My Travels

Anyone up for a mileage run? I was up for going to Tokyo for a day. Grabbed a crazy cheap deal and went over to Tokyo on United Airlines . Equal time flying as being on ground. On the outbound flight, I was given a free upgrade to business class. Being totally stoked, I didn't sleep like I was supposed to and was up most of the flight watching movies and snacking. Upon arrival, hopped onto the next outbound train to Tokyo to check in to the Conrad Tokyo . Catching the end of happy hour at the lounge, I was able to get a very nice sampler dish provided by the Chinese restaurant inside the Conrad. Overall, I enjoyed my stay even though it has been about eight years since I last stayed at this location. One note, the rooms with the bay view is smaller than the city view. I guess you have to give up on something to get a view. I was very tired with no sleep on the plane and barely had the energy to walk to the plaza downstairs for the sushi dinner at one of the restaurants that wa...

Last minute changes gave rise to an impromptu mini vacation down to San Diego and LEGOLAND. It seems I'm on a theme park kick this year and checked into the Doubletree San Diego-Mission Valley . The hotel is under some minor upgrades (namely the elevator) and it was generally quiet at the hotel. The mall and lots of other types of restaurants were either adjacent to the plaza of the hotel or the next block over. If you were staying here for work, it is a nice location for eateries as well as hotel amenities. Having had a very late lunch at Brewbaker's  and bought some snacks from the grocery store next door to munch on. The next morning, grabbed breakfast before heading out to LEGOLAND. The breakfast options were nice and I enjoyed the granola. LEGOLAND tickets are available at local grocery stores and the prices are better than at the actual ticket office. My park hopper (aquarium but not the water park) was $50 less than the posted rates. Overall, the theme p...

Went on United Airlines to Washington DC for a conference. I gave up my upgraded flights to fly direct into Dulles and attempted to get in earlier than originally scheduled. It didn't work out that way and received 10,000 points from United for the delays. I don't know if I was thrilled with getting 10K in points but I'll take it. I had a friend who lives in DC and she graciously picked me up from the airport. We had dinner at the Carving Room . It was featured on Diners Dives and Drive Ins but I was ok with the restaurant. Afterwards, checked into the Washington Hilton  and grabbed gelato at  Dolcezza . It appears to be a local chain of gelato stores owned by Brazilians. The next day, the conference had a reception at the International Spy Museum. It was a nice enough location but nothing I would want to go pay for to visit. The Shake Shack was next door and I grabbed a late dinner before heading to the next reception at Bobby Van's S...

Flew out to Orlando for a conference on United Airlines . Since I was attending as a panelist, the conference organizers put me up at the Disney Yacht Club & Resort for two nights. I have never stayed at a Disney resort in my previous visits to Orlando. On this trip, I decided I would see what the theme parks are like given my stay at a Disney resort. The first thing I received was notification that I was supposed to get a Disney magic band. It wears like a Fitbit but asks as a hotel key/ticket pass/access to charge everything to your credit card wearable accessory. Pretty smart to make it that easy for people to spend. I customized mine by ordering the red one but you get them automatically at the front desk if you didn't preorder. It is ideal that you do since it helps with the Disney Airport Transportation. I didn't know how it would work but it appears you should already wear your magic band before leaving the plane. Asking the representative to find me took longer...

I've never been to Nashville and I found myself in the city for a conference. Flew on a ridiculously low fare on United and was able to sit in business class on an Embraer plane. Puddle hoppers usually are pretty small and cramped. I actually found myself enjoying the business class seat and I could fit my laptop roller comfortably on either side of the plane. Usually, the plane is one seat on one side and two on the other. I've learnt over the years that sitting on the two seat side is better if you want to actually put something under the chair. On the way to Nashville, I was routed through George Bush International Airport and decided to try Whataburger near my gate. I've seen it around and didn't know why it was so popular. To be fair, I think I'd rather go to McDonad's but maybe it is because this is an airport location. I'd rather eat at In N Out if I was to choose a burger chain in Texas. Once I landed at Nashville International Airport , I spent ...

Took a one day trip to the nation's capital. Broke into the million miler group on United with this trip. I would have thought I would hear from United but I guess it isn't that big of a milestone for them. Luckily, I was upgraded last minute on the trip. Outbound flight lay over'ed in Houston for a few hours before arriving into Dulles. I stayed out in the Fairfax/Chantilly area since I was visiting George Mason University. It is a compact campus but very picturesque. I dig the river and pond on campus. Despite being at many campuses, I have found it amusing when high schoolers (and a few older ones too) never believe my words about visiting a campus or consider other parts of the country to go to school. Before my event, I was able to grab lunch at Artie's Great American Restaurant . I enjoyed my pecan crusted trout and was too full dessert. I did cruise by Duck's Donuts . I have a couple of friends in DC that likes coming back to LA frequently, maybe I sh...

Headed out to Sin City for a quick weekend because of a timeshare deal with Hilton. On this trip, I flew Virgin America through my SPG points. With the news of a Marriott merger, I am looking to spend as much SPG points as possible and it was a fair exchange given that flights were around $300. For Superbowl weekend, Vegas gets pretty expensive fairly quickly. Checked into the Elara hotel late at night and opted to stay in and relax. I had booked a one bedroom suite but my friends had to cancel out at last minute. Went out to breakfast at the Earl of Sandwich  inside Planet Hollywood. I've always liked the Elara as it is conveniently located in the strip and attached to PH through the Miracle Mile Shops . After breakfast, went over to the Hilton timeshare folks and ended up upgrading my membership. Now I have to go on more vacations! Afterwards, went to dinner at Mastro's with some local friends. The service and food was as impeccable as ever. Grabbed an after dinner drin...

On this trip, I will be retiring my passport with a final international trip to Thailand. It looks like Thai Airways has left the U.S. market. So I flew on United and ANA to Bangkok via Narita. I have always enjoyed the ANA Lounge for its curry, karaage, and ramen.  Better booze selection than the United Club. Since I was flying economy on the way to Bangkok, it was a nice break foodwise. My flight connection to Koh Samui was twelve hours and I opted to stay at the new Le Meridien Bangkok Airport. I missed the airport shuttle due to poor choice of choosing the wrong exit for customs. An hour later, I grabbed a taxi to the hotel. It worked out since the taxi was half the cost of the airport shuttle. I'm not used to having to pay for transfer service from an airport hotel but maybe the Thais don't understand that concept. Le Meridien Suite Bathroom and Bedroom Le Meridien Suite Living Room The hotel was gorgeous. The service was on point and the breakfast buffet was...

Went up on United Airlines and Air Canada to Montreal for the New Year to visit family. Normally, my flights are uneventful...and even if eventful, readily resolvable. On this trip, mechanical delays meant that I missed my connecting flight in EWR . The plane had some steering problems with the wheel and it would have been good that the pilot figured that out before we were already on the runway about to take off. My question is how come they didn't see that coming in? The planes don't stay on the ground long enough these days in my opinion. After determining it wasn't going to be fixed at midnight, United moved all of us to a different plane. All well and good but there were no agents were available to address people who were going to miss their connecting flights. I had already jumped on the phone in the plane and was able to get to an agent to inform me that it was possible to take a direct flight in the morning on Air Canada but she couldn't get a hold of anyon...

Went out on United Airlines to New York's capital. I haven't been in upstate NY in almost a decade and I was looking forward to visiting despite winter seasons and it was a two day work conference. After laying over at O'Hare International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport , I arrived into Newark too late to catch my connecting flight. Luckily, there was another flight to Albany and I changed my flight on the United app. I think they would have held the plane for me since I landed when the flight was supposed to leave. After being on the planes all day with limited food options, I opted to grab a quick dinner at the airport and take the later flight. Vanguard Kitchen is in one of the United terminals and the restaurant even allows you to use Mileageplus points to pay for dinner. You also order from the iPads stuck on the table. It is definitely a new concept in dining to incorporate full service and self service at the same time. The food is typical of air...

On a last minute whim, I drove up to San Jose for the Pac-12 Championship game. It was a quick one night trip and a very early drive along the 5 Interstate highway. Near Gilroy, made a pit stop at one of the local fruit stands and purchased local honey and spiced pistachios. I also saw a Sonic Drive-In and had lunch. Checked into the Four Points Sheraton San Jose Airport . It is a recently converted Radisson. With the year winding down, my SPG upgrade certificates are in need of use and I was confirmed to a suite a few days earlier. The suite was spacious and the room had two bathroom sinks. Makes it nice to use the shower and let others be able to brush their teeth. Parking is free which is a nice amenity in this city. Four Points San Jose Airport Suite Living Room Four Points San Jose Airport Suite King Bedroom Met some family at the Ten Ren  in Cupertino. For such the high number of foreign folks, I am surprised to see that the ethnic restaura...

Flew out on United Airlines to Honolulu. On this trip, I'm combining timeshare and regular hotel stays on this trip. Checked into the Moana Surfrider . I've seen the property over the years and have always wanted to stay. With the timeshare mix, I splurged and stayed on this Waikiki resort. I found the hotel charming and, not surprisingly, the hotel rooms a bit small. On the first night, I was checked into a regular standard room. I had a confirmed upgraded room earlier in the week but a last minute change in hotel rates lost the confirmation. Next time, I will opt to contact the hotel to change the rate rather than lose the confirmed upgrade. The front desk was nice enough to mention trying the next day to see if the room can be changed. Since it was late, grabbed light dinner at Buho Cocina Y Cantina down the street. Ordered an assortment of appetizers of fries, nachos, guacamole, and flautas. I enjoyed my ginger lilikoi margarita. Not a common combination but it was very ...