TPOL continues to reinvent itself in this modern age of points travel. Inspired by my abundance of free time and the Citi Prestige card, I’ve taken up the game of golf. Golf & travel go hand in hand like islands and scuba. So why not add golf course reviews to the already stacked list of features available to readers? Starting this weekend I will be providing reviews of golf courses not exclusively from a golfer’s perspective but from a hybrid travel golfer. Playing Pebble Beach will be like flying Emirates Shower Class though I won’t pass up the economical Southwest local course. The Golf Reviews section will be under the Travel Guide tab which includes the Country Count List all-inclusive directory and the Guns & Butter Travel Guide. Fore!
Hyatt Let Me Cancel a Non Refundable Award!
Hyatt Suite Upgrade Change? No Diamond, No Problem
I signed up for the Hyatt Diamond Challenge in August of 2013 and visited the Andaz Napa, the Park Hyatt Mendoza, and the Park Hyatt Palacio Duhua in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Diamond Challenge gives confirmed suite night awards for the entire duration of the stay as opposed to SPG which gave me 10 suite night stays. Anyhow, in 2014 since I did not complete the challenge, I had to speculatively book a suite award and decided to go for the Ararat Park Hyatt Moscow for August 2014. When I decided to move to Mongolia, I had to change the reservation but was scared I would lose out on the suite upgrade. Kindly enough, GoldPassport made the change. Then I was supposed to go in February but since I was moving from Mongolia I had to make another change. Again, they did it with no fuss. Now I’m supposed to go in September but find myself wanting to change it to coincide with my trip to Iceland next summer. I hope Hyatt will let me change it once again but will be happy if they don’t. At least then I’ll actually go. Either way, they have been far generous. So if you are participating in the new Hyatt Diamond Challenge and do qualify, in 2017 don’t forget to speculatively book some great suite stays.
Spieth, Golf, & Citi Prestige
Spieth won the US Open today on an ugly course that was ripped by many golfers for its terrible greens. The loser, Dustin Johnson, 3 putted the final hole to give Spieth, the Masters Champion, another major. Three weeks ago I began my amateur quest to become the best points golfer the world has ever seen. Three lessons later I am ready to leave the 9 hole course and tackle some great ones all around the world. Armed with a used set of Wilson clubs and stellar confidence, I am scanning Citi’s golf portal for where to play this entertaining yet infuriating game. Early winners include courses in Phoenix and San Diego though many of the courses abroad intrigue me as well. I’ve written about it before but sports and travel go hand in hand. The benefit of having the Citi Prestige card is 3 free rounds of golf per year (more if you are abroad) which totals to 6 rounds of golf before the annual fee comes due. The only obstacle I face is rationalizing checking in my beloved golf clubs versus renting some from the local course.
AutoPilot Saturday: News You Should Peruse
Jurassic World: A Theme Park Worth Skipping
Earlier this year I went to Disney and stayed at the Hollywood Tower Hotel. After that adventure, I thought I’d go visit Jurassic World because scientists had made the unthinkable happen by bringing dinosaurs back to life. All I can say is that I was severely disappointed in the whole experience. There was nothing real or interesting in the park. Even with all the danger, I still was bored. I highly recommend using your points to go to Costa Rica but opt for the ziplining over the SeaWorldish Jurassic World park which makes Animal Kingdom look like the Serengeti. TPOL gives Jurassic World two thumbs down.
Waiting to Go to Greece
When the economy crashed with the bursting of the housing bubble, the vultures swarmed Las Vegas, Scottsdale, and Miami in search of condominium carnage. Today those economies have recovered much of those losses. The same can be said about Greece which is on the verge of being excommunicated from the European Union. This is an inevitable result of a stupid plan to make a uniform economy in Europe. How anyone thought that Germany could share a currency with the likes of Italy, Spain, and Greece is ridiculous. When the UK decided to preserve the sterling there was plenty of malcontents within the EU that disapproved of the decision. The pound is much stronger than the euro demonstrating who was right in that argument. Today the chickens have come to roost and the winner, though they do not know it yet, is Greece. Greece has no business being in the union. Greece produces next to nothing besides olives, pistachios, cotton, and rice. They may have invented calculus but it’s safe to say the patent on that invention has expired. Going forward, Greece should focus its efforts on tourism, an industry that has suffered as a result of having to use euros to purchase gyros. Greeks shouldn’t bemoan their exodus from the EU as it in no way takes away from their great history. It would be narcissistic to believe that they could reach any level of prominence by complying with the austerity rules imposed by Germany. Instead, Greece should default on its loans and go back to the drachma. Though many big banks may be hesitant to loan Greece any money should they do this, they will find capital by way of microfinance, i.e., happy tourists willing to go there on holiday.
T-Shirt Souvenirs
What do you like to collect when you travel? I have a stellar shot glass collection that is second to none. Occasionally, I’ll travel to a country that doesn’t have shot glass souvenirs which is really frustrating. Mongolia, China, and Vietnam are examples where my search for a souvenir glass proved fruitless. Lately, I’ve been collecting sports jerseys whether it be a Messi jersey from Argentina or a cricket one from South Africa or Sri Lanka. By far the best souvenirs are t-shirts. Those include the ‘same same’ from SE Asia to the I Love Pho from Vietnam. The rule is to purchase these keepsakes when you come across them lest you run out of time, local currency, or get food poisoning and kick yourself for not acting. Here’s a winning shirt that is available for purchase albeit at a much higher cost than the SE Asian street vendor. Click Here to buy==>Turn Down Pho What!
Sports Are Done, Time to Travel
The Stanley Cup Finals are done as are the NBA Finals. TPOL predicted another championship incorrectly for the record. Now that there’s nothing left to watch on television, TPOL will be spending the next few days with nothing to do. This extra time is an incentive to plan a few last-minute getaways for the summer and for the fall. I doubt it will be exciting as last summer where I went to Shanghai, Bali, Helsinki, Stockholm, Riga, and finally my new/temporary home of Ulaanbaatar. What’s on the agenda this summer? Only time will tell. One thing is for sure Iguodala is not the MVP.
Summertime Sadness: Hits of Verano
Whether you’re going to Ibiza this summer or just driving a taxi around in the dead heat of Arizona, you can’t miss the sound of summer in the form of that unmistakable hit. The tune may be annoying initially but over time it will come to define the good times of summer. Here is a quick rundown of the songs from the last few summers and the international Trip Report where it was overplayed. 2014: Calvin Harris: Summer
- Welcome to the Cold (July 2014)
- New York, New York
- Helsinki, Finland
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Riga, Latvia
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
- A Trip to the Far East in Style (June 2014)
- Shanghai, China
- Bali, Indonesia
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Colonia, Uruguay
- Mendoza, Argentina
- Anchorage, Alaska
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Vienna, Austria
- Bratislava, Slovakia
- Bucharest, Romania
- Sunny Beach, Bulgaria
- Belgrade, Serbia
- Budva, Montenegro
- Kotor, Montenegro
- Mostar, Bosnia
- Split, Croatia
- Hvar, Croatia
- Ibiza, Spain
- Barcelona, Spain
- Shanghai, China
- Hong Kong