I made it to Chicago and I am having a great time. More updates are coming soon.

Previous Journal Entries

November 18: Upgraded to First, Finalized Packing, Metro to PDX, Denver Centurion Lounge, and Empty Row to Chicago

Today, I begin my Jason Gets Around the World journey. Starting at my house in Portland, taking the bus to the airport, eventually getting through security, and then being the last person to board my first flight to Denver. Happy to get the notification this morning that my seat to Denver was upgraded to first class. I love it when that happens!

Free upgrade to first from Portland to Denver on Alaska Airlines

I was excited to see this morning that my Alaska flight to Denver had been upgraded to first class!

Finished Packing With Time To Spare

I’ve never been a person who packs early for a trip. Not even one where I’m gone for a couple of weeks to travel the world.

I started packing yesterday evening and eventually, I got tired and decided I would finish up in the morning.

I woke up at 4am and finished packing an hour or so after leaving me with plenty of time to get to the airport.

Bus and Metro to PDX

I decided to take the bus and metro which cost me a couple dollars vs Uber or Lyft as either of those would have cost over $40. I had the time for taking the bus, so why not!

American Express Centurion Lounge During My Layover

I had the intention of going from Terminal C to Terminal A to go to the Capital One Venture X lounge. However, since I was already at C and the Centurion Lounge was nearby, I figured I would see if it was packed like usual. It was actually a short line, so I stayed in C as my departing flight is also here. I also checked the Capital One app and saw that the lounge was at capacity, so, Centurion Lounge it is!

Free cocktails and food works for me during my almost 2 hour layover.

They even had a Mac and Cheese station.

Empty row flying to Chicago!

I was already pretty excited to get upgraded to first class flying to Denver. I then checked the AA app to see if any better seats opened up. I was excited to see an empty row of seats a few rows in front of the exit row where I was sitting. So, I grabbed the window and was glad to see the rest of the row stayed empty!

Arriving Early to Chicago

My flight from Denver to Chicago was quite painless! I laid out on my row and took a nap. Then I heard the word we’re landing early. That’s great! We landed almost an hour early!

Now to get my bags that I checked.

Though I’m flying as a carry-on during my trip around the world, I knew Chicago would be cold and since I’m celebrating Thanksgiving, I figured I would bring an extra bag of cold weather and nice clothing.

That led me to checking both bags and only having my backpack with me.

Potentially Useful Stuff

• Instagram for more content: https://instagram.com/jasongetsaround

Jason Gets Around the World Trip

Back in December of 2023, I got a notification about Singapore having award space to fly the longest flight in the world, and so I decided to book it as I had a bunch of Singapore Airline miles sitting around from a transfer bonus I took advantage of a while back. 111,500 miles and $5.60 later and I was booked.

I told my buddy Joe that I was doing this and he decided to join me on the journey!

Almost a year later and we’re soon to be off on the adventure!

I’ve decided to use this as a journal to keep track of my journey. I’ll do my best to fill this out and keep folks updated.

More Details

Soon I begin my journey of eventually traveling around the entire world! Chicago to Chicago on 11/18-27, I’ll go around the entire world, pretty much on two flights over 9 days! I’ll be going even further as I’ll actually be starting and ending in Portland.

JFK-SIN will be 10,500 miles and 19 hours.
TPE-ORD will be 7,885 miles and 14 hours.

My buddy Joe and I are flying in business class to Singapore, so that’ll help with this very long flight!

The return to Chicago will be in the Hello Kitty Besties Jet in business class as well!

Taiwan 🇹🇼 will be my 45th new country, and this will be my first time flying around the entire globe in one trip 🌎🌍!

11/16: PDX-DEN-ORD
11/18: ORD-JFK-SIN (landing 11/20)
11/20: SIN-BKK
11/21: BKK-CNX
11/23: CNX-TPE
11/27: TPE-ORD (landing 11/27)
12/2: ORD-PDX

#jasongetsaroundtheworld
#jasongetsaroundtaiwan
#jasongetsaroundwithfriends
#jasongetsaround