Yum. Burgers. The Burger Joint Le Parker Meridien is the cure for your NYC blues. Too much partying? Too much wandering? Too much spending? Then check-in to the Le Parker Meridien, use a platinum suite upgrade, and make a call down to The Burger Joint.
Sure you can wait in the line that wraps around the hotel lobby but as a guest you have the privilege of placing a carry-out order and returning to the safety of your abode.
All that’s left is to find CBS for some March Madness.
Burgers. Yum.
The line that wraps aroundThe restaurantThe GrillFriesSuite UpgradePickle
You ever go to Central Islip? You ever hear of it? Neither had I till today when a major oversight in trial preparation had me scrambling to figure out where Central Islip is located. It isn’t in Brooklyn!
$230 taxi ride and an hour later than scheduled, I begged the court for mercy for not knowing that there is more than one federal court in the Eastern District of New York.
Now I’m on the $12.75 train back to Penn Station lucky to still be a practicing attorney.
This is an important lesson for all travelers who do not double-check the name of their departing airport and end up with a lot of stress as they arrive at the wrong terminal (see AirAsia terminal Malaysia).
That stress lingers even if you do manage to catch your flight or in this case make a court appearance.
Attention to detail is not my strong suit but I hope my error will not become yours.
My excuse for not posting yesterday was the day long flight to New York and of course the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. After walking by Irish bar after Irish bar the question I have is whether there are more Irish pubs in NYC or Starbucks.
Every place was the official headquarters for St. Patrick’s Day taking away from the charm of the holiday. Even Bud Light changed their bottles to green to commemorate the day. Think about that: it’s worth Bud Light changing its production line in time for a holiday because people buy green.
The after effects of my St. Patrick’s outing is this rambling hopefully coherent post. The only regret is not posting this yesterday to maintain my blogging streak.
Can anyone guess what celebratory day tomorrow March 19th is?
Finally, ThePointsOfLife is back a-live. Wow, for a minute I thought I’d never see an airplane again. Bond has been set and I’ve been released on my own recognizance. Next stop, New York City for a few days of SPG stays to get going on requalifying for platinum.
This Trip Report called New York, New York, New York is a sampling of various SPG hotels throughout NYC. The trip was supposed to conclude at the critically acclaimed Park Hyatt NYC but their pool is closed. Luckily, its replacement, Le Parker Méridien New York, has its own rooftop pool and a stellar burger joint.
Here is the list of the hotels I will be staying at and reviewing one day in the far distant future:
I’ve been looking forward to going to the Park Hyatt New York ever since it opened last year. Park Hyatt is one of my favorite hotel brands, so the opportunity to stay at the flagship hotel had my excited. Along with the 20% points promotion rebate for using Gold Passport points, my upcoming stay was going to be perfect.
Then I received this email:
Thank you for choosing Park Hyatt New York for your upcoming stay. We are delighted to have you joining us. We would like to make you aware that beginning March16 th, 2015 the swimming pool area will be closed for urgent necessary maintenance. The pool is scheduled to re-open March 24th, 2015. Spa Nalai, the fitness center and locker rooms, will remain open and offering a full range of services. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Please be sure to let us know if there is anything else we may further assist with. We are excited to welcome you and wish you safe travels.
For $300 and 15,000 points a night, I want all the amenities to be functional. I’m sure the rooms and service are great but the highlight of of my stay was the pool which somehow already needs ‘urgent necessary maintenance’. So I cancelled.
Anyone have an inside guy that know the answer to this mystery?
St. Patrick’s Day Race 3 Mile Time 24:12. Quite the tortoise trek I took getting through this horrible race. Dehydrated, unmotivated, I looked to my playlist to bail me out. I strategically configured the following list believing it would take me to the Holy Land of a sub 20 time.
It did not and for that I blame Enrique Iglesias.
Yup, that eclectic playlist is what I put together for this one. Noticeably absent is Ricky Martin, a must for marathon runners. The Pointer Sisters were on point when I needed them though I still had too far to go.
As bad as I did, others did a lost worse:
Final numbers: #7/27 Male Age 30-39, #52/658 overall.
Yeah those little kids’ numbers are part of the grand total.
Tomorrow is the Annual St. Patrick’s Day Race in Anytown, USA. I’ve signed up for the quick 3 mile sprint because my marathon day (not days) are over. I ran a marathon in August 2012 in Anchorage, Alaska and finished with a time of 3:54:13 (glute injury notwithstanding).
Training for tomorrow’s walk in the park started with my repatration diet after too much BBQ in Mongolia. The running came by way of treadmill something I advise against for serious marathon training but it hopefully did the job. My goal tomorrow is to finish in 21 minutes though the town doesn’t have Sprint service rendering my Runmeter app useless and my ability to pace myself impossible.
In preparation for the race, I consulted a Google Doc that details all the lessons I learned from running a marathon and decided to share the knowledge with you.
Consult a physician, dietician, someone who actually knows about running instead of following this hogwash.
Pre-Race Diet for a Sunday AM Race:
Thursday: Caesar salad lite with 2 bags of fake crab and a box of pasta and tomato sauce
Friday: 3 cups of brown rice (didn’t finish) and 1lb of beef
Saturday:
1PM: pasta feed till 2:30PM;
6PM: 6 packages of flavored oatmeal
Race Day: 1 Clif bar before race. 4 bottles of water.
Race Day Supplies:
Racing Socks
Racing Shoes
Long sleeve Under Armour shirt.
iPhone + iPhone extra battery case: The case top part didn’t let the headphones screw in.
Annoyances During the Race:
shorts kept falling off
armband was not tight enough
stuff in my pockets: never again, no gloves either
Poppin Pills:
Mile 6: 4 aleve, 3 non caffeine bloks: water
Mile 8: 3 non caffeine bloks
Mile 16: 6 caffeine bloks
Mile 20: 6 caffeine bloks
Mile 22: gu and Gatorade
*I may have drank a little more water along the way but minimal amounts. Each time I did I would feel horrible and have to wait to recover my pace and form.
Changes:
Maybe i should’ve saved the gu for mile 24 but mile 22 was my fastest mile
Mile 24-26.2 were the worst because the course stayed in the woods.
Mile 20-24 were the best as i saved myself till then to actually go fast.
Music also needs more power songs for last 3 miles: Black Eyed Peas weren’t cutting it.
Looking at all that makes me wonder how and why I ever would run a marathon. Tomorrow, I have no strategy and haven’t run outside. That could backfire but I guess I’ll find out.
Anything on the line (Production Possibilities Frontier for my fellow economists) is an efficient use of your time depending on your tastes and preferences.
Anything inside the line is inefficient as should be avoided.
Anything outside is aspirational but may be impossible to do given the constraints of time and resources.
The opportunity cost (what is given up) for relaxing and being Lazy is gained by being adventurous in the form of Labor and vice versa.
G & B: Bangkok Style
Welcome to Bangkok!
There are some cities whose names are captivating: Helsinki, Hong Kong, Rio De Janeiro but there is only one Bangkok. Bangkok is the gateway to SE Asia, the hub of debauchery, and a city with a darker side beyond its captivating hustle and bustle culture.
The Temples
Today I will focus on what you must do, what you should do, and what you’ll want to avoid. But first I’ll start with something that I did not do because I was too wrapped up in the other three. Bangkok has many beautiful ancient temples that are certainly worth a visit but I won’t blame you if you missed them as I have done each time. This may sound brash and unsophisticated but there are plenty of temples for you to see in SE Asia so don’t think yourself an Ugly American or whatever your country of origin if you fall victim to Bangkok’s vices.
The Ping Pong Show
Now for what you should not do: First, the obvious that becomes blurred like a copyright infringing Thicke rendition of Marvin Gaye: don’t get arrested. Though I have no experience myself, Locked Up Abroad does not paint a pretty picture of Thai jails. Leave your drugs at home.
Next, don’t drink the mushroom shake! We’ll save that for Guns & Butter: Koh Phangan.
Finally, don’t go see a ping-pong show. From a human rights perspective, it is vile and disgusting. As far as a primitive form of entertainment, it will leave you disappointed.
Note: Those are the impressions of the anonymous that have attended. I am 100% opposed to it.
I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether it is reprehensible or simply good fun to go to the ladyboy show.
No ping-pong balls were hurt in the filming of this picture. This is a different ping-pong show, so do not come after me for an innocent photo!Motown’s finest: The Temptations
Khao San Road
Fresh shower, filth rinsed off, it is time to detail what you can’t miss in Bangkok. Bangkok is much more demanding than Vegas so it’s important to pace yourself and not consume more than 2 Thai Red Bulls in a given day. With that, our journey starts on Khao San Road whose literal translation is ‘notorious’ in English. Sure the seasoned, smug Bangkok traveler will tell you to avoid Khao San Road but that advice, especially for virgins, is like saying avoid The Strip.
Khao San has a lot to see: Doe-eyed backpackers, the cheapest street food vendors, and general craziness. Also, when the party shuts down in the rest of the city, the after party is just beginning in Khao San. Finally, the Burger King right around the corner is my favorite in the world. If you do want to stay right in the heart of the action, check out Sawasdee House which is a bar, restaurant, and upscale hostel that is never closed.
The Center of ItBurger King YumMind my warning: No more than 2.
Sukhumvit Road
Tired of Khao San but not ready to retire from Bangkok? Move to Sukhumvit 11 home of my favorite place to stay, Aloft Bangkok. Sukhumvit Road goes jab for jab with Khao San in terms of lunacy. Head down Sukhumvit a couple blocks and you will assuredly run into the intersection that takes you to ‘The Adult’s Playground’ of Nana Plaza. (It’s right next to the JW Marriott and where you can find the ladyboy show!) Nana Plaza is worth a peak but seeing all the LBH sex tourists (losers back home) flirt with Thai women is revolting. Have they no shame?
In the morning, Sukhumvit is lined with food vendors selling breakfast. In the evening, it is lined with vendors selling adult toys. In the night, the street food comes out but I’ll get to that in a moment. Besides the enjoyment of watching crowds of people wandering to who knows where, Sukhumvit is interesting because it is a cultural melting pot. From Indian restaurants to Iraqi cuisine, Sukhumvit has it all. Go explore and taste everything.
So Close to Aloft restJW and Nana, no truer twoThe VW Bug Bars were a classic absent last time I was on BKK.
The Nightlife
Bangkok has great nightlife if and only if you know where to go. Taxi drivers know where they want to take you but that is not where you want to go. On a prior trip, a local had told us of a nightclub yet every taxi insisted that the club was closed. We jumped in and out from one taxi to the next and the message was the same: that club is closed. Was this a conspiracy among taxi drivers or was it indeed not open? Annoyed, we insisted taxi #235 take us to the address so we could see for ourselves. Reluctantly he did and wouldn’t you know it, the club was open and packed.
So where should you go that isn’t a hooker bar? Here is a working list that is subject to change but the point is there are normal places:
RCA Area: Local college nightlife area with tons of bars and clubs. Route 66 is my favorite.
Ku De Ta Bangkok: Right next to the nicest W hotel I’ve ever seen in the Shilom district.
Street drinking down Khao San, Bourbon Street style.
Thonglor District: Various upscale bars and clubs that require ID even if you’re COG (creepy old guy).
Whip: The Sunday night spot that was far from closed.
The Rule: Unless a local knows the bar, whether it be aThai local or expat, it is a hooker bar.
Exception: Levels @Aloft: This place is both. Personally, I’d skip it because the drinks are expensive and the clientele can be questionable.
When and where was this taken?DJ Jazzy Jeff at Ku De TahRCA Area Screwdriver
The Street Food
Bangkok has street food for all tastes. I’ll break it down into two categories: edible and inedible.
Inedible
Let’s start with inedible to ruin your appetite. Here are pics taken on Khao San Road of the sickest ish I will never try.
Supper timeNo thanks
Edible
Why do tourists come to Bangkok? For delicious, inexpensive pad thai. The pad thai on Khao San is better and cheaper than anywhere else.
But besides pad thai there is great shawarma, insane fried chicken, and other Thai delights for which I do not know the name. Though you can’t walk and enjoy Tom Yum soup, it still falls under the street food umbrellas since street kitchens make incomparable Tom Yum in heavenly portions. (Lookout pho, you have a competitor.)
So goodA classic tourist comboCheapest pad thai is right off of Khao San
The Tuk Tuk
The graph above bends towards laziness with the next must do activity, taking a tuk tuk. This is true on paper. A tuk tuk is an excitebike rickshaw that can get you around Bangkok. The tuk tuk experience takes you back in time making you feel like a member of the landed gentry as you are elegantly transported to your destination.
That’s the fanciful view of tuk tuks. The reality is that a tuk tuk is a noisy, pollutant spraying, hardly safe, and generally overpriced method of transportation.
Note #1: Do not pay more than 100 Thai Baht to take a tuk tuk from Sukhumvit to Khao San. They will try to charge 200-300 Baht. Say no thank you or another expletive and find a taxi.
Note #2: Again, I have to point out that you should be aware of taxis. If the driver does not turn on the meter and you try to use my trick of turning it on yourself and are rebuffed, get out of the cab.
“Traffic jam boss,” is not a valid reason for getting ripped off.
Note #3: If you do find a taxi that is on the meter you will notice that Bangkok has some of the cheapest taxis in the world.
The tuk tuk: Friend or foe?Turn on the meter! It starts at 35 and barely goes up.
Thong Lor & Shilom
I mentioned Thong Lor and Shilom above as a great place for nightlife. It is also a great place to have a nice dinner and take a break from berserk Bangkok and see an area that a lucky expat wouldn’t mind calling home. I do not have exact coordinates for where to go in Thong Lor but this should get you on your way:
Take the BTS (Bangkok Mass Transit System) to Thong Lor. Exit, go down the stairs, and ask one of the motorbike drivers to take you Thonglor Soi 16. That’s the main shopping area and tourist meet up spot for the House of Beers. Along the way, you’ll see nice bars and restaurants so tap your driver gently on the shoulder and tell him to stop. The cost should not be more than 20-30 Baht.
Shilom like Thong Lor is quite posh. Besides Ku De Tah, not much is happening at night though it is worth seeing in the day as it is the business district.
Beautiful W in Shilom
Aloft Pool
Enough! I’m Bangkok-ed out.
Already?
Now you know why the song is titled One Night in Bangkok. I’m sure you are lamenting the unwise decision to spend 5 nights in this city either on the front-end or back-end of your trip. If you do the former, then you’ll need 4 Thai Red Bulls to get you through the full moon party. If you do it on the latter, then it won’t matter if you aren’t flying Cathay First back home as you’ll perfect the Kama Sutra of Airplane Sleep without needing to peruse this tutorial.
Your only saving grace is unwinding at the Aloft pool. It may not have sun but who cares following that beat down in Bangkok.
A friend of mine and fellow T-Bird alum Lee Abbamonte did a piece on Fox News today regarding Delta’s enhancement of its frequent flier program. I’ve become so desensitized to Delta dehancing its program that the prospect of hearing good news for a change piqued my interest.
Before I get into how defunct Delta’s SkyMiles program is let me point out that Delta and I had a lovely relationship once upon a time. Being from Michigan, Northwest Airlines was my airline. Nothing was more exciting than taking that endless drive from Flint to DTW waiting to go on whatever magic surprise my father had planned. What made it all worthwhile was getting off the exit and seeing the Northwest 747 livery painted on a hangar.
Years before I lost my virginity on Lufthansa, I dreamt about flying first-class on the top level of a Northwest 747. My Abagnale aspirations to get on board a 747 only increased when I used my dad’s US Bank Northwest card to book annual Christmas trips to Maui. The card featured, you guessed it, a silver 747 on the front. It was the most beautiful credit card I have ever seen and eventually I got one of my own.
Ain’t she a beauty
At the age of twelve, thanks to being bumped on a flight, I finally did get to take the winding staircase up to first-class. Unfortunately, I slept the far too short 2 hour duration of the flight.
In 2009, Northwest the merger between Delta was complete and US Bank switched to its FlexPerks program which came with an ugly card and residual points that I burned going to India.
This ugly beast.
Next came bad news and more bad news and more bad news; Delta was hacking away at its SkyMiles program leaving me with nothing left to love. Sensing the end of our romance, I burned my last 100k SkyMiles in August of 2013 flying business class to Argentina. I can’t even guess how many miles it requires to fly there on business now not because its way more than 100k but because Delta has removed its rewards chart from its website. All that was left to do was cancel my Delta Platinum card which didn’t even prompt a retention offer from Amex.
Much like the occasional Facebook creep on an ex, my curiosity led me to watch Lee’s video on what Delta was up to. Just like finding out the ex is up to nothing worthwhile, Delta had no breaking news to share.
In a nutshell, the worst airlines program is now offering 10k SkyMiles on short-haul flights like LAX-PHX. To put this into perspective it used to cost 50k to fly to Europe. Also, it is subject to availability and must be booked three weeks in advance.
Let’s compare this to British Avios which is 4500 points, can be booked the day of like I did in Myanmar. As for the rest of the ‘breaking news’ details, I have no idea because I quit watching.
