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Review of the Hyatt Regency in Aruba. Read More ›

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We stayed at the Botella de Leche Hostel in April of 2021 and I visited it in 2012 and 2006. If you have any interest in a hostel, this place is wonderful. This hostel has both dorm rooms and private rooms. We stayed in a private room. It cost $50 per night. Add on 13% tax when paying by credit card. Stock Photo of La Botella Rooms Rooms are simple and much smaller than a typical hotel room, but great for the price. Note that they don’t have hot water in the hostel but the tap is warm enough that the shower is fine once you get used to it. At least in the private rooms, they will give you basic soap, shampoo and towels. They are happy to exchange towels for clean ones whenever you want. They seemed to clean the room once during our 6 night stay, not sure if there is a schedule to that. Also note that their plumbing is not designed for toilet paper. Don’t expect the room to be perfect. The door knob maybe coming off a bit (easy fix after I borrowed a screw driver), there will be chips in the paint, and other minor imperfections. There will be some ants, little spiders and maybe a cockroach or two. They must spray as most of the critters I found in the room were dead. Either deal with this or consider vacationing outside the tropics. The best part of the room is that it has a very powerful “mini-split” style air conditioner. You can adjust the temperature on the remote control and forget that it is 95 degrees outside. Internet The internet seems to work fine in the common areas though not so well in my room. Gym The hostel is one of the few places with a on-site gym. The best part of the gym is that it has working air conditioning. The downside is that it isn’t much else but a large room with some mats, and a few weights. At the time they had a pair of 30lb kettlebells, pair of 20lb kettlebells, some adjustable dumbbells (maybe ~12lbs each or one with ~30lbs) and a pair of ~4lbs dumbbells. They have a good sound system you can plug into and good wifi in the gym, so you can youtube whatever workout you want. Try Caroline Girvan if you are ready for a challenge. They also generally have at least one fitness class a day. Currently they have yoga 2 or 3 mornings a week, some sort of training a couple of afternoons a week, a few pole dancing classes and maybe some other dancing clases. Unfortunately, I never had a chance to take any of their classes. Note that during their classes or when the masseuse has an appointment, you won’t be able to use the gym. Vibe It was extremely friendly and very chill for a hostel. It is NOT a party hostel but still a nice place to meet people. There was no bar onsite and quiet hours start at 11pm (common areas effectively close down except maybe for solo work). Kitchen It had a kitchen that seemed well used but always available. We happened not to use it but I would feel comfortable doing so. While tap water in costa rica is said to be very safe, it is way too warm for my taste without ice. They have a chilled water filler but charge ~$0.40 for a half liter refill and $0.80 for a full liter refill (pretty much my only gripe, though very minor). They also sell bottled water for $0.80 for a half liter and $1.60 for a full liter. Staff / Service The ownership, staff and volunteers were as friendly as could be. I want to specifically call out the following staff: David (2021) - Normally at reception in the afternoons and extremely nice and helpful. He is a Costa Rican with perfect english. He seems to really like his job and is happy to chat when not checking someone in. Julietta (2021) - Julietta is a volunteer normally works reception in the evenings but seems to always be around. She is from Argenitna and spending some time here on a world tour. She is super sweet and helpful. Marcos (2021) - I believe his family owns the Hostel and he seems to be focused on managing the surf school. I didn’t get to know him very well, but seems like a lot of fun. Matias (2021) - Nice guy that is usually at reception in the mornings. Everyone else I interacted with there was wonderful, I just regret that I forgot their names. They have coverage at the front desk 24/7 though call ahead if you want to check in late at night or before 7am. Note that if there isn’t someone at the desk, just wait a minute, someome will probably come over quickly. It won’t always be obvious who is staff and who are guests as pretty much everyone turns into friends and many of the staff will hang out there during their time off (and still happy to help when off the clock). Note that the Botella changed ownership between 2012 and 2021. Back in 2012, the owner, Mariana, was super, super sweet, gives great hugs and speaks great English. Back then a private room was only $30 but, hey, inflation. As seems to be the trend, the former owner’s sons are all surf instructors. Affiliated Services / Staff Surfing - they have an affiliated surf school that also operates out of the Captain Suizo Hotel. Massage - they have a masseuse that operates out of the hotel gym by appointment. Summary I absolutely love this place and would certainly stay again, but you need to be a certain type of low maintenance traveler that priorities experiences and relationships over luxury. La Botella de Leche Avenida Central Frente al Banco 50309 Tamarindo, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica +506 2653 0189 [email protected] Facebook Instagram Read More ›

Tamarindo is an amazing place to learn to surf. You can stand up at the wave break and there aren’t rocks to worry about. The waves are big enough to get up without being overly dangerous. Expert surfers will often sleep in Tamarindo, but go to an adjacent beach to catch bigger waves, beginners don’t need to. Most places on the beach provide group lessons for $45/2 hour session. Some hotels charge even more. However, the best deal on the beach is booking through the Botella de Leche Hostel. I started taking lessons there in 2006 under prior ownership. As of 2021, they are charging only $35/person for a 2-hour group lesson and they have good instructors. Marcos who owns (or family owns) the surf school is good. And Jonas, their primary instructor, is the best. Generally you meet at the Botella de Leche hostel at the appointed time and then walk ~10 minutes to the Captain Suzio hotel on the beach where they store most of their equipment. Includes rash guard (short or long sleeve)and use of a surf board. Instructors are fully bilingual. La Botella de Leche Avenida Central Frente al Banco 50309 Tamarindo, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica +506 2653 0189 [email protected] Facebook Instagram Alternatives Selina Hostel Tamarindo Tour Desk +506 402 055 12 - $45/group session Captain Suzio Hotel - $51/group session (book the same instructor at Botella instead for $35/session) Witch’s Rock Surf Camp - expensive hotel on the beach designed around surf & stay packages. Iguana Surf Camp & Surf Shop - $45 / 2-hour group lesson Back in 2012 I also took lessons from “Fran” (cell: +506 7026-9757). Fran’s mom used to own the Botella de Leche Hostel and is based out of there. He gave my wife and I a great surf lesson. Back then it was $30 for a ~2 hour group lesson. Read More ›

Rview of the Hilton Garden Inn at Liberia Airport in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Read More ›

Tamarindo is a great place to get a massage at a reasonable price. I thought I would share my experiences with two great options. Sandra Sandra works out of the gym at the Botella de Leche Hostel among other places. She is wonderful and easy to talk two. She is from Spain and can speak english fluently. As of 2021, she was charging $45/hour for a regular massage and $55 for deep tissue. La Botella de Leche Avenida Central Frente al Banco 50309 Tamarindo, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica +506 2653 0189 [email protected] Facebook Laydy Laydy is the best deal in Tamarindo for a deep tissue massage. She is strong and willing to work each knot. As of 2021, they are charging $35/hour or $20/half-hour. Tamarindo Massage by the Sea +506 8415-1868 [email protected] Facebook Current as of April 2021 Read More ›

The closest major brand to Tamarindo is the JW Marriott Guanacaste Resort & Spa in Hacienda Pinilla on Playa Mansita next to Playa Avellana. At low tide, you can walk from Tamarindo Beach to the JW Marriott in about 1.5 hours though this is not for everyone. I have done it, but it requires crossing an river mouth (there are crocodiles in the rivers and there is a tiny risk that they could get lost and end up at the river mouths) on Playa Langosta, walking over many rocks area between the beaches and probably walking for long stretches without seeing another human. Driving between the JW and Tamarindo takes about 30 minutes as you need to go pretty far inland for the roads to connect. The Marriott’s beach itself is very small, but it is only about 10 minute walk on the beach (at least during low tide) to Playa Avellana which is huge and very nice. At the other end of Playa Avellana (maybe another 10 minutes or so) is a famous restaurant called Lolas which is a great place to have a $10 drink and watch the sun set. Though be careful not to stay too long as you may not want to do the walk back once it is pitch dark. The JW is part of a private golf community Hacienda Pinilla nestled in Marino Las Baulas National Park. I briefly visited in April of 2021. If you are looking for a place to social distance, this is it. On one afternoon there may have been 10 people total in the entire pool area (which they claim to be the largest in Central America). It felt a bit like a ghost town, but many people will like that during COVID. Summary: this would be a great place to go if you have Bonvoy points and like out of the way resorts or even as a place to recharge after spending some days hiking Guanacaste’s national parks or having very full days and nights in Tamarindo. Personally, I would prefer to stay in Tamarindo. While Tamarindo is expensive for Costa Rica, it will feel normal or cheap compared to large US cities and there is plenty of competiton for most every good or service you want. More info on Marriott’s website +506 2681-2000 Pictures from April 2021 Read More ›

Review of The Hostel at Jackson Hole Read More ›

Review of the Hyatt Regency in Maui. Read More ›

I took my family on a 2 week trip to Hawaii during the 2019 to 2020 holiday season. Itinerary Summary Started the journey on December 17th with a long but well priced flight on AA from Boston(BOS) to Maui(OGG) with an overnight in Philly(PHL) (staying at the Renaissance Philadelphia Airport at a great rate and a nice Titanium upgraded) and stop in Dallas(DFW) for only 30k points per person. Arrived in Maui in the early evening. Reserved a mid-sized car from Avis, but maybe through being nice to the agent or my preferred status, was able to get an upgrade to a Jeep Wrangler, the perfect rental car for Hawaii in my opinion. Stayed at the Aloha Surf Hostel (see review) in Paia from Wed to Sat morning. Paid $185 per night for the “Ohana” shed. Moved to the Hyatt Regency (see review) on Saturday (12/21/20) and stayed through the following Saturday for 20,000 hyatt (transferred from chase) points per room per night. This was a great use of Hyatt points as rooms were going for over $600. On Saturday flew from Maui (OGG) to Kauai (LIH) in the mid afternoon on Hawaiian Airlines using 7,500 AAdvantage points per ticket Checked into the Grand Hyatt (see review) and stayed through Jan 2nd Mid-day on Jan 2nd flew from LIH to LAX on United for $404 per person Reserved a midsized car from National and got a Minivan from the executive aisle so canceled my parent’s reservation for a 2nd car and put 6 of us and our luggage into the Minivan. Stayed at a well priced Marriott in the Valley and got upgraded (Titanium status) to a suite so the 6 of us piled in shortly after midnight to get a bit of sleep Moved to an aunt’s house in the Valley for the next night and got to spend some quality family time Took a direct flight from LAX to BOS midday on Jan 4th using 12,500 Avios points per ticket. Maui Haleakala Volcano On Dec 19th, we left the kids with a babysitter (hostel employee) and drove to the Haleakala Volcano. There is an 11 mile hike starting at the top of the volcano and ending part way down the road though requires a ride from the lot to the top to start the hike. I had done this hike years earlier with my sister-in-law so I knew the ropes. We drove up to a hiker’s parking lot then hitch hiked to the top. After about 10 cars passing by, we got picked up by a women who was looking to hike the Volcano herself. We decided to hike together with a plan to drive her back to her car at the end of the hike. It was a beautiful hike through what looked like Mars to us. Looking down at the clouds we even saw a rainbow. 5 hours later we were back at our car and drove our new friend back to hers. Then headed back to the hostel. Paia Paia is a very nice surf town on the North side of Maui. It is not near any large resorts as it can be rainy, but it is near the big waves and the airport and is very centrally located to get around the island. Paia has a very convinient supermarket about a 5 minute walk to the hostel and plenty of cafes and restaurants, but do note that it is hard to get breakfast before around 8:30am. On Dec 20th, we explorer Paia and some areas close by. We went to Twin Falls, a small waterfall that is at the very beginning on the road to Hana. Has a fruit stand out front and a very short and pretty easy walk to the water, though not quite easy enough to get a stroller all the way down. There wasn’t any Verizon internet by the waterfall and I needed to send an email so backtracked 15 min or so to a store/cafe called “Jaws”. It was a nice place but their internet wasn’t working. Luckily, I was saved by a very nice real estate agent that had a working hot spot. If you are looking for real estate in Maui, let me know and I will introduce you. There are various small shops where you can buy stuff you forgot though at full retail. E.g., $60 bathing suit for a kid. Also not so far from the airport area where there is a Walmart and Target. Paia Bay Coffee Bar - decent cafe with good coffee, though very limited cooking facilities meaning limited hot options. It was also open the earliest in the morning for those transitioning time zones. On our second visit there an order for an ice americano came out hot and they thought that then pouring it over ice was a appropriate fix (ends up too watery). No big deal, but at their prices, I wasn’t expecting that. Charley’s Restaurant & Saloon - fairly traditional american diner breakfast options. Pretty good. Though I think they only have drip coffee if you are looking for something more advanced. Kaanapali On Dec 21st, we left the hostel and drove to the Hyatt Regency on Kaanapali Beach on the northwest of the island to meet up with my extended family. This area is shielded by a mountain range from the rains so stays pretty dry even in the wet season. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency (see review) for a very enjoyable week. The beach was very nice and we enjoyed the resort and some surf lessons nearby. Starbucks - there is a Starbucks in the Marriott on Kaanapli beach which was a 5 minute walk on the boardwalk so we ended up there most mornings. Note that the line could be 20 minutes long during the holidays. Whaler’s Village - Whaler’s Village is an open air mall on Kaanapali beach accessible via the boardwalk from the major hotels, though a bit of a walk. It has a few large restaurants. We at lunch one day at Leilanli’s and it was very nice. They also have a low end food court (Subway, etc.) and a few other food options including Acai kiosk. There is also a cookie store where if you walk in and say “Airport” they will give you a cookie for free (you can also sample mini cookies). There are various retailers there as well. We checked into the boxing day sale at LuLuLemon for forgotten sportswear. Road to Hana Went with part of the family for a round trip to Hana. We got lucky with great whether. This is the second time I have done this road (years earlier I did it as a full loop) and the big lesson learned is that there just isn’t enough time to enjoy it in one day. If I ever did it again, I would certainly either bring camping equipment or book a room in Hana for the night. The drive along from Kaapapali to Hana if you didn’t stop is over 3 hours each way and the whole point is to stop a lot. With 6 hours dedicated to just driving, there isn’t really that much daylight left to enjoy. We used the Shaka Guide audio tour app (something like $30 to buy all of the Maui tours). While the speaker could be a bit annoying with bad jokes, it was very nice to be guided. He had some wonderful ideas. We first stopped back in Paia at the Hana Picnic Lunch Company. They seemed to be set up to sell picnic lunches for people doing the road. There selection is limited, there is some food on the road to Hana and by the time you get to lunch, the food may already be bad unless you have a cooler (which, of course, they will sell you). Instead, I would pack a lot of dry trail mix that you can eat if you don’t happen by a nice lunch on the road at the right time. We stopped at a waterfall that I forgot its name. Went the wrong way in the woods for a while with my 7 year old daughter and 70 year old father so not the most fun, but eventually found the first waterfall. Though by then we weren’t in the mood to get above it. We stopped at a “Secret” Lava Tube Cave, kind of cool to walk through. Would be nice to have a flashlight, but the phone’s worked well enough for this very short walk. We stopped at various state park waypoints for quick views from the car. We made it to the black sand beach shortly before dark. It was really cool for the kids to play in the black sand and see the roaring waves (certainly not a swimming beach). There were a lot of people camping nearby which made me jealous as I still had a 3 hour drive back to the hotel in the dark. Finally making it to Hana, we looked for the red sand beach before dark, but didn’t make it. We then grabbed some dinner at a local restaurant. Read More ›

Review of the Grand Hyatt in Kauai. Read More ›

Review of the Aloha Surf Hostel in Paia, Maui. Read More ›

Review of Smuggler's Notch resort in the summer from the perspective of a family. Read More ›

The focus is on hotels with kids clubs where the kids can be left without parental supervision and without the need to a hire an individual babysitter, generally a "camp" style setting. Read More ›

Both the Epic Pass and the Ikon Pass provide an amazing deal to save a ton on lift tickets, however, you still need to sleep somewhere. Let's consider which pass you should buy based on which hotel programs you have points with. Read More ›

Review of the JW Marriott in Venice. Great hotel but make sure to read notes about food prices and elite benefits. Read More ›

Free $20 Ride from Lyft Read More ›

$20 off Uber Read More ›

Use this Brazilian website to get deals in the USA Read More ›

This is the second in the series of Sara’s trip to the Galapagos. Planning and Day 1 (Newark and Miami) Days 2 and 3 (Miami and Ecuador) More to come… Always the shutterbug, I simply took far too many pictures to upload them all. See a sampling below, or the whole shebang on facebook My second day, which was spent in Miami, was nice. I went out for a sort of brunch with Cathy to a Cuban bakery where we got a mini sandwich and two cheese empanadas. The empanadas, covered in sugar, were the epitome of delicious! I considered getting more but my body revolted, telling me like an ever-present parent “Hey! That’s dessert, not breakfast!” To ensure I complied, my parental body promptly gave me a sugar headache. It was so worth it though :). I moved onto the sandwich and more tastebud awesomeness. Cathy and I looked at each other and, as only true friends can do, telepathically agreed to a pact of mutual fatassery to get another two sandwiches. I went out to dinner with my aunt and uncle at a nice Peruvian restaurant, then met up with Cathy at a nearby mall. We went shopping with her little eight year old cousin for Hello Kitty stuff. I discovered two things from this expedition: The first thing was that mustaches are apparently in right now (seriously, they were on EVERYTHING, even vegetable earrings!). The second thing was that Hello Kitty was everywhere. Cathy and I had a sort of punch-buggy-Hello Kitty thing going (as in “omg, there’s another store that has Hello Kitty in the window!”). I know we had counted at least 10. (Seriously, try it sometime! It’s amusing) Cathy was borrowing her grandma’s car so we went to pick up her grandma to drive her home. Almost immediately, Cathy and her grandma started having a heatedly animated argument in Spanish. I was amused and curious to know what could create such quick, passionate discord between them. Cathy translated for me: Her grandma feared we would be enslaved by people who would spray a perfume at us or put powder on our faces to induce amnesia and make us forget who we were. Naturally, we’d still be able to enter our pin number at the bank and give them the sum total of our bank accounts. Allegedly, she knew three people to whom this had personally happened. However, that would only be the start of some crazy warnings we’d get.  The morning of the third day, Cathy and I had our flight to Ecuador.  Cathy’s aunt warned us that Mercury was in retrograde and that strange things were likely to occur for the next day or so. Yea, ok, whatever. Also in addition to her warnings about being drugged with perfume or face powder, Cathy’s grandma was also worried about me, saying that I looked too American because I was wearing shorts. Cathy and I joked that we’d say we were from different countries (I had decided on Sweden) and would give people pseudonyms. Not long after leaving the parking lot, we got caught in a speed trap. It was a main road but the speed limit was only 25 mph. Granted, it was a residential street…ish. We saw the SIDE or BACK of many GATED apartment complexes. Either way, the cops were standing on one the side of the street, having pulled over 5 cars so far. Cathy’s mom, who was driving us to the airport, was furious. Allegedly, it was illegal for police to pull over more than three cars at one time for speeding . To add insult to injury, there were three cops doing this together. Cathy’s aunt, who was also there, gave me a knowing smile. Huh, I guess she was right. Mercury must have been in retrograde…whatever that means. Once we got to the airport there were thankfully fewer than the thousands of people in line than we encountered in Newark. The fact that the line was gradually moving was also an immense improvement.  All felt right with the world until I got pulled to the side at security. I’m obviously not a terrorist. I barely break five feet tall and could easily be disarmed of anything (including my intellect) by something as simple as a cute puppy. The most harm I’d pose to anyone not about to hurt me would be accidentally stepping on their foot. Considering I can sometimes get away with shopping in the kids’ section of shoe stores, that isn’t saying much. Yet even though I have nothing to hide and pose no danger, for some reason, I always feel anxious in these situations. I worry that a Ziploc bag of illegal drugs or some form of explosive will somehow spontaneously appear in my bag. I stepped forward, wondering if my neck pillow was now suddenly contraband. The man at security started making small talk with me. Security dude: (probably noting how pale I was) So are you from around here? Me: No, I’m actually from Jersey SD: So, on vacation in Miami? Me: Well no, my friend that I’m traveling with is, so we stopped here to rest before the next part of our trip. SD: Where are you headed? Me: The Galapagos. Well, we’re stopping over in Ecuador first. SD: Oh? Me: It’s a transfer flight. SD: Oh. The longer the conversation went on, the more nervous I felt. Then again, how would any woman feel about a strange man looking through her bag for a really long time? Why can’t they just invent a conscience scanner and determine that I’m genuinely on vacation? The fact that I stopped in Miami before heading to Ecuador made me worry about being suspected of drug trafficking or something. Cathy started giving me a weird look, having already gone through security and wondering why I was taking so long. She headed over and he started casually asking her the same questions he’d asked me. Finally, the security guy gave me a look that said he’d found what he was looking for. As it turns out, I forgot that I had a bottle of water in my bag. Oops. He wished us a good trip and winked at me. After finally getting through security, we went to our gate and sat down. We encountered a Latin American looking girl who wore shorter shorts than I did. I apparently wasn’t the only one wearing shorts on this flight. I felt assured, thinking Cathy’s grandma was just overreacting. Despite LAN’s (a member of Oneworld meaning you can use your American and British Air points) website being extremely difficult to navigate and their customer service representation being very rude to me, my experience with their airport had no problems. The flight went very smoothly. The one weird thing while we were waiting for the flight to take off was the music they were playing. They played a tune that sounded like off-key windchimes. It was a bit unnerving. I was happy to be rid of the music once we were off the plane. We got to Quito and had originally planned on sleeping in the airport. Cathy spotted an information stall for a hotel that had its own taxi service to take us there. The the hotel room was $50 a night and the taxi was $10. As it turns out the taxi was a worthy investment. Our cab driver was very friendly and informative. Cathy translated that we should only get in cabs with numbers on the door (a sort of visible taxi certificate on the front right hand side door). Those without (the fake taxis) were known for occupying drivers that dabbled in human trafficking. Our driver corrected himself, saying that sometimes the fake cabs put a number on the side too. The only way to be sure you were in a legitimate cab was to have the airport or the hotel call one for you. We arrived at Hostal Jardin del Sol to find a perfectly nice, clean and simple room. As with the toilets we’d later encounter in he Galapagos, we discovered that we had to throw away the toilet paper instead of flushing it. Suddenly, we heard what sounded like gunfire outside. We were petrified, pulling the curtains shut and trying to stay away from the windows, convinced we’d get shot. The “gunfire” ceased and my curiosity took over. I slowly opened the door to the balcony to find a beautiful view waiting for me. The “gunfire” started up again. Turns out, they were only firecrackers. Read More ›

A very detailed review of the Hilton Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria Orlando that we stayed at during our trip to Disney. Tons of pictures and money saving trips. Read More ›

This is the first in the series of Sara’s trip to the Galapagos. Planning and Day 1 (Newark and Miami) Days 2 and 3 (Miami and Ecuador) More to come… I booked a flight with my old college roommate, Cathy, to the Galapagos Islands to visit a friend we knew in college. We used kayak.com to compare the prices of flights. Since Cathy is a Miami native and because it seemed wise to break up the flight into smaller trips, we chose to fly from Newark airport down to Miami.  Our itinerary was that the flight to Miami would be with United while the flight to the Galapagos (first arriving in Quito, Ecuador) would be with LAN. LAN is an Ecuadorian airline and a OneWorld member that is affiliated with American Airlines (see Dave’s article on other OneWorld members). I arrived at 10:30 am on August 5th to Newark airport for my 12:45 pm flight. Despite that I was over two hours early, this meant nothing. TSA had shut down the security checkpoints of terminal C because of two security breaches that day. There were at least a thousand people congregated on the ground floor of terminal C alone! We waited patiently in line until TSA agents had us merge with other lines (some of which were comprised of people that had just walked in off of the street!). Needless to say, this put us even farther back in line. When we finally got upstairs, we were shocked to find yet another line awaiting us. Beyond the full barriers within the security ropes was a long line extending down a nearby hallway! We were annoyed, since we had already waited about two and a half hours at that point. However, we weren’t worried about our flight. Though it was now just past our 12:45 flight time, we had been told by the TSA agents that all of the flights had been delayed. Allegedly, flights that had been scheduled to leave at 9 AM were only just now leaving. We were assured that we would indeed make our flight. Eventually, we got through security. Cathy and I went to the flight screens to see what time our flight would be rescheduled to. We saw three different Miami flights, none of which matched our flight number. Cathy went to stand on the customer service line while I went to check at our gate for any possible information. I looked at the destination screen at our gate to find it blank. I asked the woman what time the flight would leave. Apparently having answered this question a lot today, she yelled at me, saying “There is no flight!  It left already!” I was at a loss for words. I had apparently missed my flight because TSA had made it impossible to reach the security checkpoint.  What was even worse was that TSA had not communicated the situation to our flight! We kept encountering people of authority in the airport having no knowledge of what had transpired! After about a half hour on the phone with United customer service, Cathy lucked out by getting a representative that genuinely wanted to help. He couldn’t find a single opening on a United flight to Miami out of Newark, La Guardia nor JFK for the next two days! Thankfully he got us tickets on an American Airlines flight leaving in three hours. According to the answers that other passengers’ got from other representatives, the airline was technically not responsible for getting us a new flight. Though I was grateful for the effort that our rep had put into helping us, I was admittedly very, very angry.  Then I began wondering, why I should be grateful that they helped us.  We paid for our tickets, they owe us at least this much. Despite showing up with more time than necessary, we had been held up by TSA. Based on how many people had been stranded downstairs for hours, Cathy and I guesstimated that our plane could not possibly have left with more than 10 passengers. I temporarily swallowed my anger though. Aggravated as I was, I didn’t want to piss off any people at the airline, Lest it might jeopardize my spot on this new flight. I resolved to handle it once I got back home.  We took a bus over to terminal A and got through security.  We managed to get to our second flight with relative ease. Our new flight was at 5 pm. We began taxiing around on the tarmac before the pilot announced that there was a storm coming soon to Florida. He predicted that this would result in a one hour delay. The man next to me sighed loudly in response. I told him of our ordeal and that I was at least grateful to get to sit down. He got very quiet after that. About 15 minutes later, the pilot announced that he saw a small window of time during which we could avoid the storm and that he’d go for it. The flight went smoothly after that. I spent my time alternating between reading a book and trying to carry on a conversation with a nice old Brazilian man next to me, despite that I spoke no Portuguese.  We made decent time, arriving around 8:30. Unfortunately, Cathy’s mom, who was going to pick us up from the airport, assumed that we would take longer. We got a hold of her while she was grocery shopping. She finally arrived around 9:30 pm. By the time we got to the house, got our bags inside and answered everyone’s questions, it was about 11 pm. Needless to say, when the opportunity presented itself, I passed out. Overall mood for day 1: Argh Read More ›

I went to Dick’s Sporting Goods Store a couple of weeks ago. Apparently there was a 50% off sale on, among other things, wetsuits. I was a bit dubious thinking, “But half off of what price?”. Turns out they were $70-80 originally (about average, maybe a bit above). Awesome! Then I got worried that they wouldn’t have my size. I tend to fit into a size 4 or 6 in clothing and I was appalled to find that their smallest was an 8. The joke was on me: in wetsuits, I’m apparently a size 10… So I went to the counter, proud to be purchasing a $40 wetsuit. While waiting for the register, I decided to look online on my phone to see if there was a coupon for the store. Sure enough, I found a $10 off coupon. So I got my wet suit for $30! Point of the story: If you have a smart phone, always try to look online for a discount. This applies to online purchases as well because you can look for them on your computer before you finalize your order. Read More ›

I wanted to write this MUCH earlier but work has been hectic.  My college roommate and I decided to go on a trip to the Galapagos, both to take in the sights and to visit an old friend from college.  So here is my projected list of things to bring on this trip.  Any last minute suggestions would be awesome from readers if you have anything to add 🙂 Stock Photo of some Waved Albatross from Wikimedia Commons sunscreen poncho/waterproof jacket travel pillow bug spray disinfectant spray/wipes backpack underwater camera first aid kit (meds, band aids, neosporin, etc.) moisturizer lip balm hat (maybe) & sunglasses flashlight scarf water shoes sweater/fleece quick drying pants snorkel & goggles swimsuit wetsuit flip flops sneakers ID passport (regular) camera   The reason that I’ll be bringing so many cool weather items is because apparently the Galapagos gets a little chilly in August due to changes in the currents around this time of year.  Hopefully, this list helps others plan their trip and/or inspires people to comment with helpful feedback! Read More ›

There are likely many types of counterfeit 100 yuan notes. There are, however, a few things to look for that should give you an idea of what to look for on a legitimate bank note. First, let me start with pictures of the front and back of a legitimate 100 yuan bill. </dt> </dl> Front of a real bill The red half-circle in the left hand corner, when held up to the light, lines up with its blue counterpart on the back of the bill in the lower right-hand corner.   Back of a real bill </div> Note the placement of the blue half circle in the lower right hand corner.  When held up to the light, this will line up perfectly with its red counterpart in the lower left hand corner on the front of the bill.   Resulting circle on a legal bill When held up to the light, this makes a complete circle with a small square inside it.   Next, here are pictures of the front and back of a counterfeit bill.  On this counterfeit bill, that circle we encountered before doesn’t appear in the corner, but towards the middle of the bill towards the left… Front of a counterfeit bill Back of a counterfeit bill …and the right sides. And when held up to the light… Counterfeit circle doesn't line up the halves do not line up.   Serial number: Obviously, if you take out multiple bills and they have the same serial number on them, it should be a dead giveaway. But if you only get one counterfeit bill… Same serial number   Watermarks: Visible watermarks The denomination watermark on these counterfeit bills are visible without holding it up to the light. This 100 to the right of the green one would not be visible on legal currency. Visible watermark   The texture: The texture on the counterfeit bills are very coarse, having been more recently printed. A legitimate bill will have been worn smooth. Real (Smooth) Fake (textured)   The silver bar at the center of the bill: If you hold a legitimate bill up to the light, you will see a solid line running down the center. If you look closely, you’ll see RMB (standing for renminbi, the name of the currency). If you see these two things, you are in possession of legal currency. Silver bar running through the center Silver bar says RMB (sorry that it got blurry when I shrunk the pic) The counterfeit I have does not have a dark line down the center, nor the RMB printed in it. Only light bar down the center with no RMB printed inside it   Color change: The denomination should change color. On real currency, the 100 changes from green to blue. Real bill held upright (before) Real bill (after turning it) On the fake currency, the number stayed green. Fake bill (and you can of course see the watermark) Aaaaaand presto change...no You can also see the watermark of Mao’s mug pretty easily from this angle 😛   As I said before, I am sure that there are a lot of different kinds of counterfeit bills.  However, I hope that any one of these details can help someone to spot a fake bill, should they ever encounter one. Read More ›

I had given up on getting through to ICBC. When I was still living in Korea, I had tried handling the matter at an ICBC branch in Seoul. For newer readers, the matter I’m referring to is my having withdrawn 300 yuan, at the time about $45, from an ICBC ATM in Beijing. This money, as I’d find out the next day, turned out to be counterfeit. Given that the ICBC website wasn’t very informative, I decided to go up to Seoul one weekend to see if there was anything that could be done. While the bank branch itself was apparently closed on Saturdays (couldn’t find that online, d’oh), I got a very nice Korean man to help me call an off-hours information line that the bank had. I told him my story and he spoke to the representative on my behalf in Korean. I was then told that the Korean branch could not be held responsible for something that had happened in China and would not be able to assist me with fixing the problem. Once I came back to America, I found out there was an ICBC branch in New York. I kind of gave up on the idea of calling them before even trying, thinking I’d be told the same thing that I was back in Korea. Surely if South Korea couldn’t be bothered, and they’re WAY closer to China than America is, America would feel the same. Months went by and I was telling the infamous story of my trip to China to a relative. My dad, overhearing me, said if he were me, he’d try harder to get this resolved. So I made one last effort. I originally wanted to email the bank, so I went to the ICBC homepage and clicked on the English translation. Then I scrolled down and clicked “Contact Us” at the bottom of the page. What awaited me there were a few Chinese phone numbers/extensions that I could call or had the option of texting. Underneath this was a link that said “Customer Complaint: Please click here”. So I did. It brought me back to the homepage in Mandarin. Grrrr… Then I decided to look up the phone number for the New York office. Success, I found it! So I called. After a short holding time, I got a representative. Relieved, I told her a shortened version of my story in case she just turned out to be an operator about to redirect me to another department. She asked me if I had a corporate account. I replied in the negative, saying this was more of a personal banking matter. She told me that their ICBC branch only dealt with corporate accounts but that she could give me a number for personal banking. “Ok, cool,” I thought, “at least she knows where to send me to resolve this.” I called the 877 number that she’d given me and got a Chinese woman whose English was not great. So I spoke slowly and tried to tell my story as simply as I could. The resulting conversation went something like this. Representative: You counterfeit money in Canada? Me: (a bit louder thinking she misheard me) No, China. Beijing ATM. Forbidden City. Rep: Yes yes. You go Beijing. Counterfeit money in Canada? Me: No. I got the counterfeit money in China. Rep: Canada? Me: China! I never went to Canada! Rep: Oh. Why you call here? Cannot help with China. This Canada! So the New York branch had transferred me to a Canadian branch, which was apparently saying the same thing as the Korean one: We can’t help you. The Canadian representative, however, did transfer my call to the branch in Beijing and told me which buttons to press through the phone menu that would come up. I thanked her immensely, thinking it would only be a short while before I could get some closure to my story. I selected the correct numbers and was redirected to a rep who could speak English. I told my story a third time. The man on the other end, whose accented English was quite good compared to the Canadian rep’s, solemnly told me that since I was no longer in China, the matter could not be handled since no one could prove that the money was counterfeit. I offered to take it to an ICBC branch to confirm that it was indeed counterfeit. I offered photos. At one point, I even offered to MAIL it to China. He held true to his position: This matter could not be fixed since I was not presently in China. Frustrated, I said “So let me get this straight. I would have to buy a plane ticket and pay another $180 for a visa just to come to China to resolve this?” Apparently, my sarcasm got lost in translation; he thought I was serious. He told me that, even if I did come to China, there was no proof that the money had come from their bank. I told them about the record on my BOA statement that it was their bank, the only transaction I had done that day. The next day, that money was the only money in my wallet. I only ever went to two banks during my stay in China: China Construction Bank (a member of the Global ATM Alliance with BOA and charged minimal 1% fees for ATM withdrawals) and ICBC (the one time I could not find a China Construction Bank). I told him that I still had the counterfeit money as proof. I had my bank statement for a record of the time and place that this occurred. I had witnesses. It did not matter. He said I could be faking. I told him that if I was faking, I’d be trying to get more out of it than $45. He said that ICBC had never had an incident like this before. Trying a different approach, I said that I was sure that ICBC was a well respected bank, that it was nothing personal, but all I had to go on was my one transaction with them, which resulted in giving me counterfeit money. He repeated himself, saying that ICBC had never given counterfeit money before. Exasperated, I asked him how he knew that for sure when cases like mine were swept under the rug and ignored. He repeated himself and I told him that while I had no issue with him personally, his bank had no honor. He repeated himself yet again. When I did not respond, he asked if there was anything else he could do for me today. I held back a laugh, said no and hung up. Moral of the story: While ICBC undoubtedly has legitimate transactions (otherwise how could it stay open?), I can again only comment on my one dealing with them, which gave me counterfeit money from an ATM. Additionally, they did not own up to this, nor handle this in a manner of trying to help me. Instead, I was treated like a criminal out to make a quick buck by conning a wonderful and honest bank. I cannot guarantee that other tourists will have the same problem with them. However, I would give the same advice with regards to any dealings with this bank as one would receive at the entrance of Dante’s version of hell: “All hope abandon ye who enter here.” Read More ›

Kiva and our Leap Year Kiva Challenge Read More ›

When I lived in London, I had three flatmates: a guy from England, a guy from Germany, and a girl from Portugal. I was so excited to get to live with people from such diverse backgrounds and cultures. It was a great opportunity and I was all for it. Cut to November of 2010. I’m sitting in my apartment, Google Imaging the word ‘Thanksgiving’.  I’m looking at pictures of turkeys – a mix of dead ones, poised on the dinner table, ready to be devoured, and happy-go-lucky cartoon birds, waving at each other, naïve and innocent. I suddenly became a bit homesick.  America-sick.  The Brits didn’t seem to see the merits of corn muffins and pumpkin pie. They didn’t have a special day devoted to stuffing their faces. This left me forlorn and craving cranberry sauce. I considered making my own holiday meal, but soon remembered I couldn’t cook without causing a small fire. As luck would have it, my Portuguese roommate was half American! She understood my turkey fever and invited me to Lisbon for the holiday. I was happy to find that her family took it very seriously. The dinner was full of cheerful family members and all the Thanksgiving staples. It made me forget that I was thousands of miles away from home. The next few days were reserved for tourism. I had never been to Lisbon before, and was immediately struck by how gorgeous it was. Downtown —  the apartments were full of bright colors, and sweet unexpected touches.   The people looked very relaxed and happy.   We accidentally stumbled upon a rocky abandoned area, in the middle of the city. It was covered in interesting graffiti and had mysterious little steps and narrow paths that led to more random bits of art.                  Afterwards, we made our way to Alfama to visit St. George’s Castle. The steps inside were narrow and steep, but the view from up high was totally worth it.                      Later on that day, we walked the streets in search of gelato. We went to Santini Gelati, Lisbon’s most famous ice cream shop. If you’re ever visiting, you need to go there. So good. Eventually we made our way to a village called Carnide. We ate at an amazing restaurant called Portas Verdes that served steak on a searing hot stone that you cook for yourself. It came with a big salad, a generous plate of french fries, and dips. Amazing. I highly recommend this place as well. I only had two days to explore the city, but still managed to see so many beautiful things. If you’re ever stumped on where to travel, definitely give Lisbon a go. Read More ›

A review of the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale (Phoenix), AZ in January 2012 along with other hints about vacationing in Scottsdale. Read More ›

Reina describes her adventures in Central London, UK including key sights such as Piccadilly Circus, East London, and Kensington Gardens. Read More ›

This happened on the same day as the counterfeit currency fiasco I indicated before. I had been wandering around Beijing in the winter. My local Beijing friend, exhausted from our harrowing trip to Xi’an the day before, had gone home for a nap, leaving me on my own. We agreed to meet some three hours later. She was, however, so drained that she overslept and was late… by about four hours beyond that. During this time I, who had no working cell phone in China, kept asking people (well pantomiming really) if I could use their cell phones. I was elated to discover one young couple that spoke English quite well compared to most people one might find in Beijing. Before I continue, let me offer a disclaimer. While I am not from New York (30 minutes away in New Jersey), I was raised by two New Yorkers who taught me never to heed people trying to talk to me on the street because they were likely trying to sell me something.  I’m pretty good at ignoring  people on the street in general. Thus when I saw a sign taped to the hostel’s bathroom mirror warning people to not engage in conversation with people who come up to them on the street, all I could think was “Duh…” I had spent the day avoiding people who would address me with some variants of “You speak English?? I STUDY English!! We talk!” I smugly thought I’d gotten the hang of not getting conned. Oh dear, was I wrong… So back to the young couple. I assumed given my lack of gloves and hat, as well as my shaking from the cold, the girl asked if I wanted to go to a tea house with them. Since I was freezing cold, I saw no issue with this. Upon entering the tea house, we were ushered into a room and given menus. I was starving, having not eaten since around breakfast and it being about 6 PM. Looking over the menu, I was very surprised. Food is typically cheap in China. One of my favorite dishes, baozi, typically cost 4 yuan (about 80 cents at the time). I was shocked to discover that food at this place ran to 80 yuan and up! Being hungry and cold, I tried to overlook this and ordered the cheapest thing on the menu, some chicken at 80 yuan. The couple ordered a pot of tea. This turned out to be the most delicious tea I had ever had! Just as I was beginning to feel that life wasn’t so bad, the check came. The bill said 600 yuan (almost $100) for six cups of tea and my plate of chicken! I was outraged! I’d consider myself a fairly composed person when in public, but with something that insane, I made a bit of a scene. A hostess came over and, in response to my yelling, offered to “take off the 100 yuan room fee”. “Room fee, ROOM FEE???” I was fuming. “What is the matter with you? You BROUGHT us in here, we didn’t request it!” Because of my outburst, the “discount” was taken from my portion, making what I’d pay 200 yuan (about $30). Even though the hostess took both of our cards, I’m pretty much convinced that their card didn’t actually get charged. After we paid the bill, the couple was in a rush to leave, instead of letting me finish my chicken or tea. They said that we should hurry to meet up with my friend. Because I just wanted to leave, I obliged. As soon as we were out the door, however, they vaguely said something about having a prior engagement and instructed me to walk “that way for five minutes” (pointing to the right, down a fairly dark street) “and turn right to go to the subway”. With that, they left. I am not a person to wear watches. Out of habit, I tend to rely on a cell phone to keep track of time. However, I did not have a working cell phone in China. Had you been on that street in Beijing, you would have seen a very distraught looking foreigner trying to maintain composure and count to 300 (a meager attempt to measure five minutes). Of course, counting to 300 is harder to do when you’re fighting negative thoughts. “They have my friend’s number in their cell phone,” I realized. “What if they’re calling her right now, demanding a ransom payment after having sent me to the middle of nowhere? I wouldn’t put it past them, after conning me at that tea house…” Fighting tears, I tried to see the positive in my situation. I stopped above a small pretty brook and went to take a picture. My camera battery died. Why me? I walked a little more, until I realized I couldn’t go any farther. Faced by a wall of traffic, I realized where I was. I was facing Tiananmen Square! I turned right and sure enough, a short walk down the street was the subway entrance. I managed to borrow one more person’s phone to contact Emily to tell her where I was. I thanked them profusely for letting me use their phone and went on my way. While waiting for Emily, I strolled along the street, half in curiosity, half in order to keep warm. I saw what I would later discover was Tiananmen Gate, a brick-red wall with a large portrait of Mao Zedong in the center.  It was bathed in white ground lights, with what appeared to be a temple behind it lined with its own strings of lights. I was so angry at my camera battery for being dead. I took some cell phone pictures with my otherwise useless Korean phone which did these gorgeous sights absolutely no justice. Soon after, Emily showed up on the back of her boyfriend’s scooter. She looked thoughtfully from me to the scooter and back again, trying to gauge the success of putting three people on it. Deciding in the negative, we instead hailed a motorcycle cab bound for adventure…and dumplings! Read More ›

A review of our mixed experience at the Liberty Hotel in Beacon Hill of Boston, MA. Read More ›

Tip #2: Research your credit cards and banks for useful benefits, such as no (or reduced) foreign transaction or ATM fees. For example, ATM’s under the Global ATM Alliance will charge Bank America customers only 1% (instead of 1% + $5). Before I’d left for China, I checked the international information on my credit and bank cards. I was already aware that my Capital One credit card (like all Capital One Credit Cards, the Chase Sapphire Card, the AMEX Platinum Card, the Chase Ink Bold, the Chase Marriott Rewards Card and certain others) did not have international usage fees. My Bank of America ATM card, meanwhile, would serve me well. As a member of the Global ATM Alliance, Bank of America users are allowed to use their bank card at participating ATMs in certain foreign countries to withdraw local currency without having to pay an extra $5. After researching further, I was relieved to discover that China Construction Bank (a member of the Global ATM Alliance) was the second-most common bank in China. This alleviated my fears of not being able to find a branch when necessary. My friend Emily in Beijing, who I was going to visit, confirmed that this was an easily accessible bank. During my time in China, sure enough, China Construction Bank provided me with a cheap way to access funds. I’d made the decision, since the cost of a visa to China was $180, that I would not be returning. With that in mind, I did A LOT of shopping at small local stores. I’m positive I annoyed Emily given the frequency of my visits to the ATM, as well as the quantity of souvenirs I was purchasing. (Side note: Emily and I had a running joke. I happen to very much like dragons, tigers and horses, a common theme found in China. I had decided that I wanted to collect them while here. When I would see souvenirs with one of these animals present, I’d stop to investigate. I stopped so often that Emily would playfully mock me, saying in a high-pitched exaggerated tone, “LOOK! It’s a DRAGON! DRAAAAAAAAAA-GON!!”) On my 3rd day in China, I visited the Forbidden City. After shop-hopping together in the area outside, Emily dropped me off at the entrance, with the intent to meet up with me a few hours later. She mentioned casually that she had been there a few times before on school trips. As a Beijing resident, visiting this site was about as exciting to her as Times Square is to someone from New York or New Jersey. I guess along those lines, I was probably the international equivalent of someone who actually WEARS an “I ♥ NY” t-shirt. A few hours later, as I determined by looking at strangers’ watches since I had neither a phone, nor a watch, I realized I was already a half hour late in meeting with Emily. Guilt ridden, I raced out of the Forbidden City to our pre-determined meeting spot to find her…absent. What happened after this point serves as its own long story, which I will tell in another blog. The short story is that she did not show up for the next 4 hours. This did not bode well for me, it being New Year’s Eve and very cold. My jacket, while ever so stuffed with fluffy feathers, did not have a working zipper. I had also lost one of my two gloves and had no hat. After spending the little money I had in my wallet on a hat and gloves, I searched everywhere for a China Construction Bank ATM with no success. At the suggestion of a local couple (another story in and of itself for another time), I went to a nearby branch of a bank called Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. At first, I tried to convert some Korean currency I had with me for Chinese. No luck. For whatever reason, they didn’t accept Korean money. So, bracing myself for fees, I bit the bullet and used my bank card at their ATM. I took out 300 yuan (about $50). It wasn’t until the next morning, when on a tour of the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall that I found out from a vendor that my 300 yuan was counterfeit! I tried to handle this while still in China, but I couldn’t recall the name of the bank at the time. I checked my banking information for the transaction in question as soon as I was back at my hostel. Unfortunately, the bank listed the account transaction and location as a series of numbers…grr. My tourguide had misunderstood that I did not remember the name of the branch and appealed to CBC about the counterfeit currency. They were fully willing to reimburse me, thinking they were at fault. I corrected the tourguide but was not able to tell him the name of the bank. Since my flight out of China back to Korea was the next day, I figured that maybe I could resolve this from out of the country. I was wrong. I went online to the ICBC website to complain. I tried clicking their link for contacting them. This merely refreshed the home page. They had a wealth of different phone numbers, but none that could help me. Given that I only had a prepaid phone that only worked in Korea, I could not call outside of Korea. I waited until work on Monday to ask a co-worker to call the Korean ICBC in Seoul on my behalf. They said they needed me to come in person, since they could do nothing over the phone. Given that I worked during the week, I went up to Seoul on the weekend to a Korean bank branch of ICBC. Apparently, I didn’t realize that Korean banks were closed on Saturdays…-grumble-. I bumped into a worker of a company that shared a building with the bank, who was more than happy to help. He called a number he knew of and listened patiently before informing me that sorry but the Korean Bank branch is not responsible for reimbursing me when this happened in China. I begged that they at least pass the memo along to the China branch. More patient listening from the man, followed by him shaking his head. While Bank of America did reimburse me for the fees incurred from the transaction, they could not reimburse me for the counterfeit currency. Emily later told me that this does happen occasionally with banks in China. I appealed to her over Skype for help, but what she basically said was that it wasn’t worth it, to stop complaining and just be glad it wasn’t more. Moral of the story: If at all possible, go to a globally recognized bank (like China Construction Bank). To be fair, I don’t know whether or not Industrial and Commercial Bank of China would have reimbursed me had I been able to settle this while in China, but I know that China Construction Bank would have. Also, considering my feverishly frequent trips to the China Construction Bank ATM, I did not receive a single counterfeit bill. Read More ›

The day I first set foot in New Malden, I immediately broke down in tears. This is exactly what I looked like – minus the faucet: Kyle Flood Via Wikipedia Commons As mentioned in the previous entry, I had just spent a glorious day in Kingston, admiring the town, visiting my university, and was pumped to see where I would be living for a year. I had over-sized hopes and expectations. The friendly, helpful bus drivers at the Kingston Fairfield station recommended me taking the #213 bus. So, I did. David Howard via Wikipedia Commons Bad idea. It took just about 40 minutes to arrive. During that time, the sun vanished, the skies darkened, and it started to pour. I got off the bus, hopes dashed, freaked out that it would be taking me so long to commute to school every day. That, plus the weather, plus being directionally-challenged and getting lost twice over, made for a most unpleasant first impression. I couldn’t believe it. When I had checked out pictures of my apartment building online, it looked big and cozy, bright and cheerful. There was definitely a disconnect between my expectations and what was standing right in front of me. I felt duped. And, also, for the record, a little hoodwinked. On top of that, the town itself looked miserable. I know that this was in part due to the rain, but that didn’t offer any comfort. The surrounding area looked industrial and run down. The streets were chock-full of Korean people (this didn’t contribute to my disappointment, but it did contribute to my surprise). This was not the quintessentially British town I had envisioned. I felt a million miles away from Kingston. Later on I would learn that New Malden is famous for being predominately Korean, so that explains that. Also, I came to realize that all of London is now so multicultural that there is no such thing as “quintessentially British” anymore. That’s another one of those antiquated notions I had picked up  from watching one too many movies. Fortunately, I ended up making fast friends with my flatmates, which definitely came in handy in December, when our landlord began massive, invasive construction on our building and created a disaster zone for us to live in for the remaining 9 months.  Oh, but that’s a different story of its own. Living in New Malden ended up broadening my palate as well. I quickly discovered that a predominantly Korean neighborhood meant lots of delicious food. They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Truer words have never been spoken. A few Bulgogi Bibimbaps later – try saying that 5 times fast – and I was a New Malden convert. Suddenly the town didn’t seem so bad. Ayustety via Wikipedia Commons Restaurants aside, New Malden also had a nice little park with a tennis court, plenty of trees, and open space. High street was just a couple blocks away, full of restaurants, a post office, little shops and a gym. Everything I needed was within short walking distance. Also, after I complained to everybody about the #213, I quickly learned that nobody takes that bus, as the #131 is much faster. Rookie mistake. I have to say that the town was very conveniently located. When traveling to Central London, it took about 10 minutes by bus to reach the Raynes Park train station, and then another 15-20 minutes to Waterloo station. Not too shabby. Stephen Craven via Wikipedia Commons Everyone knows that England is on the rainier side. So I realize now that I shouldn’t have let some bad weather dampen my spirits. And there were plenty of gorgeous days to follow. Here are some of my favorite shots:   The British are known for their sense of humor. Here are two little pieces of evidence I stumbled upon on the streets:                      If that name doesn’t draw you right in, then I just don’t know.   So all in all, while its charms may not have been readily apparent, by September 2011 I felt at home in this funny little town,  and didn’t want to leave. If you happen to visit, here’s the name and address of my favorite Korean restaurant. JIN GO JAE 272 Burlington Road New Malden, Surrey +44 20 8949 2506 ‎ It’s tiny, unassuming, and completely delicious. Enjoy! Read More ›

For most people, this probably sounds obvious. However, if you are traveling through Asia and decide to go to China at the last minute, or are an expatriate (a person currently living outside of their home country), you will be in for a little bit of heartache. If you want to so much as leave any airport in mainland China, you need a visa. There is no getting around this fact, especially if you are American. You also need to get the visa through a travel agency that has been approved by the Chinese government. Since I was living and teaching in Korea at the time, I had to ask my mentor teacher to call a travel agency on my behalf so that I could apply for a visa. There are two types of visas, single entry and multiple entry. Each I believe was the same price (or if not, the price difference is so negligible that it still would’ve paid off to get the multiple entry visa). When my mentor teacher asked which one I wanted, I elected to put my $180 towards a multiple entry visa. I sent off my application with my passport. It was a nerve-wracking couple of weeks without my passport because, especially in a foreign country, your passport is worth about 500 times its weight in gold. It felt like Christmas the day that I got my visa’d passport back. I excitedly ripped open the envelope to see what the visa looked like in my passport. There was a picture of the majestic Great Wall in the background. It had my name and birthdate on it. Then my eye settled on a line titled “Entries” with a 1 next to it. Another line read “Enter Before: 13 Mar 2011” (it was December of 2010 at the time). That made me suspicious that they had mistakenly given me a single entry visa. I appealed to my mentor teacher to talk to the travel agency. She then told me that I was not allowed to receive a multiple entry visa because I was not living in the United States at the time. I was fuming. I’m sure I was sending smoke signals to neighboring towns. I had paid $180 for the visa for my week long trip to China. Should I have ever decided to go back, it would’ve cost me ANOTHER $180. Granted, I had no idea that I would be going to China while I was back home in America, so I don’t think this could have been prevented in my case. Hindsight is 20/20. Try your best to get your visas in your home country.   Read More ›

Our 2010 trip to California including hiking along the Pacific Coast Highway in Big Sur, a jam packed day in San Francisco, and a relaxing weekend in Napa Valley, biking around, sipping wine, eating well and seeing old friends. Includes detailed hotel and restaurant reviews. Read More ›

After spending a little over three months living and studying in Seville, Spain in 2010, my friends and I decided to take advantage of our week long spring break and head to the beach. So we thought, what better place to go than the Greek Isles, right? Wrong. Read why we ended up in Palma de Mallorca. Read More ›

I went online but all I found were phone number, listings and forum testimonials oscillating between "Oh man, this guy is really great I highly recommend him", and "People, I beg you, do not go to (the person that I had just seen being recommended), he's TERRIBLE." Some people said that a good deal of dentists in Seoul trained in the U.S. or Canada so they're pretty much just as good as back home. Others said Korean dentists tend not to be good and to go to Thailand.  I didn't know what to do or where to begin looking. Read More ›

By Trailer screenshot via Wikimedia Commons Last September, when I was standing around in Newark airport waiting to board my flight to London, I wondered what it would be like. I had traveled to Europe before, but never to the United Kingdom, and my conception of England mostly came from a mix of different movies. I imagined it would be a combo of Mary Poppins,  Mr. Bean, Love Actually, and Four Weddings and a Funeral. I thought it a give-in that Hugh Grant would appear in my life, that I would befriend a nanny who used words like “spit spot” and that I would fall in love with British men, all of whom would be incredibly self-effacing, bumbling and stumbling over their words, and utterly incapable of taking a compliment. Well. Julien Rath via Wikimedia Commons Suffice it to say that none of these things transpired. Apparently, I am too old to have a nanny, and most of the ones I spotted on the streets looked quite unapproachable anyway. As for Hugh Grant, I spent a year in London and managed not to meet him even once. The most ubiquitous British actor and our paths never crossed! Hard to believe, I know. But, let’s get back to the topic at hand! I was enrolled in an MA Creative Writing course at Kingston University. When they sent me my acceptance letter, it was like Charlie finding the golden ticket.  As soon as the plane touched down, I was dead curious to explore this Kingston I had heard so much about, and see where I would be studying for the next year. I had a basic knowledge of Kingston (Upon Thames), stemming from some very intensive Wikipedia research.  I knew that it was famous for being an old market place, I knew that it was home to the Rose Theater, and that it was right along the river. I googled Kingston riverside and saw boats going by, people relaxing outdoors, and so many swans. It was the latter detail that really sold me. The first things I noticed when I finally arrived in the Kingston town center were the adorable street names: Wheatfield Way, Eden Walk, and Lady Booth Road.  The next thing that drew my attention were the stores. I spotted Hollister, H&M, Uniqlo, and American Apparel. I saw McDonald’s and Pizza Hut. I was definitely not new to the concept of globalization, but it was still disappointing to be immediately hit in the face with reminders of home. The whole point of leaving was to see something brand new. I didn’t have a long time to grumble though, because I started noticing signs for something called Marks and Spencer, Tesco, and Boots. All three names were delightfully unfamiliar to me. On top of that, I was spotting pubs on every corner. They bore old-fashioned names, with traditional décor, and plenty of jolly old Englishmen inside. I was intrigued, but wanted to make my way to the Thames first. The view was more gorgeous than I had anticipated. There were cafes and restaurants all along the riverside, with couples lounging around, smoking cigarettes, eating generous plates of food, sipping on full-to-the-brim glasses of wine. And this was all happening in the afternoon! _Job? What is this “job” you speak of? _The sun was bouncing off the river, casting diamond shapes on the water. I saw a white-bearded man and his wife having lunch in their boat with the curtains half-drawn, and children sitting on the edge of the path, with their feet dangling over the water. And the swans! I had never seen that many in my life. Some were picking at each other, others were vying for the last piece of bread that a little old lady had thrown to them. A couple were upside down with their feet in the air, presumably having a drink. The whole scene was almost too picturesque. I stood there, snapping photos, and waiting for a giant asteroid to strike. It all seemed too perfect. I was overjoyed. I couldn’t believe my luck that I would be studying here for a year. And living here too! Well, not exactly here. I was moving into International Student Housing in New Malden. My landlord had told me that that town was a stone’s throw away from Kingston. I assumed that my flat would be in a location similar to this one. I imagined waking up in the morning to the sounds of happy couples having breakfast, and birds flying by. Well, I was in for a big surprise. But more on that next time! Read More ›

From Ireland, we started in Prague, Czech Republic then made our way south through Austria, Slovenia, Croatia. Then we went to Italy for a night and finished in Athens. We then flew back to Dublin and spend the rest of the summer around Ireland. We did all of this for less than $4,000, read on to learn how. Read More ›

My wife and I decided to take a last minute trip to Israel since we just got an infusion of over 200k Delta points by combining offers from two American Express cards with a Membership Rewards transfer bonus. Read on to hear about our travels to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, the north and more along with our luxury hotel, budget hostel and car rental experiences. Read More ›

My wife and I stayed at the Hilton in Amsterdam for one night last week. It was a very nice place, but beware of its location, it is nowhere close to the center of Amsterdam. Although I believe it is technically in the city, it feels like a close by suburb. They do treat Diamonds well, however. Read More ›

My wife and I summited Uruhu Peak of Kilimanjaro on July 10, 2011 at 7:06AM. It was a very exciting. For those considering a similar trip, I would like to share my thoughts. Air The trick is to fly into Kilimanjaro Airport (JRO). JRO is half way between Moshi and Arusha (apx. 30 minutes from each), the two cities that Kili trips are based out of. The alternative is to fly to Dar Es Salam or Nairobi and take either a puddle jumper or a long bus ride. The only flight from outside the region to JRO is a once a day flight by KLM from Amsterdam (AMS). Delta has multiple direct flights from Boston to AMS, so the whole trip only required one stop each way. The best part of all is that we were able to do the trip on miles (80,000 delta miles per person round trip). I was able to get 150k of the 160k miles we needed from the Platinum American Express Card. Basically, Amex offered 100,000 Membership Rewards points for getting the card and then Delta offerred a 50% bonus on MR transfers netting 150,000 miles. Keep your eyes on my credit card blog for more ideas like that. Or if you are getting your ticket directly with FlyingBlue points, you can top up your points here. Climb Choosing an operator is a bit difficult. There are travel companies around the world advertising Kili trips, but almost all of them appear to use a local operator. Save your sell a couple of thousand and book direct. Read More ›

You may be asking where to use your Hilton points in New York City. I am currently staying at the Doubletree Times Square and decided to share my thoughts on the place and other options in NYC. Summary: Best all around New York hotel in the Hilton family for most visitors. Read More ›

The Element Lexington hotel by Westin (Starwood) is great if you have a need to be in the western or northwestern suburbs of Boston. The Element is a great concept. Very functional rooms, fairly good free meals and green tog boot. However, they are not a business friendly hotel (as much as they think they may be). The hotel needs to have the option of a direct dial phone line. Charge us $1 a day or something, but if someone is staying for an extended period, they should have a phone number. And now with Google Voice, we really need it. The Element claims to be an extended stay option, but charges full service hotel level outrageous rates for a domestic calls? A call into the same metro area (e.g., Boston), costs $1.50/minute! you need to renew your internet every day (even for wired!). This makes many applications unusable. For example, logmein/citrix/remote desktop in the case you leave your machine in the room and want to be able to login to it from your jobsite. Also, imagine being in the middle of a video conference and lose your connection since it happens to be 24 hours after you last re-upped your connection. they need more staff – the front desk doesn’t always pick up the phone. Certainly consider some type of VOIP (e.g., Vonage, Skype) solution if you are there long-term. Element Lexington 727 Marrett Road – B Lexington, MA 02421 USA +1 (781) 761-1750 Read More ›

As part of our honeymoon trip to Vietnam, we took a 2-day bicycle tour of the Mekong Delta with Sinh Balo. It was the highlight of our trip to southeast Asia. Read More ›

Get nearly unlimited skiing for $599 with M.A.X. Pass. Includes 25 mountains. See article for a detailed review of all of the worthy mountains on the pass. Read More ›