Introduction

As 2023 winds down, I wanted to revisit all the travels that I’ve done together with my family and friends this year. This year was both chaotic and tranquil in terms of travel, with a few that I wouldn’t have envisioned to have happened. From visiting Japan with family to taking a roadtrip to Canada to a last-minute trip to Taiwan, it’s been a wild year.

2023 was an amazing year for travel. It seems that the more spontaneous I have at Little Boy From Taiwan, the more creative and more focused I get on these reviews. I want to thank all my audience and viewers for spending time with me on my small but growing travel blog. I’ve been a huge fan of Frequent Miler, One Mile at a Time and the ShutterWhale, all whom are highly regarded travel bloggers in this space. They often set the foundation for aspiring and growing travel bloggers like myself, and I look forward to spending more time writing strong and insightful articles for all of you in 2024!

Without much further ado, let’s see what 2023 brought us!

In 2023, Little Boy From Taiwan has Spent:

20x Free Night Certificates
+923,956 Hotel Points
+443,300 Miles
+$4,360 USD

Family Reunion in Japan | Spring 2023

To begin 2023, we headed to Japan in the springtime, as our whole family got to explore Tokyo, Hakone and Kyoto together. It was a trip that I’ll remember vividly, as it been at least over 7 years since our family went back to Japan together as a group. We were able to fly JAL business class, which is one of my favorite in the industry. From departure to arrival, we were consistently treated so well and on top of that, the dining menu on the flights to and from were superb.

Booking hotels was such a fun challenge, especially when I had to book 3x rooms per hotel. When we arrived in Tokyo, we first few nights at the Intercontinental Tokyo Bay, which was surprisingly better than the Intercontinental ANA Tokyo and perhaps the The Strings Intercontinental. I loved the location and the proximity to the Hamaryiku Gardens, as well as Ginza.

From there, we took the shinkansen to Kyoto, where we landed at the Hyatt Place Kyoto - it was such a surprise and delight of a hotel, especially with its breakfast service. Their buffet menu could easily rival some of the 4-5 star hotels. A few days later, we took to the mountain basins of Kyoto, where we had a couple luxurious nights at the ROKU Kyoto, an LXR Hotel & Resort. It was so memorable watching all of us enjoy the beautiful cherry blossoms and embarking on a culinary experience in Kyoto. We also detoured into the Hyatt Regency Hakone, where we bathed in the thermal fissures of the Hakone mountains, and stopped by Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay for Tokyo DisneySea. While the lines were treacherously long, we still had a blast together as a family. Our last leg saw us in at the famed The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kiocho, where we had some of the best Japanese breakfast, and I mean it. We also loved the teppanyaki at night and the surrounding area.

From my pocket, this trip in total costed me:

721,956 hotel points
12x Free Night Certificates
240,000 Alaska Miles
$152.96 out of pocket

Visiting Co-workers in Singapore | Spring 2023

Having just arrived back in San Francisco, I was packing once more for Singapore in April to visit my colleagues and friends. While I was able to snag an awesome Premium Economy seat on Singapore Airlines, the 15+ hour flight made me realized how spoiled I was with lie-flats on long haul flights. #firstworldproblems I know, but it was definitely profound. It’s a great alternative to business class, though I’d personally do a layover next time, either in HKG, HND, or TPE to capture more flights!

Nevertheless, the trip was off to a great start at the Westin Singapore, where the proximity to our office and the surrounding Marina Bay Sands and shopping made for an easy home base. I had such an awesome time hanging out with of all my office friends, as well as some old-faces. I also embarked on running as much as I could around the area, though I was getting beat left and right by all these fit uncles and aunties! I also stayed at the famous Andaz Singapore, where I encountered some of the best concierge service - I had the absolute best welcome amenity that I’ve ever seen. See picture below and see what I mean.

Flying back to the states, I used all my United Travel Bank credits and paid the whole price for a business class ticket on United Polaris back home. Sadly I immediately asleep on the way home and completely forgot to capture my experience.

From my pocket, this trip in total costed me:

40,000 Hyatt Points
2x Free Night Certificates
50,000 Singapore Krisflyer miles
$1,560.00 out of pocket + $750 United Travel Bank Credit + $250 United Credit Card credit

splurging too hard in Honolulu | Summer 2023

The summer of 2023 saw us traveling to Honolulu with our friends - every year, we would get together and travel together to some fun destination, and Hawaii was on our list for this year. We were warmly welcomed early on at the Ritz Carlton Waikiki Residences, where their breakfast and immaculate service provided us a fantastic time on and off the strip We were even upgraded to the famed Deluxe Corner Suite, where we had a blast enjoying the sunrise and sunset. During our time together, we also had dinner at the famed La Mer restaurant at Halekuani, and caught some waves on Waikiki beach. Shopping was a must and I never felt so drained after a few days of shopping at Ala Moana Center as well as Luxury Row.

From my pocket, this trip in total costed me:

$1,450.94 out of pocket, with $200 in Amex Hotel Credit.
I forgot how much I paid for the Hawaiian Airlines economy tickets, but it wasn’t more than $450 I remembered per person.

Bereavement in Taiwan | Fall 2023

During the fall, I flew back to Asia as my grandparents has passed away, and while I wished I stayed longer, I had a great time hanging out with my old cousins and relatives, whom I haven’t seen for over 4 years since COVID-19 had turned our world upside down. I wished I had more time in Taiwan and look forward to actually enjoying my time next April.

Because of the timing, I was fortunate to lock-in award flights as my travel dates was incredibly swift. I was able to fly on the consistent business class of China Airlines to TPE, and then to Tokyo as well as my favorite, business class on Japan Airlines back to SFO.

In Taiwan, I got to stay at the often underrated Le Meridien Taipei, a great alternative to the W Taipei, as well as the old guard of the prominent hotels, aka The Regent Taipei, where at the time of visit saw a huge influx of government officials from both Japan and South Korea. While I was only there for a short time due to business reasons, I had a grand time with the 48 hours that I had in Taipei. Lastly, I was able to spend a night at the Conrad Tokyo once more, and it was such a amazing time, albeit the less than 24 hour layover.

From my pocket, this trip in total costed me:

203,250 miles
3x Free Night Certificates
95,000 Hotel Points
$380.10 out of pocket

Roadtrip to Canada | Winter 2023

During Thanksgiving, our family took a roadtrip up to Sooke, Canada where we got to explore castles, Canadian ketchup and catch som e of the best sunrises and sunsets I’ve seen in a while. Our roadtrip saw us stay at some of the best pet-friendly hotels in the Pacific Northwest. Our first hotel was at the Sheraton Redding Hotel at Sundial Bridge, which was short of spectacular. They have some of the best pizzas I’ve ever tasted, and the rooms are all excellent. We even got upgraded to a coveted corner suite!

In Portland, we got to witness the old but charming Kimpton Riverplace Hotel, where we were right by the river and a series of running trails. While it was cold in Portland, it didn’t stop us from exploring a bit, which included chasing waterfalls! In Seattle, we were warmly welcomed at the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington, which is currently one of my favorite Hyatt Regency hotel in the world right now. And of course in Canada, our friend had hooked us up with an amazing and rather large mansion that sat right on the coast of Vancouver Island.

From my pocket, this trip in total costed me:

3x Free Night Certificates
67,000 hotel points
$70 out of pocket

What’s Next in 2024?

2024 is going to be really different compared to 2023. As of now, my work occupation is currently undergoing some changes and could impact what I review and visit in the next year. Nevertheless, I am excited about revisiting Japan and Taiwan with my friends in April (see my travel report here) and spending quality time back at some luxury hotels! I’ll also be investing more time with certain hotel brands to review unique brands and hotels in their collection.

Thank you for reading and visiting Little Boy From Taiwan! I’m super thankful for all of you and appreciate your continued engagement with me!