Like going to the gym, I make it a point to keep a routine by blogging once a day. This may be the shortest post but at least I keep the streak alive.
Over the last 8 days, I’ve visited:
Shanghai, China
Hong Kong
Back to Shanghai
Osaka, Japan
Kyoto, Japan
Beijing, China
Now back in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Needless to say I’m exhausted from all that travel but I have so much fun content to share about all that travel. Also, I’m going to be changing up the presentation of my website slightly before making the move to the prior2boarding server. All in all, exciting times here.
Good zzz everyone,
What’s in store in Mongolia this time around?
ThePointsOfLife
Are you the fat guy in the lounge? Here’s a questionnaire to help you determine that:
Do you find that your mini table is stacked with plates and glasses?
Do you sample everything whether it appears to be delicious or barely edible simply because it is free?
Do you sit close to the buffet because walking back and forth is too time consuming when your flight leaves in fifteen minutes and you require three trips?
Do you face the kitchen door so you can be the first to try out the industrial size pasta?
Do you pour a glass of beer and champagne to justify all those days flying coach?
Do you shrug off the looks of fellow passengers who stare down their noses at your fat boy assortment of desserts?
Do you refuse to tip the bartender because the lounge is a free amenity and his salary should be included?
Are you fat?
Well that was cathartic, now let me go back for fourths!
Care to drink too much? Care to eat too much? Care to spend too much? Well then, come to Tempura Endo Yasaka. Endo is one of the most famous restaurants to eat everything tempura in all of the world. Reservations are made months in advance but thanks to the Hyatt Kyoto I managed to get a reservation for a private room.
The cold sake was delicious, the service impeccable, and the food was top notch. Too full from indulgence, I beg your pardon for allowing the photos to tell the full story.
I’m a man of fashion. From the fake market to the inexpensive tailor of Shanghai, everything I own is designer [impostor].
The streets of Osaka are lined with all the familiar brands of which I own their counterfeit replacements. The prices are in yen but I’m sure they are still out of my budget. Whenever I see these beautiful store fronts whether they be in Ulaanbaatar or Osaka, I can’t help but wonder how much they pay for rent, how profitable or un they are, and if their international presence is more of a marketing ploy to say “We have locations in…” than to sell useless handbags whose prices constitute the GDP of the countries they are in.
In any case, they are nice to look at.
Here’s what I’ve done:
Landed at 9pm, went through the slowest immigration known to man.
Went to take the bus to the Hyatt Osaka and was told it doesn’t run past 9:10pm.
Spent 3 hours on the subway, changing lines 4 times to get to the Hyatt. (A taxi one was was $160!)
Went for sake, beer, and sushi till 4am.
Left the isolated Hyatt for the hospitality of the St. Regis.
It’s good to be home.
After a bumpy ride of visa mishaps and unexpected phone outages, I’m back on track. Leaving Shanghai, I took the Maglev train to Pudong Airport that clocks in at an impressive 430km/hr saving me time and a taxi headache.
Now I’m unwinding after a great halloween party at M1NT in the Air China business class lounge. The food can’t come soon enough so I’ve shifted my focus to drinking Mr. Walker on the rocks.
Upon arrival in Osaka, it will be time to take a bullet train to downtown. Growing up, I always wanted to take the bullet train after seeing videos of it on CNN. Not sure which one is faster between the Maglev and the bullet but I’ll find out soon enough.
Happy Halloween from ThePointsOfLife!
I’ve written about the need to have international data roaming while traveling. Apart from not being robbed by taxi tricksters, international data keeps you connected with the outside world; until it doesn’t.
First in Finland in July, now in China, AT&T has cut off my service for no reason. They send me a text saying “due to high usage, your account is suspended. Please call the following number.”
Only I can’t call the number because my phone isn’t provision to make international calls. So I have to wait until I’m back at a desktop to connect via chat. The chat service is great and they always take care of the problem, yet no one knows why it happens in the first place.
For those of you at home who take your 4G data for granted, I beg of you to caress your phone a little tighter tonight, a little longer. For you don’t know when that luxury will unexpectedly be taken away!
You see my response in July!
The reason the a-live section is a category on my blog is to provide quick updates of any adventures or debacles I encounter.
Well chalk this one up as the latter. I arrived in Beijing and had an interesting run in with the immigration folks. I was only given a visa for 24 hours and in a mad scramble booked a flight to Hong Kong for today, October 30th. I will be returning to Shanghai for Halloween and have quite the story to tell.
On top of all that my ATT international data plan isn’t working. It shows “sim not compatible” so I’m powerless to find info, blog, and bitch.
Anyhow, here’s a picture of an amazing vehicle!
Alex is a-live in Hong Kong, if only barely.
Photo taken at Hyatt Hong Kong, thanks to points for giving me a place to sleep!
No need for a catchy title for this post. The location, Ulaanbaatar, and my guess that I’m the only one to write a review on the Ulaanbaatar business class lounge, make a clever title superfluous.
Chinggis Khaan International Airport has one, exactly one, departure gate that services the limited number of airlines that come and from Mongolia at obscene prices for the point-less people.
Think of Emirates Terminal 3 and its amenities. Now take the inverse of that and you’ve arrived at your departure gate. Strikingly there is an entire floor of Duty Free reminding me of time spent at Changhi Airport.
Regardless, the airport seems functional enough to get me out of the frigid Gobi, even if it only be for a few days.
Comfy seatingOh how beautifulLook at that spreadAwful sandwichesThe collection of libationsThe buffet linePotato chips!Only the finestLook at that bug stuck inside.The only departure gateEndless Duty Free StoresMore liquorSame same
I lived in Shanghai way back in 2010 and it took me four years to return to my favorite city. Tomorrow I’m returning for the second time in 4 months. Last time I stayed at the Park Hyatt and the Waldorf Shanghai. This time I’m going back to the basics by staying in locations meant for fun. That’s not to say that I won’t be staying in style. Thanks to points my 72 hour visa-less itinerary is as follows:
Wednesday night: Hyatt on the Bund: $100 + 7500 Gold Passport Points
Thursday night: Hyatt on the Bund: $100 + 7500 Gold Passport Points
Friday night and Halloween at M1NT: Le Royal Meridien: Straight cash homey but platinum status makes it all worth it.
For the new readers, the a-live section of which I’m writing this post is comprised of quick headlines while I’m on the go so I keep up what has become the fun habit of talking to myself via my alter ego, ThePointsOfLife.
Zai jian!
The cold sake was delicious, the service impeccable, and the food was top notch. Too full from indulgence, I beg your pardon for allowing the photos to tell the full story. 
