I tried the new Lotus of Siam in NYC this past weekend, it’s the outpost of the Vegas well-known and quite excellent staple. Opened just a month or so back and I’ve been very curious. In their original Vegas form, housed off the strip in a strip mall, they are an outstanding Thai restaurant. The New York version strives to be a more fine dining experience, and also it seems to adjust the food to the New York palette. While there are certainly Thai places in New York, they’re not known to be particularly outstanding by world standards. And having grown up in New York, I can say that New Yorkers don’t really do spice. At least not Thai spicey. So how would it translate? Not exceptionally well. The bottom line is that if the…
Weather Messes with Expedia’s Coupon Glitch Generosity
Sometimes travel is all about karma. I was fortuante enough to take advantage of an excellent opportunity in the Expeda.ca $300 off to New York, Vegas, and Cancun. Since travel had to be complete by the end of the year, I only managed to grab a trip to New York (shame, too, as it looks like I need to make a one day visit to Vegas next mont). I grabbed one ticket (with throwaway hostel stay) for myself and another vacation package on the same flights and different hostel for my wife. I didn’t have time to grab a third package with throwaway flights to get cash towards a nice hotel for the weekend. So I used points at the Andaz 5th Avenue where I’ve very much been wanting to stay, if only because it’s…
100% Bonus on Purchased Miles from Avianca
According to this Flyertalk thread Avianca is running a 100% bonus on purchased points through December 31st, and points purchase and full bonus post instantly. Details are here. For some this could be a reasonable way to purchase discounted business class travel between, say New York or Washington Dulles and South America (e.g. Lima, Caracas). Though in addition to the miles you’re also going to pay reasonably hefty taxes and fees. Flyertalk member AdamSouthFL offers the following advice: Be patient with website, it’s a little delicate and confusing. Buyers outside of Colombia should choose 1 as the Monthly Payments choice (quotas for payment) On the whole I’m not confident in my knowledge of the program to say I’m pulling the trigger, but the usefulness of the miles should tend to increase rather than decrease as…
Hyatt Gold Passport’s Award Night Hotel Reimbursement Rates
When I make a claim I’m certainly open to corrections in the comments, but also need to highlight my own self-corrections and self-doubts. I haven’t got a great deal of experience with Hyatt Gold Passport and award redemptions, but each and every time I’ve been on an award stay I’ve seen the internal rate that the hotel is charging Gold Passport for my stay. I’ve seen rates quite low, lower than what I would have expected Starwood Preferred Guest to pay on a similar redemption. So I thought that Hyatt was an example of figuring out how to get no capacity controls on awards like Starwood has long offered while pay less to their properties for the room nights. And perhaps that’s still true, but I question just how true after checking out of the…
Getting Marrried AAirside at Dallas-Fort Worth
A Flyertalk member saw a wedding going on in a Dallas Admiral’s Club yesterday morning. a group of about 10-20 people, including a woman in a wedding dress, the groom in a tux, an entourage [groomsmen, bridesmaids, and probably family], and what appeared to be a member of Clergy to officiate the ceremony quietly proceeded into one of the conference rooms If folks are coming in from all over, and already airside, it could be a very convenient place for the BridesmAAids and the rest of the entourAAge to meet up. American’s clubs now serve complimentary cocktails, so they’d save on the reception. And the happy couple is certainly well-positioned to take off on their honeymoon! But the best observation came from Flyertalk member ntamayo: I can just picture the wedding registry announcement from their…
Just How Effective Are the Nude-o-Scopes?
According to a paper in the Journal of Transportation Security: While carelessly placed contraband will be detected, the machines have glaring blind-spots and have difficulty distinguishing explosives from human tissue. As they write, ‘It is very likely that a large (15–20 cm in diameter), irregularly-shaped, cm-thick pancake [of PETN explosive] with beveled edges, taped to the abdomen, would be invisible to this technology. … It is also easy to see that an object such as a wire or a boxcutter blade, taped to the side of the body, or even a small gun in the same location, will be invisible. And that doesn’t even get at what you could tape to the bottoms of your feet. These machines are an expensive boondoggle, designed to benefit their manufacturers who lobby for the appropriations, not to actually…
Thanksgiving in Mumbai: The Worst First Class Flight I’ve Ever Experienced, Frankfurt-Mumbai in Lufthansa First Class
I was on a bit of a high coming off the First Class Terminal and excited to arrive in India, so when I set foot on board my next Lufthansa 747 and walked upstairs to the upper deck I was ready for a really excellent flight. Only what was in store wasn’t like anything I’ve ever experienced in international first class, on any airline. Nothing different about the hard product, the seat was still ‘fine’ as is to be expected from Lufthansa First. The video on demand still came from a tiny screen. It was a daytime flight to a shirt was given, no bottoms. And the amenity kit was identical to the one from the previous flight. But what was different was the service — the worst first class service I’ve ever experienced. And…
Recent Nude-o-Scope Opt Out Experiences
A couple of weeks ago going through Dulles airport I opted out of the nude-o-scope, and the TSO that had been called over for my screening was clearly uncomfortable with giving me the full body rub and was trying to motion me to just go through the metal detector. But the guy who sent me over for the rub down was still watching, so he couldn’t get away with it. After I offered some bawdy talk about the process the screener became so visibly uncomfortable that he gave me the old-style pat down instead of the required enhanced one and sent me on my way. Usually I manage to avoid the scanner by hanging back, fiddling with my stuff, so that I go through the checkpoint right after someone else has been sent in. And…
Thanksgiving in Mumbai: Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal in Frankfurt
Our transatlantic flight touched down on time and fortunately came into an “A” gate which meant the trip over to the First Class Terminal was going to be an easy one. The special terminal is really intended for first class passengers originating in Frankfurt only, and certainly the path of least resistance is to use a First Class Lounge since you’re already airside and most won’t want to actually go through passport control to enter Germany in order to visit the First Class Terminal. Especially since the First Class Lounges are actually quite similar. The First Class Lounge in the A terminal, which I visited on my return trip, has the same design elements and the same food and better views. The First Class Lounge in the B terminal even has a car service that’ll…
Thanksgiving in Mumbai: Washington Dulles – Frankfurt in Lufthansa First Class
Upon boarding, a flight attendant distributed amenity kit, pajamas, and slippers and immediately brought a choice of beverage and nuts to munch on while the rest of the aircraft got settled. I was struck by how modest the amenity kit has become, really just a single liquid item. The contents of the mens and womens bags were similar though the bags themselves were more pedestrian and understated for men and more designed for women. Still, my wife tells me that the quality of the contents is high. I had come to the airport in fairly relaxed uniform, prepared for an overnight flight, so I stuck the PJs in my bag and settled in. This flight had just one other person in first class. Sadly not an entire upper deck to ourselves, but close. As we…
