Catching the travel bug: Alexandria, Egypt

by Grant Martin on

Welcome to Catching the Travel Bug, Gadling’s mini-series on getting sick on the road, prevailing and loving travel throughout. Five of our bloggers will be telling their stories from around the globe for the next five weeks. Submit your best story about catching the travel bug in the comments and we’ll publish our favorite few at the end of the series.

Week 1: Alexandria, Egypt

Living arrangements in Cairo vary across a wide spectrum — one can invest generously, stay at the Marriott in Zamalek and enjoy pampered service, fresh pineapple every morning, clean water and sparkling clean toilets — or conversely can spend two dollars a night to crash in a hostel on the banks of the Nile. Naturally, Allan and I chose the least expensive option and stayed near the archaeology museum on the east bank. We brushed our teeth with water out of the tap, beds were rickety and our room faced the street — but we were young and adventuring — nothing could stop us.

Outside of the bubble of four start hotels, city life in Cairo can be a bit dramatic. Merchants hawking their wares heckle you from all sides, everyone is trying to sell you souvenirs and one grows a hard shell that resists anyone that seems to be too friendly. It’s a difficult way to trust and learn about a culture, and frankly was one of the most difficult characteristics for me to adapt to.

But finally, on our second day in Cairo we decided that we had recovered enough from the long journey out to Egypt to enjoy a night out on the town. With the narrow, tree lined avenues and embassies in Zamalek, we decided that the island just across the bridge in the Nile would be a good place to start. Ducking into the first modern establishment we could find, this turned out to be a Korean Barbecue.
As we timidly worked through our skewered beef and imported beers, I spotted a young woman eating alone and reading a Lonely Planet on Cairo (in English), so figured that she might be a good person to ask about bars to visit in the area.

She ended up joining us for dinner. In town on her own, the woman was visiting from Jordan on a brief holiday into Egypt, and after dinner our new friend led us to a few excellent bars within several blocks of the Korean barbeque — Allan switching between a few different types of drinks and myself sticking with the vodka tonics. And at the end of the night, we all hugged and went our separate ways — she back to her nice hotel in Zamalek and the two of us back to the sketchy part of town, happy to have made new friends in a foreign country.

I’ve never had a particularly strong stomach, but when I woke up the next morning something definitely didn’t feel right. Chalking it up to normal indigestion, we headed down to the train station to our morning journey out to Alexandria. But upon reaching the port city at mid-day, I knew something was wrong. As we worked our way to the sea wall and what was left of the Lighthouse of Alexandria, my abdomen hurt so bad that I had to lie down on the stone construction. I hadn’t eaten all day, and by this point knew that I had a bad case of Montezuma’s Revenge.

Writhing in pain on the sea wall and looking at the sky, I didn’t notice the middle aged Egyptian gentleman approach me and curiously look down. I waved him off — no, I don’t want any, I’m ok thanks. But he wasn’t selling anything. He pointed to his stomach and rubbed it, and I nodded, but I continued trying to wave him off — at this point all I wanted was for him to go away. As I got my wish Allan looked over and asked what had happened. I shrugged and laid back down.

Five minutes later the guy was back, not with something to sell me, but rather with a package from the pharmacy. He dropped it in my lap and smiled. Inside, among the twelve different translated instructions were pills for treating stomach bugs and ten Egyptian Pounds. He must have thought that I was homeless. I looked up in amazement — the guy was already gone, back across the street and on his way without a word.

For a brief interlude, the Egyptian medicine really hit the spot. That afternoon I enjoyed a stable gastrointestinal system, saw the sights and headed back to Cairo. But Montezuma would return and continue to haunt me for the next week. It followed me painfully through the train station in Cairo, in the bathrooms of Luxor and curled up on the floor on ferries across the Mediterranean. Only after talking to a Canadian couple just off the coast of Turkey later the next week did I eat some yogurt with acidophilus, clean up my act and finally get back to normal.

Allan, on the other hand, got sick two days after I did and remained ill for the next three weeks. Something, perhaps in those drinks in Cairo or in that Korean barbecue really got to us.

But I will always remember that kind man on the sea in Alexandria, the man who, when I was in my worst health, sick of Egypt, sick of traveling and so far from home, was kind enough to buy me medicine and not even ask for thanks. Kindness of that breadth is what makes travel worthwhile.

Leave your favorite story from being sick on the road in the comments below and we’ll publish our favorites at the end of the series on November 13th.

You, Rolf Potts, are a Contemptible Jackass, Part I: Stoner movie redemption

by Rolf Potts on

Around the time Marco Polo Didn’t Go There was set to debut in bookstores, I began to wonder what kind of negative comments it might attract. I wondered this not because Marco Polo is a bad book (to the contrary, I’m as proud of it as anything I’ve written), but because some degree of knee-jerk negativity is inevitable in the instant-reaction atmosphere of the Internet Age.

I learned this when I debuted Vagabonding five years ago. For the most part, of course, reader reaction to my first book has been overwhelmingly positive and encouraging. But every once in a while I’ll get an email or a blog comment that basically claims I’m a contemptible jackass because of some theme or observation in the book. One rather perplexing criticism that recurs from time to time is that Vagabonding is “preachy.”

At first this observation baffled me, since I urge flexible open-mindedness from the opening Preface chapter (“Add what is specifically your own…The creating individual is more than any style or system”), and the only things I preach against are postponing your travels, micromanaging your itinerary, or traveling too fast to truly experience your cultural surroundings.

After a bit of follow-up, I’ve discovered that most of these critics were upset by my “anti-marijuana” stance. The thing is, I never come out and tell people to not smoke it on the road; all I say is to (a) not get caught traveling with it in places where it could land you in jail, and (b) don’t get into the habit of using it all the time, because it will separate you from the more mind-blowing experience of unfiltered reality. That’s as anti-drug as I get in Vagabonding — and in fact (while I’ve never much been into smoking it myself) I’m all for marijuana legalization in the United States.
Moreover, I’m of the belief that stoner movies are one of America’s greatest contributions to world culture. In fact, from my personal DVD collection, here are four stoner movies that I make an effort to watch at least once a year:

4. Dude, Where’s My Car? Admittedly, one reason I love this movie so much is that I first saw it on the big screen in Bombay’s Colaba neighborhood, and it proved to be the pop-cultural equivalent of time-travel amid a very intense sojourn in India. But even better, this is a stoner movie that (unlike, say, Smiley Face) doesn’t try too hard to be a stoner movie: It’s just a delightfully pointless and juvenile comedy that features occasional marijuana use, an idiotic sci-fi sub-plot, and a million quotable lines. And then? No more and then!

3. Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle This movie has already been praised for its effectiveness in capturing an ebullient, almost patriotic vision of the American Dream without having any white guys in starring roles (unless you count the genius cameo by Neil Patrick Harris). This munchie-driven comedy might even qualify as an iconic American road movie, since Harold and Kumar’s epic burger quest shows how any destination is made that much sweeter by the challenges of the journey itself. Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!

2. Dazed and Confused Richard Linklater’s pot-laced tribute to 1976 might be hilarious and quotable, but it’s also startlingly well observed. Indeed, this is no madcap stoner fantasy — it is (to me, at least) a wonderfully evocative look at mid-American teenage life in the pre-cell-phone age. A nice reminder that, at the end of the day, you just gotta keep livin’ man — L-I-V-I-N.

1. The Big Lebowski The first time I watched this movie I laughed myself silly — and nearly 20 viewings later it keeps getting funnier. To try and explain why I love this movie so much is beside the point: Either you know what I mean because you love it too, or you’re one of those people who just couldn’t embrace its stoner-Zen absurdity (and if so, then, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.). The Dude abides! Fire up the Ford Torino and take me to LebowskiFest.

So there you have it: My admonitions in Vagabonding don’t mean I’m against marijuana; I’m just saying you should save plenty of psychic space for unmediated reality as you travel. As for Marco Polo Didn’t Go There, it remains to be seen which aspect of the book attracts the most grumpy emails. I’m guessing it’ll either be the “Jack Kerouac for the Internet Age” blurb on the cover (which might attract the ire of Beat movement fundamentalists), or use of the word “postmodern” in the subtitle (which could attract the fundamentalist ire of pasty academic guys in black turtlenecks). We’ll see!

Product review – Tom Bihn Checkpoint Flyer TSA friendly laptop bag

by Scott Carmichael on

Back in August, the Transportation Safety Administration relaxed its rules for getting your laptop through the security checkpoint.

Essentially, the rules say that a laptop can stay in its bag, as long as the X-Ray machine has a clear and unobstructed view of the computer. There can be no pockets, zippers or items blocking its view of what is inside the laptop.

Several manufacturers immediately announced that they would have their own TSA friendly bags on shelves within a few months.

The first of them to actually deliver on that promise, is Tom Bihn with the new Checkpoint Flyer. Tom Bihn is not your average luggage company. For starters, they still make their bags in the United States, Tom Bihn himself is in charge of designing them, and they are hand made in their Seattle factory. The end result is something unlike any bag I’ve ever seen.
The Checkpoint Flyer comes in three color combinations and three sizes;

  • Black/Crimson
  • Black/Steel
  • Black/Black.

The different sizes are designed based on the Apple Macbook dimensions of 13, 15 and 17 inches. Fear not though, because these sizes mean the bag will fit virtually any laptop on the market, and I had no problem fitting a “normal” 15″ Dell inside it.

The bag has 2 pockets on the front, 2 on the back, a cavernous storage pouch (with 2 internal pockets) and of course, the special laptop portion. The rear pocket zips open on the bottom for sliding it over the handles of a rolling suitcase.

To open the bag for inspection, you simply unclip to latches on the bottom, and flip the entire laptop bag out. Tom Bihn really found the perfect and most efficient way to do this, because in the few attempts I made, I was able to open the bag in a matter of seconds. The laptop portion of the bag stays secure when you carry it, because its handle slips through a slot in the top of the bag, becoming the second handle on the top. Yes, the description sounds complicated, but I can assure you it is something you can do without needing a manual. Tom Bihn have made a short video clip on their site outlining the steps for opening the bag.

As I mentioned earlier, the quality of the bag is simply amazing. I always considered myself a bit of a laptop bag “snob”, and have regularly purchased expensive bags to protect my goodies, but none of them are as well designed and well made as the Checkpoint Flyer. All the zippers on the top are splashproof thanks to special YKK zippers. The material feels bulletproof and I absolutely adore the color combination (I have the crimson/black version).

Of course, the real test happens at the airport, and I am happy to report that things actually went smooth; on a flight from Chicago to Amsterdam the bag unfolded and went through the X-Ray machine without any TSA agents yelling and screaming. And to be honest, it wasn’t the bag I was fearing, it was lack of training of the TSA agents. Thankfully most of them seem to have received the memo, and the bag was able to pass security without running the risk of losing a laptop. Unfortunately, the airport sterile zone is not the kind of place where you can pull out your camera and photograph what is happening, so you’ll have to settle for some photos made on my patio.

Of course, the new regulations are not just for our enjoyment, a recent report claims that passengers at US airports lose almost 12,000 laptops every single week, and while I personally doubt those claims a little, laptops DO get left behind at the X-Ray machine more often than in the past when they could just stay in their bag.

The Tom Bihn Checkpoint Flyer costs $220. When you purchase the bag, you’ll want to add some accessories. The bags are currently on pre-order, but these orders are shipping out fairly quickly.

The bag does not come with a shoulder strap, so be prepared to add an additional $20 or $30 to the purchase price depending on the version of strap you order. On the bag I reviewed, I tested the “Absolute Shoulder Strap“. This simple looking strap has a stretchy shoulder pad, which acts as a shock absorber, greatly reducing the load on your shoulder.

Other accessories to consider are the Tom Bihn “Horizontal Freudian Slip” ($35). This insert increases the number of pockets in the bag including space for pens, folders and electronic gadgets. When you arrive at your destination, or simply need access to some of your items at the airport, you can pull the entire slip out of the bag.

Finally, Tom Bihn also has 2 different packing cubes ($18 each or $30 for the pair). While these may also be of the same excellent quality of the rest of the items, I’m not sure the price can be justified unless you are going for an “all Tom Bihn” look for your bag. The cubes are quite handy though, and they hold a large amount of stuff which is especially handy for bundling your cords or other loose items.

My conclusion is simple; this is a fantastic bag. It holds all the stuff I carry, and I don’t have to keep a constant eye on a $2500 laptop leaving my sight in a plastic tub. I’m absolutely in love with the style and the attention to detail Tom Bihn has put into designing it. There is no denying that $220 (plus some more for the accessories) is more than many people are willing to spend on a laptop bag, but if you are a frequent traveler, you’ll want to seriously consider investing in a bag that can speed things up at the checkpoint, and make you look cool at the same time.

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Cockpit Chronicles: Haiti after Hanna

by Kent Wien on

Cockpit Chronicles takes you along on some of Kent’s trips as an international co-pilot on the Boeing 757 and 767 based in Boston.

New on the schedule for us this month is a two-day trip to Miami. The first day is rather easy with just one leg from Boston to Miami. The second day involves a trip to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, then back to Miami and up to Boston.

We’re required to sign in for our trip in the pilot operations room at least one hour before departure time. That give us enough time to check the weather, pull up paperwork and check our mailbox. Even though we ‘sign in’ an hour before, we don’t get paid until we’re pushing back from the gate.

Our pilot operations is a place where you’ll regularly run into captains and co-pilots who you may have flown with on a different airplane and hadn’t seen in years. I ran into my longtime friend Russ on this morning’s trip. Russ and I worked in a hobby shop together in Seattle when we were both in high school, so it’s always nice to visit with him. He’s currently an MD-80 first officer (co-pilot).
While walking to the gate later, I saw Russ checking over his Super 80 at the gate with the sun coming up behind our airplane. I just had to take a moment to capture this shot.

A few minutes later I was inspecting the tires of the 757 we would be flying to Miami. Russ’s flight began to taxi past the tail of our airplane so I pulled the camera from my pocket and snapped him going by. It’s a pain to get up at 2:30 in the morning to go to work but I always enjoy the sunrise at Logan and sights like this:

The morning departure to Miami was uneventful. The original captain was sick, so they called out a reserve captain to cover the trip. He would fly down to Miami with me before getting on an airplane to deadhead back to Boston.

So I was on my own for the layover, but fortunately my friend Dave from Ohio would also be staying at the hotel by the beach. We decided to meet up with the rest of his crew for dinner.

One of the pilots knew a great Cuban seafood place up the street. He didn’t steer us wrong, as the food was fantastic. We sampled appetizers that were rather good before eating the main course of sole, which we were able to inspect before ordering.

It was great to catch up with Dave and meet the other co-pilot on his trip, Joe, who plans to begin commuting from Anchorage, my home town, to Chicago soon. That’s a commute I wouldn’t wish on anyone, but I can understand the draw for some to live up in Alaska. For Joe, it allows him to be closer to his sport fishing business outside of Anchorage.

That’s one of the advantages this job provides; the ability to live just about anywhere and commute to and from your base free of charge. The only cost is the extra time you’ll spend on an airplane each month.

Dinner was great and I hope to go back there on the next layover.

I met the next captain at the gate the next morning for our flight to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He was a Miami-based pilot who was called out on reserve to continue the trip with me. Occasionally, when one pilot calls in sick, the trip is covered by more than one pilot from different bases.

The weather was nice as we were descending over Haiti, and I was interested to see if the effects of Hurricane Hanna could be seen from the air.

The town of Genaives was the hardest hit and it’s easy to see from these pictures. This is just north of Port-au-Prince as we were coming through 20,000 feet.

What looks like a river flowing out to sea below…

…well, there’s a town in the middle of that river.

Just past Genaives, we were cleared to 10,000 feet, which takes you right by some ‘naked’ mountains which are a big part of the reason for the flooding that occurs in Haiti.

No country in the western hemisphere has had worse fortune than Haiti. They just can’t seem to get a break, and their plight hasn’t adequately captured the attention of the rest of the world.

I’m constantly amazed at how friendly the Haitian passengers and ground crew are. And you won’t find a cabin of nicer dressed people than the Port-au-Prince passengers.

On approach we flew over a U.S. Navy ship which was full of supplies that were being delivered to Genaives. Two of the helicopters based on the ship were idling on the ramp when we parked, and a third one landed by the time we were loaded again for our return back to Miami.

I’ve been flying to Port-Au-Prince for years now and I don’t really feel like I’ve actually been to the country. Arriving at the airport, doing a walk-around inspection and then departing an hour later doesn’t really count, does it?

I even arrived on the day Port-au-Prince was under a coup, but it was impossible to tell from the activities at the airport. Here’s a gallery I made up from that trip:

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As I flew back to Miami and then Boston, I couldn’t help think of the challenges for those living in Haiti. If they’re not trying to survive a political uprising, then they’re likely dealing with the aftermath of a major hurricane.

While I can’t say I’ve really been to the city of Port-au-Prince, flying international trips like this has given me a perspective that wasn’t possible when I was working the transcon flight from Boston to Seattle years ago.

We may not get a chance to fly to Haiti for some time, since the airline has canceled the PAP trip that has been flown lately by Boston crews, and I’m not sure if we’ll see the trip come back anytime soon.

Here’s hoping things look a little better for Haiti if and when we go back.

Cockpit Chronicles takes you along on some of Kent’s trips as an international co-pilot on the Boeing 757 and 767 based in Bosto
n.

Galley Gossip: Ivana Trump harasses two little kids on a flight

by Heather Poole on

Ivana, Ivana, Ivana, you do not – I repeat – you do NOT call a child a barbarian. Out loud. On a flight. Oh sure, you can think it, we’re all probably thinking it, but to outright say it….I don’t think so. Not a good idea.

Now I probably would not have believed this story about a passenger who is suing Ivana Trump for calling his two adorable children names – ages 3 and 18 months – or the fact that Ivana has filed her own counter suit against the passenger who created those little barbarians. But the fact that the word barbarian was used to describe two little children, well…that is just so so wrong. Which only means it has to be true!

I mean who else but Ivana would use such a word? Brat. Fine. Terror. Okay. Monster. Sure. But barbarian? That’s a bit much, don’t you think? Which is exactly why I believe this outlandish story. And why I’ll be using the word barbarian as often as I can throughout this post. And on my flights. But only to myself. And maybe the crew. Possibly you. But that’s it.
So anyway, after the children were told to shut up – oh yeah, that’s what Ivana apparently said – the parents asked the flight attendant to get the Captain.
The Captain?
Ummm….okay.

Man oh man, I would have loved to have seen how the Captain handled that little situation. I wonder what our own pilot, Kent, would have done?

Now when I imagine a barbarian passenger, I do not think of two little kids, no matter how terrible they may have acted at 35,000 feet. Oh no. The thought that comes to my mind is a visual of the guy who was sitting in the row behind and across the aisle from me on my flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles last Wednesday. Now that, dear readers, was a barbarian.

He, the barbarian who was big and bald with one of those weird little hair patches sprouting off his chin, had the audacity to ring his call light and yell at the teeny tiny flight attendant for ten minutes about the thirty minute delay we took on the ground. This took place after he had already called the airline while we were on the ground to find out why, EXACTLY, we were still on the ground.

What I wanted to know was why, EXACTLY, he was using his cell phone when were on the tarmac and about to takeoff. And what, EXACTLY, he was trying to prove by pushing his weight, all 250 pounds of it, around.

Of course ripping the airline a new one wasn’t enough. He then went on to complain to the man wearing the dark blue designer jeans sitting beside me about the thirty minute delay. On and on the barbarian went as Mr. trendy nodded in agreement. When he finally stopped, it was only because he had another delay on another airline to complain about, and so on, and so on, until it was finally our turn to grab our things and deplane the aircraft.

“I (BLEEPING) hate this airline,” he growled, as he stepped aside to allow his nine year-old daughter into the aisle.

Barbarians, I tell you, they’re (BLEEPING) everywhere.

You think she’s bad? Get a load of what these women did!