First of all I have to apologize for not updating my blog for a full year! Writing about my travels was getting repetitive and monotonous. I'll try my best to step it up this year though, as it is an exciting time to be a Continental frequent flyer, now that they've joined Star Alliance. More airlines, more lounges, and more attractive benefits... I'm writing this from the Presidents Club in Houston as always, on my yearly trip to Vegas for the January conventions. Travel from Costa Rica was no different than usual, even despite the security issues that have been going on since Christmas.

Anyway instead of writing in here I should really be finishing up a new project. Plus I have a plane to catch. Talk to you later.

I love this place... It's too bad they cranked the membership price up another $200, but this year I'm planning to get a Platinum American Express which includes the membership so I should be alright. Just waiting to board my flight to Vegas and enjoy another few hours in a first class cabin (I hope they have a good cheese platter to match all the wine I intend on drinking!)

Too bad my Westjet flight tomorrow will just be Ghetto First Class (exit row with some drink vouchers haha).

I love waking up to a couple of emails saying that my two flights from Costa Rica (SJO) to Houston and from Houston (IAH) to Vegas (LAS) have been upgraded thanks to my elite status... Tomorrow is going to be one relaxing travel day. I even stocked my Eeepc with some great vegas movies like 21 and Oceans 11.

Got some crazy plans coming up... Next week I'll be flying to Las Vegas (again), but then the next day heading over to Vancouver for the weekend. Back to Vegas, then staying for 3 weeks (lots of business to take care of), then back to BC (although technically flying to Spokane this time) to spend a month at a ski resort, sort of an extended vacation.

Hopefully I can manage it all, I'm basically packing for a 2 month trip with 1 carryon duffel bag (not counting my checked snowboarding gear, which I also stuffed my pants and jacket into).

I was just browsing around Flyertalk and found a link to another members travel blog, with a description about Qantas' new first class... Goddamn is that insane. Makes me want to cruise down to Australia or wherever just so I can try it out.

The seat faces forward for take-off and landing. There is limited legroom but with plenty of knee room in this position. Other than take-off and landing, there does not seem much point in the forward-facing position. All the other features of the seat are best used when the seat is swivelled.
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There is a pop-out coat hook to hang your jacket when you first arrive while waiting to hand it to an attendant, or on landing after being handed it back. There is also a hook on the seat wall to hang the headphones so you don't need to stuff them into a cubby or have them loose on the tray table or shelf.

It's too bad I don't get to experience the cool international planes with all my domestic and central american hops. Oh well, I do plan on hitting Europe this year so we'll see.

I don't have much to say, I'm exhausted from four days of walking... I probably walked at least 100 miles. I do have to say that Halloween in New York was amazing, I've never seen a street party so big, and everyone was in a costume. Pretty damn cool. I'm actually looking forward to going home though. I'm also disappointed I didn't get my choice of the Alex Hotel for November 1-2, from the [url=http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=863668]Leading Hotels of the World Promo[/url] that managed to take up like two full days of my life.

I also picked up a new carryon suitcase... It's a Kenneth Cole Leather Duffel, it's exactly 45 linear inches and has wheels, so you can carry it like a duffel or wheel it around if it gets too heavy. Definitely a classy item (and not cheap either at $750!) I just hope I don't get grief from it as it isn't the dimensions of that stupid metal bag sizer thing that no ones carryon items even fit in... So far no problems on the way home, we'll have to see how anal they are on my next flight because of the lack of overhead space these days.

I have to say, it's really convenient that Continental runs direct flights from Costa Rica to Newark... I decided to take a long needed vacation in New York and Boston, and having the nonstop flight all the way to the northeast was a pretty nice change of pace. My EeePC held up great for the whole 5+ hour flight... Watched two full movies (we unluckily had a plane without in flight entertainment... I've been noticing that more and more on Continental flights and it's kind of unnerving...)

EWR is a bit of a zoo, ended up having to take a shuttle to a nearby hotel where my rental car reservation was at, then was on my way. Spent a couple nights in Jersey, did a mini Sopranos tour (I even saw Tony's house and the Bada Bing!), and partied with a few friends... Then off to Boston, which was actually a really nice drive... New England is beautiful in the fall (and I'm not much of a cold weather guy either).

I thought this was a great use for a decomissioned airplane: Apparantly Stockholms Arlanada airport will have a hostel of sorts built in a converted Boeing 747.

Swedish hotelier Oscar Diös is converting a Boeing 747 into a 25-room, 86-bed airport hotel. Most of the rooms in the Jumbo Hostel will not be large (6×3 meters) considering each has three bunk beds. Also, most rooms will not have en suite bathrooms though they will have wi-fi access and flatscreen TVs (that, along with the normal selection of channels, will also display airport flight information). There will, however, be one luxury suite available in the former cockpit.

I want to see what the cockpit suite looks like :)

Didn't get a chance to update until now... Just on my way back from a five day trip to Atlanta. Ended up taking Spirit through FLL to ATL. Purpose of the trip was a convention at the W (it turns out there are two W hotels in Atanta, one downtown and one on "Perimeter" which isn't actually in the city). I think the downtown location would have been nicer, but the staff at the W Perimeter were nothing short of amazing. I had booked a full suite which was actually more like two connected rooms... One had a few sofas, a desk, 42" plasma, and where its bathroom would be, a kitchen. The other had a king sized bed and a very nice bathroom. Kudos to Starwood for the upgrade!

Aside from the usual power outlet shortage at FLL (even the hallway ones seemed to be non-functioning), trip went fine... I'm travelling with an Asus EeePC nowadays which is great because I can actually use it on a plane (I've got very long arms, so for me to open my 15.4" notebook in coach I have to have the bottom of the laptop touching my stomach and either stick my elbows out a foot in either direction, or do this trick that makes me look like a tyranasaurus. Anyway, this thing has uber battery life (I can watch two full movies on a battery, provided they are divx dvd rips because there is no dvd drive), and it made every flight a whole lot more pleasant thanks to Spirits lack of IFE (fancy term for In Flight Entertainment used on boards like Flyertalk). I barely took my PSP out at all (which I swear by usually).

This trip was kind of unexpected, but fun... I'm getting a little tired of my luggage setup though, I'd like to get something in leather next. Time to go luggage shopping.

Just waiting to board another nice and short non-stop flight back home to San Jose. The Fort Lauderdale airport has a couple of ok bars, although everyone is fighting over power outlets, and a couple of them don't even work. (Look for my rant on airport power outlets sometime soon).

One of the highlights was a big party on a casino cruise ship going out of Miami. Open bar, free food (although cruise ship food leaves a lot to be desired), and one of the companies I do business with gave me $1000 in chips to gamble with. I even wore a white linen suit for the occasion (hey, I'm a Miami Vice fan, what can i say).

Had a great time, except for Hurricane Fay (or is it Gustav now?) towards the end. That really ruined the Orlando days... Managed to do Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure (my favorite park) together in one day just because of the lack of lineups (it was raining lightly), but had to cancel Disney the next day because of heavy rains. Instead went to the mall and did some shopping (nice vacation).

It'll be good to go home though, I'm a bit worn out from all this driving (although averaging 90mph all over the state on nice flat, wide, and straight roads makes road tripping fun!)

Man I love Florida! It's also the quickest and cheapest place for me to fly to from Costa Rica (provided I take Spirit Air through FLL). Should be a fun trip, going to a convention first for a few days, then spending a few days in South Beach, then driving up to Tampa Bay to visit some friends for several days, then over to Orlando for a couple of theme parks, then back to Fort Lauderdale for the flight home.

SJO kind of pisses me off sometimes with their flakey wifi... Sometimes I can pick up a strong signal while at a gate, but other times like in the food court (right next to the huge "free wifi" sign) I can't get anything. It also randomly decides it's free or paid depending on the time of day it seems. We're taking a redeye and nothing is open right now, so basically we're sitting around playing games while waiting... It's a shame how the digital age has made people so unable to entertain themselves, lol.

Ok, this kicks ass. Apparantly Delta plans to offer wireless internet aboard flights, starting summer 2009. All this will do is increase my blogging frequency ;) I might even start Twittering from the air!

The Internet will come via AirCell's ground-to-air technology, which beams wireless signals up to planes and receives whatever the planes send back. This means anyone on the plane with a Wi-Fi radio-equipped device will be able to use it to access the Internet. That includes smartphones, PDAs, MIDs, and laptops. For flights less than three hours, the cost will be $10. For flights over three hours, the cost will be $13.

My only concern is, how come those stewardesses always lecture us about making sure the wifi switches on our electronic devices are off? I had one recently even refer to it as "airplane" mode. Now that they can charge $10 for it, it's no longer a hazard to the plane?

Man, what a trip... After spending a full day drinking out at the pool in 115 degree heat, I managed to land myself in bed for a day with heatstroke... What a waste of a Saturday night, at least my suite at the Venetian was comfy :) Met this guy with a cool Las Vegas dating blog.

Chilled at the Wolfgang Puck Express at McCarran again... Had a few glasses of a very nice bottle of Macallan 18 year old scotch they had behind the bar. I had blazed through security in like 8 minutes so I had quite a bit of time to kill. I told the bartender that they were boarding in a few minutes and he told me I could probably wait 25 minutes before heading to the gate. I didn't want to look like a douchebag and say I was flying first class and wanted to get on the plane first, so I just smiled and paid.

What a great sleep! Had two glasses of red wine and passed out like a baby, waking up when we were landing in Houston. This was my first redeye flight in first, I always figured it'd be a waste because you don't get to enjoy all the cool shit, but it was the most comfortable plane sleep I'd ever had (aside from the time I had the whole row to myself and stretched out on it). Landed at Houston at an awkward 5am or so, and had 2 hours to kill in the Presidents Lounge. Didn't have an appetite for breakfast so I just enjoyed a couple coffees with Baileys and read some blogs for a couple of hours (brain wasn't functioning at a high enough level to get any work done).

The second flight was alright, I made the wrong choice for breakfast, but the bloody marys made up for it. Had a great chat with a young retired guy who flies down to Costa Rica every month to hang out for a week... People always wonder why I am flying first class at such a young age (and not dressed for business or anything) so it was cool being able to talk business with someone who seemed genuinely interested. Was the first one off the plane and through customs (which I am a pro at), and headed home to catch up on some work and then soak in my jacuzzi with a bottle of wine. All in all a great trip (aside from that sick day).

Yes, I'm on my way to Vegas again. Flew International Business Class this time... It's been a while since I flew first class, but damn do I miss it! Started on my first bloody mary before the first economy passenger was even on board... Breakfast was great too. I actually chose the traditional Costa Rican rice and beans breakfast just because I knew I'd get my fill of bacon and eggs over the next 9 days in Las Vegas, and it was quite good. It's so nice having a dedicated flight attendant just for us. You really notice the benefit of carrying on your luggage when you fly first class, nothing like being off the plane and out of the airport before the last coach passenger even deplanes!

Now I'm in IAH in the Presidents Club lounge, enjoying a comfortable armchair and free alcoholic drinks and wifi. Great because I know I'm not going to get any work done over the next week, so I may as well cram it in now while I've got the time. It's been a while since I was in the Presidents Club, now I'm considering buying a membership. With my elite status it won't cost that much yearly really, and you more than make up for it with the free wireless and drinks. Apparantly they are raising the prices later in the year though. Hmm...

Seeing as I see a whole ton of newbie travelers landing all confused into SJO every few weeks, I figured I'd throw out some tips for people new to San Jose and Costa Rica so you don't look like a deer in the headlights next time you get off the plane at Juan Santamaria.

The customs forms are easy, there are two of them... The immigration (migracion) one is taken when they stamp your passport, the guy barely looks at it other than to make sure the information matches that on your passport. For destination address usually the city is good enough. The other one is customs (aduanes), and the guys who take them at baggage claim only take about half of them and never actually look at them... Just food for thought when you're thinking of what to write on them. Immigration rarely has these forms available (like they should) or pens, so make sure you get the forms from your stewardess and get them filled out before you deplane.

As soon as you get off the plane, you have to go through immigration. The entrance is sort of in the middle of the terminal (so if you're at the west end of the airport you'll want to turn right, at the east end you'll turn left). Follow the signs that proudly say "Migracion" in spanish with "immigration" in tiny size 1 font underneath. There's no glassed off hallway like in american airports, you're in the terminal with everyone waiting to board. If you move quick you may beat the lineup, but in most cases it's about 20 minutes to get through immigration. The agents rarely talk to you or even look at you, and half of them don't really speak any english.

Once you go downstairs to baggage claim, there is a duty free store here. Even though stuff like cigarettes and alcohol are super cheap in Costa Rica, they are even cheaper here at the duty free, and they don't care if you're not leaving the country today. If you're a smoker, grab a carton for $10 and stick it in your bags, and smoke em while you're in town. Likewise for a bottle of your favorite scotch.

On your way out of the airport (walk towards "aduanes", ie. customs), you'll have to throw all your bags on a bigass xray machine, just like the normal airport security ones but 3x the size. There's no metal detector or anything, just a couple bored customs agents who are thankful to have a cushy government job and barely look at the screen. If one of them manages to get off his ass, hand him your customs form. I didn't actually have a customs form my last trip and just walked through.

Now usually you'll have made transportation arrangements before arriving. If you haven't, and this is your first time in the country, just spend the extra $3 and take an airport taxi. There are hundreds of guys hanging in front of the terminal (they're not allowed in the building) who will shout stuff at you in broken english like "ten dollars to san jose!", but you really are better off going with the official airport company. This is done when you are at the two sets of glass doors at the end of the airport, there'll be a bunch of guys in there with shirts and ties and they will just yell "taxi?" to you. Say "si" and give him your destination written down on a piece of paper. You'll prepay over at the counter, he'll lead you to your taxi and take you there. You don't owe the driver anything extra, and there is no tipping in Costa Rica, but if you're one of those people who gets off on it, throw him a buck or two.

That's about all I can think of... If you run into trouble in the airport, the phrase you want to remember (like anywhere else in latin america) is "Habla Inglise?" The airport is supposed to hire as many english speakers as possible, but sometimes their comprehension falls short (or they flat out lie to get the job). Enjoy your trip.

I cannot believe I actually did this, it's been years and you think I'd learn. My flight back home from SFO bounced through both IAH and FLL. What a horrible travel day. It is always worth the extra money to limit your flight to only one stopover (or direct if it is available). I can't believe how much of the day I spent preboarding, taking off, and taxiing. What a waste of time.

San Francisco was cool, went to some awesome parties (most of which I can't really describe here since it's a "family" blog ;) Took the Alcatraz tour which was totally badass, I recommend it to anyone who visiits the city. The Golden Gate bridge was, well, a long bridge. Nothing really that special about it (unless you consider it's impressive suicide rate). Drove out to Napa and Sonoma, took two wine tours and did several tastings... very picturesque part of the country, I quite liked it.

Now I'm home for a bit to work. Where will my next trip be? Hopefully not vegas...

Had some business to take care of in Fort Lauderdale, and in San Francisco, both the same week... So I booked a direct flight from SJO (San Jose, Costa Rica) to FLL via Spirit Air, which although being a ghetto as hell airline is still the cheapest and fastest way for me to get to the USA. I paid the extra $30 to reserve exit row (ghetto first class!) and had a great flight. Spent a couple days in one of the beach hotels, got my biz done, and started on part two of the trip.

Flew Continental from FLL to IAH to SFO... Not the recommended way to do it, but I've got my Elite Status to maintain ;) The first flight to Houston left ridiculously early in the morning, which I absolutely abhor, but what can you do. I scheduled a short layover because I didn't have to go through customs this time, so no Sky Box. Just had enough time to pick up a Robb Report (the ultimate airplane reader, the people who sit next to me keep staring and wondering why I am reading reviews of $18 million yachts!

Landed in San Francisco at the perfect time to rent a car, drive in the sunshine for 12 minutes, and hit a massive wall of rolling fog. Checked into an insanely overpriced hotel, and checked out downtown... Great shopping actually, I spent over an hour trying to track down this pair of white leather Giorgio Armani shoes in my size that were featured in an insane sale at Saks Fifth... Never found em though. Oh well, should be a fun (and productive) week.

Had a great time in Las Vegas as always, ended up getting a smoking deal on a condo that had foreclosed. Already found a renter too, and have a buddy doing the property management. That is how you make money in a bad economy ;)

For some reason I never think of going online when waiting for my flight at McCarran International, hell I don't even know how good their wifi is. I'm always just so worn out from the desert dryness and nevada heat that I flop down at the gate and wait for the boarding call. Houston was it's usual self... It's really my home away from home, I'm there so much. We saw some Quakers or something walking around the terminal, that was kind of weird... Dude with a big bushy white beard and his son, both dressed in the same overalls with long sleeved collared shirts and these straw hats, and the mother and daughter both with braids in matching flowered ankle-length house dresses. Not something you see every day, I wonder how these trips into society corrupts the kids like that.

I just can't stay away from this place! Just checked into the Venetian, which by the way is my favorite hotel in Vegas. It just seems like the service is so much better, and the rooms higher quality, while only being a bit more than the others... Plus you've got Caesers Forum Shops and Canal Shops nice and close for overpriced retail shopping (I like to browse and then buy my shit online haha).

Anyway it was a great travel day, flew Continental like always, took carry on luggage only, breezed through Customs nice and quick, had a great lunch at the Sky Box (they've changed their menu somewhat though and got rid of my favorite grilled chicken pesto panini, but have replaced it with a similar grilled chicken and cheese snadwich so I'll live). They were also out of Bass so I had a couple texas-sized Sam Adams instead.

Good friend of mine picked me up from McCarran, and we had pho at the vietnamese noodle place in Treasure Island... Sounds silly but after being in Costa Rica for so long I really miss stuff like pho.

It's gonna be a busy week, meeting up with a realtor tomorrow to look at foreclosures. Vegas' real estate market is plummeting and it's a good time for people with cash (ie. me) to buy!

Once again I booked another overnighter... The PHX airport must be the most boring place on earth, or at least my terminal is. I'm sure the US Airways terminal is bigger and busier, but this contental one doesn't have a single thing open other than the news stand. It's only 11pm for gods sake! I showed up way too early, ended up being blasted through checkin and security in about 4 minutes (not a lot of people take the night flight to IAH I guess), and now I've got 2 hours to kill until boarding. So far I've been playing online poker (this airport is one of the view with free wireless), and I'm up $200.

An important thing to keep in mind when booking short flights like these is to make sure you are on at least a 737, and not one of those shitty little commuter jets like the Embraer RJ145... They are these goofy things with 3 seats across (2 on the left, then an aisle, then a row of single seats on the right). The thing I hate about them is that they do not allow carryon-sized luggage, and you have to check it at the gate with the "airport valet". I just sat there in horror for 25 minutes while I watched those assholes toss my way-too-expensive designer suitcase a good 6 feet onto the conveyor belt. After the short, noisy flight, I got it back nicely scratched with a damaged handle. Of course you'll tell me that buying expensive luggage is stupid, but that's why it's carry-on. I shouldn't have to worry about some douchebag abusing my stuff!

I didn't bother having breakfast this time, just played some GTA on my PSP and chilled by the gate after having what would be my last cup of Starbucks for a month. Arrived home in Costa Rica at noon, ready for a nap.