There are three big reasons why I enjoy foreign languages. The first stems from wanting to understand what to order on worldwide menus; it’s less to avoid ordering certain things, and more to learn what I’d want to order again. The second reason is because I appreciate the art of spontaneous conversation. Simple as that. […]
Are Visas Required for United States Citizens to Enter Paraguay?
Chungking Mansions was part of a weekly ritual for me when I lived in Hong Kong, and to a lesser extent Shenzhen, right across the border. Chungking Mansions was a world unto itself, filled with West African “member’s only” restaurants, Turkish and Indian restaurants, Pakistani and Bengali phone vendors, and octogenarian tenants, either in cramped […]
Review: Garuda Business Lounge @ the International Terminal, Bali (DPS) Indonesia
In early 2022, I had come across an article about an airline status match with ITA Airways, the carrier borne out of the rubble of Italy’s Alitalia. Basically, if you had a certain frequent flier status with one airline, occasionally, a competitor — or outlier — offers the ability to get a similar frequent flier status […]
Eating Out in the Marshall Islands
In 2017, I had the opportunity to visit the Marshall Islands. After a seemingly endless series of red-eye flights from Fiji on Our Airline, I made it to Majuro, capital of the tropical archipelago– highest elevation, just under 10 feet. For a brief 20th century history lesson of the Marshall Islands, you may want to […]
My First United Airlines Fare Search Hack
In what I hope is merely the first of a bunch of posts about how to improve your experience when booking flights, here’s my first United Airlines fare search hack that might help make your next airfare search more efficient. n.b. the search parameters were from last summer, but the travel hack still applies. O.K., […]
Hallucinogens and Heat: A Brief Guide to Eating in the Maldives
Beyond snorkeling between schools of tropical fish and rubbish floating by a jetty near Hulhumale’, and getting nauseous from diesel fumes from the ferries, I wasn’t sure what else to do. Oh, right. Let’s explore Maldivian food. Right off the bat, you should know that fish, specifically skipjack tuna, is THE staple of the Maldives. […]
Trip Report: Playa Balandra, Calafia Airlines, La Paz, Mexico (LAP) to Tijuana, Mexico (TIJ) & CBX Border Crossing to San Diego
Playa Balandra (Balandra Beach), Baja California Sur, MexicoAfter a few days of vacation during which I had been eating like a whale, and becoming a human chicharrón under the La Paz sun, I had to return to the US. This time, I opted for Baja’s regional carrier Calafia Airlines, since they had a convenient flight […]
Temple of All Religions (Kazan, Russia)
It all started in 1994. The Temple of All Religions — or Center of Tolerance as some call it today — was created by a Russian philanthropist by the name of Ildar Khanov. Khanov, a social worker of sorts, said that he had seen an image of Jesus Christ instructing him to build a structure […]
