How do you know from which terminal your flight leaves? If it’s JFK and I’m flying JetBlue, I Google ‘JFK JetBlue Terminal’ or wait to read the signs on the way. In Chengdu, I was flying Air China to Nepal. Google told me it leaves from Terminal 2. So did the confirmation email.
But when I tried to check-in, I was told that domestic flights leave from Terminal 1 and that I would have to take the transfer bus. Skeptical, I took the bus and was worried that the agent had made a mistake and that I would have to return to Terminal 2. Nope. The agent was correct. This left me with more questions than answers:
How is China to Nepal domestic? Why is their immigration in a domestic terminal? Why was my confirmation email incorrect? How screwed would I have been had I shown up late to the airport?
I have a new Trip Report. It’s called TPOL Won’t Visit All 50 States. I created it to consolidate short trips within the US because my list of Trip Reports is getting out of control. Below is what I have so far. Go ahead, choose your own adventure.
So why did I create a new trip report? Because sometimes I end up in great places like Williamsburg, Virginia and need to blog about it. I imagine there will be many more small towns and obscure places that I visit in the United States that are worth writing about but won’t have enough content to justify an entire report. Keeping everything curated is a goal of mine, even if I’m the only one who understands the organization. I also created this trip report because it is highly likely that I will not visit every state in the US. Just like I have no interest in traveling to every country in the world, I won’t feel bad if I don’t visit every state. With all due respect to North Dakota, I already lived in Montana.
Well hackers, it brings me great joy to say that you were wrong. While I have not made the move yet, I already know where I am going to live when I do. The area is called the Salt Block District, a place with an interesting history. During communism, only members of the government were allowed there. According to Wikipedia, “On most maps it was unmarked”.
It has changed significantly since then. Now, it is home to pubs, restaurants, and shopping (see Tirana: One of the Best Cities in the World for Food). It is modern and livable. The Salt Block District reminded me of the French Concession, a neighborhood in my favorite city, Shanghai. From tree-lined streets to graffiti paintings, everything about it says: TPOL welcome home.
*TPOL is still waiting to be placed on the board of directors for an Albanian oil and gas company before moving to Tirana, the land of Debauchery & Promiscuity!
Getting There: Did you download the DiDi app as I recommended? If not, take a taxi or deal with the metro.
Location
The Grand Hyatt is located in central Chengdu. I didn’t explore the city apart from going to 老码头火锅 for the best hot pot, but all the usual shops and restaurants were right out my window. To get to the Panda Reserve, take Didi.
Pandas
Speaking of pandas, Chengdu goes all out with the pandas. Look at these cute guys:
Grand Hyatt PandasGrand Hyatt Pandas
Club Access
I remember when I used to be Hyatt Diamond (see That’s Me in the Corner Losing My Globalist Status). All I have now is my Explorist status which gives me 4 Club Access redemptions. I used one at the Grand Hyatt Chengdu and received an upgraded room on the 37th floor, the same floor as the Club Lounge.
Lounge
I wasn’t there long enough to try the breakfast, but from 5:30PM to 7:30PM there are snacks and cocktails. Finally, I had proper sauvignon blanc in China. The fresh-squeezed orange juice was good as well. I also have to mention the fresh fruit. As far as the food goes, the snacks have turned into a warmup before dinner comparable to pre-gaming with a bottle of booze before going out i.e., it’s too much.
Room
Hyatt rooms have a contemporary design, so they don’t risk looking dated. The king-size bed is always comfortable and the TV is up to date.
The following is an excerpt from my upcoming book, The Etiquette of Things: Things You Didn’t Know Were Things. It is based on my annoyance with society as a whole and my Angry Professor persona (catch up on all Angry Professor posts here).
You’ve all seen it by now. A woman is sitting on an airplane with her seat reclined and the person behind her is not very happy about it. Being the gentlemen that he is, he decides to incessantly punch on her seat. The question that everyone has, including those in the XFL, is who is right?
First, Anthony is wrong. Second, if Anthony had more skills (I’m not talking people skills), he would be in the NFL and this issue would be inapplicable.
Each time I get on a plane and fly peasant, there’s a brief moment of anxiousness as I slowly recline my seat. This anxiety comes from an incident when I was a child. On a flight to Hawaii, I had found an empty row to lie across. I raised the armrest and right before I could get comfortable, a British old man yelled, “Ow! You hurt my bloody knee!” I ended up sleeping with the armrest halfway down for the duration of the flight. I still can’t understand how I hurt his knee.
Childhood trauma aside, I have yet to be told by anyone that I should not recline. It is my right to recline as much as it is the person in front of me and the person behind me. In fact, even when I’m seated in the last row and I can’t recline my seat, I do not begrudge the person in front of me who reclines. The only person I have to blame for being in the last row is myself.
In the present case, the man has no case. On the contrary, he is actually guilty of having no etiquette. He has no right to punch her chair one time let alone repeatedly. He is also a coward for doing so knowing that she could do nothing to him. If she confronted him by getting out of her seat and berating him, she would probably be blamed. The only thing she could do was stand her ground i.e., recline her chair. Likewise, I doubt he would’ve acted so tough if it was someone besides a school teacher.
The other culpable party is the flight attendant. Surely, the flight attendant must have seen the incessant punching. Why didn’t she say anything?
What would TPOL do? Anywhere but an airplane, there would be a confrontation. It’s not because I want drama, it’s because people have to learn the Etiquette of Things.
And here’s the speech I would give:
Anthony and seat jerk, if you want to avoid reclining seats, read the blog. #pointssohard
Annually, I update my Where I’ve Been page to reflect my travel ventures around the globe. I still haven’t hit 100 UN countries, but I’m closing in on that number. I doubt I will reach it in 2020 as my desire to travel has tapered since moving to Puerto Rico. The highlight of my 2019 travel was definitely Bhutan.
TPOL on top of the world.
It’s not my goal to visit every country, but here’s where I’ve been:
I don’t live in a foreign country. I don’t live in Costa Rica. I live in Puerto Rico. One great advantage of living in America is that I have Amazon Prime-ish. While there’s no Amazon Locker, packages are still shipped for free and arrive in a few days. The problem with Amazon here is returns. I used to be able to return items via USPS. That option no longer exists. Now, the only option is to go to the one UPS location for returns. It’s at the airport which is a 30-minute drive. That’s not the annoying part. The annoying part is that this is the only place to go for all things UPS. The wait can be nonexistent or it can be longer than the DMV. It makes me think twice each time I see an ad for the set it and forget it rotisserie.
Speaking of forget it, sometimes I am tempted to keep a product I don’t like to avoid dealing with UPS. Then my cheapness gets the better of me and I find myself scurrying off to UPS at the 11th hour.
And that’s where this feel-good story takes a turn for the worse. I went to the UPS location and showed the employee the barcode on my phone.
He said that the code only works at UPS Stores and there aren’t any UPS stores on the island. He instructed me to contact Amazon for the normal return paperwork. I used the chat feature on my mobile and received a stunning response: “You’ve missed the return window.” I replied that today was the last date to return the package. You won’t believe his response. It was, “The deadline was 11:43AM PDT.”
What in the bleep! Where in the terms does it say that it has to be turned in at a certain time like a final exam? I replied with many auto-correct errors about the absurdity of this policy. After all, had I known about the prohibition about bar codes, I would’ve requested the normal return label ahead of time. Without too much push-back, Amazon agreed to send me the return label.
But that’s not where the scam ends. Instead of receiving a full refund, I am only receiving 80% of the purchase price. Can anyone say Bachuwa Law? Can anyone say arbitration?
With one day in Chengdu, I wanted to do two things: 1) See the pandas. 2) Eat hot pot. I asked my friend, a former Chengdu resident, where to go. He said the best hot pot is 老码头火锅. There are two locations, the original and the one next to my hotel, the Grand Hyatt.
He cautioned me that it could be a bit challenging to order without being fluent in Mandarin, and he said it could be quite pricey. I can say beef, lamb, and fried rice. Those words, and a few others, are the extent of my food vocabulary (next time, I’ll be fluent thanks to Yoyo Chinese).
While there was a menu in English, it was not very descriptive. The first choice was having the pot all spicy or half and half. Having been to Chengdu before, I tried the not spicy broth. This time, I decided to go all spicy. That was a good choice. I also ordered cold beer, another good choice.
The waitress came with enough food for a family and proceeded to dunk it in the bubbling hot pot. She also created a spicy dipping concoction for the obscene amount of food I ordered.
Dipping sauce parametersDipping sauce
Everything was great. I don’t think it’s a credit to my ordering skills but rather to the deliciousness of the hot pot itself.
As far as spiciness goes, it was spicy in a good way. I was sweating but I wasn’t habanero pepper dying.
At the airport and at the Grand Hyatt, there are pandas everywhere. It’s one thing to see the panda monuments; it’s another thing to see the real thing.
The cost of admission is 55RMB ($8), a steal to see these curious creatures.
Crowds
It was a Wednesday afternoon and the place was packed. Be ready to push and be pushed if you want to capture pandas at play.
Pandas
Pandas in person are hilarious. First, they look fake. They look like Disney characters. I enjoy their lifestyle of eating, sleeping, and pooping all day.
Panda Indoors
If it’s too hot the panda relaxes indoors.
Pandas Playing
When they’re in the mood, the pandas put on a show.
Best Panda Footage
Pandas are funny to watch. This video shows the panda at its best and supports my argument that they are people dressed in costume.
Overall
The crocs in Darwin were an action thriller. The lions in Kenya were a box office drama. The pandas in Chengdu were a romantic comedy. All were worth the price of admission. But the Academy Award for best animal in nature goes to the African penguin in Cape Town!
We are a rewards points service that specializes in helping people find and book the best airline flights using their credit card points & miles.We have recently pivoted into the affiliate and blog space and we are looking to acquire businesses to help us grow in that direction. Your website The Points of Life made it on our short-list of sites that we’ve identified as being a good potential fit. If you’re interested in selling, please reply with a confirmation that you would be interested and I would love to set up a call at your convenience to discuss things in more detail.
Sidenote: Clifford don’t correct the bold text above. That error is from the person who sent me and many others this serious offer to sell. Perhaps when we get bought out they could still use your services.
Second, what would I do all day? I would have no forum to complain.
Third, who would replace me?
I scheduled a meeting out of curiosity and, to no surprise, did not receive a call. I’m assuming if they actually want to buy my site it is to improve their SEO through linkbacks. I doubt it’s because they love my pho reviews.
There is enough money in the world to buy TPOL, but I believe I’ll eventually have my Parasite coming out party. This blog will be huge. I will sell thousands of copies of my book (buy Everyone’s Advice Is Wrong . . . Including Mine). And my screenplay will be adapted. Until then, I will continue to do what I do: be incomparable.
