It’s been almost two months since I got back from my trip to the US but I’ve been pretty busy with work and life since I got back, especially given that I went straight back to the work the day after I got home!

I’m not going to be able to put everything I did in a single post so I’m going to split it up into a few parts. I’ll have an overview, highlights of my time in Lawrence and Kansas City, highlights of my girls trip and all the kinds of foods I had during my trip.

Baggage

I went on this trip with my 25” suitcase (checked), my 20” suitcase (packed inside of the checked bag), my 16” suitcase (carry on), my large backpack and a small crossbody. All my suitcases are spinners which makes life so much easier. My 16” carry on had my meds, clothes for my layover and Vegas and tech gear. My backpack had my laptop and journal kit. The small crossbody had my passport, travel documents, wallet, and cell phone in – basically, anything I might need while at the airport. If needed, I could pop my crossbody into my backpack.

I came back with two 25” suitcases (checked – ended buying one because I did too much shopping), my 20” suitcase (carry on), my large backpack and a small crossbody. I managed to fill both of the 25” suitcases with 49 lbs / 22 kg of stuff each). Thank goodness, both Southwest and Korean Air allowed me to check in 2 bags for 50 lbs each and 30 kg each respectively. I left my 16” suitcase with my bestie. Her and her family are planning on visiting here next year so she’s going to help me to bring it home.  

Flights

I’ve always enjoyed flying Korean Air. I’ve found their seats in economy to be comfortable and spacious (for economy) and the food options nice. This time though I was flying business class and oh how I love it so. I think I’m going to just fly by business class on all and any long-haul flights now hahaha. There are two kinds of seats for business class (or Prestige class as they call it) – there is the cubicle style which gives you more privacy and there is the pod style. Both kinds of seats have plenty of leg room and a seat that goes flat. I managed to experience both styles across my 4 legs. For comfort, I like them both. I loved that the seat went flat like a bed because I usually can’t sleep on a plane because I can’t raise my legs but thanks to the flat seat, I was able to sleep a few hours during my night flights. Personally, I prefer the cubicle type but mainly because of the privacy factor. It was like I was in my own little bubble especially given that the cubicle seats are set staggered, so each seat has its own personal entryway. The food was fantastic. I pre-ordered my meals before my flight, so I knew in advance what I was having. For some of my flights, I was able to pre-order meals that were not on the printed menu which came in handy for my flight to Vegas because they were offering a breakfast a couple of hours before landing when technically it was a late lunch.

For my domestic flights, I took Southwest. They are one of the few airlines that has a direct flight from Vegas to Kansas City. Plus, they also give you 2 check-in bags for free which always comes in handy for me on the trip back (lots of shopping done during my vacation). Other than a major delay for my flight from Vegas to Kansas City (3 hrs), everything else was fine.

Layovers in Seoul and Vegas

I had a 2-hour layover in Seoul on my way to Vegas and I spent the time heading to the lounge so that I could have a shower and change clothes. Might seem silly to some for me to have a shower between flights but I find that the warm shower helps to relieve any stiff muscles you might have and changing into a clean set of clothes is somewhat refreshing. After my shower, I checked out the shops in the terminal before heading to my gate for the next flight.

I had 24-hr layover in Vegas before heading to Kansas City and got a room for the night at Park MGM previously known as the Monte Carlo. I had stayed at the Monte Carlo before it’s renovation and name change and loved the location. I was given a room on a high floor with a view of the south end of the Strip. After a quick change of clothes, I went across the street to get a pin from the Hard Rock Café (things I collect) and to grab a light dinner to bring back to the room. By the time I got back to the room, the jet lag was starting to hit so I spent the rest of the evening chilling in the room watching tv and journalling before heading to bed early.

My layover in Vegas on the way back was only about 4 hours and I just spent it in the lounge and hanging out at the gate. Spent the time reading a book I had picked up during my stay.

My layover in Seoul for the last leg was a lot longer than the first one – 5.5 hours. Like before, I headed to the lounge and had a shower and changed my clothes. I also grabbed some food and chilled there before heading back to the terminal to check out the stores and to wait at the gate for my last flight.

Kansas City and surrounding area

I spent most of my vacation in Lawrence, Kansas as that’s where my bestie and her family live. Most of the time there was spent hanging out with her family and her eldest son’s friend (Cards Against Humanity games were played), shopping and grabbing a meal here and there. We also took a tour of the University of Kansas campus as well as “hunted” down murals around the town. There were also days where we went to Kansas City or one of the nearby areas for meals, shopping, and sightseeing.

Girls Trip

We had talked about going for a girls trip before my visit but didn’t finalise anything until I got there. We were thinking of going to Chicago but ended up going to Vegas because it was cheaper, and we could go for less. We went the week before I was due to leave. Basically, we were in Vegas for 4 days and 3 nights, and then back to Kansas for 3 days before I headed back to Vegas to head home. Probably should have planned it before my trip so that I could have just headed back home from Vegas rather than going back to Kansas for a few days just to come back again but then again, we hadn’t really decided where we were going to go.

Final Views

All in all, it was a great trip. A much needed and wanted break from my usual life. I also tried out some new track hacks and tips.