We left home at 10:20 AM on Oct. 15, and a friend dropped us off at Sky Harbor Airport for our Southwest flight to LA. While waiting to board, we enjoyed a chili soup at Panera Bread. The flight to LAX was smooth and on time. Once we were settled in at Four Points by Sheraton, we craved Mexican food and found a well-reviewed food truck nearby. The food was excellent.

On October 16, we took an early shuttle to the airport and boarded our Zipair flight to Tokyo, followed by a transfer to another Zipair flight to Singapore, with a 2.5-hour layover. The total flight time exceeded 17 hours, making it our longest flight ever. During the 24-hour travel period, we either ate airplane food or lounge food, which was adequate for filling our stomachs. Passing through customs and immigration in Singapore was quick and uneventful. Our daughter, who had arrived earlier that morning, met us at the airport to join us on our journey through Southeast Asia.

We took Grab, a ride-hauling service like Uber and Lyft to the Conrad Hotel. By the time we settled into the hotel, it was already past midnight on Oct. 17, more than 24 hours since we left LAX. We were all exhausted.