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.
Jurassic World: A Theme Park Worth Skipping
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
SPG Amex Annual FEE Increase
TPOL called it. SPG’s no foreign transaction fees on the Amex card was good news, sort of. Today Amex announced that the card’s annual fee of $65, a very reasonable fee, is going up to $95, the standard for all cards. Unless I spend cold, hard currency overseas on SPG hotels in excess of $30 of what would’ve been a 3% charge, I see no overall gain in this added ‘feature’.
The two other benefits, complimentary, Unlimited Boingo Wi-Fi and Sheraton Club Access aren’t a big deal to me because 1)I’m an SPG platinum member and will get Club Access for free 2)I have a Platinum Amex so Boingo and GoGo are an included perk for that $450 annual fee.
What do I get for $95? Nothing but another fee that I have to pay.
Trust in TPOL, he calls it all before it happens without any inside source besides common sense. Next up AA devaluation.
AutoPilot Saturday: News You Should Peruse
Here’s what I learned this week from having nothing to do but read travel blogs. 1. List of Taxes from Major Cities in Europe: Mile Value: I don’t care how nice British Airways is, I’m not paying fuel surcharges. That’s like tipping in Asian countries. 2. RedBird: Let us be Target. Gift Cards are still alive. Frequent Miler. 3. The Dreamliner Is Awesome via this video from TPG: 3 a week. That is all.
An App for the International Wine Enthusiast
I consider myself a wine enthusiast. It’s a moniker that used to be reserved for the elite but TPOL has broken through this glass ceiling by traveling far and wide in search of the best vino. My wine tour includes:
- Stellenbosch, South Africa
- Yarra Valley, Australia
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Napa Valley, California
- Mendoza, Argentina
AwardWallet Management
If you’re in the points game then you better have AwardWallet which keeps track of all your miles, hotels, rewards, and organ donors. Today I went through my account admiring the stockpile I have amassed, a clear violation of the Shut Up & Book ideology. While doing so I took note of a few accounts that are not supported by AwardWallet including the following:
- Delta
- United
- Copa
- Southwest
RIP Rubber Duck: Manufactured Spend, Now What?
The duck is dead. According to Miles to Memories, GiftCard Mall is no longer a viable source for MS. They’ve cut the $500 gift card down to $250 making it both inconvenient and more expensive to hit those pesky minimum spends. The good days of the rubber duck when I received cash back, loaded them onto my Bluebird at Walmart are no more.
Now we are at the mercy of drug stores, grocery stores, and whoever allows us to use our credit card to purchase $500 cards for a fee of $6.95. The fees suck but imagine the alternative, actually spending money.
I blame much of this on the man with the bow tie.
RIP my duck! RIP.
UPDATE: Rubber Duck may be on life support. The $500 cards are back but for me I think he’s a goner because all my orders have been cancelled. The last one was escalated to management and they never got back to me about it.
