THE TRIP THAT ALMOST DIDN’T HAPPEN!

Are you a planner or a pantser when it comes to travel planning? Do you book months ahead or last minute? Do you prepare an action packed itinerary or leave an open-ended agenda?

I’ll admit that I can be a bit of both travel types. But, if I’m travel planning for a multi-destination fast-paced trip connecting cities, experiences, and multiple accommodation arrangements – as I did for our three month across Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea – I absolutely like to meticulously plan every step and every aspect of the trip.

Planning ahead and having time to do research means I get to choose the best dates and opportunities to book outbound and connecting flights, all our trains – including two heritage trains in Vietnam and four Shinkansen bullet train journeys in Japan – as well as booking accommodations at the best prices, and, importantly, keeping a tight control of the travel budget.

So, dear wonderful friends, I’m sure you can imagine the epic magnificence of the travel planning Excel spreadsheet that I’d prepared for my travel companion Dina and I, ahead of our 2026 trip!

Except that with panic shock and horror – and less than a week to go – the trip almost didn’t happen.

At the very end of February, news of the conflict in the Middle East meant that our Emirate Airlines flight from Manchester to Kuala Lumpur via Dubai was likely to be cancelled, along with everything on my spreadsheet!

I was in an immediate panic and my thoughts raced to come up with a way of salvaging the trip and preventing my careful made plans collapsing like a row of dominos. This wasn’t just a holiday to us. This wasn’t just any trip. It was a midlife adventure. As I’d explained in My Asia Diaries Part One – for me it was a pilgrimage and my first time stepping out into the world again after losing my beloved husband.

My dear friend Dina and I had invested so much into this trip and so the loss wouldn’t only hurt us emotionally, but also financially. I wasn’t entirely sure if travel insurance covered acts of war. But I did know that as we’d booked directly with the airline – and Emirates have a good reputation as a customer first airline – if they cancelled on us then they should offer us an immediate refund.

So, I called up Dina and told her of the new plan, then we both immediately got online and booked seats for our same departure day on a Singapore Airlines flight direct from Manchester to Singapore, plus a flight up to our planned destination of Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia.

Thankfully, our quick thinking and taking a gamble on getting a refund on our cancelled flight with Emirates, paid off. As the very next day, our refunds came through and we saw that the availability of direct flights to Asia – and any other flights avoiding flying over the Middle East – had suddenly become scarce and crazy expensive. Phew.

Thankfully we were only a couple of 100 GBP poorer. All was obviously not well with the world but as far as our trip was concerned, we could leave as planned. So, on the morning of 6^th March 2026 – the first anniversary of my husband Trav’s passing – Dina and I made our way to Manchester airport and boarded our fourteen-hour flight to Singapore.

Despite it being such a long flight, it went smoothly and once the first drinks from the drinks trolley were offered, we raised our glasses to our darling Trav, whom we both tearfully agreed was sure to be with us on this epic trip.

On the flight, we settled into movies and had drinks and snacks and meals, and then more of the same, until we landed at Changi Airport in Singapore. Then, feeling giddy with jetlag and exhaustion, we waited an hour or so for our connecting flight up to Kuala Lumpur then took the KLIA Express train into the city centre and a taxi to our fabulous hotel with views of the Petronas Towers. Our grand three month adventure was underway and we were literally deliriously excited!

The entries in My Asia Diaries will record our three month long adventures numerically (this is #2) and chronologically as we fly from Manchester to Singapore and onto our first destination of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia before travelling to the islands of Penang and Langkawi. Then travelling on to Vietnam, and Japan, before arriving in South Korea to explore the cities of Busan and Daegu and Seoul – and also visiting my Korean family – as my son and his family live in South Korea.

I’m planning for My Asia Diaries to be more detailed in content and for my writing to be more in depth and personal than my usual travel posts. You’ll see I’ll also include practical and detailed information and travel tips on the planning stages, how we travelled, where we stayed, and if we splashed out or stayed on budget!

THE RESOURCES I USE TO PLAN AND BOOK MY TRAVEL ITINERARIES

HELPING YOU PLAN YOUR OWN TRAVEL ADVENTURE

So do stick with me – feel free to leave a comment in the comments section at the end of my posts – or contact me directly.

You can subscribe to receive My Asia Diaries directly into your email inbox by subscribing to my mailing list using the pop up box or again my messaging me directly with your email address. Then you won’t miss any of My Asia Diaries!

IN THE MEDIA

I’m also talking about this epic trip of friendship and adventure in the media and would like to let you know that I’ve written a feature for UK Woman and Home Magazine. Our travel story will be featured in the January 2027 issue which will be in the shops and available to buy in December 2026. Don’t forget to get your copy! Also see My Media Page.