Keeping abreast of global events is essential for a traveler venturing out beyond his backyard both for safety reasons and because of the interconnectedness of the world. Next month I am going to Egypt, the iconic home of the Arab Spring. Though the movement began in Tunisia, the scenes of the uprising in Tahrir Square defines a time of hope in the Arab world, a time when antiquated ideologies were supposed to be replaced by modern, free thinking.
Years later, next to nothing has changed. My parents’ home country of Iraq is a country if only by name. The debate of what to do with Iran and its potential for nuclear weapons has no ideal solution; either negotiate with the ayatollah or leave him to his own devices to do as he pleases. This again, brings the discussion to Syria, a country that has become the litmus test of what should be done in the Middle East.
In 2011, Obama famously said that Assad must go. Putin said no. Any use of force to get rid of him then were halted. Today the villains of ISIS have crippled the region and somehow the world is accepting of Russia’s airstrikes in Syria as a countermeasure to stop the ISIS advancement. Make no mistake, Putin’s actions are in direct opposition to the United States’s directive four years ago. Essentially, Putin, who has no true allegiance to Assad, is flexing his might much like he did in Crimea knowing full well that the United States will not directly challenge him. Hard line politics and tough talk end when the use of force begins.
Despite the good intentions of keeping the US out of another foreign conflict, Obama has been out flanked, out maneuvered by Putin who recognizes that the US is hard-pressed to respond. If the US supports the Russian led airstrikes, then it is going against its red line that a Syria of tomorrow is a Syria without Assad. If it seeks to undermine the Assad regime not only is there no suitable successor in place but also it openly challenges Russia.
Over the last four years, a series of missteps, miscalculations, and miscues has neutralized America’s influence in the Middle East. While the United States tried not to get involved in the region following its withdrawal from Iraq and draw down in Afghanistan, the lack of decisiveness has left the future of the Middle East in the hands of an even more erratic, more unpredictable character than those that came before him. His name, Vladmir Putin.
Like Ukraine, he’s playing for more than pride. He’s playing for keeps.
The New World Order: Russia in Syria
Novotel Wellington Review: Platinum Style
The Novotel Wellington Review is part of the Trip Report: The $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World which covers 5 Continents, 13 Countries, and 17 Cities.
- Tokyo, Japan
- Melbourne, Australia
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Sydney, Australia
- Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Maldives
- Saigon, Vietnam
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Hong Kong
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Knysna, South Africa
- Durban, South Africa
- Mauritius
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Doha, Qatar
- New York, New York
- Helsinki, Finland
Getting There: Per TripAdvisor: From the Airport, take the Airport Link Bus to Lambton Quay Stop. (And here is where the confusion starts) —> I am looking for an arcade (I’m from the US – so I am assuming a shop??) and take an elevator to the Terrace? Please help me out here… What arcade?, What lift?, What floor?, What’s the easiest way I can get into the Novotel. I wish someone answered these queries before I climbed hill after hill. The arcade is an entrance to a mall and from within that entrance there is an elevator that is linked to the hotel. It says Novotel in the window of the entrance. If you are walking forever after the bus drops you off, you’ve gone too far! Turn around!
We Thought You Were Cool tells the story of how my platinum status expired after signing up on a Polish website for instant top-tier status. I didn’t get a lot of use out of being a platinum except for my trip to Windy Wellington. The Novotel there was reasonably priced at around $139 NZD a night and offered a $30/day hotel credit that I used on bottles of Sauvignon Blanc. It is worth repeating that this Trip Heard Round the World came about before TPOL came into existence so my apologies for the lack of traditional review photos including my favorite, the soaps and shampoos. The Room The room was standard, typical of what you would find at a Club Carlson. The Hotel Restaurant Hotel food certainly tastes better when it is ‘free’. The prices were reasonable. A burger and bottle of wine along with a couple of beers didn’t break the daily stipend bank.
<==Back to Pay Cash to Fly to NZ – Onto Wellington Travel Guide=>>
Simply the Best: September 2015
September was TPOL’s greatest month ever. Here are the top posts:
1. How I Qualified for Hyatt Diamond
I just returned from Arizona, California, and Mexico with Diamond Status in my pocket and a bunch of hotels, flights, lounges and golf courses to review.
Melbourne-Wellington: Paying Cash Saves $
Paying Cash Saves $ Travel Advice is part of the Trip Report: The $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World which covers 5 Continents, 13 Countries, and 17 Cities.
- Tokyo, Japan
- Melbourne, Australia
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Sydney, Australia
- Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Maldives
- Saigon, Vietnam
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Hong Kong
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Knysna, South Africa
- Durban, South Africa
- Mauritius
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Doha, Qatar
- New York, New York
- Helsinki, Finland
Fixated with constructing the best points itinerary beheld by all of mankind, I forgot common sense in making my booking from Melbourne to Wellington. I elected to use Avios to fly business on Qantas. The fare should’ve been 40,000 points and a nominal amount in tax. Instead, after hours arguing with terrible British Airways customer service, I ended up paying $260 which included improper fuel surcharges. Upon arriving in Australia, the agent confirmed that British had incorrectly charged me but could only offer me his business card as a point of reference for my complaint. Had I paid cash for the ticket, the round trip flight from AU to NZ was $400 in economy. The lessons I have learned are as follows:
- Never book business class with Avios. Avios are great for short-haul economy tickets to get you out of Yangon when flights are $800, for bailing you out when you mix up the visa rules in China, or when you need a ticket to see the University of Michigan in the Final Four.
- Qantas Australia and Qantas New Zealand are the same company but different. This tax loophole maneuver played a big part in my fuel surcharge issue.
- Refunds for improperly assessed fuel surcharges aren’t coming. British Airways didn’t care about Qantas’s assessment of the situation.
- 40,000 Avios is an obscene amount of points for two 3.5 hour flights.
- Business Class from Australia to New Zealand aboard a dated 737 is marginally better than coach. This is evidenced by the fact there is no flight review on this leg of the trip.
- Paying for tickets isn’t the worst thing in the world. Using points carelessly is.
<==Back to Melbourne Travel Guide – Onto Novotel Wellington==>
Membership Rewards to Avios? Transfer 4 RTs from HKG-BKK
A good rule of thumb in the points game is to always have enough Avios to get you to Bangkok from Hong Kong and back four times. Incidentally, that rule was developed today as the final countdown for the British deval ratio from Amex draws near.
I read case study after case study trying to figure out if I should transfer MRs, how many I should transfer, and on and on. In the end, I moved 34,000 which brings my balance to 60k. I will eventually get another 120k from Chase but till that happens I didn’t want to remain in violation of the aforementioned rule.
Many bloggers write of transferring either URs or SPG points to top off their Avios accounts. URs are far too valuable given Chase’s anti-churning measure that passed through Congress. And SPG points? Where are these bloggers getting all these SPG points? Amex enacted the anti-churning measure awhile ago so the sign up bonus is no longer a viable way of rebooting the account. I’m platinum with SPG and my account isn’t bursting at the seams with disposable points, certainly not with any that are worth more as airline currency instead of award nights.
With that, I did what I had to do. Maybe there will be a MR to Avios transfer bonus later but given what’s at stake, I couldn’t risk the wait.
Pablo Pimsleur: Your Guide to Foreign Languages
Call him 保罗, Pablo, or Bulus. Anyway it’s written it translates to Paul, my Rosetta Stone for foreign languages. The importance of learning the local languages for international travel goes without saying. It can be helpful when you’re stuck in no man’s land in Sudan, in dealing with shady taxi drivers in Shanghai, or when buying bottles of Malbec at wineries in Argentina.
But how are you supposed to brush up on your español or practice your putonghua when you don’t have a moment to spare? My tried and true method is the Pimsleur Approach. Pimsleur is an American linguist who theorized that the easiest way to learn language was by listening and repeating. His courses are broken down into three units. Each unit has 30 lessons and each lesson is 30 minutes long.
Using 保罗Pimsleur, I taught myself enough Mandarin in 90 days to run around China for the summer. Before heading to Latin America, I put Pablo Pimsleur on chipmunk speed and zip through the Spanish courses. This time around, I’m tackling my parent’s native tongue and using Bulus Pimsleur for Arabic before heading to Egypt.
Pimsleur gives me the confidence to at least attempt to speak the language when I arrive in a new country and the brashness to believe that I am a native speaker after I’ve had a couple. These conversations indubitably enhance my travel experience and allow me to get into/get out of situations I would not normally encounter but for my purported language skills.
So the next time you are deciding if you should go to Australia or Azerbaijan, opt for the latter and pick up a copy of Pavel Pimsleur and opt for adventure.
*Note: The courses are expensive to purchase but your local library may have them available for free.
Radisson Melbourne: The Business Class Room
The Radisson Melbourne Review is part of the Trip Report: The $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World which covers 5 Continents, 13 Countries, and 17 Cities.
- Tokyo, Japan
- Melbourne, Australia
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Sydney, Australia
- Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Maldives
- Saigon, Vietnam
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Hong Kong
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Knysna, South Africa
- Durban, South Africa
- Mauritius
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Doha, Qatar
- New York, New York
- Helsinki, Finland
Getting There: If you take the bus & train from the airport it only costs $4-$14AUD and takes 30 minutes to an hour. Uber is $24-$33AUD and takes 15 minutes.
As a Club Carlson Gold Member, I was upgraded to a Business Class Room at the Radisson on Flagstaff Gardens Melbourne. Business Class aboard Finnair and business at Radisson are slightly different with the former providing much more amenities. According to Radisson.com, Business Class features service and upgraded amenities specifically designed with the business traveler in mind. Business Class at Radisson offers:
- Upgraded room & amenities
- 1,000 bonus Gold Points® per night
- Turndown service
- Weekly newspaper delivered to your room
- The best amenity was the rooftop hot tub and patio.
- The rooftop gym was strange. It was barely big enough for two people but had a personal trainer instructing guests on weird routines.
- The hotel was walking distance to the city center and had a friendly front desk that tracked down our tour company when they went MIA.
<==Back to Park Hyatt Melbourne – Onto Melbourne Travel Guide==>
The Park Hyatt Melbourne: Not the Same ‘Park’
The Park Hyatt Melbourne Review is part of the Trip Report: The $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World which covers 5 Continents, 13 Countries, and 17 Cities.
- Tokyo, Japan
- Melbourne, Australia
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Sydney, Australia
- Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Maldives
- Saigon, Vietnam
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Hong Kong
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Knysna, South Africa
- Durban, South Africa
- Mauritius
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Doha, Qatar
- New York, New York
- Helsinki, Finland
Getting There: If you take the bus & train from the airport it only costs $4-$14AUD and takes 30 minutes to an hour. Uber is $26-$35AUD and takes 17 minutes.
What’s your favorite hotel brand? If you’re not a points participant and have some disposable income, then I’m sure it is the Four Seasons. If not then I’m guessing it’s either the St. Regis, Conrad, or Park Hyatt. Hyatt has some great brands including Andaz and the Hyatt House but none compare to the Park Hyatt. A reason to maintain Diamond Status is for the benefits at Park Hyatts including the much blogged about free breakfast. I have stayed at Park Hyatts across the globe including:
- Park Hyatt Saigon
- Park Hyatt Shanghai
- Park Hyatt Sydney
- Park Hyatt Buenos Aires
- Park Hyatt Mendoza
- Park Hyatt Istanbul
- Park Hyatt New York (Cancelled because the pool was closed)
- Park Hyatt Moscow: Booked
The Staff
The staff was friendly and helpful. They recommended places for dinner but couldn’t come up with any picks for where to go out. I find it interesting when young people work at the front desk in a big city and can’t provide names of a few ‘go to’ spots. No matter where in the world I have lived I can always tell visitors what is good every day of the week.
Overall
The hotel was very good. It wasn’t on par with the other Park Hyatts whose luxury and glamour become one of the highlights of trip. The Park Hyatt Melbourne was just another nice hotel to rest until I moved on to the next city.
The World’s Best Travel Jacket: Shipping Soon!
Like a kid bringing in a new toy for show and tell, I am excited that I am weeks away from getting the coolest invention known to nomadic man. I previously wrote about the Kickstarter campaign for the World’s Best Travel Jacket and today they emailed me to confirm my size, style, and color.
Here’s what I chose:
Cathay Pacific HKG-SYD Business A330
The Cathay Pacific HKG-SYD Review is part of the Trip Report: The $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World which covers 5 Continents, 13 Countries, and 17 Cities.
- Tokyo, Japan
- Melbourne, Australia
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Sydney, Australia
- Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Maldives
- Saigon, Vietnam
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Hong Kong
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Knysna, South Africa
- Durban, South Africa
- Mauritius
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Doha, Qatar
- New York, New York
- Helsinki, Finland
It’s all about the Dreamliner and the 777 vs. A380, if not the A350 these days. Back then TPOL was just happy to fly business and get free champagne and ice cream. The flight from Hong Kong to Sydney was aboard an A330 and looking back I couldn’t tell you what the difference was between it and my next Cathay 777 flight from HKG-JNB. This may be due to TPOL’s lack of aviation expertise at the time, or it may be a result of the quality of Cathay Pacific. In the five times I flew Cathay as part of this RTW itinerary, I was never disappointed. In fact, the business class was so good, it rivals my Cathay first class experience from HKG-ORD. During the good old days when RTW tickets were available, the type of plane was secondary compared to finding business class availability. Since the trip consisted of a dozen segments, slumming it on a 737 for a few hours wasn’t such a big deal since the next flight was on a 777. Now that 120,000 AA miles only gets you a RT ticket instead of halfway to a 50,000 Mile Explorer Award, making sure you fly the best business class product is just as important as availability. Look no further than Thai Airways 777-200 BKK-AKL for an example of when flying business isn’t as attractive even when it’s free. I’m lucky that I was able to redeem the Explorer Award and am even more lucky that so many of the flights were on Cathay, regardless of the type of plane.
<==Back to Cathay Arrival Lounge – Onto Park Hyatt Melbourne==>
