My Travels

Hopped on a United Airlines flight to London for the holidays. With the news going crazy about the possible weather shut down for the East Coast, my layover in Houston became a pretty popular option for other travelers. United had allowed for free changes due to the possible storm which made my chances for an upgrade to nil. So I opted to change my flight to go through Newark and guarantee myself the business class upgrade at the same time! At least my flight eastbound had individual TVs and power ports. I'm not convinced I like the plane equipment that Continental Airlines had and less enthused that the new United is embracing these planes. Perhaps it is just a transition period as they absorb all these planes from Continental. Landed into Heathrow Airport   without much ado. In some ways, it reminded me of landing into the US. They don't seem particularly concerned at customs of anyone and I was surprised to see that they don't stamp you when you leave the country. ...

Travelled up to the bay area to catch a college football game. Being on a roadtrip, I opted to drive as long as possible on Interstate 5 and checked into the Hampton Inn Livermore. The location off the 580 and being reasonably priced made this Hampton an ideal location for such a short trip. The rooms were spacious and the parking was plentiful. The hotel is maintained well and the continental breakfast was your typical Hampton breakfast selection. Hampton Inn Livermore After spending the day in Berkeley, had dinner at The Front Porch . Featured on Diners, Dives, & Drive Ins , I tried out the restaurant's offerings. I enjoyed the jalapeno bacon deviled eggs with my shrimp and grits entrée. I was not a fan of the biscuits or mac n cheese. The other entrees, fried chicken and burger, were ok but not worth the price. I've had better fried chicken especially for $18. I assume that San Franciscans don't really know true southern food if the raves on Yelp is any indic...

Just after leaving Manila, I went to DC for a conference. Ironically, I left one rainy area for another while having the federal government in shutdown mode. I flew into Dulles Airport on United Airlines uneventfully. I was hoping with the shutdown that DC hotels had lower occupancy rates and I would be able to get into my room earlier than norm. Unfortunately, the Hampton Inn & Suites Reagan National Airport was not able to do so. At least breakfast was still being served and I was able to hang out in the restaurant and business center until the room was ready. The front desk girl was nice enough to track me down and let me know the room was ready. After settling in, I headed out to the conference at L'Enfant Plaza Hotel . Being in Arlington, I was two stops away on the Yellow line which made the commuting time around 20 minutes. The good thing about the hotel is it sits above the L'Enfant station. The hotel's options for eating is limited but the promenade level...

With the weather being unstable, I booked a flight back from Coron to Manila with a day to spare in case flights were cancelled. It is always risky to try to fly home on an international flight if the local airline can't get you back. For the return, I booked the low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific Air . Spent the morning at the resort preparing to leave for the airport and was transferred to the airport via van. Upon arrival, the security is fairly thorough as passengers are required to have all luggage searched prior to checking in. The bin of confiscated items was full of corals and shells that were the size of bowling balls. It is amazing what people will take from the waters around here. For a low cost carrier, it is good to arrive a bit early as the check in process is fairly elaborate as the staff weighed both passenger and luggage. After getting checked in, there is a terminal fee that must be paid and another luggage search of carryon items before allowed into the g...

For inter-country travel, my options were Philippines Airlines or Cebu and I took both to travel to and from Coron. On the way to Coron, I flew on Philippines Airlines. Prices aren't that cheap but the timing was good. For some reason, the flight was pretty popular because the check-in counter agent was trying to convince us to take another flight to Coron via Cebu with promises of cash and airline vouchers. It was a tempting offer but opted to stay on the plain and get into Coron faster. In hindsight, I don't think it would have been a bad idea except it was unlikely I would be in the country within a year to take advantage of a free "domestic" flight. After landing in Francisco Reyes Airport, took a hotel transport to Sophia's Garden Resort . I will say that this is by far THE smallest airport I have ever flown into. One terminal, one gate, and the baggage claim is manual meaning that the airport crew carries the luggage from the plane into the building for ...

I'm taking a trek out to the Philippines. This trip was focused on some WWII sites. There are no easy nor cheap flights to Manila with the gas prices going up. I ended up flying on United Airlines  after much debate between this and Philippine Air. Ultimately, the ability to upgrade won out since it is a very long flight. On this trip, I had to make stopovers in Honolulu and Guam before landing into Ninoy Aquino International Airport . It isn't a route I would imagine myself ever doing. The Polynesian flights did give me a different perspective on United equipment. Since this isn't an actual transpacific flight, it had a different clientele and equipment. Even though the plane is still a Boeing 777 from Guam to Manila, the plane is dated but I still appreciate the space. The other silver lining is that most of my flights were during the day so I was able to avoid the breakfast menu options and got to check out the United Club Lounge in Honolulu. The lounge is a ...

Came out for the weekend to visit friends. I flew out on United Airlines on a redeye and was able to get the Millenium Hilton . Unfortunately, my transit to Manhattan was delayed due to some type of train track malfunction with the Airtrain at JFK. Added an hour to my trip, it was a good thing I was not in a rush. By staying at this Hilton, I had front row 'seats' on the construction progression around WTC. Things appear to be moving along fairly quickly and I had a very picturesque view of the city skyline. One of the benefits of staying at this Hilton is that Century 21  is next door. I was sad to see that Century 21 was closed for the day and without any reason. After checking in, I headed out to Brooklyn to visit my friend. We wandered out to the promenade and had pizza at Ignazio's Pizza at 4 Water Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201. It was supposed to be "better than Grimaldi's" but I'm not sure that it was but the wait was minimal in comparison. Af...

Came out over the holiday weekend to Oahu. I flew out on United Airlines and arrived in time to catch dinner at a friend's house. I generally like to fly first thing in the morning but I wasn't able to catch a decent fare and left in the evening. Luckily, I was able to redeem a domestic upgrade certificate and was comfortable on the flight. Usually, United plays the "halfway to Hawaii" game on these flights but on this occasion the crew did not offer the game. I was looking forward to winning another Hawaii travel guide book. I almost left the plane before taking off when the airline steward asked for a volunteer to take a later flight. Unfortunately, I was not travelling alone and they only wanted one volunteer. :( I flew out a day earlier than I originally anticipated and couldn't find a decent rate at the hotel I booked initially. So I opted to tack on a stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village for one night. It has been awhile since I've stayed at this H...

In general, I don't usually talk about my return flights as they are usually uneventful. On this particular occasion, I went through an extra layover due to the airplane crash at SFO. The crash shut down the airport for half a day which created havoc for lots of people including yours truly.  My original flight was DPS to SIN and overnighting at Changi for 8 hours. I opted to avoid getting a hotel room and hung out at the Kris Lounges. Since I was now on a Star Alliance flight, the folks at the lounge allowed me access. Singapore Airlines has several lounges depending on class of service. Gold is for the Star Alliance Gold folks, Silver is for the Business and First Class passengers. The Silver Lounge actually segregates Business and First Class passengers from the Economy Class passengers. They also segragate the Singapore Airlines First Class versus Star Alliance First Class passengers as there is a segmented part of the Lounge for those folks. After wandering into the Gold ...

My only goal in this trip was to go snorkeling. With the weather being unpredictable, it was difficult for me to figure out if it could be done on this trip. Windy cloudy weather is not a good environment for snorkeling. So I opted to spend the day relaxing at the hotel and enjoy the amenities. Breakfast is typically buffet style. There are several restaurant locations that will serve breakfast and I opted to go to Suku because it seemed to offer the most options with great ocean/pool views. Regarding the food, it seems people in Asia like their bacon crispy. It almost had a smoke taste to it and I really liked the bacon. It's a big thing since I typically don't eat bacon. Another item that caught my attention was the pancakes and waffles. Many times, pancakes and waffles tend to get soggy but the waffles were super crispy (almost cookie like) and the pancakes had a good crisp edge. The Conrad staff were great and their English skills are very strong from the maid service to...