My Travels

Headed out to Park City for some snow action. With the heavy rains this winter, the snow season is here! Jumped onto a United Airlines flight and spent the weekend with friends at the Sunrise Lodge . I was able to get two rooms, one one bedroom and one studio, for the group. Landed late and grabbed a quick bite at the McDonald's down the street before they closed for the night. Being in Utah, I automatically assumed most places would not be open late. The next day, headed out to Snowbird resort to get some powder. The snow was great but the visibility was poor. After going down the mountain, called it quits for the day. The group was tuckered, one from an injury sustained on the mountain and the other didn't like her skiing lesson. I had intended to go to the Canyons resort the next day. Sunrise sits in the Canyons resort BUT the room was flooded overnight from a busted water pipe. With the snow plans dashed, spent the day snow hiking at a nearby mountain. It was inter...

For New Years, went to Big Island, Hawaii. Flew out on United Airlines direct to Kona International Airport . On this trip, I split my time at King's Land and Kohala Suites  by Hilton Grand Vacations Club. I had to rent off airport at Enterprise as they were the only ones that rented out trucks. Traveling in a group of six, car options were either minivan or trucks. The airport location only offered minivans and it was not cheap. For a third of the cost of a minivan at the airport location, it was easier to pay the cab fare to town and pick up the Dodge Ram. After landing, heading over to Costco and Foodland to make a grocery run before getting to the timeshare. After checking in, settled in and had some food (kalbi short ribs) and dark and stormy drinks before calling it a night. Balcony view from King's Land King Bed in two bedroom suite at King's Land The next day, went down to Kona and visited the coffee farms that were open and/or visible from the hi...

On a mileage run to Dubai. On this trip, I'm flying through Chicago, Zurich, Frankfurt and Houston on three different carriers. A couple of firsts for me on this trip. First time being in the Middle East, flying with Swiss Airlines, and experiencing the international terminal at O'Hare international airport. On my way to Dubai, I split my time between United Airlines and Swiss Air . Luckily, I was in business on the way to Chicago but didn't nearly make flying economy the rest of the way easier. At Chicago, I had about two hours to go from Terminal 1 to 5. You can transfer between terminals within the pedestrian walking bridge so you aren't exposed to the elements unlike San Francisco. Going through the international terminal made me realize how many Indians live in Chicago. My two legs with Swiss Air was to Zurich and transfer there to Dubai. The Swiss Air lounge in O'Hare is very very cozy and the décor is very modern IKEA like. The Zurich lounge was infinitel...

Found a fantastic fare to London and grabbed it for a quick weekend on United Airlines . Since it was Veterans Day this week, in England it is Remembrance Day. Conrad London lobby art Checked into the Conrad London which was formerly an Intercontinental. It was an early am arrival and the hotel was not able to give me a room yet but I was able to go to the Executive Lounge which also had showers. It is a first for me to see that a lounge had showers. It is probably a remnant from when it was an Intercontinental. I found it completely helpful that it was showers and was able to refresh myself and enjoy breakfast.  By the time breakfast was finished, the front desk was able to give me access to the hotel room. The grand deluxe room could be bigger. It reminded me of small NYC hotel rooms. I was happy enough to get a room even if it is a bit cramped. The lounge host was exceptionally thoughtful when I had asked about the Conrad duck later on during the weekend. The response wa...

Went out on United to the capital of Ohio for work. Checked into the Doubletree Suites Columbus . It was down the street from the Sheraton where the conference was held. In this particular trip, I had a reservation also with the Sheraton Columbus at Capital Square . A coworker was in need of a room when the hotel sold out. Not too often do I get to have two hotels in one trip. I decided to visit my co-worker and get dinner at the Sheraton. Due to the lateness of my arrival, I ended ordering room service and had  Caesar salad with a decadent pyramid dessert. The chocolate mousse cake was very good. The room service prices were very reasonably priced. It isn't too often that I see that in the U.S. The next day, I had lunch inside North Market. It is a gourmet marketplace and food stalls. I had fried chicken, banana pudding and sweet tea from Hot Chicken Takeover and a doughnut from Destination Donuts . I'd visit the chicken place again but I would bypass the donut place. For...

Went to SF on United Airlines for a quick day trip for work. It seems to be a dog day with the morning flight having a service dog. With the rise of animals being used as emotional support, I wonder what kind of service dog would require a prong collar? A fairly uneventful trip but I was able to stop off at Mr. Holmes Bakeshop . My stop was made possible from a friend who was also in town and had a car saving me from doing a transfer to the Muni buses from the BART at Civic Center. After grabbing cruffins, croissants, and monkey bread, we walked over to Jane on Larkin for a quick breakfast. I ordered the club sandwich and it was really good. Even with mustard! The brioche could have been passed. After, I was on the San Francisco State University campus and enjoyed an iced mocha and crumb doughnut from Cafe 101. Normally not something you would mention but I liked that the University food court was not chains but local independent vendors. Ran to the San Francisco Internationa...

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...