With the new IHG PointBreaks list just released where you can still at IHG properties from all over the world for the steal of 5000 points, I am going to take the time to fill out this short survey.
Normally, I say why bother but little efforts like these add up over time by giving me a few more points, leading to a few more nights of points bliss.
I have my eyes set on the IHG Bora Bora and if United Airlines would release some award space from Shanghai to New Zealand, it will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine.
Here’s the email I received for the survey and the link for it.
What’s Ulaanbaatar weather like in the winter? Well, it’s only November and the word freezing is as adequate an adjective to describe it as ‘grand’ is to the Grand Canyon or ‘great’ is to the Great Wall.
I’m attempting to write today’s blog post but I have been facing an unusual problem for the last hour: my fingers won’t stop shaking. I’m originally from Michigan so I’m used to the frozen tundra of hail, sleet, frost, and snow. Before moving to Mongolia, I mentally prepared myself for the wretched Ulaanbaatar weather that has advanced past my doorstep into my ice box of a bedroom.
I told myself that I have to be tough and stick out the winter as a challenge in perseverance. Similar to running a marathon, the key to enduring a Mongolian winter will be to prepare for the worst and expect it to be worse than that.
Sermonizing from the pulpit of an insulated apartment about what is needed to survive the elements is all well and good until you get outside and nature punches you squarely in the face, nose, and ears.
“Welcome home,” the howling winds proclaimed as I stepped out of my apartment. Lungs frozen, muscles tight, I could barely put up a fight needed to take another step forward. And this is only the appetizer before the appetizer. The months of December and January make the late weeks of November feel like spring in the Midwest.
So for all my friends still living in Scottsdale, Arizona, I ask you to please guess the current temperate right now in Ulaanbaatar. For my friends in Europe who ask if the measurement is in Fahrenheit or Celsius, I reply by saying it doesn’t matter.
This Overview is part of the Losing My Points Virginity Trip Report where in 2012 I flew business class for the first time on points.
Do you remember losing your virginity? For me it’s impossible to forget my first long haul flight aboard Lufthansa Business Class bound for Taipei via Frankfurt.
Not only did I have a memorable flight on Lufthansa which included great in flight Wi-FI, champagne, and steak but I also managed to sneak my way into the Lufthansa First Class Lounge in Frankfurt for ten hours of embellishment. Perhaps it is heresy to say that flying Lufthansa Business Class was the highlight of the trip given all that I did, but because it was my first time in business, I’d have to say that it was.
The trip included more business class aboard Asiana, xiao long bao in Taipei, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, partying in Bangkok and Goa, a mishap at the Taj Mahal, and my first time in Africa by way of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The final destination was Las Vegas for a couple of days of much-needed R&R.
So Long Detroit!Lufthansa First Class LoungeNext time I’m staying at the W Taipei.Angkor Air in CambodiaAloft Bangkok – Sukhumvit 11: The best Aloft in the world.Anjuna Beach, GoaThe Taj Mahal DisasterAddis Ababa!Some much needed rest in Las Vegas.
Between this report and The Southwest Companion Pass: Round 1, you’ll see more of Montana than most people ever will in their lifetime. From there I ventured to Chicago for stays at the Conrad Chicago and the Waldorf Astoria Chicago. After a quick goodbye to my parents in Michigan it was back to New York to catch my flight to whatever was next where unfortunately Southwest Airlines does not fly.
I have to return to the United States in 2015 because I have another year remaining on my Southwest Companion Pass and thanks to the merger of Airtran and Southwest Airlines, another 120,000 rewards to rapidly burn. Next time I’ll take advantage of Southwest’s new routing by visiting the Dominican Republic and Jamaica two countries I have yet to see. Oh, and maybe I’ll head to Cancun for old times’ sake.
But before I get too carried away, here’s the picture preview of this trip report.
Philipsburg, Montana
Chicago, Illinois
Detroit, Michigan
New York, New York
Anytown, USAI still call it the Sears Tower. Sorry Willis.The best Chinese food in all of the world! Click the pic for the full review.So long USA! For now.
Too often I look beyond the borders of the United States for where I want to go next. Excited by the limitless possibilities, I quickly forget the treasures in my own backyard believing that a trip abroad is the only way to unlock a travel adventure. Luckily, Southwest Airlines’ barrage of commercials is there to remind all of us that we can get away and stay away from this mindset. And we can do it for cheap, if not for free.
Last year, by applying for both a business and personal Chase Southwest credit card when the offers were 50,000 miles each respectively, hitting the minimum spend of 3k on both, then transferring purchased Choice Hotel points to my Southwest account, I was able to qualify for the Southwest Companion Pass.
Not only did I have a plethora of Southwest Rapid Reward points at my disposal, I also had the ability to take a companion with me wherever Southwest flew by paying the nominal $2.50 security fee per ticket.
We left Phoenix bright and early.First, we headed north for the wineries of Napa Valley.We continued north to Seattle.Thanks to the Southwest Companion pass, we were able to purchase affordable tickets to Montana from Seattle.We saw the Big Apple.Headed back to my home state of Michigan.Saw some nerds in Boston.Then we returned to sunny Scottsdale
The normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam occurred on July 11, 1995. Five years later, former President Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea Clinton went to the Land of the Blue Dragon, the first President to do so since the war ended.
As part of his trip to Saigon, President Clinton sampled the local fare at a restaurant called Pho 2000, a designation given to commemorate the President’s visit. Since then Pho 2000 Saigon (not to be confused with Pho 2000 Tenderloin) has become a must eat for tourists traveling to Vietnam. The place has gained so much popularity that they changed locations, now conspicuously located above a Coffee Bean in downtown Ho Chi Minh.
The first time I went to Pho 2000 was in May of 2010. Tricked by the President’s endorsement I had two quick bowls before wandering the streets of Saigon like George Costanza in search of suitable facilities to relieve myself. In 2013, as part of my Trip Heard Round the World and on assignment as a pho pundit, I returned to Pho 2000. With a stronger stomach and with an emergency evacuation procedure plan in place, I was ready to give Pho 2000 Saigon another shot. Unfortunately, the upgrade only applied to the facilities and not to the pho. While the moniker reads “Pho for the President”, the food is not even suitable for us pho plebeians.
Understandably, Pho 2000 is milking the publicity of President Clinton’s visit by investing their time in marketing not manufacturing. This is evident by the patrons of Pho 2000 of whom none are locals and by the employees who meekly serve bowl after bowl while their faces deliver another message- eat somewhere else.
It is for shame that Pho 2000 has become the first stop for international epicureans wishing to sample an authentic bowl of pho. The misrepresentation of this national dish will leave them disappointed, their taste buds the ultimate victims should they choose not to spring for another bowl.
To them and to President Clinton I say, fear not for on your next visit TPOL shall tell you where to go.
Disclaimer: TPOL was compensated for providing a referral link for Jurlique, my favorite lip balm.
Is life better on the road? Holding the quality of life in Mongolia as a constant, the answer, thanks to hotel room amenities is yes. On my recent trips to Japan, China, and Korea, I made a concerted effort to gather all the free hotel room amenities from my flights and stays. I returned to Ulaanbaatar with a treasure trove of body lotions, shampoos, conditioners, cologne, lip balm, a sewing kit, shaving gel, and a St. Regis luxury brand toothbrush.
While unpacking, curiosity and boredom got the best of me so I decided to Google the prices of these fancy potions. I was astounded to find that these ‘free’ giveaways cost more than a year supply of Axe Total Fresh 3-in-1 Shampoo+Conditioner+Shower Gel, conveniently available for bulk purchase at your [not my] local Costco. I am no expert in the field of body scrubs, revitalizing shower gels, and rejuvenating skin treatments, but I do have to say that the so fresh n so clean feeling that comes from using these products may be worth the cost of admission or, more aptly put, the cost of a night’s stay at an upscale resort.
Prioritizing for what is important in my daily budget, grooming goodies were never high on the list as I believed that soap is soap and shampoo is shampoo. I thought the same was true of lip balm until I flew Cathay Pacific and received a $35 tube of Jurlique lip care. Now, I dare not use anything else. Of course I say this tongue, lip, and cheek.
Looking out the window as the smog and pollution toxify the blue skies of Mongolia, I wish, for the sake of my skin, that I had kept all the hotel room amenities from my trip heard round the world. Alas, all I can do now is hope to preserve my current stash till my next voyagé.
Speaking of which, how’s award availability to Hong Kong aboard Cathay looking this holiday season?
Liquids, gels, aerosols?Shaving Gel? Bath Salts? Apart from the illicit kind who purchases these costly wonders?That’s a St. Regis toothbrush and sewing kit.I pity you Sephora
It’s great to be gold but diamonds are a churner’s best friend. I signed up for the Hyatt Diamond Challenge and received a trial Diamond membership for 60 days by sending a screenshot of my Hilton Gold membership. To meet the Hyatt Diamond Challenge, I needed to stay 12 nights in 60 days at Hyatt hotels, something I should’ve strived harder to do.
Even though I did not complete the challenge successfully, I still took advantage of the perks by using it on a trip to one of my favorite countries in the world, Argentina. Not only was I staying in diamond class, I also managed to book a business class ticket on Delta SkyPesos for only 100,000 miles which included a free roundtrip ticket to Mendoza.
Join me on this Trip Report as I venture to Buenos Aires and Mendoza for Malbec and steak in style.
Here are the highlights from my trip to Argentina in August 2013.
The Lounge:
Delta Sky Club at Hartsield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
The Flights:
PHX-ATL (Phoenix-Atlanta)
ATL-EZE (Atlanta-Buenos Aires; Delta BusinessElite; Boeing 767-300ER)
I’m inching closer to the full transition and integration of my blog onto the BoardingArea server. All the featured images have been added and adjusted for size, the deadlinks, like Lazarus have come back to life, and everything seems to be in order.
Checking everything on the back-end has taken a lot of my time so accept my apologies for this lame post.
At the same time, if you do come across any errors anywhere I’d be grateful if you would point them out.
Till next time, let’s play the game that all lazy bloggers host when they have no time to write: Can you guess where this picture was taken?
It’s a shame that US Airways is merging with American Airlines. As part of the merger, AA is mandating a geography class for all US Airways whose services will be retained. The blogosphere is littered with tales of savvy travelers who have taken advantage of what is either apathy, incompetence, or less cynically put, superb customer service to book flights from the United States to the moon with a stopover in Seychelles.
In 2013, I took a chance booking a round-trip flight from Istanbul with a stopover in Seychelles an extended layover in Toronto with my final destination of Los Angeles.
Agent: So you are going from Istanbul to Seychelles then back to the United States? Hmm, is Istanbul in Asia or Europe?
Me: …
Agent: Do you happen to have the flight numbers?
Me: Yes
Agent: Please hold.
Cue Anxiety Hold Music
Agent: OK, that’ll be 60,000 miles and $160.
Today, I still have no idea if US Airways considers Turkey to be in Europe or Turkey to be in Asia. According to the Country Count List, it’s technically in both. Either way, how this was considered a round-trip ticket is a question left to be contemplated by a higher power.
Thanks to US Airways’ great customer service, I was able to visit the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) in Istanbul, Anse Source d’Argent beach in Seychelles, have pho with my cousins in Toronto, and catch up with friends at Cabo Cantina in Marina del Rey all for 60,000 US Airways Dividend Miles and $160.
