Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountain, Tuul River. Life is old there, older than the trees, younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze. Country roads, take me home to the place I belong I belong.
Ulaanbaatar, M1NT momma, take me home, country roads.
A quick a-live update for everyone while I’m under the influence. I’m home at my new home M1NT Ulaanbaatar, formerly of M1NT Shanghai.
If this isn’t an omen of great success to come then I don’t know what is.
Pop champagne!
The demand for my book has been in high demand. I should say the demand for my book for free has been in high demand. Friends and family alike have messaged me, “Hey, I heard your book came out, when am I getting a free signed copy?”
I had a book signing two weeks ago and gave away 100 books. You can read about that great promotion here. Still, I felt bad that not everyone was able to attend so I am giving away a free paperback or Kindle copy to the first person who correctly guesses where the picture below was taken.
If you are outside the normal Amazon shipping locale then I can only offer the Kindle version. For me to get a copy of my own book in Mongolia would cost me $50 so I feel your pain.
Now, if nobody even leaves a comment that is probably more telling about my marketing strategy. And if people do participate, then maybe I will have this giveaway once a week.
Also, if you just want to be nice and buy it, you can do that here.
The rules are as follows:
1. You have to actually read the book and write a review on Amazon, as seen spectacularly here.
2. The winner is the person who most specifically identifies the location. For example, if I get Arizona as an answer and someone gives me W Scottsdale, then the latter person will be the winner.
3. I won’t confirm who the winner is until someone guesses the right country, maybe continent. If you have a book already you can still play!
And now on with the picture…
Many people ask how I keep track of all the points that I’ve racked up. Like many, I used to rely on Excel and manually enter the award program, the balance, and the expiration date. Like many, I quickly learned there is a much better way. The website is called AwardWallet.com and I’m sure many of you already use it. AwardWallet let’s you save your username and password for each travel program in one spot and tracks the changes in your points balance. While programs like Delta, United, and SWA do not participate, the other big players ranging from American Airlines to Chase Ultimate Rewards do.
But don’t take my word for it, here are some free upgrades to AwardWallet premium that the people at AwardWallet.com have been so gracious to provide:
Sign up on the website if you do not already have an account and click on ‘Upgrade Using a Coupon’:
1) 10 personal coupons which enable to get AW Plus upgrade for 6 months:
ThePointsOfLife-VFOVZDISVD
ThePointsOfLife-PBYZOPEQHC
ThePointsOfLife-OXAZNPHXAO
ThePointsOfLife-WWULRUPZML
ThePointsOfLife-DBNCBCRGSY
ThePointsOfLife-IHVJGJYOHZ
ThePointsOfLife-DDVXPNSEME
ThePointsOfLife-QQGDSIFJOY
ThePointsOfLife-HXFDGLNFAU
ThePointsOfLife-EDYABNNTSA
These coupons are created for users who have already registered with AW and want to extend their AwardWallet Plus membership by another 6 months.
2) 5 OneCard coupons for getting free OneCard:
ThePointsOfLife-DYNXDQTTRG
ThePointsOfLife-XHZRDRJTVE
ThePointsOfLife-IDWPDQXXFW
ThePointsOfLife-QJUEHYUASL
ThePointsOfLife-GPTGHWYQPT
I said a hip hop,Hippie to the hippie,The hip, hip a hop, and you don’t stop, a rock itTo the bang bang boogie, say, up jump the boogie,To the rhythm of the boogie, the beat.
It’s Friday night in Ulaanbaatar and many of my American friends in EST are hurrying to their cubicle after spending most of their direct deposit funds, if they are paid bi monthly, at the bar Thursday night. I’m in celebration mood because I had my first international book sale this week making me an international celebrity.
Maybe one book sale in Germany doesn’t elevate me to celebrity status but it did put me in a good mood! Add in the fact that the book is now available on Kindle and I can’t help but sing along to Sugarhill Gang. No idea why but I can’t get Rapper’s Delight out of my head.
Perhaps I’m having flashbacks of partying with Grandmaster Flash in Dubai New Year’s Eve 2007. In any event, Everyone’s Advice Is Wrongisofficially on sale on Kindle here! So if you are reading this after showing up late and being lectured by your boss, hopefully you still have some of your paycheck leftover to put towards my book. That way you will be rid of the cubicle once and for all.
Trust me, the dividends gained are worth the dollars spent.
This could be you!
The Pho Sho: Top Ten Pho Worldwide list is not dead, it just moved to Mongolia and has not had the opportunity to press forward. An unexpected surprise when I came to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia- the presence of pho! Not only was there a pho restaurant near my house but it was also open 24 hours.
Could this be too good to be true?
24 Hours!
The answer sadly was yes. Not only did they not have pho tai on the menu but the pho combo they had was awful. The broth was beautiful but the noodles were bland and the cuts of meat only resembled beef. In my years of pho voyages, only New York and Singapore have had pho this bad.
Since this pho was the worst I have ever had, not only did I not finish the bowl, I am not going to bother finishing this post.
A combo Vietnamese/Korean restaurant? No
Thankfully, there is another pho restaurant here that I pray is up to the international standard I have come to expect. Could that crack the top ten list?
Following my odyssey aboard Emirates Airlines A380 First Class to Dubai, I was relegated to flying Emirates Business to Shanghai so I won’t bore you with pictures of the bathroom that didn’t have a shower. Upon arriving in Shanghai, I made it by the taxi tricksters to the government authorized taxi line and waited for shifu (master worker aka the name used for all taxi drivers) to restore me to luxury by way of the Park Hyatt Shanghai.
For those of you who have never been to Shanghai, some background information is needed. Shanghai is divided into two sections by the Huangpu River: Pudong and Puxi with ‘dong’ meaning east and ‘xi’ meaning west. Pudong has been designated the business district and is where the majority of banks, law firms, and multinational institutions reside. It used to be residential area that has since transitioned into the hub of big business virtually overnight. In 2010, the World Expo was held in Shanghai and to make way for all the international pavilions, the government implemented their rendition of eminent domain and bussed out any remaining residents, buying their land at a bargain rate, to put it mildly.
Pudong is the side of Shanghai with the unarguably the best skyline in the whole wide world. There is a reason, besides aesthetics, that all the pictures are taken from Puxi of Pudong. Simply stated, Pudong is boring and Puxi is party. This takes me back to the taxi and my journey to the Park Hyatt. As I wrote here, taxi drivers in China, out of the kindness of their hearts, not only chauffeur passengers from point A to point B but also play the part of tour guide by showing passengers the entire city by driving around in circles even when unprompted to do so. In no mood to be ripped off after my long journey to China, I took a screenshot of the hotel’s address in Mandarin (a lesson more thoroughly explained in Lesson 4: It Pays to Get Robbed in my book). What makes the Park Hyatt stand out among all other hotels in Shanghai is that it is located on the 90th floor of the World Financial Center- the 7th tallest building in the world! A taxi driver would have to be completely and utterly clueless to not know where this building is.
My taxi driver was that driver. Just like my first time in Shanghai back in 2009, I was being driven around in circles on my way from the airport to my hotel. This time I was pointing out the window at the bat signal that is the illuminated World Financial Center screaming, “It’s the tall building!” in Mandarin. Yet somehow my pleas fell on deaf ears. Twenty minutes later, the driver finally had a moment of clarity, looked up at the night sky, and comprehended that the 7th tallest building in the world was home to the Park Hyatt.
Arriving Friday at midnight, I was graciously welcomed by the front desk after taking the Willy Wonka elevator to the top floor. As a Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum member, my room was upgraded and the view from the room when the fog finally cleared was spectacular. Right outside my window was the 16th tallest building in the world, the Jin Mao Tower, and what will be the 2nd tallest building in the world, the Shanghai tower. Their powerful presence had me both awe struck and feeling insignificant simultaneously. Upon entering my room, I took the standard photos for the blog and hastily made my way back to the magical elevator to catch yet another taxi to the famous Bar Rouge and then the infamous Mint. When I finally did return to the sanctuary of the Park Hyatt at 7am, I managed to negotiate a spot at the breakfast buffet, a privilege reserved for those holding Diamond status- a demarcation that I will once again strive to achieve.
I stayed at the Park Hyatt for 2 nights, using Mikey’s 2 free night awards (He was only there for one night) courtesy of the Chase Hyatt card and have nothing but great things to say about my stay. I have to add that the automatic toilet that lifted its cover when it sensed a user approaching was a nice touch.
I must confess that the luxury of the hotel is in every way Park Hyatt but the location unlike Park Hyatts in Sydney, Melbourne, and Istanbul to name a few is not ideal. As I said, Pudong is the business boring district and having to deal with the inconsistent taxi fares after the metro stops running (whether or not you are able to speak Mandarin) is an inconvenience that trumps the high sky vantage of the Park Hyatt. While I still give this resort a top rating, it nevertheless falls a tad short of the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai– the iconic resort located on the happening side of Puxi.
Zai jian!
Seriously, he couldnt find this building!?Shanghai Tower under a cloak of fogMe with the Big 3!
Sheikh Dubai’s Chariot
It has been claimed by many in the points game that the greatest redemption is aboard an Emirates Airlines A380 with first class service to anywhere. What’s better than anywhere is anywhere that takes a long, long time. The cost of somewhere far away on Emirates is approximately $15,000 give or take a few hundred.
It should come as no surprise that my adventure aboard Emirates from JFK to DXB continuing onto PVG (New York to Dubai to Shanghai) cost me $15 out of pocket at the time of booking. Obtaining those points was as straightforward as it gets:
Teach Me How To Churn
Apply for an Alaskan Airlines card via Bank of America when the offer is 30k. Wait 90 days. Apply for an Alaskan Airlines business card via Bank of America when the offer is 30k. Wait 90 days. And then, you guessed it, apply for an Alaskan Airlines card again when the offer is 30k. That puts you at 90k. Some spending, some purchasing of miles if needed, and you easily, quickly, and cheaply reach the 100k threshold needed to book this flight. (There are even some offers that come and go of 40k.) Booking the flight on alaskaair.com was simple and the availability was pretty open. The hardest part is anxiously waiting for your date of travel, letting your imagination run wild as to how you will spend your time in the air.
Pre Flight
One service that I did know about but stupidly forgot to take advantage of is the chauffeur service to the airport. I neglected to book my transport in advance and was forced to take the subway then the bus to the airport. So, make sure you don’t make that mistake. Once at JFK, I proceeded to the lounge which I quickly reviewed while I was there but will post a more thorough review at a later date. The best feature of the lounge is that it allows first class passengers to board directly without leaving the lounge.
Now boarding: All ballers to Dubai
Boarding my first A380, I was kindly greeted by the cabin service director and showed my suite. It is not as spacious as the Singapore Airlines A380 Suite Class but had many more bells and whistles. The tell tale sign that you are on board on Emirates flight or in Dubai for that matter, is the abundance of gold.
Drink
“What would you like for your pre departure drink?”
As has become the custom, I always have a glass of an airline’s finest bubbly. It does not matter the time or my state of mind (admittedly it was aching after a night out in NYC) but I have to play the part of first class and sip on, what becomes, a bottomless mimosa. Aboard Emirates, it’s not just orange juice and brut but freshly squeezed and Dom.
The Digs
I remember my first business class flight from Detroit to Frankfurt aboard a Lufthansa A330 in 2012. The seats reclined back and I sat there in disbelief. Fast forward dozens of business class flights later, angle flat has become taboo. Not only is lie flat the way to fly but a personal cocoon is imperative for any overseas journey. Aboard Emirates, the cabin crew takes time like an upscale hotel to share all the features of my new home.
Selfie checkmate
After a tour of my private fort, we are ready for take-off.
More of anything? More of Everything!
The food on Emirates is exquisite. What other word is there to describe caviar followed up by Arabic mezze and and a side of Grand Budapest Hotel on an entertainment system that rivals illegal movie steam websites.
Hummus wuh tubbuli w turshi wu babba gonoosh wah khooboz!Must See TVThe main course: lamb and yumBath
This is how you end a flight with a hot Emirates shower that lasts for an out of this world 5 minutes.
What!The End
All dreams must come to an end and my Emirates’ one was short lived. At least the trip did provide for an inspirational post for the press section.
The press in the air is heavenly..Until next time Emirates!
The sound of kids playing in the summer: Growing up, that was the sound of basketball. Pick up games in the neighbor’s driveway, behind Mikey’s house, and in the park were played till we couldn’t see the basket anymore or that spoiled kid took his ball and went home.
It is undisputed that the international game of sport is soccer with the game being played from beaches to concrete parking lots. When I moved to Mongolia, I expected the same but perhaps not as rampant because the summer is short, limiting the opportunity to play outdoor sports. Curiously, I thought given their stature, the environment, and proximity to the former Soviet Union that Mongolia would be a hockey town. It is not.
The soccer pitch is empty.
I was surprised in walking around Ulaanbaatar to hear the sound of a basketball being dribbled, shit being spoken, and that same whiny kid threatening to take his ball home. Every housing complex has a hoop, some with a net, some without, and a group of kids playing until the sun goes down. The absence of street lights didn’t diminish their drive to play one more game. More surprising was the level of skill these young kids displayed: posting up, driving, and shooting from the outside.
Since the 1992 Dream Team, the game of basketball has become increasingly international with this year’s NBA Finals being broadcast to a record 215 countries. However, just because the game has spread to countries like China, does not mean the skills has followed. As an ESPN 4 analyst walking around China and Mongolia, I saw better fundamentals showcased by young Mongolians than the university kids at Fudan in Shanghai who made my jump shot look Ray Allenish.
The love of the game hasn’t quite yet translated for wins on the international stage for Mongolia. Indeed, Mongolia is ranked dead last in the FIBA Asia zone and 112th out of 116th in the overall world standings. But, I conjecture that this has less to do with talent and more to do with infrastructure, resources, and the availability of the game to what is a small population in comparison to their leading counterparts: China, Korea, Japan, and shockingly Iran at number four.
Maybe it’s because kids were out enjoying the last days of summer or maybe it’s because everyone was playing game after game that today, in Mongolia, I didn’t feel like I was 6200 miles from Detroit. I felt like I was a kid back home.
After another pleasant crisp cold shower following my wrongapartment selection in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, I started to think about all those great showers I experienced all over the world. The criteria for a great shower aside from hot water is water pressure, water spouts, and ingenuity.
So here are the Top 7 Shower Experiences in all of the world*:
*Spas, hammams, shiatsus, and other communal soaking experiences are not included.
7. Las Vegas, Nevada
My first time in Vegas I stayed at the charming Riviera hotel. This iconic hotel will not be included on my Hotel Reviews page because the name speaks for itself. I’ve been to Vegas about twenty times but will not forget the shower experience at the Skylofts at MGM. Not only did we finally come up from the days of the Stardust hotel but also we experienced spoiled luxury for the first time. The room had a chauffeur, a butler, and a private concierge.
Above all, it had a shower with a ten person capacity. Go figure.
Multiple rainfall shower!2nd best shower in Vegas6. Shanghai, China
My first apartment in Shanghai had a pod for a shower with spouts coming from every direction. It took some trial and error to figure out how to use all the buttons and knobs but once I figured it out, it made for an unforgettable home shower experience.
5. Liberia, Costa Rica
Moving along to more formal luxury is my #5 shower experience at the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo in Liberia, Costa Rica. The resort is built overlooking the marina and the rooms seem to exist naturally with the environment. The shower opens out to the balcony making you truly feel one with nature.
4. Seychelles
The Hilton Seychelles Northolme is one of my favorite resorts not only because it is in the most beautiful place in the world- Mahe,Seychelles but also provides the best service for its guests. The hotel upgraded my room from garden view to ocean view at no cost and provided a shower with a view of the blue ocean.
3. Doha, Qatar
Admittedly, Doha isn’t the most exciting city in the world but it does have a W Hotel, a guaranteed party no matter where in the world you go. As an SPG Platinum member, the front desk upgraded me to the Wow Suite and the shower was what I wish to have in my home one day, should I choose to ever stay put. The rainfall shower was the size of an extra large pizza!
2. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport
I was about to board my Delta business class flight from Atlanta to Buenos Aires when I went to Delta’s new international Sky Club business class lounge. I had been to business class lounges before but had never taken advantage of the shower service. The lounge shower its hot water never ending and pressure unrelenting made the shower in ATL come in at #2.
1. Emirates Airlines A380 First Class
And now for the best shower experience in the world, the incomparable, the undeniable, the incomprehensible shower aboard an Emirates Airlines A380. The pictures speak for themselves:
The shower has to be scheduled with the flight attendant and the hot water only lasts for five minutes but how can any deny the cool factor for showering at 30,000 feet especially with all the amenities given pre and post shower.
Now someone please come fix this damn shower in Ulaanbaatar!
Wrapping up the Simply the Best List is July 2014. It goes without saying that my book was published this month and is now on sale. (You can buy it here!) The reviews are starting to come in so let’s see what the world thinks. Luckily, the first one was resoundingly positive and no it was not written by me.
But enough book talk, here’s the list of the best posts that you guys enjoyed in July.
1. I’M COMING HOME (The original parody of Lebron James done minutes after his was released. (see date and time in post) Take that Brian Scalabrine!
2. EPHEDRINE? YOUNG LADY? HAPPY ENDING?
The picturesque seaside lined with posh resorts is the sleight of hand meant to cover up the ills of an island marred by drugs, sex trafficking, and an apathetic regard for humanity.
3. MAN VS. HIMSELF: MY 4TH OF JULY HOT DOG EATING CONTESTI overheard a fellow patron ask about a food eating contest and my ears perked up. Moments later, I found myself signing up for the Double Lawdog challenge: 2lbs of dog, 2 buns, and a mound of chili cheese fries that must be completed in an hour.
4. ANYTOWN, USAIf the vehicles were removed from the street and a picture was taken, my guess is that you could not tell what year it is.
5. #6: PHO TENDERLOINWhile the Pho 2000 should file a trademark suit over its namesake because the pho was simply divine, it still has no case against Turtle Tower.
6. YOUR TENT HAS BEEN UPGRADED
7. THE PRISON OF POSHThere’s more to life than loungin.
![What’s in Your [Award] Wallet?: A Free Giveaway](https://thepointsoflife.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/capture8-768x282.png "What’s in Your [Award] Wallet?: A Free Giveaway")
1) 10 personal coupons which enable to get AW Plus upgrade for 6 months:
ThePointsOfLife-VFOVZDISVD
ThePointsOfLife-PBYZOPEQHC
ThePointsOfLife-OXAZNPHXAO
ThePointsOfLife-WWULRUPZML
ThePointsOfLife-DBNCBCRGSY
ThePointsOfLife-IHVJGJYOHZ
ThePointsOfLife-DDVXPNSEME
ThePointsOfLife-QQGDSIFJOY
ThePointsOfLife-HXFDGLNFAU
ThePointsOfLife-EDYABNNTSA
These coupons are created for users who have already registered with AW and want to extend their AwardWallet Plus membership by another 6 months.
2) 5 OneCard coupons for getting free OneCard:
ThePointsOfLife-DYNXDQTTRG
ThePointsOfLife-XHZRDRJTVE
ThePointsOfLife-IDWPDQXXFW
ThePointsOfLife-QJUEHYUASL
ThePointsOfLife-GPTGHWYQPT
Since this pho was the worst I have ever had, not only did I not finish the bowl, I am not going to bother finishing this post.
Since this pho was the worst I have ever had, not only did I not finish the bowl, I am not going to bother finishing this post.
Following my odyssey aboard Emirates Airlines A380 First Class to Dubai, I was relegated to flying Emirates Business to Shanghai so I won’t bore you with pictures of the bathroom that didn’t have a shower. Upon arriving in Shanghai, I made it by the taxi tricksters to the government authorized taxi line and waited for shifu (master worker aka the name used for all taxi drivers) to restore me to luxury by way of the Park Hyatt Shanghai.
For those of you who have never been to Shanghai, some background information is needed. Shanghai is divided into two sections by the Huangpu River: Pudong and Puxi with ‘dong’ meaning east and ‘xi’ meaning west. Pudong has been designated the business district and is where the majority of banks, law firms, and multinational institutions reside. It used to be residential area that has since transitioned into the hub of big business virtually overnight. In 2010, the World Expo was held in Shanghai and to make way for all the international pavilions, the government implemented their rendition of eminent domain and bussed out any remaining residents, buying their land at a bargain rate, to put it mildly.
Pudong is the side of Shanghai with the unarguably the best skyline in the whole wide world. There is a reason, besides aesthetics, that all the pictures are taken from Puxi of Pudong. Simply stated, Pudong is boring and Puxi is party. This takes me back to the taxi and my journey to the Park Hyatt. As I wrote here, taxi drivers in China, out of the kindness of their hearts, not only chauffeur passengers from point A to point B but also play the part of tour guide by showing passengers the entire city by driving around in circles even when unprompted to do so. In no mood to be ripped off after my long journey to China, I took a screenshot of the hotel’s address in Mandarin (a lesson more thoroughly explained in Lesson 4: It Pays to Get Robbed in my book). What makes the Park Hyatt stand out among all other hotels in Shanghai is that it is located on the 90th floor of the World Financial Center- the 7th tallest building in the world! A taxi driver would have to be completely and utterly clueless to not know where this building is.
My taxi driver was that driver. Just like my first time in Shanghai back in 2009, I was being driven around in circles on my way from the airport to my hotel. This time I was pointing out the window at the bat signal that is the illuminated World Financial Center screaming, “It’s the tall building!” in Mandarin. Yet somehow my pleas fell on deaf ears. Twenty minutes later, the driver finally had a moment of clarity, looked up at the night sky, and comprehended that the 7th tallest building in the world was home to the Park Hyatt.
Arriving Friday at midnight, I was graciously welcomed by the front desk after taking the Willy Wonka elevator to the top floor. As a Hyatt Gold Passport Platinum member, my room was upgraded and the view from the room when the fog finally cleared was spectacular. Right outside my window was the 16th tallest building in the world, the Jin Mao Tower, and what will be the 2nd tallest building in the world, the Shanghai tower. Their powerful presence had me both awe struck and feeling insignificant simultaneously. Upon entering my room, I took the standard photos for the blog and hastily made my way back to the magical elevator to catch yet another taxi to the famous Bar Rouge and then the infamous Mint. When I finally did return to the sanctuary of the Park Hyatt at 7am, I managed to negotiate a spot at the breakfast buffet, a privilege reserved for those holding Diamond status- a demarcation that I will once again strive to achieve.
I stayed at the Park Hyatt for 2 nights, using Mikey’s 2 free night awards (He was only there for one night) courtesy of the Chase Hyatt card and have nothing but great things to say about my stay. I have to add that the automatic toilet that lifted its cover when it sensed a user approaching was a nice touch.
I must confess that the luxury of the hotel is in every way Park Hyatt but the location unlike Park Hyatts in Sydney, Melbourne, and Istanbul to name a few is not ideal. As I said, Pudong is the business boring district and having to deal with the inconsistent taxi fares after the metro stops running (whether or not you are able to speak Mandarin) is an inconvenience that trumps the high sky vantage of the Park Hyatt. While I still give this resort a top rating, it nevertheless falls a tad short of the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai– the iconic resort located on the happening side of Puxi.
Zai jian!
Drink
“What would you like for your pre departure drink?”
As has become the custom, I always have a glass of an airline’s finest bubbly. It does not matter the time or my state of mind (admittedly it was aching after a night out in NYC) but I have to play the part of first class and sip on, what becomes, a bottomless mimosa. Aboard Emirates, it’s not just orange juice and brut but freshly squeezed and Dom.
The Digs
I remember my first business class flight from Detroit to Frankfurt aboard a Lufthansa A330 in 2012. The seats reclined back and I sat there in disbelief. Fast forward dozens of business class flights later, angle flat has become taboo. Not only is lie flat the way to fly but a personal cocoon is imperative for any overseas journey. Aboard Emirates, the cabin crew takes time like an upscale hotel to share all the features of my new home.
The sound of kids playing in the summer: Growing up, that was the sound of basketball. Pick up games in the neighbor’s driveway, behind Mikey’s house, and in the park were played till we couldn’t see the basket anymore or that spoiled kid took his ball and went home.
It is undisputed that the international game of sport is soccer with the game being played from beaches to concrete parking lots. When I moved to Mongolia, I expected the same but perhaps not as rampant because the summer is short, limiting the opportunity to play outdoor sports. Curiously, I thought given their stature, the environment, and proximity to the former Soviet Union that Mongolia would be a hockey town. It is not.
5. Liberia, Costa Rica
Moving along to more formal luxury is my #5 shower experience at the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo in Liberia, Costa Rica. The resort is built overlooking the marina and the rooms seem to exist naturally with the environment. The shower opens out to the balcony making you truly feel one with nature.
4. Seychelles
The Hilton Seychelles Northolme is one of my favorite resorts not only because it is in the most beautiful place in the world- Mahe,Seychelles but also provides the best service for its guests. The hotel upgraded my room from garden view to ocean view at no cost and provided a shower with a view of the blue ocean.
3. Doha, Qatar
Admittedly, Doha isn’t the most exciting city in the world but it does have a W Hotel, a guaranteed party no matter where in the world you go. As an SPG Platinum member, the front desk upgraded me to the Wow Suite and the shower was what I wish to have in my home one day, should I choose to ever stay put. The rainfall shower was the size of an extra large pizza!
2. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport
I was about to board my Delta business class flight from Atlanta to Buenos Aires when I went to Delta’s new international Sky Club business class lounge. I had been to business class lounges before but had never taken advantage of the shower service. The lounge shower its hot water never ending and pressure unrelenting made the shower in ATL come in at #2.
1. Emirates Airlines A380 First Class
And now for the best shower experience in the world, the incomparable, the undeniable, the incomprehensible shower aboard an Emirates Airlines A380. The pictures speak for themselves:
The shower has to be scheduled with the flight attendant and the hot water only lasts for five minutes but how can any deny the cool factor for showering at 30,000 feet especially with all the amenities given pre and post shower.
Now someone please come fix this damn shower in Ulaanbaatar! 
5. Liberia, Costa Rica
Moving along to more formal luxury is my #5 shower experience at the Andaz Peninsula Papagayo in Liberia, Costa Rica. The resort is built overlooking the marina and the rooms seem to exist naturally with the environment. The shower opens out to the balcony making you truly feel one with nature.
4. Seychelles
The Hilton Seychelles Northolme is one of my favorite resorts not only because it is in the most beautiful place in the world- Mahe,Seychelles but also provides the best service for its guests. The hotel upgraded my room from garden view to ocean view at no cost and provided a shower with a view of the blue ocean.
3. Doha, Qatar
Admittedly, Doha isn’t the most exciting city in the world but it does have a W Hotel, a guaranteed party no matter where in the world you go. As an SPG Platinum member, the front desk upgraded me to the Wow Suite and the shower was what I wish to have in my home one day, should I choose to ever stay put. The rainfall shower was the size of an extra large pizza!
2. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport
I was about to board my Delta business class flight from Atlanta to Buenos Aires when I went to Delta’s new international Sky Club business class lounge. I had been to business class lounges before but had never taken advantage of the shower service. The lounge shower its hot water never ending and pressure unrelenting made the shower in ATL come in at #2.
1. Emirates Airlines A380 First Class
And now for the best shower experience in the world, the incomparable, the undeniable, the incomprehensible shower aboard an Emirates Airlines A380. The pictures speak for themselves:
The shower has to be scheduled with the flight attendant and the hot water only lasts for five minutes but how can any deny the cool factor for showering at 30,000 feet especially with all the amenities given pre and post shower.
Now someone please come fix this damn shower in Ulaanbaatar! 
2. EPHEDRINE? YOUNG LADY? HAPPY ENDING?
7. THE PRISON OF POSH
