Budget Airline Lion Air, which I wrote about in December, lost a plane today when it crashed near Denpasar, Bali. All 101 passengers and 7 crew on the Lion Air flight survived, although dozens were injured and at least 7 were…
We all know that there are some things we can’t bring on board an airplane. What are the most common restricted items on airlines? Explosives, fireworks, gasoline, etc… But what else is limited? I recently discovered some countries and some airlines…
National Geographic Channel’s popular show, Locked Up Abroad, will be returning for its ninth season on April 17 at 9 PM. You know I’m going to be watching! The Locked Up Abroad season opener features a profile of Ernie Brace, the longest–held…
If I were judging an airline by one trip, I’d say Air China is bipolar. The experience with customer service, on the ground and in the air varies greatly. The call center, whether you’re in the US or China, is…
Believe it or not, this past weekend was my very first stay at a Hyatt in the United States. Yep, I’ve only ever stayed at Hyatt in Korea and Thailand. As a Platinum member of Hyatt’s reward program, my expectations…
I’d love to say it’s forever, but I am sure I’ll be back in a month or two. I love your country and the people I work with, but I just can’t take the smog and traffic in Bangkok. For…
You can’t The end. Here are some of my favorite Bangkok smog pictures from the week
Bangkok is known as city with massive traffic congestion. Cars are usually at a stand still because of grid lock. For us, it was a different story. Imagine how you might feel if you got pulled over by a very stern looking policeman in…
Details about Starwood’s Q2 have been posted on their website – Earn double Starpoints® on all eligible stays from May 1 through July 31, 2013, at more than 1,000 participating Starwood hotels and resorts worldwide. Hotels and Resorts Not Participating. Unfortunately for me,…
Good or bad, what ever you’re saying on the social web is being reviewed. TrustYou, a company focused on reputation management for the hospitality industry, has more than 10,000 customers in 60 countries and monitors over 400,000 hotels, providing an extensive…
I’ve had three encounters now with Air China, and each time, I acted surprised when I’m horribly disappointed with their customer service. You’d think I’d learn my lesson sooner or later. I won’t completely rehash the old issues, but I’ll…
This weekend I had the opportunity to go to the movies at a theater in Bangkok. It’s one of the most unbelievable movie theaters I’ve ever seen in my whole life. Scratch that, it is the most incredible movie theater…
You know the man behind TheMrPickles as Joshua Pickles. Over the weekend, as news broke that he bought a bank, his true identity was leaked. Buying a bank is very expensive, so to support TheMrPickles, the founders of First2Board have…
Editors Note: Some of you may recognize this post. Unfortunately during the move to First2Board a few stories got lost in space…this was one of them. So I’m reposting it now. Lucky for me, the content is still relevant! The…
We had an overwhelming amount of participation in the First2Board Name Your Destination contest. Thank you for your participation. The first person we drew said they wanted to go to Rome, Italy. Unfortunately, that’s not a US city – somebody didn’t…
In 2012 I discovered Bangkok’s most gluttonous secret. Food. I’m not just talking about any food though, I’m talking about French food. Yes, that’s right, French food in Bangkok. This secret is almost so good that I don’t want to…