Travel Guide - ThePointsOfLife

Training for the Tropics: Week 2 Sick

thepointsoflife

-

February 26, 2017

Bill Pay Sundays: Every Sunday, TPOL peddles for money by promoting products that I use and recommend to my readers. In exchange, I get paid a referral fee. As part of the Training for the Tropics series, I’m pushing the following:

MuscleEgg: the best protein to get in shape
TRX Ropes: the best way to workout on the road.
Lil Guys Health and Fitness Program. Fill out the online questionnaire in its entirety. (In the ‘Were you referred by someone?’ entry, tell them TPOL sent you. In the ‘how did you hear about us’ entry, put in my trainer’s name, Eddie Larios.)

Winter death came for me this week. It started after I went to the beer fest and lasted through Friday. All I accomplished this week was finishing the silly series Goliath and eating this pizza now that I’m healthy again.

My trainer took pity on my first week mishap and second week sickness by resetting my billing date effective today. Now, I have 60 days exactly before I head to the Freddies and then to the tropics. Anyone signing up? Makes for a great Lenten challenge.

College Football Sends TPOL to Jerry World!

thepointsoflife

-

February 25, 2017

15

College Football Sends TPOL to Jerry World!

Last season did not end so well for the mighty Michigan Wolverines. First, they didn’t close the deal in Columbus, even though I was on hand to cheer them on. (see Buckeyes Wolverines: Fourth & Short Trip Report Recap) Then we choked away the Orange Bowl when I was on my Last Binge in Bangkok. Waking up to watch that on Sling was a waste of time. In an effort to restore our good name, we will be opening up the season against the garbage Florida Gators in the “Advocare Classic” in Cowboy Stadium. Apparently, it does not take much to be called a classic these days. Last time we played the Gators, they got crushed. (see Citrus Bowl Stadium: Where Even the Band Battles) In fact, Michigan has beaten Florida 3 times in a row which includes the Tim Tebow team that won alternating national championships. I’m ready to Guaran-Sheed another victory, even though I’m a bit concerned about our QB. Besides sitting in the Gator section and serving as a provocateur, I will also write another Stadium Guide for what was once the best NFL Stadium. (That title will soon belong to the Atlanta Falcons.) At the same time, I’m going to explore Dallas (The stadium is in Arlington but I don’t think there is much to do there.) and write some tips on where to eat and drink. Gator chomp!

Sanya! Where to Party Guide

thepointsoflife

-

February 25, 2017

0

The Sanya Where to Party Guide is part of The Year of the Monkey Trip Report which covers the following places:

Who likes to rock the party? I like to rock the party. And so does Sanya, sort of. Sure, most people come to Sanya for the sea and the water sports but not TPOL. I came to drink by night and sleep on the beach by day. Unlike the rest of mainland China, there is last call in Sanya. And it comes surprisingly early. By 3AM everyone’s gotta go home or head to the beach. Chinese Drinking Game I wrote a guide on how to make friends in China. The easiest way in any Chinese city is to play the dice game. Each city has its own choice liquor for playing this game. Interestingly, in Sanya, many of the people used beer instead of liquor to play. That’s the definition of champagne lifestyle, beer budget. Jiu Ba Jie (酒吧街) If you’re staying in Dadonghai (my recommendation for where to stay in Sanya), hop on a motorbike and ask him to take you to Jiu Ba Jie which means Bar Street. 5-10RMB should do the trick. If you are staying in the northern beach areas, take a taxi and be prepared to spend 50-60RMB to get here. Once you arrive in this shit show that is Jiu Ba Jie, head to one of the mini-marts for a Tsingtao beer. Trust me, the area is much more approachable after some libations.

Club Choices Clubs here, clubs there, clubs everywhere! So which should you try? My suggestion is all of them. There is no cover to get in and the metal detectors are just for show. Ultimately, the best one is M2 (the same M2 brand is in Shanghai). The crowd is a combination of Chinese, Russian, Ukrainian, Cape Verdeans, Cubans, a German Kung Fu instructor, one American (TPOL), among others. The music is mostly electronic but I seem to recall some hip-hop. While drinks are a bit expensive, you probably won’t pay for them if you follow my friends guide above.

If you are against taking shots of Johnnie Walker from strangers and are on a budget, you will find that the smaller bars are more your style. There, they serve PBR.

Another option is Club 88. I’ve been to this franchise in Shanghai (now closed) and in Chengdu. Unfortunately, the one in Sanya does not compare.

My second favorite option after M2 is Soho. The setup is typical of a Chinese club. What makes it fun is the live music. The Chinese club goers are very passionate about their pop music.

After Hours I was lucky enough to find out about the after hour beach party. It is only on Friday and Saturday. It’s almost worth skipping Jiu Ba Jie and staying out just to go to these parties. Every expat on the island heads to Dadonghai beach on Friday and again on Saturday. The drinks are cheap, the music is groovin, and the atmosphere is awesome. I don’t think I have been to a party that had this much diversity. It can be hard to find which is why I’ve include the GPS coordinates.

2017-01-07 02.45.57 — Sanya Where to Party Guide

Overall Do not confuse Sanya with Bali. It’s tamer. Still, there is plenty to do, especially on the weekends, if you’re looking to get into some trouble.

Citi AA Business Approved! (Again)

thepointsoflife

-

February 25, 2017

10

Thanks to Miles to Memories for posting that the Citi AA Business card which comes with a 50k bonus after 3k spend does not have the 24 month language. Incidentally, the annual fee on my current AA Business card comes due in 3 days. I will have to call retention to see if it is worth keeping. With this deal and the previous 60k Citi AA personal deal (also without 24 month language), my balance, assuming I get the miles, will be back to a healthy level. It’s too bad that the Explorer Awards are gone because the AA miles keep coming in. Are you going to apply? How many AA cards do you have open right now?

Examining the terms and conditions from the Etihad first class cigar lounge in Abu Dhabi

Burgers & Seafood: Sanya Dining Guide

thepointsoflife

-

February 21, 2017

11

The Sanya Where to Eat Food Guide is part of The Year of the Monkey Trip Report which covers the following places:

If you’re going to Sanya, you have many options for food. The worst thing you can do is eat at the hotel which overcharges for seafood. Instead of hanging out in the Prison of Posh, spend your money on a taxi and head to the city center. Suggestion #1: Dolphin Bar After weeks in Asia, I needed a burger. The most famous bar for expats in Sanya is Dolphin Bar. There you will find a cover band playing your favorite hits, drink specials, and moderately priced Western food. Who cares if you are breaking the rule by eating comfort food instead of local food? I ordered the pepperoni burger, fries, and many beers.

Suggestion #2: Fresh Seafood You can’t go to Sanya without trying the seafood. There are many nondescript restaurants where customers go in, pick out a fish, whack it over the head, and enjoy it minutes later. I do not know the name of this particular restaurant but I had them prepare me fish, spicy style (ask for it ‘hen la’) along with great fried rice. The prices vary from restaurant to restaurant so ask your hotel for price recommendations. I haggled my fish down to 100RMB, no idea if this was a good or bad deal. I had the same price issue in Kota Kinabalu where I think I overspent on the fresh crab.

Overall Sanya has a great variety of food from Russian, to Chinese, to Western. It slipped my mind to go for Hainan chicken rice, though I hear it is prepared differently than when I order it in Singapore. Even with this oversight, I stand by my food choices.

Guadalajara: Detour to Mexico Trip Report Intro

thepointsoflife

-

February 20, 2017

0

I’m finally finishing the Year of the Monkey Trip Report meaning it will be time to resume my Tahiti Triumph and Quest Around the Globe reports. To distract myself from the writing, I booked a trip to Guadalajara, Mexico. This impromptu trip started with a notice from Citi that my Prestige card’s annual fee was due. Before burning the card, I booked three free rounds at TPC Stadium Course, home of the filthy Waste Management Open. Not wanting to spend a week in Phoenix, I started looking at points possibilities. I found a steal from Montana to Mexico on Alaska for $200 + $152 using the companion pass. I found a direct flight from GDL-PHX on AA for 7,500 Avios and $58. Before heading to New York, I will play my round of golf in Scottsdale, giving me more to blog before my Caribbean, Euro, Africa tour in the spring and absurd South America and Africa trip in the fall. Here are the directions if you want to do the same:

Companion on Alaska: Apply for an Alaska card and when you log in to your account you will see the available companion ticket.
GDL-PHX

Go to britishairways.com and log in to your executive account. Search GDL-PHX until the date you want appears. Note that the direct flight is how I was able to get this ticket for only 7500 points.

Four Points Sanya: Come for the View, Then Leave

thepointsoflife

-

February 20, 2017

9

The Four Points Sanya Hotel Review is part of The Year of the Monkey Trip Report which covers the following places:

Getting There: From the airport, walk towards the street and take a metered taxi. The ones right outside of the airport are looking to rob tourists.

Sanya hotels are too expensive to spend cash and too cheap to use points. (see my post Struggling to Find Where to Stay in Sanya) My first hotel in Sanya was the Four Point Sheraton. It is a decent value at $80 a night but certainly not worth 7,000 SPG points. Since I was arriving in the evening, I did not mind that the hotel was not located on a nice beach. I was more interested in being close to the nightlife because the next day I had a reservation at the Sheraton Sanya Resort. The Room I was upgraded to a suite with a great view of the bay. Per usual, there was a fruit plate.

The Towel Elephant This towel elephant would become a recurring theme throughout the trip.

The Bathroom At some point, I have to wonder why I stay at hotels when I do not use the amenities they provide. Check out this bathroom, it’s far superior to most Four Points.

The Rooftop Bar Since I was a platinum guest, I was given two drink tickets (be careful, they are only for Tsingtao beer). It was nice to sit in the balcony and take in Phoenix Island, a man-made archipelago that serves no purpose.

Got into a little bit of a fight with the manager for not being told this was not included.

Overall This review was quick as was my stay at the Four Points. After a crazy night out, I was up early the next morning headed to the beach.

Training for the Tropics: Week 1 Derailed

thepointsoflife

-

February 19, 2017

3

Bill Pay Sundays: Every Sunday, TPOL peddles for money by promoting products that I use and recommend to my readers. In exchange, I get paid a referral fee. As part of the Training for the Tropics series, I’m pushing the following:

MuscleEgg: the best protein to get in shape
TRX Ropes: the best way to workout on the road.
Lil Guys Health and Fitness Program. Fill out the online questionnaire in its entirety. (In the ‘Were you referred by someone?’ entry, tell them TPOL sent you. In the ‘how did you hear about us’ entry, put in my trainer’s name, Eddie Larios.)

Week 1 did not go smoothly. My trainer put target nutritional goals. To reach them, I had to buy a scale to measure everything I eat. It’s a big pain to input everything in the My Fitness Pal app. The scanner the app uses has yet to work. Impatient, I used the app inconsistently. That makes the whole process useless. I also started the workouts which require me to record the major lifts. I bought a tripod for my phone and a Bluetooth remote. Setting up the tripod and capturing good videos was also a hassle. More inconvenient, was the inability to listen to music when the video was recording. I am making negative progress. With 9 more weeks to go, I am hoping this gets easier. Oh, and the beer festival yesterday certainly did not help.

a group of people standing in a line outside a building

Cathay Dragon Coach: Hong Kong to Sanya

thepointsoflife

-

February 18, 2017

0

The Cathay Dragon Coach Hong Kong Sanya Flight Review is part of The Year of the Monkey Trip Report which covers the following places:

It’s the last stop on the Year of the Monkey tour, sunny Sanya. I enjoy writing a coach review to mix it up. Who needs champagne on every flight? Sometimes you’re too hungover for that. This review gives me a chance to chime in on Dragon Air becoming Cathay Dragon. I like the new name. It’s sexier. Cathay has mystique because it is not a typical airline name. And dragon? Dragons are cool. Also, I flew Dragon Air in business back to Hong Kong. This review provides a basis for comparison. I used 4500 Avios to get Phoenix International which is a bargain and exactly what Avios should be used for. With only 1.5 hours in the air, there is not much to say. I commend bloggers who analyze every square inch of the plane. I’m not that creative. We took off on time and landed safely. Along the way I had a water and a chocolate. The end. Any questions?

The Ya in Sanya is the same as the Ya in my Chinese name

cathay dragon hong kong sanya flight review — Sanya 三亚

Canceling Citi Prestige: But First, We Golf!

thepointsoflife

-

February 17, 2017

19

Sorry Citi Prestige, even at the discounted $350 from a Citi Gold Checking Account, you are not worth the annual fee. I’ve burned the TY points associated with this account on my coach flight to Naples. And now that you’ve taken away the golf perk after this year, I have no reason to hold onto you. With 3 free rounds left, I booked three tee times on the same day for TPC Stadium Course in Scottsdale, Arizona. Each round goes for $243.50 which justifies the $100 I spent ($250 was used on travel) holding onto this card last year. I still consider Scottsdale my home and believe it’s the best place to live in the United States. It will be fun to go back for a week and see the sun. Any other golf lover burning their Prestige card after this year? Where are you playing? My most expensive use was at Trump’s Great Wall Course in Doral.