News and notes from around the interweb:
- Marriott is confused. They think they have hotels in North Korea, and want you to stay there.
North Korea is a country with a rich history and deep-rooted traditions, offering a unique and highly cultural experience for travelers. The capital city, Pyongyang, is home to monumental architecture and grand public spaces, which reflect the country’s historical legacy and modern ambitions. Marriott Bonvoy’s hotels in North Korea provide a comfortable and secure home base, allowing you to explore the country with ease and confidence. Each of our properties is designed to offer a unique blend of local charm and international standards, ensuring a memorable stay.
- Delta’s hidden award chart (HT: Frequent Miler)
- Status matching into Rotana for a backdoor match to GHA Discovery
- Flight Attendant Quoted “Home Alone” After A Kid Got Loud, But Another Passenger Got Upset When The Kid Thought He Caused A Mid-Air Turn Around (HT: Paul H)
- Does Anyone Fly (Long Haul) First Class Anymore? Is It Worth the Splurge?
- MGM properties in Las Vegas are eliminating concierge desks:
at MGM Grand, The Signature, New York-New York, Mandalay Bay, Park MGM and Vdara. There are no changes to operations at ARIA Resort & Casino, Bellagio Hotel & Casino, and The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Concierge calls to MGM Resorts will be routed to Aria and Bellagio. Luxor cut its concierge desk years ago.
- Lap Infant Service Dog.
@united has the policy on pets relaxed recently? I am on a flight and someone brought a large -pet- Corgi. It’s not particularly clean and has been shedding all over the cabin. It’s large enough to not fit in a carrier. I’m assuming this is another it’s a “service dog” deal… pic.twitter.com/L9nUF2CiSP
— Secret雪飘 (@Secret000888) April 26, 2025
Had an in-law who did the “come to beautiful Northern Ireland” ads for the US market during the very worst of the Troubles. Asked him if he wanted the North Korean account too. Guess this is what they would have looked like.
That would be wild, if they proceeded in the DPRK, while countries like Laos and Myanmar (formerly Burma) would not have any. Laos is even relatively safe and stable, plus or minus a bit of ordinance that the USA left behind since the 1960s, whoopsie, but they do have beautiful cultural sites, the Mekong River, etc. And in Myanmar, the temples in Bagan and Yangon are incredible, but, they too have ongoing military dictatorship, and also, a civil war, a genocide, and a horrific earthquake recently. Come to think of it, objectively, other than living in a totalitarian hellscape with little hope of escape, Pyongyang might be *slightly* better these days (heavy emphasis on ‘slightly’).
Just for us in the USA, maybe we shouldn’t doing the whole ‘dear leader’ thing with our own leaders, just a thought. Like, it’s kinda unhealthy. The whole ’emperor has not clothes’ thing. Yah. Yikes.