St. Patrick’s Day Race 3 Mile Time 24:12. Quite the tortoise trek I took getting through this horrible race. Dehydrated, unmotivated, I looked to my playlist to bail me out. I strategically configured the following list believing it would take me to the Holy Land of a sub 20 time. It did not and for that I blame Enrique Iglesias. Yup, that eclectic playlist is what I put together for this one. Noticeably absent is Ricky Martin, a must for marathon runners. The Pointer Sisters were on point when I needed them though I still had too far to go. As bad as I did, others did a lost worse: Final numbers: #7/27 Male Age 30-39, #52/658 overall. Less running, more green beer drinking.
St. Patrick’s Day Race! A Marathon Running Guide
- Thursday: Caesar salad lite with 2 bags of fake crab and a box of pasta and tomato sauce
- Friday: 3 cups of brown rice (didn’t finish) and 1lb of beef
- Saturday:
- 1PM: pasta feed till 2:30PM;
- 6PM: 6 packages of flavored oatmeal
- Race Day: 1 Clif bar before race. 4 bottles of water.
- Racing Socks
- Racing Shoes
- Long sleeve Under Armour shirt.
- iPhone + iPhone extra battery case: The case top part didn’t let the headphones screw in.
- shorts kept falling off
- armband was not tight enough
- stuff in my pockets: never again, no gloves either
- Mile 6: 4 aleve, 3 non caffeine bloks: water
- Mile 8: 3 non caffeine bloks
- Mile 16: 6 caffeine bloks
- Mile 20: 6 caffeine bloks
- Mile 22: gu and Gatorade
- Maybe i should’ve saved the gu for mile 24 but mile 22 was my fastest mile
- Mile 24-26.2 were the worst because the course stayed in the woods.
- Mile 20-24 were the best as i saved myself till then to actually go fast.
- Music also needs more power songs for last 3 miles: Black Eyed Peas weren’t cutting it.
Guns & Butter: Bangkok Travel Guide
- Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Chiang Rai, Thailand
- Yangon, Myanmar
- Ngwe Saung, Myanmar
- Mandalay, Myanmar
- Bagan, Myanmar
- Hong Kong
- Orlando, Florida
In the words of Rafiki, “It is time.” It is time for the Bangkok Travel Guide using the Guns & Butter methodology:
- A trip is composed of two factors: Labor And Lazy
- Anything on the line (Production Possibilities Frontier for my fellow economists) is an efficient use of your time depending on your tastes and preferences.
- Anything inside the line is inefficient as should be avoided.
- Anything outside is aspirational but may be impossible to do given the constraints of time and resources.
- The opportunity cost (what is given up) for relaxing and being Lazy is gained by being adventurous in the form of Labor and vice versa.
- RCA Area: Local college nightlife area with tons of bars and clubs. Route 66 is my favorite.
- Ku De Ta Bangkok: Right next to the nicest W hotel I’ve ever seen in the Shilom district.
- Street drinking down Khao San, Bourbon Street style.
- Thonglor District: Various upscale bars and clubs that require ID even if you’re COG (creepy old guy).
- Whip: The Sunday night spot that was far from closed.
- The Rule: Unless a local knows the bar, whether it be aThai local or expat, it is a hooker bar.
- Exception: Levels @Aloft: This place is both. Personally, I’d skip it because the drinks are expensive and the clientele can be questionable.
- Take the BTS (Bangkok Mass Transit System) to Thong Lor. Exit, go down the stairs, and ask one of the motorbike drivers to take you Thonglor Soi 16. That’s the main shopping area and tourist meet up spot for the House of Beers. Along the way, you’ll see nice bars and restaurants so tap your driver gently on the shoulder and tell him to stop. The cost should not be more than 20-30 Baht.
Don’t Ask Me About Delta
An Opening on BBC’s Top Gear for Me?
- Exotic Cars:Ā Hit the Road Jackā¦That Means Get Out!
- Exotic Locations: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia?Ā
- Exotic Accommodations: The St. Regis, My Mauritius
- Exotic Adventures: All in business, all for $200 and 30,000 US Air Miles
- Exotic Interactions: Vegas Knockout: My Fantastic Voyage at the Trump Hotel
Airline Names: What Does Etihad Mean?
As a traveling guru, I think myself cool for knowing all the airlines, the alliances, and how to apply that knowledge towards a $77,000 Trip Heard Round the World itinerary. While some of the names are self-explanatory: Air Berlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, and SriLankan Airlines (newly added to One World), others are only recognizable by their livery and country of origin. Beyond that, I have no idea why they are called what they are called. Similar to the International Brew Awards, I’m learning tidbits of knowledge that can carry a conversation if you’re ever bored at an airplane lounge. For example, I found out that Carlsberg is from Denmark in my ‘Go To Brew‘ post and the origin of the term ‘banquet beer‘ in the next nomination. Researching airlines, I also found some fun facts starting with Abu Dhabi’s own Etihad Airways. As an intermediate’ Arabic speaker according to my Linked-In profile, I should know what ‘etihad’ means. Since I didn’t I had to ask my mom for a proper translation because Google’s translation of ‘united’ wouldn’t convey the message in English as well as an explanation in Arabic. Roughly speaking, etihad translates as ‘together’ or ‘join in one’ which goes with the name of the country United Arab Emirates. The UAE is divided into seven emirates with the more known emirates being Dubai, Sharjah, and the capital Abu Dhabi. Incidentally, each counts as a ‘country’ according to the TCC country count list. Make no mistake, though Etihad may mean ‘united’ or ‘come together’ there is a strong rivalry that exists among the emirates. The rise of Etihad Airways to a global player not a regional carrier is a result of Dubai’s Sheikh Maktoum’s refusal to sell Emirates to Abu Dhabi after seeking a bailout during the financial downturn. Emirates Airlines is the pride and joy of Dubai and there was no way that Sheikh Maktoum would part with it. Dubai did change the name of one of the world’s tallest buildings from Burj Dubai to Burj Khalifa, the name of Sheikh Khalifa, the president of the UAE, to pay tribute. I’ve yet to fly on Etihad but when I do I’ll at least know what it means. This wasn’t the case for the football club Manchester City whose marketers didn’t do their due diligence when agreeing to call their field Etihad stadium, unknowingly incorporating the name of their bitter rival Manchester United.
Holiday Inn Express Miles City: The Worst Hotel Ever?
IBA: Best Banquet Brew
Alexander The Author Leaves ThePointsOfLife
I started my blog on March 19th, 2014 to promote my book. (click to see one of my very first posts, it’s worth a read.) Since then ThePointsOfLife has grown into a travel blog and a points strategy operation. Due to this evolution, I regret to inform the readers that there really is no more room for Alexander The Author. We thank him for his service and wish him all the best with his future endeavors. What does this really mean? Simply that ThePointsOfLife will stop pushing book sales (click here to buy my book) and focus on what the analytics have shown to be of interest to the readers: points and travel. Minus the occasional unexpected pop in by The Author for shameless self-promotion, all book related activities can now be found on at www.alexandertheauthor.com (site looks like crap currently), facebook.com/alexandertheauthor, and on Twitter @authorIskender (Alexander in Arabic). While I enjoy writing books as much as I have grown to enjoy blogging about bullshit, I believe it is time to separate my personalities so that readers read what they want to read when and where they want to read it. So if you’re interested please check out my alter ego, Alexander The Author. If you’re not then kindly bid him adieu.