The cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Over at Brave New Traveler, Tim Patterson observes that travel is like a drug– there’s usually a high, followed by addiction. Of course, this doesn’t stop many travelers from indulging in real drugs on the road, and Tim’s article provides some great advice for those who choose to do so. He stresses not only safety, but respect, which includes awareness of your host cultural’s values and traditions:

“When I worked in Japan, I soon learned that it was impolite to NOT get fall-down drunk at office parties. However, there is a huge difference between getting fall-down drunk within the boundaries of a specific cultural ritual, and getting fall-down drunk and roaming the streets as a pack of boorish foreigners.”

In addition, it’s important not to let drugs and alcohol obscure your real reasons for traveling. Tim’s article nails it:

“Why are you traveling? To see the world and experience new ideas and new sensations? Well then why are you getting drunk every night at the youth hostel?”

Check out the whole thing here.

Obvious headline allusion explained here.

Alien creatures? Or Seoul fish market?

by Neil Woodburn on


Last month when I was in Seoul, I made sure to visit the city’s Noryangjin Fish Market. I wasn’t quite sure where it was when I exited the Noryangjin subway station, but a quick sniff of the air told me exactly the direction I should go.

This massive warehouse is a completely surreal experience. Hundreds of water-filled bins contain some of the most bizarre aquatic creatures I’ve ever seen. And every single one is there to be eaten.

I spent more than an hour watching the fish mongers hawking their trade, slicing up their catch, and even wrestling with octopi. I never quite got used to the smell and, in fact, it lingered in my nasal passages for pretty much the rest of the day, long enough to completely eliminate the possibility of eating fish for dinner.

Nonetheless, the fish market remained one of my personal favorite highlights in Seoul. Sure, there are plenty of cultural sights and fascinating museums throughout the South Korean capital, but nothing, in my opinion, was quite as mesmerizing as an afternoon spent with the oddball denizens of the deep.
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The Pearl of Moorea Part 3: Food & Fun

by Neil Woodburn on


For whatever reason, doing absolutely nothing on the other side of the word is always more enjoyable than doing absolutely nothing at home.

But of course, I exaggerate when I say that my girlfriend and I did absolutely nothing on the French Polynesian island of Moorea during our recent vacation. It was actually quite the opposite. We kept our days very busy eating, sleeping, and swimming. There was hardly any time to do anything else.

Dining in Moorea
Food in the South Pacific always seems to be a challenge–as we first discovered in the Cook Islands two years ago. The biggest complaint is that everything is always so horrifically expensive. We spent $100 for pizza and beer one afternoon, which was pretty much the average for every meal we ate on Moorea. Ouch!

What’s wonderful about the restaurant scene on Moorea, however, is that most restaurants will pick guests up from their resort for free–a very welcome surprise that helped to keep the already expensive cost of meals slightly lower by not having to pay for a taxi.

Ironically, our favorite restaurant that we frequented the most often was also the closest. Le Sud was just a five-minute walk from our resort. This quaint little eatery wraps around the outside porch of a small house where geckos scampered about on the walls in search of insects while we dined.

Le Sud serves tasty thin crust pizzas, a smattering of fish and meat dishes, and has a great wait staff that is serious about pairing the right wine with your food. My girlfriend usually ordered the pizzas while I opted for the tasty Mahi Mahi breaded in coconut shavings. We both finished off our meals with some outstanding home-made strawberry ice cream.

The food at the Moorea Pearl Resort and Spa, on the other hand, was strictly average. I blew through their lunch menu of club sandwiches, hamburgers, and panini, and was not too impressed. Dinner was slightly better with some decent chicken curry, cheese plates, and a surprising dish that turned out to be my favorite on the island: poisson cru. The kitchen prepared this Moorean raw fish specialty in three distinct styles served at the same time. It’s basically sushi salad with a medley of flavors and man, was it good!

The resort also served up some chocolate mousse that was very tasty–depending upon the day I ordered it. My first serving was delicious, served in a crisp cookie shell. The second time, however, the shell was mushy as though it had sat in the fridge for too long. The third and final time, there was no shell at all and the taste of the mousse seemed a little off.

Leisure Time
When we weren’t eating, sleeping, or reading, my girlfriend and I split off and did the things we each do best when vacationing: shop and snorkel.

The resort’s over-water bungalows sit on the edge of a nice little reef where I spent much of my time snorkeling with fish and coral and otherwise enjoying the perfect temperature of the water. The reef wasn’t the best I’ve ever seen, and the cloudy skies diminished the bright colors, but it was still very cool and entertaining. And, of course, it was conveniently located just off our balcony.

As for shopping, my girlfriend was determined to buy our resort’s namesake: a black pearl. I’ve never been a big fan of pearls, but black pearls, I learned, are beautifully mesmerizing. I discovered this at Eva Perles, a jewelry shop just down the street from the resort. It’s owned by a very nice French woman named Eva (naturally), who spent quite a bit of time showing my girlfriend a variety of pearl rings, necklaces, and earrings while I buried my nose in a fascinating book that described how black pearls are harvested in the South Pacific. I didn’t end up buying the book, but my girlfriend walked out with a pearl ring, necklace, and pair of earrings.

A Happy Ending
So, that’s about it. We shopped, snorkeled, ate, slept and read for seven days. Frankly, I’d love to tell you more about the island of Moorea but I haven’t anything else to report since the goal of this vacation was to do nothing at all. And, we did this quite well.

Yesterday: The Resort

A tough way to earn 5,000 bonus miles

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Why do flight attendants have reputations for rudeness? Perhaps it’s the tight, cramped quarters of an airplane, or the public visibility, or the inability to please everyone. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s stories like this.

Travel guru Christopher Elliott brings us the story of an American Airlines passenger, John Buschman, whose encounter with an ill-mannered flight attendant results in his being pelted in the head with snacks, napkins, and water. His understandable anger is matched only by his bewilderment: Why did the flight attendant keep throwing stuff at his head? He writes:

“During the rest of the flight I was attempting to justify to myself what had occurred here. I knew that I did not provoke her. In fact, I didn’t even make eye contact with her prior to this occurring.”

He writes a letter to American Airlines that details what happened, and the airline responds with profuse apologies and by adding 5,000 additional bonus miles to his frequent flier account. They don’t, however, try to explain their employee’s bizarre behavior.

One commentor conjectures that it was a jilted ex-girlfriend or a “relative psycho,” which, if nothing else, is better than a full-blown psycho.

Whole thing here.

Free LAX shuttle to In-N-Out Burgers

by Neil Woodburn on

Stuck at LAX for a few hours on a layover and hankering for one of the best burgers in all of California? Well, you’re in luck.

There’s an In-N-Out Burger just around the corner from the airport, and Gadling knows a little trick to get you there for free.

An In-N-Out is located on nearby Sepulveda Boulevard right next to the Parking Spot–a parking structure that conveniently provides free shuttle service. All you have to do is wait under the red “Hotel and Courtesy Shuttle” sign outside of any airport terminal, and when the yellow and black polka-dotted Parking Spot shuttle swings by, jump on board. It will take you literally next door to In-N-Out. Follow your nose through the back door, across the parking lot, and right inside where you need to order a double-double and fries to enjoy the best layover of your life.

There are a few things to be very careful about, however.
First off, you need to make sure that you get on the Sepulveda Parking Spot shuttle; otherwise you will end up at the Parking Spot’s Century location. Additionally, you should allow yourself at least two hours to be extra safe. The shuttles come pretty regularly and the drive is only five to ten minutes, but the line at In-N-Out can be as long as 20-30 minutes during peak hours. And then you’ve got to get back to the airport and through security once again.

Since we are unfairly exploiting the generosity of the Parking Spot here, I’d like to take a moment to recommend their services. I actually use them any time I am flying out of town for a few days. They are the one of the closest parking lots to the airport without actually being on airport grounds (and charging airport rates). They a little more expensive than some of the nearby lots, but the structure is clean, has security and friendly staff, and will even valet park your car if you are running late. And, most importantly, after a long flight you can enjoy an In-N-Burger before jumping in your car and driving home. Yum!