Learning to “Love” Travel Logistics (April 21, 2026)
Now that my wife Elena is back in New York, I’ve resumed the role of primary travel planner. Will, Violet and I arrived safely in Seoul, South Korea yesterday, checked into our Airbnb, and then crashed. Too many back-to-back early mornings, so we agreed to plan nothing today.
Welcome to Seoul, South Korea Carmody Family (minus Elena)
Of course, there were a few things we couldn’t ignore like finding the local grocery store and buying the minimum supplies for our ten day stay here regardless of how many amazing restaurants are all around us. When hunger strikes, we want simple options to buy time so that the collective mood can stay civil while figuring out where to go.
After buying from the grocery store, Elena had me do a special errand that can only be done here in South Korea. This is where they make the high-end sun screen that isn’t currently available in the US. Elena loves a product called Beauty of Joseon and we were lucky to find it when were were in Fiji. Now that she’s back in New York, Will and I went on a hunt to find the specialty stores that sell this specific product:
Yes! We found the coveted face sunscreen. Disaster averted!
We were lucky enough to meet with a store owner in a pharmacy who spoke English and she explained that it could be found in specialty cosmetic stores … not in grocery or pharmacy stores. Thankfully, there are a number of these particular stores where we’re staying.
So, shopping complete, Will enjoyed his downtime (and Violet kept sleeping as long as she could without the blackout blinds). And I got busy finalizing my travel plans for the month of May.
Mexico City > Cancun > Bogota
Violet has decided she will complete her world tour when we finish our time here in South Korea. On April 29th, she heads back to New York. Because she crosses the international date line, she will arrive one hour earlier than she takes off on the same day. Yes, that’s admittedly confusing, but also accurate.
Will and I have decided to fly to Mexico City for a few reasons:
It’s a direct flight from Seoul
It gets us midway between where we’re both going next (Will to New York and me to Bogota)
The geographically “closer” options would actually take longer
This is another head scratcher. On a map, Hawaii looks like the obvious next destination. However, you can fly further away in a shorter amount of time because of the altitude and direction the plane flies.
After figuring out Mexico City is next, I was able to alert my friends there to give them as much time as I could so we can do our best to meet up. Then I looked at the next flights. Originally, the plan was Peru, but again the direct flight options and logistics to get to Monte Picchu in the remaining time Will had proved more challenging than expected.
Cancun was not selected for the all inclusive resort options. Neither of us drink alcohol and the number of all inclusive resorts is staggering. After more than an hour researching, I found a place about a 10 minute walk from the beach that includes a parking space so that we can rent a car and do day trips to what we’re really interested in. Like visiting the Mayan Ruins via the Tulum Archaeological Site about 2 hours away.
This gives us both flexibility to figure out our day-to-day while having a firm grasp on our flights in and out of Mexico. When Will flies home to New York on May 14th, I head to Bogota, Columbia to begin my South America journey.
So yes, today included purchasing several flights, hotels and logistics (yay!) to extend my world tour through most of May. I’m not 100% sure where I’m going next, but I have about 5 more weeks to plan out to complete my full year abroad.
I’m truly grateful to be in this position and some days are more enjoyable than others. That is to say, I’m working with this disturbance and learning to love travel logistics. After doing this for the better part of a year, I’ve learned how to cut through the more confusing parts of planning travel and how to get right to the heart of the travel logistics.
I’m not a travel agent, but I sometimes step into this role with the support of Kayak, Booking.com, Google Gemini and ChatGPT. Technology can make it simultaneously easier to execute and more difficult to decide with the growing abundance of choices, reviews, and overload of available information.
I sometimes long for the simplicity of my 1990’s companion from George McDonald, Frommer’s Europe on $45 a day book. It was brilliantly simple, easy and elegant. I know travel directories are a thing of the past (just like phone books) and I’ll need to do some further reflection on what precisely I miss because it certainly wasn’t carrying around a bible-sized book with me.
