We spent about 90 minutes in the SkyTeam lounge in Dubai prior to our Saudia First Class flight to Riyadh. The lounge was comfortable, wi-fi fast, and food decent. It’s also the best Priority Pass Lounge in Dubai (DXB)....
Review: Park Hyatt Dubai (Suite)
The Park Hyatt Dubai has not changed at all since my last visit in 2011. While the hotel is well-maintained with an extremely convenient location near the airport, I will be trying a different Hyatt property next time I...
Review: Somon Air 737 Business Class Dushanbe To Dubai
Somon Air is the sole private airline (versus state-owned Tajik Air) in Tajikistan. We flew from Dushanbe to Dubai aboard a 737-900ER, the crown jewel of the fleet. While I’d rate the flight experience as good overall, Somon Air...
An Exciting Review of Boring Dushanbe Airport + CIP Lounge
This is the review of the lounge we did not have access to, but still managed to visit and discreetly photograph. Let’s talk about Dushanbe Airport. Weird. We arrived at 2:30p, yes probably far too early, for our 5:35p...
Review: Hyatt Regency Dushanbe, Tajikistan (Suite)
Although our stay was brief, it was long enough for me to vouch for this excellent Hyatt property in the heart of Tajikistan’s capital city of Dushanbe. We arrived early in Dushanbe and negotiated a cab from the airport...
Review: Uzbekistan Airways A320 Business Class Tashkent to Dushanbe
Great service and a decent meal characterized a short 189-mile flight from the capital of Uzbekistan to the capital of Tajikistan on Uzbekistan Airways. After leaving the lounge and being “chauffeured” by bus to the aircraft, we boarded via...
A 20-Minute Flight from Amman to Tel Aviv on Royal Jordanian
I recently flew from Amman to Tel Aviv on Royal Jordanian, a 69-mile flight. Is business class worthwhile on such a short hop? The uniqueness of such a flight did not go unnoticed: Jordan is one of two Arab...
Review: Uzbekistan Airways Business Lounge Tashkent (TAS)
While not Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal in Frankfurt, the CIP Hall at Tashkent Airport offers an impressive lounge service for premium class passengers and those willing to pay for it. This service is free for business class passengers on...
Five Things You Cannot Miss in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Tashkent is a fascinating city in the heart of Asia. It was the fourth most populous city in the Soviet Union and a hub of research and learning. But the ancient Silk Road city has an oddly modern look....
Tashkent Metro: A Soviet Relic
One of my favorite activities when visiting a large city in the former Soviet Union is checking out the Metro system. The well-preserved Metro system in Tashkent, Uzbekistan did not disappoint. I have visited Soviet Metro systems around the...
Review: Hyatt Regency Tashkent (Suite)
Tashkent has a (relatively) new Hyatt Regency that opened in 2016, now the city’s finest hotel. I was impressed by the property overall and appreciated the great value. The paid rate was $235, but since the hotel is a...
Review: Uzbekistan Airways 787 Business Class New York to Tashkent
Uzbekistan Airways began flying non-stop (once per week) on its new 787-8 Dreamliner between New York JFK and Tashkent earlier this summer. What is the seat, food and service like onboard in business class? Here’s my spoiler: I flew...
Introduction: A Trip to -Stans with One Mile at a Time
Few things excite me more than visiting a new country and this trip would introduce me to two new exotic nations: Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. For years, I’ve toyed with booking a trip on Uzbekistan Airways, which until this summer...
Review: JetBlue A321 Mint New York To Los Angeles
The more I reflect on this flight, the more I realize how much I take mediocre service for granted on U.S. airlines. Put simply, this late-night flight in JetBlue Mint was one of the best domestic flights I have...
Incredible Mexican Food in Tashkent
Let me tell you about the wonderful Mexican restaurant Ben and I enjoyed in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. As the sole Mexican restaurant in the city, I was pleased to see that Mexico City Restaurant had over 10,040 likes on Facebook....
Review: Airspace Lounge New York JFK (Terminal 5)
While it’s great to have a lounge, about the only good thing I can say about the Airspace Lounge in JFK’s T5 is that the shower is nice. Well, maybe that’s not fair. The tap water is free. I...
Review: Pakistan Airlines 777 Business Class Manchester To New York
Never has a business class flight been as simultaneously annoying and charming as this one. While there was undeniable appeal to the warm service and authentic food onboard, the Pakistan Airlines 777-200 is simply not a competitive business class...
Review: Saudia 787 Business Class Jeddah to Manchester
After a long layover in Jeddah, I was happy to board our late-night flight to Manchester. After the atrocious last flight I was not expecting great service, but figured at least I would be able to sleep. Five hours...
Review: Saudia 777 Business Class Colombo To Jeddah (it was horrible)
Once in a while you have a flight that is so weird you have to pinch yourself and ask whether this could possibly be real. This was one of those flights. It all started so promising. Ben and I...
Review: Qatar Airways A340 Business Class Doha To Colombo
Qatar Airways showed that even on a relatively short overnight flight, it consistently offers superior service and catering. We spent most of our four hour layover between flights at the Al Mourjan Business Lounge. Boarding began 40 minutes prior...
