Posted by Seth on September 30, 2008 under Uncategorized | 
If you are spending a lot of time sleeping in airports, the folks over at MiniMotel have a product for you. They’ve put together a 4.7 pound, $50 mini-tent designed to help you catch a few winks while in the airport.
Sure, it looks a bit strange, and there are smaller and lighter tents out there, but this one is specifically for travel, so it must be better, right? It does include an air mattress for you to use, though it doesn’t actually seem to be big enough to fit a bag inside with you, which could be a problem.
I’ve got a couple nights coming up that I might be sleeping in SNA and OKC thanks to a mileage run. I’ll probably opt for a small air mattress and my bag as a pillow, but it certainly is a fun concept. Oh, and if you order 1000+ you can put your own logo on it.
More discussion over at BoingBoing Gadgets, too.
Posted by Seth on September 29, 2008 under Uncategorized |
I’ve posted here a few times about the Delta Shuttle service (LGA-DCA/BOS) and my adoration of it. Mostly it is because of the ease of access via the Marine Air Terminal at La Guardia, and the regular schedule and high frequency of the flights doesn’t hurt, even when the tickets are pretty pricey for such a short hop. Well, things are changing now.
Delta has announced their “upgrade” to the Shuttle service, introducing a first class cabin on to the plane. They’re spinning this as a great opportunity for their Medallion members to get free upgrades. And they remind the traveling public that the rest of the typical amenities that the Shuttle service is known for will remain.
They are even plugging their upcoming in-flight Internet service, to be provided by Aircell, as if paying $9.95 for Internet access on a 30 minute flight is a service differentiator that is actually going to drive business for them. I don’t think so.
Of course, they ignore one of the most significant benefits of the Shuttle service in all these announcements – the extra legroom on the planes. The 14 F seats replace only 6 Y seats on the plane, and to accommodate this they are going to have to reduce the pitch from 34” to 31” inches on those planes.
In reality this is simply a function of removing the dedicated Shuttle fleet from Delta’s operations to improve their efficiency. But, like most changes these days, the passengers will lose.
Posted by Seth on September 29, 2008 under Uncategorized |
Part of the fun in the ridiculous trips I plan is the hunt for elite status with the various programs I participate in. So when the programs offer to just sell the status outright it seems to take away some of the fun. But what I really cannot figure out is how I got the two offers that I did in the past month.
The first offer is from Hertz. The email talks about my “President’s Circle Upgrade” as if it is something that I was supposed to already know about and be a part of. It highlights some of the benefits and then, at the very end, reminds me that the offer is about to expire and that I need to pay the $450 now to claim it. $450. Are you kidding me? For a guaranteed one-car upgrade (which I rarely want) and a 25% points bonus on rentals. I have only used Hertz for a car rental once in the past year, so I cannot figure out why they think I’d pay for this, but I keep getting “reminder” emails about it.
The second offer I received is from US Air. This offer is for a 90-day US Air Club membership and either Silver, Gold or Platinum status for 90 days. Apparently I can actually buy the Club member ship ($120 for 90 days) or the status ($215/$430/$645 for 90 days, depending on the level) separately, even though the email doesn’t mention that. Of course, I have no idea why anyone would willingly fly US Air, certainly not enough to be elite with them.
Suffice it to say that I am not going to pursue either of these offers. That being said, it is interesting to see the various companies trying to raise money through offers such as this. I wonder if they are actually successful.
Posted by Seth on September 28, 2008 under Uncategorized |
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| View of sunset from my room at the Park Shore Waikiki |
I’ve had issues with trying to stay in cheap hotels in the past. I was surprised actually just how bad a $40 hotel room in Turkey could be. So when I went to Hawaii last week and needed something cheap and functional, but certainly better than what I got in Turkey. I ended up on Priceline and paid too much there for a 2.5 star room in the Waikiki Beach area (I thought I bid on a 3* but apparently not).
I ended up at the Park Shore Waikiki. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting. The room was clean, the air conditioning worked, a few channels of cable TV worked and there was free WiFi in the lobby and in the pool area (nice to be able to do some work pool-side, if work is necessary in Hawaii). And even the non-Ocean View rooms had a bit of a view, though not a great one.
Perhaps my favorite thing about the hotel is that it was all the way at the Diamond Head end of the Waikiki strip. That means that if one wants to avoid the strip completely – and I did – the option is there. Yeah, I walked a couple blocks on the beach to find some food one night, but as much as possible I avoided it. There’s a park and the zoo on the other side of the hotel, and plenty of not too crowded Waikiki beach. And there is a bus stop at the front door to the hotel, allowing you to get there for just $2 (and about an hour ride) on the Route 19 or 20 buses from the airport.
And, best of all, I had no use for any of the products on this list.
I’m still not a fan on Honolulu nor Waikiki Beach, but at least I was able to stay in a pretty cheap and pretty decent hotel this time.
Posted by Seth on September 28, 2008 under Uncategorized |
It looks like Continental has joined Delta in promoting their partnership with US Helicopter service to/from Manhattan. If you are flying on a C, A, R or Y fare you can get the helicopter for free, and if you’re on an H fare you can get it for only $45. This seems to be working on domestic flights whereas it used to only be for International Business Class tickets.
The deal on Continental expires on October 31, so if you’re going to take advantage of this deal, you’ll need to do it soon.
Posted by Seth on September 25, 2008 under Uncategorized |
Despite the announcement six weeks ago that the new T5 at JFK would be opening on October 1, it seems that it was not meant to be, with the new opening date now expected to be October 22. It seems that, although the terminal itself was ready, the concessions stands (here’s a list of the restaurants) were not. And opening a terminal without any concession stands open is a pretty bad idea. It is an even worse idea for JetBlue, which prides itself on the variety and quality of the food options in their JFK terminal, using that, among other things, as a justification for not offering real food options on their flights.
There was a big to-do at the terminal on Monday, and a few press releases about it, too. While I think the releases were a bit over the top ("Terminal 5 is not just an airport terminal — it’s a People Port. It’s designed to provide operational efficiencies without sacrificing, and in fact showcasing customer-friendly qualities.") the terminal really is impressive and I am still looking forward to seeing it in operation, now three weeks later than I originally expected.
Posted by Seth on September 24, 2008 under Uncategorized |
I’ve now been in Hawaii for just about 50 hours, and am in the airport getting ready to head over to the gate and get my flight back home. This was a much longer visit than the 3.5 hours from last week, and I have to say it was really pushing my upper limits for a visit to Oahu. I still didn’t manage to see the Arizona memorial, which is something I’ll probably stop by for at some point. And if the $260 fares come up again I’ll almost certainly book one because the mileage value is great, but I have very little desire to come back to Oahu.
I spent the vast majority of my one full day here underwater. The diving was OK, but not great. But at least it was something to do. Beyond that and sitting on a manufactured beach that so many people seem to love for no discernable reasons, I can’t figure out why people like to visit this island. The beach isn’t that great. At all. Then again, the number of folks I saw on the planes for whom this was a “once in a lifetime” type of trip was pretty high. Too bad, as those folks could benefit from seeing better (and closer) islands if that’s really what they are looking for in a vacation.
Anyways, enough of my ranting about Oahu. There actually were some good things from the trip, including a decent, cheap hotel I got through Priceline, the aforementioned diving and my learning to use the local bus system. More to come on all that in future posts. In the meantime, enjoy some pictures from my diving and from folks out on the beach.
A flurry of hair, water and body board on the waves
A sea turtle leaving the cleaning station, with fish in tow
A local fisherman at sunset
Yeah, he blends. Actually, he did blend in pretty well before I spooked him and he settled in this location for his photo shoot.
Riding the waves
Headed out to sea, and right past me.
Posted by Seth on September 17, 2008 under Uncategorized |
Delta and US Helicopter have been partnered for a while providing connectivity between JFK airport and Manhattan’s two heliports. Initially they were just sharing terminal space. Then Delta added an tag-on helicopter transfer to full fare trans-Atlantic business tickets out of JFK. Now they’ve expanded it even more, adding a $45 fare for anyone flying a domestic trip on a full coach fare (Y/B/M fare classes). I cannot find all the details so I’m not 100% sure of any other conditions on the deal, but it seems like a good opportunity. Some of the Y fares are actually pretty cheap where there is competition with other carriers, and the $45 is the same as a cab fare.
The helicopter ride is a great way to get in and out of Manhattan. I wouldn’t pay the $159 on a regular basis, but at $45 it is a great opportunity and definitely worth trying if you otherwise qualify.
Posted by Seth on September 16, 2008 under Uncategorized |
I have already posted about one of the best meals we had in Turkey, and dining at Körfez was definitely amazing, but truly there wasn’t a bad meal to be had throughout the trip. Sure, some were better than others, and in some we actually understood what we were ordering, but those two didn’t always go hand in hand.
A critical component to just about every meal we had in Turkey was the tomatoes. They were amazingly sweet and ridiculously bright red – almost a candy apple color. They were present at just about every meal and they were phenomenal. Even if you don’t really like tomatoes, consider making an exception and trying them again when you go to Turkey (you are going, right?!?). You’ll be happy that you did.
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| Breakfast at Cafe Aile Salonumuz Vardir. |
On our last day in Turkey we had about 7 hours to kill during a layover in Istanbul. We used part of that time to find and ride on the 3rd oldest mass transit system in the world and most of the rest of it enjoying a relaxed breakfast at a sidewalk cafe just off the Tünel square area. We mostly were looking to try some of the breakfast pastry dishes they had available as we’d come to enjoy those quite a bit over the week. The pastries ranged from a almost croissant-like layering of dough to a noodle kugel-ish dish, but with a thinner, lighter noodle. They come in various flavors, depending on what “stuff” is put inside. We had one that was meat, one with a cheese/veggie mix and one plain one topped with powdered sugar. All three were quite delicious. Add some fresh tomatoes and cucumber and a couple glasses of tea and we were all set for the rest of that day’s travels. Considering that most places were charging 2-3 YTLs for a glass of tea, getting out of this place for 7 YTLs each was a bargain, in addition to being a good breakfast.
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| Pide and Iskender at dinner in Kayseri. |
There are two other common Turkish dishes that we had a few times, both of which I am a big fan of: the Pide and the Iskender. Pide (on the left in the picture) is a flat bread with some toppings tossed on and baked. We found them with a variety of options, from döner to veggies to pastrami. Pastrami is the local specialty in Kayseri, and it was good, but without some decent deli mustard I found it hard to really appreciate it, but I digress. Pide was generally cheap and also rather filling. The Iskender is an interesting mix of food. It is apparently named for the guy who came up with piling it all on the plate together. It starts with a layer of bread chunks (think large croutons before they are toasted) and yogurt. On top of that is a layer of döner (sliced rotisserie meat, aka gyro meat in the USA). And on top of that is a layer of slightly sweet tomato sauce. Eating it basically is an effort in not making too much of a mess as you shovel a cross-sectional slice of everything into your mouth. Yummy.
The last food product I want to mention is manti. We discovered these at a small pensione/restaurant on the road between Göreme and the Ihlara Valley (going the long way). We happened into the place and the woman of the house initially started to take our order, mostly by shaking her head no indicating that things weren’t available. We were mostly just pointing at the menu and hoping for the best so that wasn’t too big a problem, but we were quickly running out of options when the man finally came out onto the patio where we were sitting. He spoke a bit of English and indicated that some of the things we wanted were, in fact, available and admonished his wife to the kitchen to prepare our lunch. The omelette with fresh veggies was nice, but the manti were pretty amazing. They are tiny pasta bits, stuffed with meat and apparently are considered to be the original ravioli. I don’t really remember what the sauce was that we had on them but the manti were divine. So go for some of those if you have the chance.
Finally, I’d like to point out to the English-speaking world that Shish (Şiş in Turkish) is the part of Shish Kabob that means “stick.” The kabob part is a reference to the meat. So there is no such thing at a veggie kabob, chicken kabob or any other kabob that isn’t actually the kabob meat (beef, I think, but don’t hold me to that). From no on I’d appreciate it if everyone would start calling those things veggie shish or chicken shish or whatever. Your cooperation in correcting this bastardization of the language is much appreciated.
Posted by Seth on September 16, 2008 under Uncategorized |
There’s something about a trip from Philadelphia to Newark that routes through Hawaii that makes me smile. Yes, I’m crazy. Yes, I’m traveling for about 28 hours, 20ish of which are actually in the air, assuming everything remains on time. And no, there is no logical explanation for it other than that I like to travel and I like collecting the miles. Even the guy sitting next to me on the plane acknowledges that it is a pretty good routing for collecting miles when the price is right.
I’ve gone to Dublin for 49 hours on the way to Minnesota, Anchorage for 45 minutes and to both Boston and Washington, DC one day never leaving the airport just for fun, so this just doesn’t seem all that strange to me, though that probably says more about me than it does about whether this is strange or not.
I’ve read a couple books so far and have a couple more to keep me busy. I’ve got my laptop plugged in and am actually getting some work done so it isn’t a complete waste of time. And I’ve got a lead on a pretty decent place to eat near the HNL airport where I can actually walk around for a bit and get out of the terminal, so it really isn’t all that horrible.
And next week I’ll do it all over again, albeit with a couple days pause in Hawaii to get some sun and otherwise behave slightly “normally,” though that is certainly a relative term with me.
Posted by Seth on September 15, 2008 under Trip Reports |
Apparently bus travel is the new hotness in travel in the North East Corridor. There are about 5 new companies operating in the Boston – Washington, DC area. Some of them are just new brands on old names, like BoltBus and MegaBus instead of Greyhound and Champion, and some would seem to be newcomers to the space. And these are decidedly NOT the typical Chinatown bus setups. Yes, they leave from a random street corner somewhere in the cities they serve, but they also have real websites where they sell tickets and publish schedules. Some of them (at least Bolt and Mega) have on-board WiFi and plugs at the seats. I’m on the bus now and plugged in and posting away, as well as getting some work done.
On the down side, it is still a bus. Only about 30% of the seats are full on the mid-day Monday New York-Philly run, but I can imagine it being rather uncomfortable if it got more crowded. And I did just get to listen to J.K. (the woman across the aisle) talk to about 4 different people at top volume about getting her time sheet in and her expenses paid. I suppose that happens all the time on the train, too, but it was still pretty annoying. And there is always the potential for traffic problems, but we’ve managed to avoid them thus far.
And we managed to pace an inbound flight on final approach into Newark as we headed down the NJ Turnpike, affording me this fun shot from basically right outside the window:
Overall, I’m satisfied thus far, especially since it is rather less expensive than the train options and is a non-stop trip, at least to Philly, but I don’t know that it would be a great option on a crowded ride. I’ll potentially find out next week when I make the final leg of my ridiculous 2x to Hawaii in 10 days trip back from the Philly airport and try MegaBus out (I’m on BoltBus today).
Turns out that the WiFi isn’t very good, which is too bad. I just dropped offline (from the bus to the internet, not locally) though it was working OK about 10 minutes ago. And now I’m sortof back, though it is slower than the free WiFi at a Continental Presidents Club, which is saying a lot.
Update (~5pm): After spending about an hour in traffic thanks to a fire somewhere on or near the Ben Franklin Bridge into Philly I’m not as convinced of the value of the bus. If it really was a train fire as was indicated online then I might’ve been just as delayed on the train, but this is getting to be pretty painful, even with the Internet (which has been pretty good during the hour delay).
