Recently in Overseas Travel Category

That's the British spelling of course. Because now that Gordon Brown is gone, my vow not to visit the UK is over.

I took this vow a few years back when shortly after taking office, Brown imposed an £80 airport tax for people who fly in "premium" cabins and a £40 tax for those in economy. Either way, it's an outrageous tax that was supposed to be "for the environment". Except after the first year of the tax, forensic accountants found out that the money collected went to the general fund, instead of the "environment". As a result, I vowed not to visit the UK until Brown was tossed out.

Except now we have Cameron, allegedly a Tory that sounds more like a limousine liberal. If he's truly a Conservative, how about repealing all those airport taxes imposed during his predecessor's regime?

If he doesn't pan out, maybe they can draft Jeremy Clarkson for PM? It's not like if it hasn't been tried before. His manifesto reads a bit libertarian to me...

Canton (Guangzhou) has a lot of history. The treaty ports were here. The Opium Wars were fought here. The sparks that led to the 1911 Revolution were, erm, sparked here. Many of the first generation Chinese-Americans from back in the day migrated from here.

One of the few colonial-esque buildings left on the Pearl River. This ain't the Bund...

Despite being a pivotal part of modern Chinese history, modern Guangzhou is, like the rest of urban China, a construction zone with new high rises and an aspiring populace. I'm currently staying at the Grand Hyatt in the Tianhe new town. This area eventually will be the new CBD and looks like they're building on the Pudong model.

Two pleasant surprises greeted me when I did my 6 mile walk last night; the Guangzhou Metro is surprisingly clean and quick (the downside is that it begins to shut down at 2230!) and Shamian Island, which despite also being a construction zone, still oozes historical charm due to the colonial buildings still there, warmly lit treelined streets and lots of couples meandering about. Almost like the opposite of what modern China is and a welcome respite.

But that's the past. Let's look at the present, which is my stunningly modern room at the Grand Hyatt.

The layout of the room is different; you enter the room through the bathroom with the glass walled shower being directly behind the head of the bed with a couch at one side and the desk/TV on the other. Mounted on the wall is an iPod dock that is hooked up to the TV so you can listen through its sound system. I like!

The afforementioned shower/bath is directly behind the bed and is a wet design. You walk inside, close the door and fire up the shower, getting everything wet. I like too! It also has a square shaped tub which if you were to decide to have a soak, you'd have to sit cross legged. Not a fan of that.

The side room that has the bog has a square shaped very kawaii sink so you can wash up in there. Neat. And inbetween the shower and the closet wall is an island with a sink and mirror. Think of it as a kitchen island except you brush your teeth, gargle and shave here. Very nice! Think I will stay here again on my next visit here.

Grand Hyatt Guangzhou
12 Zhujiang West Road, Pearl River New City, Tianhe District,
Guangzhou, People's Republic of China 510623
http://guangzhou.grand.hyatt.com/

Often, travelers will groan when they check into a hotel and they get a lower floor. Usually, higher floors are reserved for elite guests (much like upgrades and E+ are usually for elite flyers). In some cities, like New York or Hong Kong, a higher floor is a must because you get a feel for the city. Hong Kong and New York are defined by their skylines so it's best to able to see them.

From the sixth floor, overlooking Roppongi Keyakizaka Dori. Happy New Year!

Having a lower floor at the Grand Hyatt Roppongi, for example, isn't the end of the world. In fact, it gives you a sense of having bearings since there's not really an outstanding icon of Tokyo to focus on. No million dollar skyline or Art Deco canyons here. What Tokyo has is street life. It's the best city to explore on foot (provided you've not twisted your ankle before the trip) and its full of neat things you won't find riding on the Hato Bus. The hotel is part of the Roppongi Hills complex and it serves (along with Tokyo Midtown) as an oasis from the silliness that Roppongi is known for.

Hallway from the room to the front door. Nice!

The rest of the room, including a wet bathroom and a properly firm bed!

The question will arise; how could I stay here on my usual low budget? My stay here was an award night from Hyatt's Faster Free Nights promotion. During my last stay in LA, I stayed at two Hyatts, thus earning me a free night anywhere there was availability. What's important is that the service was sublime, the room was comfortable and I had a place to fall flat faced after the 10 hour flight from SFO. Despite being on a "lower floor".

Grand Hyatt Tokyo
6-10-3 Roppongi, Minato-Ku,
Tokyo, Japan 106-0032
Tel: +81 3 4333 1234 Fax: +81 3 4333 8123

This is a great price from Tokyo!

Watching this always makes me want to go somewhere. As long as it's on ANA!

Or in English, a China Eastern Airbus A340-600 taken from one of the best planespotting spots at LAX; the Hertz Rent-a-Car lot!

Whooooosh! Coming in for a landing...

Not to be outdone by ANA's Pokemon jet, UA now issues their 747s window shades so the dashboards wont be dried out by the sun when the plane is parked.

Do you suppose the headrests have doilies and there's a keychain alarm?

This was the plane that flew me back to SFO from HKG. My SWU finally cleared when I landed HKG from SIN. Too much excitement for an upgrade...

Speaking of excitement, there was a passenger who decided to give the HKG based crew grief BEFORE TAKEOFF. Apparently he did not approve of the contents of the kosher meal he special ordered. AFAIK, on UA, you get to order the type of special meal, not the contents. This ain't SQ and you can't Book the Cook with any other airline but. Anyway, he kept name dropping "Global Services" every 15 seconds and threatened to get off the plane (which he should have done). The captain had to come out of the cockpit to read the riot act to this bozo, who because of his shenagans, prevented the cabin crew from locking down the plane for takeoff. The bozo (which shall be his name now) tried the "Global Services" namedrop but the captain simply said, "I don't know and I don't care about what Global Services is, my job is to fly this plane which is now late for take off. Do you want to get off the plane?"

After seeing that namedropping Global Services meant nothing to the captain, bozo shut up and takeoff resumed. Apparently, bozo lived in San Francisco. He was full of smug and was heading home (how appropriate!). I found it interesting he gave far less grief to the non-HK based crew on the plane. Typical. When we landed, I made it a point to shake the captain's hand and to extend my support for his actions. He and the cockpit crew appreciated the gesture.

My good deed of the week...

Last week, I wound up at Tokyo Haneda (HND) Airport for a short hop to Sapporo via New Chitose Airport (CTS) for a few days. Besides reveling at the fact that HND is a MUCH nicer airport than NRT and that their observation deck has a snack bar, I found this travesty at the gates.

Yes, it's THAT jet...the ANA Pokemon Jet.

I shouldn't have said anything because that jet became MY jet for the 1.5 hour flight to CTS. Here's the obligatory close up of one of the most silliest liveries to grace a Boeing 747-400.

It shows that ANA has a sense of fun, since there is one other Pokemon jet in the fleet as well as a flying panda and a couple of Snoopy based jets as well. You want Kitty-Chan? You'll have to fly EVA for that one!

Inside, the head rests were covered by Pokemon covers but otherwise, it was standard ANA in the rest of the cabin. No cabin attendants dressed up as Pikachu. Service was pretty good for a short hop. Apparently, the HND/NRT-CTS route is one of the busiest in the world and the loads are so high that they regularly fly jumbos on this route. They also fly itty bitty CRJs on this route as well, which was my return flight into NRT. There's something not very nice about a plane where you can't even stand up straight in the aisle!

This route is also hella expensive unless you get the mega discount 8 weeks ahead fare and then it's close to 30000 yen. I got a round trip with two weeks advance for 22000 yen and got UA MP EQM for the flights on top of it. How? I purchased the ANA Skypass before I left the US. Info here (why should I type it when I can link it)?

Now that I'm used to spending at least 10 hours on a plane again, it's time to plan my return to Asia...

Here's a teaser from my recent visit to the BMW Museum in Munich. This was one of my favourite parts of the museum.

What's the most powerful letter in the alphabet? M!

The world's fastest traffic jam...

This traffic jam consists of ALL the M class cars ever produced. I learned that the M635csi is a true collector's piece because it's just a good looking car, the first generation M5 came in other colors besides black, and the first M3 (E30) is still a good looking car and the previous M3 (E46) looks pretty damn good too!

Of course, if you're actually driving these, it won't look that nice...

To get a feel on just how motorhead the museum is, here's the engine exhibit; every M engine that was made for the cars you just saw. Artsy!

See the headphones to the right? Those are hanging from the ceiling and when you listen, you can hear the engine start up, idling, revving and at speed. And yes, each one DOES sound different!

When I made my trip to the home village back in February, I was mugged by the authorities for US$135 for a multiple entry visa. At the time, it was either get a single entry or a multiple entry visa. They no longer sold the double entry visa.

A couple of months ago they stopped selling the multiple entry visa. "Smart thing" to do right before the Olympics. Hopefully for everyone who has to work over there, that restriction will be lifted when the games end.

I'm looking forward to a trip back to BJ for several reasons. I've a friend I've not seen in a while. Would be fun for a visit. In November (!). I've been hankering for really good Peking Duck. And the BJ Capital Airport FINALLY has an express train into town.

Nice. If it keeps regular hours, i won't have to deal with taxi drivers and traffic anymore!