Virgin America for the holidays

I booked my round trip flight from LAX to SFO for $54 each way on Virgin America. They had a one day flash sale I just couldn’t resist. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw their new safety video which included singing and dancing and a rap by a little girl. For frequent fliers we…

Mission Impossible III has nothing on me!

If you have watched Mission Impossible III then you know that Tom Cruise ends up in Shanghai catapulting off buildings and then escaping and running along some canals to save his fiancée. Those canals are actually about an hour outside of Shanghai in a little place called Tongli. Today started with a visit to Suzhou…

Rodeo Drive in China

Waking up in Shanghai at the JC Mandarin was like waking up on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Outside the window was Cartier, Hermes, Chanel, Louis Vuitton and almost any other designer you could imagine. This was a vast contrast to the ancient architecture of Beijing. Shanghai literally means “above the sea,” and is China’s largest…

Temples and shops and palaces, oh my.

Day 5 brought us to our last few sites in Beijing before our flight to Shanghai. We stopped by the Temple of Heaven, the Pearl Shop and the Summer Palace. At the Temple of Heaven during the winter solstice, the Ming and Qing emperors would perform rites and make sacrifices to Heaven praying for good…

You are not a hero until you climb the Great Wall

Chairman Mao said, “You are not a hero until you climb the Great Wall.” There are various interpretations of this quote but the general idea is there. Day 3 in Beijing had a lot in store for us. We started with a trip to the Sacred Way of Ming Tombs followed by a visit to the Jade…

Beijing’s Imperial Treasures

Day 2 in Beijing was the first official day of our tour. Included in our great deal from ChinaSpree was breakfast at the hotel every morning. There were options of Western as well as Chinese meals and coffee and tea and juice. Needless to say, breakfast really became the most important part of this trip…

One night in Beijing makes a hard man humble?

My first day in Beijing may be one of the longest days I have ever had in a country. 5:00am arrival with a 1:30am bed time that evening. Somehow, Kalindra and I managed to stay very busy! We arrived to the Traders Hotel Beijing around 7:30am. Unfortunately, our room would not be ready until about 2:30pm…

A quick trip to China? Why not?

I found myself taking a quick trip to China because of an amazing deal I found on Travelzoo for ChinaSpree. My good friend Kalindra decided to be my partner in crime for this epic adventure and we really had no idea what we were getting into. ChinaSpree is a great organization that plans everything for…

Are you ready for some football?

I am an avid football fan and have been since I can remember. My teams are the USC Trojans and the San Francisco 49ers, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love watching every football game. I went to New York to visit friends and see the Jets vs Saints game at MetLife Stadium. I already…

Traveling isn’t always all full of gumdrops and unicorns

I was part of the tragedy at LAX on Friday. Read more here if you aren’t aware of what happened. What I saw and experienced made for a long day. When traveling you think you are prepared for anything, until you aren’t. Below is an account of the craziness that ensued on Friday: 8:30am –…