our adventures around the world. 422 posts later, I don’t think either of us expected to still be writing, or to have anyone other than my mom follow the blog.
After a year on the road, we’re finally settling someplace, and even though it’s only for the next few months, it’s a pretty strange feeling. While it’s nice to be back home in the States, the road continues to beckon, and it’s hard not to drop everything and go.
As you may have guessed, we won’t be blogging daily any more, but we will continue blogging. If you want to continue following us, the easiest way is to subscribe to our RSS feed, which is located on the right side of the blog underneath our “Next Location” image.
As others have suggested, we plan on posting about San Francisco as well as our travels on the west coast. We’re already eyeing trips to Portland, Hawaii, Vancouver, Seattle, San Diego, Sedona, Mexico, and the Grand Canyon, to name a few. Plus, there’s our trip to the Maldives and Okinawa in November – I’m already counting down the days!
Thanks again to everyone who followed us on our year long journey around the world. While we’re becoming a little less selfish, our selfish travels are far from over. Hopefully we’ll bump into you out there on a selfish trip of your own!
~ Mr. and Mrs. Selfish
01 Tuesday Oct 2013
Posted in Accommodations, Asia, Australia, Best Of, Europe, Oceania, Travel Hacking
This is the final part of our 15 part series on the Best of Our Selfish Years of Traveling. You can check out the other parts below:
Our great Selfish Years adventure started when I discovered the world of miles & points, back in September 2011. Mrs. Selfish and I applied for 2 Citi AA cards, for a grand total of 150,000 AA miles a piece: enough for two business class tickets around the world!
We’ve done some pretty awesome things, flown some amazing flights, and stayed at some world class hotels. So how much did it all stack up?
Let’s look at the numbers, shall we?
Mrs. Selfish and I spent a grand total of 372 days of straight traveling, leaving the States in August 2012, and returning in August 2013. During the course of the trip we saw 102 cities and flew 61 flights across 25 countries. 
We spent the most days in France, followed by Japan, Australia, and England. Expensive countries, indeed – though surprisingly, Australia was the MOST expensive country – coming in at roughly 50% more in costs than any other country.
Some random factoids:
27 Friday Sep 2013
Tags
Conrad Maldives, Doubletree Naha, Fukuoka, Intercontinental Hong Kong, Maldives, Okinawa, Ritz Carlton Okinawa, Selfish Year, Selfish Years
When we first started traveling abroad, I figured our year long wanderings would end one of two ways:
1) After traveling for a year we’d be so sick of it, that we’d immediately settle somewhere and never leave.
2) Our travel obsession would get worse and we’d have problems staying anywhere for longer than a month.
Unfortunately, it looks like it’s #2.
Mrs. Selfish and I have been settling into San Francisco for two weeks now, and I’m already starting to get antsy. While it’s nice to have a slightly more permanent home (at least for the next few months), I miss the call of the open road.
Fortunately, I anticipated this outcome and booked a new trip back in July. Come late November, we’re heading to the Maldives and Okinawa for scuba diving, by way of Hong Kong and Fukuoka, Japan!
Let’s see if the Maldives is everything it’s cracked up to be!
Okinawa, Japan’s Winter Paradise.
26 Thursday Sep 2013
Posted in Best Of, Living Abroad, Rant
Tags
Abroad, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Things We Learned, Tips for Traveling Abroad, Traveling Abroad
This is third and final part of our 3 part series on Things We Learned While Traveling Abroad for a Year. If you missed them, here’s Part 1 and Part 2.
23. Your appearance immediately sets expectations. Run with it.
Posin’ in Xi’an, China.
A buddy of mine and I were recently comparing our experiences in Seoul, South Korea. In my experience, almost no one spoke English in Seoul. In his, pretty much everyone did. The difference? He’s 6’2” and white as the day is long. I’m 5’10” and half Chinese – a look that makes me indefinably ethnic at home, but probably Chinese in Korea. People were expecting him to speak English, so they did so preemptively. With me, they weren’t quite sure where to start.
Conversely, I’d be willing to bet that I received better treatment in Paris because I looked like a fumbling young Japanese tourist to most French people.
24. Asians are everywhere.
A Chinese tour group in Yellowstone.
Thanks in large part to Chinese and Japanese tour groups, Asians are everywhere. Other ethnic groups, not so much.
25. And Sexpats are all over Asia.
Yay, sexpats, bleh.
It’s especially bad in Thailand, but you see them all over Southeast Asia. Pretty revolting, stuff, actually.
26. Sometimes it’s worth it to pay for a room with a view.
Bora Bora was totally worth the cost.
In Paris, we rented an apartment with a view of Sucre Coeur. In Tokyo, we got a room facing Mt. Fuji. In Bora Bora, we had a room facing the volcano. I never used to be a stop-and-admire-the-view kind of guy, but there’s something to be said for waking up and immediately feeling like you’re in an exotic, amazing place.
25 Wednesday Sep 2013
Posted in Best Of, Living Abroad, Rant
Tags
Abroad, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Things We Learned, Tips for Traveling Abroad, Traveling Abroad
This is Part 2 of our post on the 33 Things We Learned While Traveling Abroad for a Year. You can view Part 1 here.
12. If you can’t research a meal ahead of time, going with the most popular place almost always works.
If it smells good, and it’s crowded, chances are it’s safe AND delicious!
Most of the time, Mrs. Selfish painstakingly researched restaurants days, or weeks before we arrived. Sometimes, however, the best meals were restaurants we spotted while wandering. If it smells good AND there’s a crowd, chances are it’s worth eating!
13. Goods cost pretty much the same everywhere…
Electronics in Akihabara, Tokyo are just as expensive as home.
Sometimes you can find a better deal on goods in their native country. For the most part, however, we found that goods cost just as much as in the States… except those countries never had any sales! Where’s a good Black Friday when you need one?
14. …but services are cheapest in Southeast Asia.
If it’s cheap manual labor ye be wantin’, head to Southeast Asia.
Without a doubt the cheapest services I’ve ever seen were in Southeast Asia. We paid $7 for an hour long massage in Bali, $10 in the Philippines, $5 in Cambodia, and $14 an hour in Thailand (the best one!). For haircuts, I found the cheapest (and best) was in Beijing, where I paid a whopping 10 yuan ($1.60). Unless it requires a huge amount of finesse, chances are it’s cheaper in Asia.
15. Shipping is cheaper than you think.
Especially if you don’t care if it takes months to get there!
While Mrs. Selfish and I loved haggling for goods, we had one major problem – we didn’t have enough room to bring them back! Fortunately, mailing stuff by by boat (which usually took 2 months), was pretty affordable.
In England, we paid roughly $100 for 10 kg (22 lbs). In China, we ended up paying closer to $40 for the same amount. In total, we shipped off 6 boxes with roughly 120 lbs worth of stuff, and almost everything arrived intact, with the exception of a mask we bought in Xi’an.
16. Deodorant is more prevalent in Asia & Australia than Europe.
Vive, la Stench! Sadly, a cliché for a reason.
Especially on the metro. Come on, Europe, you smell weird, and no one wants to be around you!
24 Tuesday Sep 2013
Posted in Best Of, Living Abroad, Rant
Tags
Abroad, Selfish Year, Selfish Years, Things We Learned, Tips for Traveling Abroad, Traveling Abroad
One of my secret (hopeful) goals of traveling for a year was to improve myself in a Julia-Roberts-Eat-Pray-Love kind of way. I’m not entirely sure what I was thinking at the time, but I figured there was a good chance I’d have an epiphany while viewing the Great Wall of China, or a greater insight into myself while practicing yoga on the beach somewhere in Thailand.
Utter crap, of course.
If anything, I think I’ve come out of the experience a little more sure of who I am, and what I’m about: a sarcastic bastard in his early 30’s filled with a strong desire to maximize everything.
Nevertheless, while I didn’t learn anything new about myself, I did learn a lot about who I am when I travel and a little bit more about the world.
1. It is possible to get travel fatigue.
Walking 5 miles at 10,000 ft. in Machu Picchu was no joke.
Planning a 10 day trip for 2 cities is all fun and games, especially when you’re doing it from the office. Planning a trip for 370 days for 95 cities is exhausting, as it turns out. Especially when you factor in the fact that you’ll be changing rooms (and beds) on average less than once every 4 days. We probably spent a good 2-3 days of the trip just packing and unpacking our bags!
2. You will lose weight.
Waterfall Repelling in Da Lat, Vietnam. I fell. A lot.
Most of our friends and family (secretly) thought we’d gain weight while traveling for a year. And while we did cook whenever we had a kitchen, we probably ate more than 2/3 of our meals out. So how did we lose weight? As it turns out, simply being on your feet 4-8 hours a day goes a long way.
Back in Orlando, I’d probably sit down for all but 2 hours a day, and hardly any of that was spent walking. Traveling there were days where we’d be on our feet ALL day, and I’d go to sleep strangely exhausted, though I hadn’t done anything strenuous.
Oddly, the country where we gained the most weight was America – even with all the gym time.
3. You can get by without seeing friends and families for several months at a time.
Mrs. Selfish and her cousin barely survived a monkey attack in Bali.
We were fortunate to be able to meet up with friends and family several times throughout our journey, but there were months at a time where I’d only see Mrs. Selfish. Fortunately, thanks to the wonders of the internet, we managed to stay in touch with loved ones.
4. After a few days, you no longer miss TV.
Mrs. Selfish never misses a photo-op. Taken in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Mrs. Selfish and I used to turn on the Food Network or TBS almost immediately after coming home from work. As soon as we hit the road, we stopped watching TV immediately, and I didn’t miss it. There was just too much to do. Now that we’re home, we still don’t watch TV.
The Selfish Years 