Brisbane
With a late evening departure and heading west across the international date line, you lose an entire day heading to Australia-- goes straight from the 28th to the 30th. I probably slept a bit too much as I missed the cake they brought out mid-flight for the crew (and that Carl Brothers snagged some of!), but I did catch Captain Horanyi chatting with The Points Guy's Ethan Klapper a bit, plus some others whose names I wish I could remember. Got a glimpse of the sunrise through the galley window as well before breakfast.
Breakfast itself was a rather gross looking chorizo-and-egg shakshuka. Portion was a bit skimpy but it tasted better than it looked (low bar...), then a smooth landing into Brisbane. Got invited up to the cockpit again, which was still way cool the second time around. Carl Brothers and Melissa Haynes also got to come up behind the rest of the VIPs and media-- then after some hanging out I think all of us ordinary passengers (Carl, Melissa, and myself at least!) got kicked out so they could complete arrival procedures and start the events on the tarmac.
To my surprise, post-security, there were more VIPs, more media, and more pictures in the arrival hall despite the early hour. Brisbane/Queensland tourism is treating this flight as a huge deal (I had no idea!).
The rest of the day was a bit more ordinary. Ran a bunch of errands, hit the Riverside Sunday Market, and generally just enjoyed a warm spring day in Brisbane. Debated seeing koalas at a nearby koala sanctuary but unfortunately used up too much time with errands to make it. Discovered that Carl Brothers seems to subsist off alcohol and fried chicken, and ended up too underdressed/too shy to crash United's inaugural arrival cocktail party at The W in Brisbane. Which was a bit of a mistake because it turns out, as a Global Services customer, Carl's GS rep, Yana, could have gotten us in. (oops!)