Posted by Seth on February 16, 2010 under Trip Reports | 
Given a total of 14 hours on the ground in Mexico City, of which the majority was during sleeping hours, there wasn’t a whole lot of opportunity for grand adventures or expeditions. Things got even worse when my phone lost data service on arrival and I couldn’t find the address of the hotel to tell the cab driver. A quick phone call back to a buddy in Los Angeles solved that problem (Thanks, Damien!) but I was still left with a few hours on a Monday morning that I had to fill. I wasn’t willing to just sit in the hotel room until I had to head back to the airport – what fun is that?!?! – so I set out on a very limited exploration of a very small part of Mexico City.
My hotel, the Wyndham Garden Inn, is in the Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City. About 30 minutes from the airport, the area is very accessible and also happens to be a reasonably nice neighborhood to wander about. Even putting aside the significant number of points I earned for the hotel stay I think that the property is a winner. Free internet that is a pretty decent connection, great towels (very soft) and a pretty good location make the property a winner to me.
I got some great tips from a friend in terms of what I should try to see and I managed to do pretty well overall, I think. I still need to get to El Moro, the churros shop that was recommended, but I did get to see El Angel de Independencia and a couple other sites while wandering around the neighborhood for the couple hours I had that morning. Plus, I’ll be back in six weeks and should be able to get that bit of fun in on that visit.
But on this visit I simply walked up one of the main streets of town for a bit and was exposed to an enjoyable snippet of the city. Plenty of folks out on the street and I watched their completely crazy means of dealing with traffic circles (they just go on whichever side gets them to the destination faster rather than in a circle!). Overall, it was a rather enjoyable way to spend a bit of time in the morning getting acclimated to town.
Plus, I had a ridiculously delicious breakfast on the street. As I walked past the guy on the way out for my rambles I had a very good feeling about the situation. He had several meats, each kept in a very neat pile on the griddle. Plus the whole rig looked to be very clean. Still, there was no one else out eating so I was a bit apprehensive. I got over that when I returned from my excursion and saw a couple others around the stall eating off of plates that were covered in a disposable wrap. So he runs a very clean shop. That’s a good sign.
My initial order – in my version of very broken Spanish and his much better English – was for carne y queso; steak and cheese. Served on a couple tortillas and then topped with onions, salsa and a squeeze of lime juice from the condiment bar that he had on the cart. Half way through consuming that delicious I managed to order a second round, this time with chorizo rather than carne. It also had a different cheese though I really couldn’t describe the difference with any reasonable accuracy.
The two tortillas overfilled with meat plus a soda were about 30 pesos. That’s just over two US dollars. The food was great and at the price there was really nothing better out there. At least not that I could figure out how to order anywhere. After all, I barely speak Spanish.
And then it was back to the airport and then onto the circuitous routing back to New York City. Having the same flight crew for the Mexico City – Panama City flight as the night before into Mexico was fun. So was meeting a guy in the lounge in Panama that I vaguely knew from a previous trip. But that’s all a different story.
Posted by Seth on February 9, 2010 under Mileage Run, Trip Reports |
Indeed, I owe the islands of Hawaii an apology. For years now I’ve been telling anyone willing to listen (and quite a few who couldn’t care less) just how much I disliked Hawaii. That hasn’t stopped me from visiting 5 times in the past three years – when it comes to miles on the cheap I’m easy – but I never really enjoyed the trips.
Until this past weekend.
The reason? I got the hell out of Waikiki. I even made it off Oahu and out to another island (the Big Island). And that made all the difference in the world. It was incredibly refreshing to discover normal people hanging out and enjoying the island life rather than catering to package tourists in high-rise hotel towers on a fake beach. I got to hang out with locals who actually enjoyed living there and leading relatively normal lives, not just running tourist trap tours and pretending that they actually serve decent food.
At the encouragement of my friend Vince, a longtime resident of the Big Island, I paid him a visit. Immediately after arriving in Honolulu I found myself making the long trek over to the commuter/interisland terminal for the short flight to Hilo. Sure, Vince lives near Kona on the other side of the island, but I figured why not get an extra airport in my collection and see some more of the island by driving across.
I booked a bed at the Hilo Bay Hostel, knowing that I’d be in late, out early and not have too much need of a full service establishment. It was clean (enough) and the others staying there were quite friendly. It also is right in the middle of town which meant easy access to a few bars at night and to decent breakfast in the morning at Bear’s Coffee. The breakfast was fine but the conversations there were absolutely phenomenal. I happened to sit amongst a few folks at the counter who were recounting their days running the local pot growing operations and private security shops, regaling each other with tales of who was doing what and reminiscing about how they “had to get out when the cocaine came in.” I also was up early enough to catch a sunrise over the shoals that sit just off the edge of downtown. Not too shabby.
After breakfast I hopped in the rental car (pretty cheap via these guys) and set out along the Saddle Road across the middle of the island to meet up with Vince. The drive to Kona has gotten significantly better in recent months due to the repaving of that road. There is only one section now that is in terrible disrepair. I don’t really know how bad it used to be but I made the drive much more quickly than I expected to (about 2 hours versus the 3 I was led to believe it would take) and it was fresh asphalt for the vast majority of the trip. No complaints at all.
Our destination that morning was Hapuna Beach State Park, a bit north of town and adjacent to the Hapuna Beach Prince hotel. The beach was crowded but not so much so that we couldn’t find space to lay out some towels and catch some sun (too much, in my case). Plus the waves were pretty good there and Vince provided boogie boards. It had been about 17 years since I last rode on one but, much like riding a bicycle it all came rushing back to me, including the sensation of being slammed into the sandy bottom by a wave as I wiped out during one ride. No lingering effects but definitely a bit woozy for a few seconds there.
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| Relaxing between sets a Hapuna Beach State Park |
We also did a bit of cultural tourism, paying a visit to the Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site. The site was the long standing seat of power for the Hawaiian islands. It was 200 years ago when King Kamehameha finally completed his unification of the islands as a single kingdom, the completion of a 19 year effort that started with the construction of a war temple at the Pu’ukohola Heiau site. Among other things I learned during the visit, apparently the opposing leader sacrificed at the temple knew that the meeting was a setup that would involve his death but he went anyways, knowing that it was his fate to be the death that would provide the power to unify the peoples of Hawaii. That’s pretty impressive.
The temple itself is not open for tourists (it is still used by native Hawaiians performing religious rituals) but the site is and there is a well labeled trail, some videos explaining the history at the ranger station and another local beach at the base of the cliffs. The other beach – Spencer State Park – is even more of a locals hangout than Hapuna Beach. They permit camping and there is a small, well protected beach that was quite pleasant. Again we came across many families out enjoying the Saturday afternoon. There were more grills running than I could count and my mouth was watering at the sight of all the different foods being prepared. Alas, no time to try to crash one of the many parties; we had a plane to catch.
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| The beach at Spencer State Park on the Big Island |
Yes, we had a plane to catch. That’s because during the afternoon I had convinced Vince to make the hop over to Oahu with me that evening to meet up with a half dozen other guys for dinner. The fact that he had no running water at home that night probably helped in the convincing, though I still like to think that I really was that motivating. Anyways, off to the airport and on to the plane.
It was a whirlwind 18 hours on the Big Island but infinitely better than any of my previous trips to Oahu. Next time one of the $250 fares to Hawaii comes up I know what I’ll be doing when I arrive in Honolulu: leaving!
Posted by Seth on February 5, 2010 under Trip Reports, points |
For a guy who doesn’t really love Hawai’i I seem to go there an awful lot. It is hard to complain too much when the airlines offer up a $250ish fare from the New York City area as it is a trip worth a bunch of miles, but I generally don’t really enjoy being there. Of course, I blame that on having stayed in Oahu, specifically in Waikiki Beach, when I get there. I know that there are supposed to be better bits to see and this time around I’m finally going to give that a try. I’m headed to the Big Island.
Today’s trip is a four flight affair, starting with a departure from Newark at 6am and finishing with a puddle-jumper flight from Honolulu to Hilo scheduled to arrive at 8:30pm tonight. Just enough time at each connection to hop into a lounge or two for a snack and then on to the next flight. Assuming everything connects OK (which seems pretty likely so far) I shouldn’t have any troubles other than the fact that it is about 20 hours in transit from my apartment to the bed at the other end.
Map from the totaly awesome Great Circle Mapper tool
Perhaps the best part about the first flight today (EWR-SFO) is that the plane is mostly empty. Normally when flying on United Airlines I’d perform some sort of “upgrade flirt” at the counter or in the lounge to try to get a seat in the Economy Plus section for free (I know it is coming soon enough with Continental OnePass reciprocity but I’m impatient) but this morning I didn’t even bother. The First Class cabin may be booked full on this A319 but the back is wide open. There are at least 10 half rows that have one or zero customers seated there. I traded my seat up near the exit row for 22E, a middle seat in the back.
Just after takeoff I was happily asleep in my lie-flat coach seat, trying to imagine if it would really work with a second passenger cuddled up next to me as Air New Zealand thinks they’ll be able to sell with their new SkyCouch seats. And I still don’t see it working, at least not for customers over 5’ 6” tall.
I awoke from my 3+ hour snooze to one of the more disgusting views I’ve seen on a plane. This:
Seriously, it isn’t your house. I know that it isn’t particularly crowded on board this morning but keep your feet down. Yuck!
Only 15 hours yet to go on this trip. Plenty more nap time and writing time to come.
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Posted by Seth on January 27, 2010 under News, Trip Reports, frequent flyer, media coverage |
Back in November when me and 220 other aerophiles were jetting around in a chartered Boeing 757-300 there were a couple reporters along for the ride. They each focused on different aspects of why all all of us were there and what motivates us to travel as much as we do. Some of them got it and some of them most certainly did not. But none of them managed to relay the story quite as eloquently as Greg Lindsay, writing in the February 2010 issue of Condé Nast Traveler magazine.
His article, Triumph of the Air Warriors captures the spirit of that specific trip as well as the joy that many frequent flyers find in hunting down deals, identifying loopholes and otherwise fighting back just a little bit against a system that is decidedly stacked against the customer.
"I call it Airworld," Bingham says in the novel by Walter Kirn on which [Up in the Air] is based. "The scene, the place, the style. . . . Airworld is a nation within a nation, with its own language, architecture, mood, and even its own currency—the token economy of airline bonus miles that I’ve come to value more than dollars. Inflation doesn’t degrade them. They’re not taxed. They’re private property in its purest form."
For you, Airworld is the nowhere you pass through on your way to a meeting or a vacation. It’s the series of tubes from security to your gate, and to the rental car lots, chain hotels, and fast-casual restaurants. At every stop, if you’re savvy, you earn precious miles. American Airlines launched the first frequent-flier program almost 30 years ago on a lark; United followed suit a week later. Therein lies the tale—and many free trips to Hawaii. These led to real-life Clooneys endlessly chasing miles—and who knows what else.
And that’s what it is for me. The chase of the miles. The hunt for bargains. The chase for new cities, airlines, aircraft or just random trips that I’m just crazy enough to take. Lindsay spoke with a couple dozen “Air Warriors” – residents of AirWorld – about their adventures. And the stories we tell are full of frivolity, challenges and conquests. From one guy’s tale of his earliest memory – falling down the stairs of a 747 as a three year old – to a story of a mass revolution against an airline’s declining product quality, the stories are great reads.
Plus, I’m quoted a few times in the article; I’m sure that contributes to my appreciation of it.
You can read it here (http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/502250) or pick up a copy on the newsstands. The print version has a pretty awesome photo, too.
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Posted by Seth on September 10, 2009 under Uncategorized |
The flight from Seoul to Chicago was the first that I actually got to sample the food on the flight. The menus came with instructions for how to mix them bibembop (only for the white folks, of course) as well as some Western dining options. The food was actually pretty good, though the timing was once again strange. Lunch was served right after departure. Well, just over an hour after departure. And no drink service immediately upon departure either. The first drinks were not served until after the first food was presented. It is billed in the menu as a pre-drink appetizer – a small lump of crab meat in some sauce – and it was rather tasty, but I generally prefer my drinks first and then my food, not the other way around. I also generally prefer my drinks in full size glasses. I’m sure that they keep their wine budget down by using the miniature glasses that they do and shrink the costs even more by only filling the glasses half-way with each refill. The net was that I pretty much got one sip from each pour. It was definitely a slow go on the alcohol side of things.
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| Bibembop for lunch. |
The menu showed a mid-flight snack and then a light meal later. When I woke up from a nap about 6 hours into the flight I thought I’d be getting the former. It was the latter. So another strange meal schedule with the last several hours of flight completely food free. Good thing I saved the honey roasted peanuts they provided at boarding for a late morning snack.
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| The "light meal" |
The seat in business class is OK, but that’s about all I can say for it. The current seat on the 747 is a lie-flat-at-an-angle model, also known as a slidey seat. I slept fine and with minimal sliding, but there are a couple of quirks that make it hard to get particularly comfortable in the seats. The armrests are at different heights – about 4-6 inches different. This is very confusing to me, and rather uncomfortable. Also, the padding on the seats is quite thin, enough so that I noticed. I tend to fly on Continental a lot and their seats are hardly known for being well cushioned. The Korean business seat was the same or worse to me. Using the blanket provided helped to address the issue when sitting up but didn’t help much during the sleeping portion of the flight.
No amenity kits and the pillows in business class are the same as those in coach, and it isn’t because the coach pillows are that nice.
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| Much more direct with the warnings! |
I understand that the latest & greatest business class seat is better than the current iteration, but that isn’t really why I wouldn’t spend the money or points on their product. It turns out that it just is rather blah. If I’m going to spend the points or dollars I’d rather feel like the quality of the product, both in the air and on the ground, was actually worth the expense.
Posted by Seth on September 8, 2009 under Uncategorized |
Back to the airport now in Manila and getting ready for my return trip. Fortunately I had been able to find reward inventory in Business Class for the return so my hopes and expectations were slightly higher. Of course, knowing what I did of the lounges I should have been more guarded but I wanted to believe that the blah experience thus far was because I was in the back of the plane.
Manila’s airport is quite lively late at night. There are wide-body flights headed to Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Korea (3 flights) Singapore and several other destinations. That meant plenty of people around and no seats to be found. Since the check-in counter doesn’t open until around three hours prior to the flight that meant I was stuck sitting on a baggage cart for about an hour waiting for the agents to arrive. Part of that is my fault – I chose to arrive early so that I could do the drive to the airport in daylight- but it was still annoying. The staff had a bit of a show that they performed when opening the check-in counters (it was all in Korean but the rest of the passengers applauded so I guess they did well) and then I was finally able to deposit my bag, collect my boarding pass and head through immigration and to the lounge.
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| The dining spread at the Korean Air lounge in Manila |
Finally, a lounge with food and a full complement of booze. Sure, the brands were less than exemplary – Absolut vodka, Gilbey’s gin and a local rum that was passable but unremarkable – but at least there were options. They also had some actual food options beyond packaged snacks. Nothing truly delicious, but a bit of food to tide me over.
I wanted to pick up some alcohol at duty-free but I wasn’t sure if I would be permitted to carry it through the security screening passing back through Seoul so I asked at the desk. You’d think I had asked the woman the answer to the meaning of life or some other such complicated inquiry. The response started as a simple “I don’t know” and only when I pressed did she make an effort to find out. All of their flights go via Seoul. This seems like the kind of thing that passengers might ask rather frequently. I didn’t expect it to take 20 minutes to figure out an answer. I helped myself to some snacks since they actually had some available and eventually got the answer to my question so I headed out to buy my booze. I wish that the answer had been more accurate. I was able to clear security in Seoul with the duty free just fine but upon boarding my flight to the USA I learned that they only permit duty-free purchased in Seoul to be carried onto the planes bound for the USA. Even though the bottle was in the stupid tamper-proof bag and was purchased 10 hours earlier. Fortunately they were able to check it for me but I have no idea if it will arrive in one piece or not.
I also asked about postcard stamps. I had finally found cards and written them but had yet to find stamps. The guy at the information booth in the airport said that I should be able to find them past security. I couldn’t. I asked at the lounge and she said that they were sold at a store there but she didn’t know which one. Based on the trouble with the duty free inquiry I didn’t push it any farther and resigned myself to the fact that I likely had postcards that would never be mailed. Still, not the type of service I had expected to receive from the folks in the lounge.
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| First and Business on a KE A330 |
Midnight rolled around and I wandered over to the gate area and made my way into my seat. Not the most comfortable in the world – recliner style – but it would do for the 3.5 hour flight. In truth, I tried to stay awake for the dinner. I actually went so far as to tell the flight attendant that I wanted the bibimbop option. And then I promptly fell asleep. Again they were very apologetic that they were unable to serve me since I was asleep and I once again explained that the sleep was more useful to me than the food. Smiles and nods all around and then I was off to the rather pedestrian lounge that I’d spent so much time in on the outbound journey for another shower and an attempt to make a breakfast from their meager offerings. I also needed to see about my seat on the upper deck of the 747.
I’ve only had a few opportunities to sit on the upper deck. There was the United fare mistake to New Zealand a couple years ago but we were stuck downstairs in both directions on that flight. And then there was this trip. I reserved a seat upstairs in advance and everything was looking so good. Alas, it was not meant to be. At the counter in the lounge they explained to me that there was no upper deck. Suffice it to say that I was very confused. It was definitely still a 747-400 plane but there were no upper deck seats. “How is this possible?” I asked. “The upper deck does not exist,” was the reply. Once we got past the part about how they couldn’t simply remove the bubble from the top of the plane I was able to show them a seat map and they looked it up some other way on their system. Apparently the upper deck was being used as overflow seating for economy customers on this flight. So it was back downstairs, albeit to a lovely bulkhead window seat, for me. Walking through the cabin I can see why – not an empty seat to be found in the economy cabin. I’m still annoyed; another chance at flying upstairs lost to the fickle whim of the travel gods.
Three beers and a shower in the lounge later I wandered out into the terminal in one final effort to find stamps and mail my postcards. I was successful! Cards posted and the clock rapidly approaching noon had me on my way to the gate area to board the flight. Strange coincidence at the gate area. There was a guy struggling with his phone charger in the lounge so I lent him an adapter to use. I ended up standing next to him in line to board the plane. And then I found myself sitting next to him on the flight. Just one of those strange coincidences in life, I guess.
More coming in part 3…
Posted by Seth on September 8, 2009 under Uncategorized |
Today is day one of the jetBlue All You Can Jet adventure, and I’m already well underway. I was up bright and early to catch the first flight up to Rochester, NY this morning and I’m now awaiting the return flight back to JFK to meet up with some other folks participating in the deal and then head to the office.
Plenty of activity in JFK even at 5:30 in the morning.
Follow along with the rest of my ACYJ adventures at allicanjet.wanderingaramean.com or @WanderngAramean on twitter.
Posted by Seth on September 5, 2009 under Uncategorized |
The Asian airlines have quite the reputation going for themselves. Phenomenal service is considered the norm, the minimum that one should expect while flying with them. The lounges are supposed to be better than those of the American carriers and the in-flight product is supposed to as well. As I am sitting on my fourth Korean Air flight of the week – two in coach and two in business, two long haul and two regional – I am seriously wondering where this reputation comes from. The entire experience has been most notable for its lack of anything exceptional. Maybe I’m being too judgmental. Maybe the expectations I had were unreasonable. But I don’t really think so.
The trip started with a 12:50am departure from New York City to Seoul. That is sufficiently late that I wasn’t really expecting to eat a full meal on the plane right at departure. I would be sleeping. I somewhat expected that their business class lounge at JFK airport would have some snacks or light finger foods of some sort. I was horribly overly optimistic. The selection of snacks rivaled that of Continental’s Presidents Clubs, hardly the standard bearer when it comes to munchies. And the alcohol selection was – while self service – miserably poor. There was Scotch, brandy and whiskey. And beer. No other liquors to be found. Top it all off with the fact that the lounge was impressively crowded and it all adds up to a lounge that I see no reason to visit again.
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| Mid-flight breakfast |
Back to the flight. With the early morning departure I was asleep within about 15 minutes from wheels up so I have no idea what the first meal option they served was. The second meal was served 6 hours into the flight – right in the middle – disrupting any chance of getting a full night’s sleep. I was roused by the sound of the carts rolling by and became coherent enough to grunt and nod yes when asked if I wanted breakfast. Sure, it is just airline food, and coach food at that for my outbound flights, but I’m not really sure that is was meant to be served at that point in the flight. That also meant that the following 6 hours were food-free, right up through the 4am arrival in Seoul, where there were no real food options to speak of available. Fortunately I had liberated a couple packets of Fig Newtons from the lounge at JFK.
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| The legroom destroyer |
The coach seats were fine as far as coach seating goes. Like most planes these days the in-flight entertainment system has some heavy-duty gear that sits under a seat at some point blocking leg room and Korean’s 747s are no exception. Fortunately for me that blockage is under the middle seat and I had a window so I was unencumbered. The entertainment system is decent, with a wide selection of music and movies, though none I really wanted to see. There are about 30 in English, mostly new releases. I did watch Back to the Future at some point, though I was still pretty much in a sleepy haze. At one point I wanted to watch the in-flight map and track our journey. Instead I found myself watching a rotating series of ads for hotels in Seoul, Los Angeles, Waikiki Beach and a few other places. There were also a number of ads for Korean Air, their Skypass frequent flier program, their AVOD system and SkyTeam. There was a notice that all flights are non-smoking and a cute teddy bear wearing a seat belt, reminding us to buckle up. Each display page was on the screen for about 15-20 seconds and the total loop was around 8 minutes long. Of that time about 3 minutes was actually the in-flight map. Rather pathetic, really. On the plus side, I now have a list of about 8 hotels that I won’t give my business to since they interfered with my in-flight map watching ability.
At least the sunrise (or sunset, I’m not entirely certain) I saw during the flight was rather pretty.
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| Sunrise (or sunset??) somewhere over the Pacific |
Transiting Seoul was pleasant for the decent shower I was able to get (though no toilet in the shower room; saves space but can present issues when trying to perform the three “S” of morning ablutions) but wholly unremarkable in every other way. The alcohol selection was similarly limited to that available in New York (no vodka for a bloody mary??) and the food options were arguably worse. This from their flagship lounge at their hub in their home city. At this point I grabbed another beer from the cooler and went from being relatively neutral on the whole thing to rather unimpressed. The food did get better for short stints at a couple points throughout the day but overall it was not what I would expect from an Asian carrier that presents itself as offering a premium product. It is certainly worthwhile to get out of the lounge and out of the airport if you have the time while transiting Seoul. Staying in the lounge for more than about 3 hours could lead to bouts of depression and general malaise. It is not recommended.
The flight from Seoul to Manila was uneventful though that likely comes from the fact that I slept the entire time. The flight attendants did stop by to mention that they tried to serve me dinner but I was asleep. Such is life. Two flights and three meals served and I had only actually seen one of them. And eaten zero.
At this point in the trip the good stuff happened. I was underwater for four full days of diving that could not have been better.
Read more in Part 2, coming soon.
