A photo from the recent US Airways "Hudson River Tour" ...
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Monday, August 18, 2008
Mexico City - May 2008
My new position started out well enough with a quick visit to Mexico City in May, just prior to leaving for vacation in early June. Since my territory includes Latin America, and our field marketing people in Mexico had scheduled a CIO breakfast, I decided to make a quick (2 day) trip to Ciudad Mexico.
There is no easy way (read: nonstop) to get from Denver, which is my home town, to Mexico City. Since I’m a United Premier Exec, I try to fly United and Star Alliance carriers whenever I can. Also, with all of the international flying that I have been doing, my top goal for this year is to hit 100K miles, after which you get added bennies from United (including free international first class upgrades). The reason I mention this is that, in the spirit of trying to garner as many “EQMs” (elite qualification miles) as possible, I decided to fly to Mexico City via IAD (Dulles Airport in Virginia). I know, I know—you’re thinking that I’m crazy, flying 1000 miles the wrong way, but heck—I wasn’t sure how much I was going to fly this year and every mile counts.
The flight down on United was fine. Since my company will only spring for business class tickets if a flight segment is over ten hours, I flew coach the entire distance. That’s OK, as United’s Economy Plus section, combined with exit row seating (which United blocks for everyone other than Premier Exec and above), made the trip quite bearable. I arrived into Mexico City on time, took a pre-arranged car to my hotel (the JW Marriott Chapultepec) and checked in. I then met one of our sales reps for a beer at a bar nearby, which was fun. The area around the JW, which is Chapultepec Park, is very nice and safe. There are many really good restaurants in the vicinity, as well as the famous Anthropological Museum. The “Zona Rosa”, which is an area of upscale restaurants and shops, is also nearby. To give you an idea as to how nice this area is, there is a Bentley dealership across the street from the hotel!
The JW Marriott in Mexico City, like all JWs, is a very nice facility. Not cheap by any stretch—around $300 US a night—but with all of the comforts of an American hotel, including a flat panel TV and fast Internet. Also, thanks to my Marriott Gold status, I was upgraded to a superior room for no added fee. Frequent traveler perks are definitely worth it. I didn’t get a chance to experience much of the property, unfortunately, as I was only there for two nights, but the staff were extremely helpful and accommodating.
The next day, I delivered the marketing seminar as promised. It was a breakfast meeting at the JW, and the room (and food) was very nice. The event was well attended, with about 30 local IT execs in attendance. If you are planning on having an event like this in Mexico City, I highly recommend the JW.
After the event, I paid a visit to my company’s Mexico City office (in “Las Lomas de Chapultepec” – the hills of Chapultepec, which is literally in the hills above the Chapultepec area). Our offices are very nice and it was good to meet everyone that I will be working with closely. I had lunch a couple of guys from the office, including the country manager for Mexico. They took me to a great Japanese restaurant (I need to get the name of it!), where we had a selection of sashimi and nigiri sushi. The chef at the restaurant is very good, and prides himself on creating unique dishes. It was definitely one of the best Japanese meals I have ever had, rivaling the chefs at Nobu in the U.S. Very unexpected for Mexico, to say the least!
That evening I joined one of our local sales guys for dinner at an upscale restaurant in the general vicinity of the hotel (need to get that name as well). The food was wonderful. We started with an appetizer of ‘Jamon de Jalisco’, which is a Spanish-style ham that is carved from the leg at your table (this might turn some people off, as they wheel the entire leg out on a cart—hooves and all—but it didn’t bother me). They carve the ham, which is somewhat like carpaccio, in very thin slices, which you place on buttered bread. It was very, very tasty. We also had fried parsley, which I have never tasted before and I highly recommend. For a main dish, I decided to try the Pollo de Mole (pronounced “mole-ay”), which is a chicken dish prepared in a traditional sauce (which is a very rich sauce that has, among other things, chocolate in it). It was wonderful. I order this dish in Denver quite often, but the authentic Mexican version is even better. They served the Mole with freshly made tortillas that were perfect for sopping up the yummy mole sauce.
The next morning I was off to the airport for the return trip, again through IAD, which went off without a problem. I needed to return home so quickly because we were leaving for vacation three days later (see my next post).
There is no easy way (read: nonstop) to get from Denver, which is my home town, to Mexico City. Since I’m a United Premier Exec, I try to fly United and Star Alliance carriers whenever I can. Also, with all of the international flying that I have been doing, my top goal for this year is to hit 100K miles, after which you get added bennies from United (including free international first class upgrades). The reason I mention this is that, in the spirit of trying to garner as many “EQMs” (elite qualification miles) as possible, I decided to fly to Mexico City via IAD (Dulles Airport in Virginia). I know, I know—you’re thinking that I’m crazy, flying 1000 miles the wrong way, but heck—I wasn’t sure how much I was going to fly this year and every mile counts.
The flight down on United was fine. Since my company will only spring for business class tickets if a flight segment is over ten hours, I flew coach the entire distance. That’s OK, as United’s Economy Plus section, combined with exit row seating (which United blocks for everyone other than Premier Exec and above), made the trip quite bearable. I arrived into Mexico City on time, took a pre-arranged car to my hotel (the JW Marriott Chapultepec) and checked in. I then met one of our sales reps for a beer at a bar nearby, which was fun. The area around the JW, which is Chapultepec Park, is very nice and safe. There are many really good restaurants in the vicinity, as well as the famous Anthropological Museum. The “Zona Rosa”, which is an area of upscale restaurants and shops, is also nearby. To give you an idea as to how nice this area is, there is a Bentley dealership across the street from the hotel!
The JW Marriott in Mexico City, like all JWs, is a very nice facility. Not cheap by any stretch—around $300 US a night—but with all of the comforts of an American hotel, including a flat panel TV and fast Internet. Also, thanks to my Marriott Gold status, I was upgraded to a superior room for no added fee. Frequent traveler perks are definitely worth it. I didn’t get a chance to experience much of the property, unfortunately, as I was only there for two nights, but the staff were extremely helpful and accommodating.
The next day, I delivered the marketing seminar as promised. It was a breakfast meeting at the JW, and the room (and food) was very nice. The event was well attended, with about 30 local IT execs in attendance. If you are planning on having an event like this in Mexico City, I highly recommend the JW.
After the event, I paid a visit to my company’s Mexico City office (in “Las Lomas de Chapultepec” – the hills of Chapultepec, which is literally in the hills above the Chapultepec area). Our offices are very nice and it was good to meet everyone that I will be working with closely. I had lunch a couple of guys from the office, including the country manager for Mexico. They took me to a great Japanese restaurant (I need to get the name of it!), where we had a selection of sashimi and nigiri sushi. The chef at the restaurant is very good, and prides himself on creating unique dishes. It was definitely one of the best Japanese meals I have ever had, rivaling the chefs at Nobu in the U.S. Very unexpected for Mexico, to say the least!
That evening I joined one of our local sales guys for dinner at an upscale restaurant in the general vicinity of the hotel (need to get that name as well). The food was wonderful. We started with an appetizer of ‘Jamon de Jalisco’, which is a Spanish-style ham that is carved from the leg at your table (this might turn some people off, as they wheel the entire leg out on a cart—hooves and all—but it didn’t bother me). They carve the ham, which is somewhat like carpaccio, in very thin slices, which you place on buttered bread. It was very, very tasty. We also had fried parsley, which I have never tasted before and I highly recommend. For a main dish, I decided to try the Pollo de Mole (pronounced “mole-ay”), which is a chicken dish prepared in a traditional sauce (which is a very rich sauce that has, among other things, chocolate in it). It was wonderful. I order this dish in Denver quite often, but the authentic Mexican version is even better. They served the Mole with freshly made tortillas that were perfect for sopping up the yummy mole sauce.
The next morning I was off to the airport for the return trip, again through IAD, which went off without a problem. I needed to return home so quickly because we were leaving for vacation three days later (see my next post).
It's Been A While, and I've Traveled Far...
I have to admit that my pattern of blogging has, to put it lightly, been non-existent over the past few months. There is good reason, as you might guess. If you have read my previous entries, you know that I took on a new territory for my job a few months ago that is known as “Rest of World”, or RoW for short. In the several months since I first began working on RoW, I have been lucky enough to travel to a number of international destinations, including Mexico, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, Singapore, and yes, even Detroit!
I am writing this entry on a Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to Brisbane, Australia. As I am currently in hour four of seven, I anticipate that I’ll have plenty of time to do some serious blogging. I plan to write separate articles on a number of subjects, including my experiences in each of the locations mentioned above. I also plan to write an article that will contain some tidbits of travel wisdom that I have gathered over the past few months of travel, and also an article that discusses a number of travel-specific topics, such as security in the various countries and the various airlines that I have used this year (which at present is around seven).
I also plan to devote an article to the experience that I had falling ill in Hong Kong. I think this is particularly germane, as before that I had never had to visit a doctor outside of my home town, much less cut a trip short due to illness. It taught me several very important lessons about health and staying healthy while abroad.
So fasten your seat belts, return your tray tables to their locked position, and bring your seat to its fully upright position—this is going to be an interesting ride!
I am writing this entry on a Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to Brisbane, Australia. As I am currently in hour four of seven, I anticipate that I’ll have plenty of time to do some serious blogging. I plan to write separate articles on a number of subjects, including my experiences in each of the locations mentioned above. I also plan to write an article that will contain some tidbits of travel wisdom that I have gathered over the past few months of travel, and also an article that discusses a number of travel-specific topics, such as security in the various countries and the various airlines that I have used this year (which at present is around seven).
I also plan to devote an article to the experience that I had falling ill in Hong Kong. I think this is particularly germane, as before that I had never had to visit a doctor outside of my home town, much less cut a trip short due to illness. It taught me several very important lessons about health and staying healthy while abroad.
So fasten your seat belts, return your tray tables to their locked position, and bring your seat to its fully upright position—this is going to be an interesting ride!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Asia Trip and Round the World Tickets
It's been a while since I've posted to this blog--my apologies. It's been a busy few weeks.
First off, the territories that I cover through my job have changed significantly--I now have Asia (including Japan and India), Oceania (Australia/New Zealand), and Latin America--basically the "rest of world" other than North America and EMEA (Europe/Middle East/Africa).
As you might expect, this does mean that I will be making some long trips to the various regions. I will start by heading to Mexico City next week, then it's off to Asia from June 16 until July 2.
Due to the number of cities and countries that I will need to visit, I have split my travel into four trips. The first trip will concentrate on South Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore and India). The second trip will concentrate on North Asia (Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing and Shanghai), and the third trip will be to Australia and New Zealand. I will also need to slip a trip in to Brazil somewhere, but fortunately that's a relatively easy one to do (I can easily do a trip to Sao Paulo and Rio in a week).
While I was researching my first trip, I came across a great forum that is visited by some of the most hard-core travelers I have ever run into: www.flyertalk.com . Highly recommended for anyone that travels--particularly international.
Fortunately for me, my company travel policy includes paying for business-class if the total segment length is 10 hours or longer. Unfortunately, that generally means that once you get across the ocean, the shorter flights are all coach. I did find an interesting way around this policy--and saved the company thousands of dollars while I was at it--using a 'Round the World' ticket.
It turns out that many of the airline groups (like Star Alliance) have so-called 'circle' fares, in which you pay a fixed price for a trip, and it includes all travel so long as you adhere to certain rules and conditions. For example, the Star Alliance Round the World fare allows you to literally fly around the world for a fixed price, using any of the Star Alliance airlines (20 airlines flying to 965 airports in 20 countries). In my case, it worked out to about $8,600 for business class--including stops in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangalore. The same fare booked through the Star Alliance website was around $15K, and even our travel agent couldn't do better than about $12K.
This is the kicker--when you purchase a RTW fare, it includes travel in that class throughout the trip. This means that if you buy a business class RTW ticket, all flights that are included in the RTW itinerary qualify as business class--10 hour policy notwithstanding! So...I saved the company $3,400 and get to fly business class the entire trip. Not too shabby.
The rules and limitations of the Star Alliance RTW fare are as follows: 1) you have to continue flying in the same general direction (e.g. east-to-west or west-to-east); 2) you must make at least three stopovers, 3) the trip must be at least 10 days and no longer than 12 months in duration; 4) you don't need more than 20 flight coupons (segments), and 5) various other conditions including available ticket classes. Full details on the Star Alliance fare products can be found here. Star Alliance has other 'circle' fares, including Circle Pacific, Circle Asia, and other air passes that are all worth reading up on.
In my case, I wasn't able to find a RTW fare the first time around--something to do with a needed fare class not being available on one of the segments--but after making a change to extend the trip by a couple of days, I was able to qualify for the fare. Specifics of the route I'm taking are as follows:
Flight 1: Denver to Hong Kong (via San Francisco)
Flight 2: Hong Kong to Singapore
Flight 3: Singapore to Bangalore
Flight 4: Bangalore to Denver (via Frankfurt)
One more huge benefit of the RTW fares--if you plan your trip such that you circle the globe from east to west (such as my plan), you supposedly have a much easier time with jet lag. Something to do with flying with the earth's rotation (as opposed to against it). I'll let you know how that turns out after I return.
So, with a little research, it is possible to save my company thousands of dollars while flying around the world in business class--which will yield around 31K elite qualification miles and close to 40K miles deposited into my United account, not to mention the bragging rights of having flown all the way around the world!
First off, the territories that I cover through my job have changed significantly--I now have Asia (including Japan and India), Oceania (Australia/New Zealand), and Latin America--basically the "rest of world" other than North America and EMEA (Europe/Middle East/Africa).
As you might expect, this does mean that I will be making some long trips to the various regions. I will start by heading to Mexico City next week, then it's off to Asia from June 16 until July 2.
Due to the number of cities and countries that I will need to visit, I have split my travel into four trips. The first trip will concentrate on South Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore and India). The second trip will concentrate on North Asia (Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing and Shanghai), and the third trip will be to Australia and New Zealand. I will also need to slip a trip in to Brazil somewhere, but fortunately that's a relatively easy one to do (I can easily do a trip to Sao Paulo and Rio in a week).
While I was researching my first trip, I came across a great forum that is visited by some of the most hard-core travelers I have ever run into: www.flyertalk.com . Highly recommended for anyone that travels--particularly international.
Fortunately for me, my company travel policy includes paying for business-class if the total segment length is 10 hours or longer. Unfortunately, that generally means that once you get across the ocean, the shorter flights are all coach. I did find an interesting way around this policy--and saved the company thousands of dollars while I was at it--using a 'Round the World' ticket.
It turns out that many of the airline groups (like Star Alliance) have so-called 'circle' fares, in which you pay a fixed price for a trip, and it includes all travel so long as you adhere to certain rules and conditions. For example, the Star Alliance Round the World fare allows you to literally fly around the world for a fixed price, using any of the Star Alliance airlines (20 airlines flying to 965 airports in 20 countries). In my case, it worked out to about $8,600 for business class--including stops in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangalore. The same fare booked through the Star Alliance website was around $15K, and even our travel agent couldn't do better than about $12K.
This is the kicker--when you purchase a RTW fare, it includes travel in that class throughout the trip. This means that if you buy a business class RTW ticket, all flights that are included in the RTW itinerary qualify as business class--10 hour policy notwithstanding! So...I saved the company $3,400 and get to fly business class the entire trip. Not too shabby.
The rules and limitations of the Star Alliance RTW fare are as follows: 1) you have to continue flying in the same general direction (e.g. east-to-west or west-to-east); 2) you must make at least three stopovers, 3) the trip must be at least 10 days and no longer than 12 months in duration; 4) you don't need more than 20 flight coupons (segments), and 5) various other conditions including available ticket classes. Full details on the Star Alliance fare products can be found here. Star Alliance has other 'circle' fares, including Circle Pacific, Circle Asia, and other air passes that are all worth reading up on.
In my case, I wasn't able to find a RTW fare the first time around--something to do with a needed fare class not being available on one of the segments--but after making a change to extend the trip by a couple of days, I was able to qualify for the fare. Specifics of the route I'm taking are as follows:
Flight 1: Denver to Hong Kong (via San Francisco)
Flight 2: Hong Kong to Singapore
Flight 3: Singapore to Bangalore
Flight 4: Bangalore to Denver (via Frankfurt)
One more huge benefit of the RTW fares--if you plan your trip such that you circle the globe from east to west (such as my plan), you supposedly have a much easier time with jet lag. Something to do with flying with the earth's rotation (as opposed to against it). I'll let you know how that turns out after I return.
So, with a little research, it is possible to save my company thousands of dollars while flying around the world in business class--which will yield around 31K elite qualification miles and close to 40K miles deposited into my United account, not to mention the bragging rights of having flown all the way around the world!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
A New Challenge!
Hi everyone,
Sorry that I've been quiet for the last couple of months, but as you might guess, it's because I've been busy.
I have a new territory in my role at Compuware-I will now be directing sales enablement activities for Latin America and Asia-Pacific regions, which means that I will be taking even longer, international trips. I'm hoping that this will actually translate into less total nights away from home, as you can't exactly just jump on a plane, fly 20 hours, and make a sales call.
With that, I expect that I will have even more interesting bits of travel wisdom to pass along! If I can keep the travel to a sane level, I think I'll really enjoy the new challenge.
Sorry that I've been quiet for the last couple of months, but as you might guess, it's because I've been busy.
I have a new territory in my role at Compuware-I will now be directing sales enablement activities for Latin America and Asia-Pacific regions, which means that I will be taking even longer, international trips. I'm hoping that this will actually translate into less total nights away from home, as you can't exactly just jump on a plane, fly 20 hours, and make a sales call.
With that, I expect that I will have even more interesting bits of travel wisdom to pass along! If I can keep the travel to a sane level, I think I'll really enjoy the new challenge.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Mom's Burma Travel Blog
Speaking of travel, my Mom has been traveling in Asia for close to a month now--mostly in Burma (aka Myanmar), where my sister is a school teacher. While Burma, which is controlled by a dictator, places tight controls on outside communication (particularly the Internet), we have been able to squeeze a few blog posts and pictures out during her visits. I thought you all might be interested in seeing them--there are some truly beautiful pictures in her blog, and it sounds like a really interesting place to visit.
Check it out by going to http://carolyns-world-travels.blogspot.com
Check it out by going to http://carolyns-world-travels.blogspot.com
Monday, February 11, 2008
The SunCell™ Solar Powered Battery Charger
A good friend of mine who knows the founder of EcoPowered Solutions here in Colorado recently lent me a SunCell Solar Charger recently to try out, and I am very impressed both with the product as well as the company. In fact, I will have a hard time giving it back--I may just have to buy one of my own!
The SunCell Solar Charger
The SunCell is, at its core, a rechargeable battery that can be used to recharge any number of devices, including virtually any USB device (like cell phones, iPods/MP3 playe
rs, digital cameras, etc), plus a number of other devices with proprietary connectors (like Motorola and Nokia phones, for example). The battery holds enough juice to fully recharge a typical mobile phone three times. Unfortunately, it can't recharge laptops, as they generally require much higher voltages to recharge, and some (like Dell) also have proprietary charging mechanisms. The device comes with a selection of 16 "power tips" that can accommodate a wide variety of gadgets. The device is small and lightweight: 5.5 inches x 4 inches x 1.4 inches and 0.5 pounds in weight, and it's available in a number of colors.
The product's "Inspector Gadget" feature is that it can be recharged using a number of methods, the coolest of which is two solar panels that are included with the unit (it opens using a 'clamshell design' to expose the panels. The SunCell can also be recharged using an external USB port (e.g. from a computer or a USB wall charger). It works as advertised--the internal battery fully recharges in 3-5 hours from an electrical outlet or a laptop and will recharge using solar energy (strong sunlight--outside is best) in 8-12 hours, depending on how depleted the battery cell is. The SunCell's battery capacity is 3600 maH (about what a laptop battery holds) and the solar panels can output a peak of 1.5 watts. The device has selectable output voltages that are sure to accommodate virtually any device, including 4.8v, 5.8v, 8.4v and 9v.
The SunCell retails for $125 US, including a full selection of power tips, and you can purchase the units directly from the EcoPowered website.
In addition to being very impressed with EcoPowered Solutions' product, I am equally impressed with their mission. As one might guess, they are very much into promoting renewable energy, which is admirable in itself, but they also have a higher calling--providing their technology, free of charge, to organizations that utilize it to save lives and increase the quality of life in the areas they serve. Currently, donations to their program go directly to providing SunCells to Partners in Health, which is an international health services organization. SunCells are currently being used by Partners in Health in many of the countries it has operations in such as Haiti and Malawi. They are used by the communities they work in to power cell phones in remote areas and they can be used as lighting systems for people that have no electricity. If you're interested in donating to this program, click this link.
The SunCell Solar ChargerThe SunCell is, at its core, a rechargeable battery that can be used to recharge any number of devices, including virtually any USB device (like cell phones, iPods/MP3 playe
rs, digital cameras, etc), plus a number of other devices with proprietary connectors (like Motorola and Nokia phones, for example). The battery holds enough juice to fully recharge a typical mobile phone three times. Unfortunately, it can't recharge laptops, as they generally require much higher voltages to recharge, and some (like Dell) also have proprietary charging mechanisms. The device comes with a selection of 16 "power tips" that can accommodate a wide variety of gadgets. The device is small and lightweight: 5.5 inches x 4 inches x 1.4 inches and 0.5 pounds in weight, and it's available in a number of colors.The product's "Inspector Gadget" feature is that it can be recharged using a number of methods, the coolest of which is two solar panels that are included with the unit (it opens using a 'clamshell design' to expose the panels. The SunCell can also be recharged using an external USB port (e.g. from a computer or a USB wall charger). It works as advertised--the internal battery fully recharges in 3-5 hours from an electrical outlet or a laptop and will recharge using solar energy (strong sunlight--outside is best) in 8-12 hours, depending on how depleted the battery cell is. The SunCell's battery capacity is 3600 maH (about what a laptop battery holds) and the solar panels can output a peak of 1.5 watts. The device has selectable output voltages that are sure to accommodate virtually any device, including 4.8v, 5.8v, 8.4v and 9v.
The SunCell retails for $125 US, including a full selection of power tips, and you can purchase the units directly from the EcoPowered website.
In addition to being very impressed with EcoPowered Solutions' product, I am equally impressed with their mission. As one might guess, they are very much into promoting renewable energy, which is admirable in itself, but they also have a higher calling--providing their technology, free of charge, to organizations that utilize it to save lives and increase the quality of life in the areas they serve. Currently, donations to their program go directly to providing SunCells to Partners in Health, which is an international health services organization. SunCells are currently being used by Partners in Health in many of the countries it has operations in such as Haiti and Malawi. They are used by the communities they work in to power cell phones in remote areas and they can be used as lighting systems for people that have no electricity. If you're interested in donating to this program, click this link.
This is a point to ponder. In addition to assisting organizations like Partners in Health, this device could very well save your own life one day. 15 years ago, I was an Emergency Medical Technician and volunteer fire fighter in a ski resort in the Colorado mountains. I also served on the local search-and-rescue, helping to locate and rescue people that had become lost in the wilderness.
There weren't as many radios and mobile phones then as now, but every time that I hear about people that get lost in the outdoors because 1) they relied on a GPS that lost power, or 2) their radio/mobile phone battery died and they weren't able to call for help, or 3) their camera ran out of juice and they couldn't save themselves by signaling to passing aircraft using the flash (you think that's funny? It works!), I think about this device. If you were to become lost or stranded, you could use the SunCell to recharge those devices that could potentially save your life, over and over. Pretty cool. It also has a built-in LED flashlight that will run non-stop for up to six days on a charge, which can also be used as a signal light. I think it makes a lot of sense to purchase a couple of these units to place in backpacks and car trunks--just in case--it could save your life some day.
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