My Travels

So I'm back! From Singapore, I landed directly into Ngurah Rai International Airport . The airport has changed significantly since I last was here. It is a far grander airport than the sleepy airport I remembered. And the transit visa was no longer required if your stay is less than 30 days. Lodging For this trip, I stayed at three different hotels. Each had their own flair. The Hilton Garden Inn Bali Ngurah Rai Airport hotel is the most resort feeling HGI I've ever been. I don't know if this was a conversion hotel but it is very very reasonably priced and the accommodations are nice. The hotel does feel very new and they gave me a one bedroom suite for my one night stay. I also used their laundry facilities. Not cheap but the price of laundry includes the soap (if any consolation). I didn't use the gym but it looked very nice. I had to walk through the gym to get to the laundry area. The breakfast was great at HGI. It was a full hot buffet and very remin...

On this trip, I flew on Singapore Airlines to Indonesia. Since I had to layover in Singapore for eight hours, I thought it would be a good time to stretch my legs and see the town for a bit. After the long flight from the States, I quickly jumped into the Krisflyer Lounge and took a shower. Luckily, I had split my itinerary. One was the transpacific flight with cash and one with miles on the intra-asia flight. Why that was important was that I had opted to book business class on the award ticket which allows you access to the Krisflyer Lounge instead of the Krisflyer Gold Lounge. As courter intuitive as it sounds, the "gold" lounge is their basic lounge for the Star Alliance folks which means no showers and smaller space. You can only access the Krisflyer Lounge if your continuing flight is in the appropriate class. I've only "heard" of international premium economy but haven't actually flown an airline with the class. Singapore Airlines led the category...

Not too often that I go to Chicago and not be in Chicago. I hopped onto a flight for a quick weekend trip on United and landed into O'Hare International Airport . Spent two nights at the Hilton Chicago O'Hare Airport hotel sandwiching a night at the Hampton Inn McHenry . A "suburbs" trip included a brief first night stay at the Hilton because of the 1 am arrival. It was easier to walk over and fall asleep as quickly as possible. In the morning, I headed up to McHenry and stayed at the Hampton Inn. The drive from the airport to McHenry was about an hour. I forget how big houses can be in the Midwest for very low (in my opinion) prices. Despite the freakish snowstorm in late April dumping four inches in the area, I still was able to get around. Visited the biggest Harley Davidson dealership ever (in my experience) and even watched an arm wrestling match with Jeff Dabe. Only when I mentioned it to someone did I realize that he was a "pro" in arm wrestli...

It’s a travel month for me and I headed to Toronto on United Airlines . I was upgraded on my flights and appreciated the extra space. Ironically, I had paid for an upgrade on the return and had to lose it to catch an earlier flight home. Luckily my refund request was approved. In town for a conference, I opted to stay at the Doubletree Toronto Downtown instead of the conference hotel. I find staying at conference hotel means the hotel is very busy and it takes forever waiting for elevators. There were a number of folks at my hotel too. I wonder if they ran out of the room block. I was able to catch the Toronto Blue Jays one afternoon. It is a basic enclosed stadium. The weather wasn’t warm enough to have the roof open but I thought it was a good day for the roof to be open. Canadians aren’t much baseball fans and the stadium was maybe a third full. Spring training game kind of attendance in my opinion. Meals Given my time was taken by the conference, I can only comment on the...

I had a short overnight layover in Frankfurt coming from Naples. After landing into Frankfurt Airport from Lufthansa , I found the city trains into the city. I didn't board the subway correctly but still ended up close enough to walk to the Hilton Frankfurt City Centre . Hilton Frankfurt City Centre King Room The hotel is interesting in that the executive lounge is the foyer area of the elevators. You literally have to go through the lounge to get to your room. On the bright side, I was able to munch in my room because I was so close to the lounge. The view was actually nicer from my room than the lounge. Overall, it was a good choice to go into the city rather than stay out by the airport as originally planned. When I saw my friends the next day a bit frazzled trying to catch the flight (they had an hour layover from Naples), I was glad my itinerary had me get to Frankfurt the day before. For a first time visit, I found the city charming in its architecture and th...

Travel to Naples My first "exercise" vacation....I was convinced by a friend to take a hiking tour in Italy. Not having spent much time on the coast when I was in Italy last, I didn't mind coming back and checking out the area. Since the coastal towns are out of the way, I was happy to have found decent flights into Naples. My first non-United itinerary for the year, I headed out to Italy with a stopover in Munich on Lufthansa . Lufthansa Economy Row I haven't been on Lufthansa for a few years and my last memory of the service was a super hot journey. On this trip, the temperature was warm but not chocolate melting hot. There is a new class of service "premium economy" now in the plane. So we went back to three class plane without having a true "first" class. Airlines must feel that there is more of a market between economy and business than first class. Although I was able to select my seat for free (by waiting until the day to check i...

With all the snow this season, I wanted to go out to Mammoth Mountain Resort . With such a long drought, it has been awhile since I've last been to this mountain. A one day turnaround trip started out at 9 pm and I ended up stopping in Bishop for an early morning quick sleep at Motel 6 Bishop . I've stayed at a number of hotels at Bishop but never the Motel 6. The hotel underwent renovations four years ago and the decor was simple but nice. The rooms are very large here. Motel 6 Bishop King Room The hotel also offers discounts at the Denny's across the street and Upper Crust down the street. Had I known, I would have stayed at Motel 6 more often! Ordered a quick breakfast from Denny's before heading to Eagle Lodge. Luckily, I bumped into a group looking to sell their extra ticket from Costco. I hadn't realized how much Mammoth had increased their lift ticket prices and the $95 I spent was well worth the savings. After trying to break in my new snowboard boo...

Not too often you can say that New Jersey is a vacation destination. For this trip, I was celebrating a friend's birthday. A transplant from Brooklyn, my friend's family lives near Clifton. Remarkably inexpensive, I did not realize it could exist within the tristate area. I headed out on United to Newark Liberty International Airport . Since it was a quick weekend trip, I opted to stay at the Hampton Inn Newark Airport . I've stayed at the Hilton next door and didn't think it was worth the extra money. The Hampton has a recent renovation feel and I thought the facilities was fine. Hampton Inn Newark King Room I also rented a car from Thrifty . It was snowing the weekend I was in town and the rental attendant wanted to make sure I was ok to drive. Luckily, there wasn't much snow on the ground and I was able to navigate the streets of New Jersey and New York. Since I wasn't going into Manhattan, I did decide to go into the city to grab some pastries from ...

Volunteering for a professional organization and was flown on United to San Francisco and visited University of San Francisco. Since this was a professional trip, my time in SF was limited to seeing USF and its downtown campus. The weather was also intrepid with a fair amount of rain for a day. I stayed at the Metro Hotel and was the first of my group to arrive. As such, the owner was nice enough to let me choose the room out of the room block. I opted for a nicely decorated (but rather dark) room that had some nooks for working on a computer. The room given was not very big, it was super cosy especially when sharing the room. My spouse came up for a night and it was a little touch and go. It was also interesting that the sink was outside in the sleeping area. I've never brushed my teeth and sit on a bed at the same time. The location is great if you wanted to stay in the Pacific Heights area and the hotel rates are super cheap. Metro Hotel Queen Room The hotel is conven...

I haven't been to Mexico for almost 20 years and I've never visited Baja California. Knocked off this bucket list destination and flew on Southwest Airlines . The routing United would take me was not practical and I forwent my PQM needs for this weekend trip. Landed at Los Cabos International Airport and was surprised to see how many bars are on the outside of the airport for all the folks waiting for their shuttles/vans/taxis. Definitely a spring break kind of feel. You do have to go through the gauntlet of sellers of timeshares, transportation, etc. before getting outside. I made reservations with Gray Line Bus . They had called a number of times before my arrival but I was never able to connect with anyone when I called their number so I didn't know why they were calling. Luckily, I did find the representative in the transportation area and waited for the shuttle. I originally thought it was going to be a private car but we ended up having to wait for another coupl...