"Swimming with the Fish"

I recently purchased a fantastic package from Luxury Link.  The package includes four nights of accommodations in a suite with a jacuzzi, breakfast for two every morning, one dinner for two including wine, and a personal tour of Guanajuato with a bilingual guide.  Although I have been a member of the Luxury Link community for several months, I was slightly apprehensive about purchasing my first package.   I finally decided to take the plunge and bid on a package after I found one that fit my criteria, which were a nice hotel that could accommodate the four of us, located in a city where I wanted to go, available at a time when we could go.  I found the package by going to the Mexico properties listed under Destinations.  It was easy for me to weed out the packages that I wasn't interested in because most of them are located in places that I'm not interested in going to or they aren't close to airports where Alaska Air flies to.  I have two companion tickets as well as a lot of miles on Alaska, so I wanted to make use of one of these options.  After narrowing the selections to a handful of hotels, I looked at the packages that they were offering, the price, and dates of availability.  Some packages include a lot of very worthwhile extras such as a bottle of wine, meals, excursions, etc.   The hotel that I was interested in was an auction item as well as a buy now item.  The buy now price was considerably higher than the starting auction price, and well below the retail value of the package, so I went to the hotel website to find out more about the hotel and room prices. 

After I was satisfied with the location and amenities of the hotel, I e-mailed the hotel manager to find out about availability during the time when I was interested in traveling.  I also inquired about accommodations for four people since we will be bringing our kids with us.  The hotel manager responded promptly and was extremely informative and helpful.  Had she been in the United States, I would have called her, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money on international calls so I corresponded by e-mail.

Meanwhile, I was keeping an eye on the auction to make sure that I got the property that I was interested in.  My heart skipped a beat when I missed the deadline without placing a bid, but the same property came up on the auction list the following day.  Since there were no bids on the package, I waited until a few minutes before auction closing before placing my bid.  The auction closed and I immediately received an e-mail telling me that I was the high bidder on the package.  It was late on the Friday before Labor Day, so Luxury Link was not open for the following three days.  On Tuesday, I called Luxury Link, provided my credit card information, and became the happy owner of a great package.  The whole process was extremely easy, efficient, and enjoyable.  In conclusion, don't be afraid of dipping your toes into the water and buying your first package.  Luxury Link makes it very easy for us to explore our big world.

My twelve year old daughter and I flew to Paris for Spring Break in 2004.  Her French teacher takes a group of seventh and eighth grade French students on trips to different parts of France every other year, and we decided that it would be a great father/daughter trip.  Since we planned to extend our trip beyond the ten days that everyone else was taking, we were put on a different outbound flight from the rest of the group.

When Rachel and I arrived at the Portland, Oregon airport, we were told that the flight was full and we were asked if we would like to get bumped in exchange for $800 in Lufthansa vouchers for each of us.  I immediately said that I wanted to get bumped since we had extended our trip anyway and I was in no hurry to catch up with twenty teenagers, but Rachel was reluctant.  After explaining to her that we would be able to return to Europe because of our bump vouchers, she agreed to my plan.  We spent a fun night at the Embassy Suites near the airport and she dined on filet mignon for the first time in her life.

The next day, we took the shuttle to the airport and waited in line to check in.  When we got to the desk, we were told that the flight was once again overbooked and we were again offered vouchers if we volunteered to get bumped.  This time, however, Rachel was adamant about catching up with her friends.  She told me that she felt comfortable flying alone and she did not mind if I delayed my flight another day in order to get the voucher.  Fortunately, as we were discussing what we would do, a former soccer coach of my daughter's was checking in at the adjacent desk, and I asked him if he wouldn't mind keeping an eye on Rachel and made sure that she caught the right connecting flight from Frankfurt to Paris, where she would be met by a representative of the tour group.

I took a shuttle into Portland for the rest of the day, returned to my hotel, then went to the airport the next day.  Unfortunately, there were seats available on the flight when I checked in, so I flew from Portland to Frankfurt and then Frankfurt to Paris.  I immediately boarded a train into town and purchased a train ticket to Anguleme, in the south of France, where I would catch up with the group.  The train ride was about three hours long and left me nowhere near the hotel where the group was staying, so I took a taxi to the hotel.  I walked into the hotel utterly exhausted after spending so long in transport and heard a lot of noise coming from downstairs.  Assuming that this must be my daughter's group, I walked down the stairs to the restaurant and was loudly greeted with cheers and applause. 

I guess the moral of the story is that if you're not in a hurry to arrive at your destination, take advantage of the airline's generosity and get bumped.  I spent the next two weeks traveling with my daugher around France and Spain with $2400 in Lufthansa vouchers in my pocket.  I used the vouchers to take another great trip, but I'll save that for another blog.

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My wife entered a raffle drawing in 2006 and won four Parkhopper passes to Disneyland and accommodations for three nights near the park.  Since it coincidentally worked out best for our schedule, we flew down to Anaheim on my daughter Rachel's fifteenth birthday.  Before boarding, I discretely asked the agent at the check-in counter if it would be possible for my daughter to sit in first class, since it was her birthday.  She told me that she had no authority to do so, but I could ask one of the flight attendants if it was possible.  I asked one of the flight attendants after we boarded the plane and she told me that she didn't think that it was possible to move my daughter into first class.   I thanked her and went back to my seat.

After everyone was seated, the flight attendant announced over the intercom that everyone had to fasten their seat belts and keep their tray tables down and remain seated during takeoff, that there would be complimentary drinks, and the usual details that few people listen to when they fly.  While still speaking on the intercom, she asked that Rachel bring her belongings to the front of the plane since it was her birthday and she was going to sit in first class.  Rachel looked at me and her eyes got as big as saucers as the other passengers erupted in applause.

While the three of us sat in coach, Rachel enjoyed her very first first class flight.  It just goes to show that if you don't ask for something, you will never get it.

Although I'm a big fan of the multi-course, white tablecloth, different wine with every course dinner, some of the best meals that I have ever eaten have been purchased at carts, booths or palapas.  One of my most memorable meals was in Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico.  Sayulita is a surfing town half an hour north of Puerto Vallarta.  A cab from the Puerto Vallarta airport will run around $80 but the local bus will get you there for about $2 per person.  There are no paved streets in Sayulita.  The streets are made of gravel and dirt and a cloud of dust rises every time a vehicle drives by. 

My wife, two children and I were spending the day at the beach and my son and I decided to walk through the town and bring back lunch.  On a quiet side street, we saw two women with big barbecues.  Small children were scampering around the cooking area and the women were basting and turning whole chickens that they had split and flattened.  Smoke wafted into the air and down the street, drawing us in with the wonderful aroma.  We bought a chicken which came with plastic bags of tortillas, rice and salsa.  The whole meal came to 80 pesos, or around $8.

We brought the chicken and fixings down to the beach and the four of us had a fantastic lunch.  We piled our tortillas high with chicken, rice and salsa and washed our lunch down with cold cervezas and sodas from the store.  Sand got in our food but it didn't matter and afterwards we washed off in the warm ocean.

When I travel I always try to eat like the locals do, and the food is usually simple and delicious. 


Message Edited by thepiranha on 06-26-2008 07:44 AM

My wife, Michelle, and I were in Nepal in 1990.  We spent a few days enjoying the sights, smells and sounds of Kathmandu.  While we were there, we talked to a lot of people about trekking, which was one of the things that we wanted to do while in Nepal.  The general concensus was that we should go to Pokhara and make arrangements from there.  Michelle and I located the bus company that goes from Kathmandu to Pokhara and we purchased round trip tickets for the following morning.  We were told that we would be traveling on a deluxe tourist bus and that the trip would take around six hours.

The next morning we arrived at the bus stop and discovered that the only remaining seats on the bus were in the very last row.  Since we had already packed our bags and purchased our tickets, we eagerly made our way to the back and took our seats.  It turns out that our seat was just a board that extended from one side of the bus to the other.  It wasn't permanently attached to anything and was just resting on a bench.  Being young and fairly rugged, we didn't make much of our situation, but in a very short time, we realized why the seats where we were sitting were the only ones remaining.

Shortly after leaving Kathmandu the road turned to hard dirt and gravel.  Because of the age of the bus, the shocks and springs were no longer functional and we felt every bump in the road on our bottoms and backs.  The bus hurtled down hills and Michelle and I braced ourselves for the inevitable jolt caused by a wheel going into a rut or over a bump in the road.   Whenever we hit a big rut, we were catapulted into the air and on several occasions my head hit the roof of the bus.   Being launched wasn't the worst part; landing was.

To make matters even worse, there were no seats directly in front of us because we were sitting right behind the rear side exit, so there was nothing directly in front of us to hold onto.  Michelle sat on my left, next to the window.  I braced my left arm across her chest and held onto the window ledge and my right arm extended to the seat in front of us in order to wedge us into our seats and reduce the impact whenever we hit a bump.   Our "six hour deluxe tourist bus" ride lasted ten and a half hours and we were miserable every minute.

Michelle and I were so happy to finally arrive in Pokhara!  Unfortunately, because we were so sore from our trip, it took three days for us to even think about trekking.  Since our bus ride was so horrible, we decided that we would fly back to Kathmandu after our trek.  We went to the airport and were told that reservations could be made only a few days in advance and since our trek was for eight days, we weren't able to make reservations.  Foolishly, we found a "travel agent" in town and since passports were required to make reservations, we left our passports with him and left on our trek the next morning.  I use the term "travel agent" in the very loosest sense of the word, since the agency was comprised of two teenage boys sitting at a desk in a hut.  We hired a guide who carried Michelle's backpack and gave us good advice on where to stay along the trek.  Our trek was fantastic and at least once every day, we asked each other if our passports would be at the "travel agent" when we returned and if we would be able to avoid the torturous ride back to Kathmandu.

Upon returning from our trek we were faced with some good and some bad news.  The good news was that we got our passports back.  The bad news was that the agent was not able to get us on a flight.  However, he told us that there was a driver for a government offical who had driven that official to Pokhara and was returning with an empty car.  The driver was looking to make a little extra money on the side and was looking for people to drive back to Kathmandu.  We were able to find the driver and negotiate a price.  The next morning, we were picked up in a shiny black Mercedes-Benz sedan.  The ride from Pokhara was the opposite of our ride to Pokhara.  We sat in the back of the car and had a very comfortable and enjoyable experience.  At one point, the driver pulled over and we weren't sure if we were going to get robbed.  He got out of the car, walked to the back, and opened the trunk.  We got out of the car to stretch our legs and discovered that there were live chickens in the trunk. 

I don't know about you, but if I drove a Mercedes-Benz, I wouldn't be driving live chickens around!



 

Since this is the first blog that I've ever written, I'm a little unsure of what I'm supposed to write.  Probably the best thing to do is to tell everyone how I became The Piranha.  In August, 1991, my wife and I moved to Hana, a tiny town on the rainy east coast of Maui.  My wife is a family physician and she was the only doctor in Hana for three years.  I know that many of you have heard of or have been to Hana, but Hana is known mostly for the road that visitors must drive to get there.  Affectionately called the Hana Highway, the road is anything but a highway.  It's a two lane road with 56 one-lane bridges and 617 curves, all within about 35 miles.  It's a spectacular drive with gourgeous waterfalls and lush tropical foliage on one side and breathtaking views of cliffs and the incredibly blue Pacific Ocean on the other.  The smell of plumeria and other exotic tropical flowers perfumes the air.  There are several roadside stands where you can purchase fruit, flowers, shaved ice or other snacks.  About two hours after you leave the airport in Kahului, you will finally arrive in Hana, a small town with one major hotel (The Hotel Hana Maui), which seems to change ownership every other year, Hasagawa's general store, where you can buy everything from poi to "I Survived the Hana Highway" T-shirts.  Besides the restaurant at the hotel, there is only one other restaurant, and it's also owned by the Hotel.

Being a basketball nut, I was elated to find out that there was a basketball league in Hana.  I recruited some friends and entered a team in the league.  The only problem was that I couldn't think of a good name for our team.  Being very witty, at least to myself, I tried to come up with something that rhymed with Hana.  The Hana Iguana, The Hana Manana, bingo . . . The Hana Piranha.  Although we left Hana in 1995, I've kept the nickname and it's even my e-mail address.

If you've ever been to Hana and would like to share your thoughts about the town or the area, I would love to hear what you have to say.   If you're thinking about traveling there, don't hesitate to contact me for information.  Aloha.

The Piranha