Category Archives: Travel

Thanksgiving has arrived in the U.S. once again and the year has been another memorable one. My decline in blogging the last several months has been irksome, but Award Expert has grown tremendously this year and required the bulk...

British Airways’ retro livery at Washington Dulles International Airport. Check. Green-screen check-in systems that look just like…SHARES on United Airlines today. Check.  A Swiss Air 747-200 screeching down the runway at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport as Revolutionary Guards race...

Who says Italians don’t work on weekends? Someone was working overtime on Sunday because every ticket issued with a point of origination outside of Japan using the $320 discount promotion was summarily cancelled Sunday morning. Did Alitalia move fast...

I took advantage of a $188 r/t Washington Dulles – Los Angeles fare over the weekend on American Airlines, which meant I had to find my own way up to Philadelphia this morning after my overnight redeye flight from...

It becomes almost trite to look back on the attacks of September 11, 2001 each year, but I cannot help but to think about that fateful day upon each anniversary. It was a transformative event in U.S. history and...

My readers know that I am up for an adventure. I’ve been to some messy parts of the world and am bolder than most in choosing a travel destination. But there are some places that even I will not...

I am writing this in a very Soviet-style hotel room in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. Yes, I am deep into the Balkans now. The last several days have been quite picturesque–Dubrovnik and Budva were spectacular. Belgrade and Sarajevo...

Iceland was great, though by no means a destination for the budget-conscious traveler. The hard-hit Icelandic Krónur has rebounded nicely, and your Dollar or Euro doesn’t go all that far, when compared to purchasing power in other parts of...

The last week has been quite stressful, so I wanted a change of pace this week. I’ve been in Frankfurt this month, which is great, working 16 hours a day, which is not so great. An opening in my...

With an overwhelming response from the New York Times’ coverage of my Award Expert service and a busy week in Frankfurt, I have been “dark” for the last four days–a first for this blog. With little sleep and an ever-growing...

Do you ever look at an old advertisement and shake your head, knowing that while harmless at the time the ad has taken on a new meaning in light of changing events? Pakistan International Airlines must have had one...

I’ve got to hand it to Richard Branson–he’s smoother than Mitt Romney and Barack Obama combined (which some will argue is not saying much…). An anti-global warming crusader named Craig Rucker recently caught up with environmentalist Branson at the...

I appreciated all of your speculation, but none of you correctly guessed the location of my “top secret” trip earlier this week. Burma won’t be till next March! Here’s a few pictures from the trip: And there’s a lot...

Alitalia is offering 20% off economy and business class tickets through Monday (at noon CET) using the code SPECIAL20IT. This week you reserve an offer not to be missed. Buy online between 12:00 on 18 May at 12:00 on May 21,...

Happy 15th Anniversary to Star Alliance! What began at a small office near Los Angeles International Airport in 1997 as a union between five airlines hoping to better cooperate has become a global force to be reckoned with; the...

Just a few days ago I said I would never complain about U.S. Customs and Border Patrol again. That was before I came back to America earlier this week and had to deal with another humiliating interrogation session and...

…for the shower. And boy oh boy, did I miss it. It’s been an interesting few days. Easter Island was great–pictures will be coming in due time–but I made a big mistake. For some reason, the sun and my...

Yesterday I lamented about the refusal of the Kazakhstan Embassy in Washington, DC to take my visa application package when I showed up 20 minutes after scheduled closing. How about 30 second before scheduled closing? “The Amazing Race: Matthew Edition”...

The last two weeks have been great–I’ve caught up on a lot of work and spent quality time with friends and family. But I haven’t traveled outside of California, and I am getting restless. With 2012 upon us, though,...