Eating on the Cheap in Japan by Keith Bartlett: Yes, eating cheap in Japan.

Pre-NCL Cruise at the Epic Hotel, Day One by Jenny Block: Our Own Jenny Block cruises the high seas through the Caribbean on Norwegian Cruise line’s newest ship, the Epic. This is part of a larger series.

Okay, so they are dancing in El Salvador

Bombay is Not India by Bronwyn McBride: A nice portrait of how Bombay is wholly unique to itself and different than the rest of India.

Dave’s Travel Corner Featuring Belgium: Dave has been around forever, at least in the travel blogging world, 14 years. His old school site is a lot of fun and has loads of content. These are some nice shots of Belgium.

Enjoy the links and offer a shout out of one of your own.

So, I turned to the American Airlines woman at the counter. “Can you undo the $451 charge?

“No.”

“Can they cancel the charge on their end?” I asked.

“No.”

“Is there another number I can call, or someone else to talk about this with? It is an additional $300.”

“No.”

“Any other suggestions?”

“No. I tried to do a ‘good deed.’ Sorry.”

With a heavy sigh, I thanked her for her help.

She then clacked on her keyboard for a moment and handed me my boarding pass for my flight to Jamaica. She said, “Next time, you should ask for a supervisor in the beginning.”

“I did,” and pointed toward the supervisor who was standing a few feet away next to the shiny man.

She peered over to them and looked back at me and said either, “I’ll talk to him later” or “I top to hanorkter” — the airport was really noisy. As I finally walked away, I was relieved. I had my boarding pass in my hand. I could look forward to Jamaica again without ticketing distraction. I would be arriving on the 16th, just like I thought.

Later that night, I sat waiting at the gate for my plane while scarfing an overpriced chain store burger and vanilla shake. I finally felt full when I heard an American Airlines’ announcement that they had “oversold” their flight; they sold more tickets than they had seats available.

Final thoughts

Travelers who read ITKT or TWL with any regularity know that I promote travel and tourism to help build a smaller world. I love travel and as a rule only write about things I love. This means I tend to give companies and tourism folks the benefit of the doubt, especially when I create the problem. However, a company’s reaction to adversity is how I gage how loyal I will be to that company in the future.

Having spoken with multiple employees and spent several hours on the phone and in person with American Airlines representatives, the following story cannot be attributed to merely dumb luck or to one employee having a momentary lapse in following customer service etiquette.

During my three hours of no’s from American Airlines, I listened to a number of other passenger requests for help from American Airlines’ representatives that were mostly met with “no” or other bad news. I wonder how these customer’s remain loyal.

In this case, I don’t know if my experience is just good business sense to American Airlines’ execs, or if I have a legitimate gripe over inconsistent and unhelpful service, but I do seem to remember when the skies were friendlier.

From the moment I left the American Airlines ticket counter, I planned to write this story, but not publish it. I still believe in promoting travel, and I, along with millions of other travelers, will end up flying American again. I know to bring my own snacks, pillow, blanket, head phones, ear plugs, eye shades, aspirin and anything else I might need to create a comfortable flight. I also know that American Airlines will still carry millions of passengers and my little story will mostly go unnoticed, especially by the decision makers at AA’s corporate office. Still, when the food cart rolled by and I was offered a small sandwich for $10 and a single cookie for $3.50, something that would have been complimentary by many other carriers, I thought to myself: I guess I am a jerk face.

* One final note. I have paraphrased a variety of no’s for the purpose of sparing the reader from undue corporate excuses and my own writerly blather.

American Airlines, part 1
American Airlines, part 2

He took my gold membership card and passport and several long moments to stare the computer screen, “No, your flight was canceled by the computer.”

“Can you un-cancel it?” I asked.

“No.”

“But the agent on the phone said I could go on standby, and this would not be a problem”

The shiny man leaned over to the supervisor next to him and said some quiet words, then he turned to me. “Let me see what I can do.” He then clacked on his computer and then used the phone before more clacking and calling. “No. Your ticket is null and void.” I took some slow breaths. He continued, “I think there was a change in policy that the operator did not know about.”

“So, how can I get to Jamaica?”

Clack, clack clack. “That would be $1150.” Then the shiny man clacked on the keyboard briefly and said, “But all flights are booked.”

Before the new sticker price made me ill, I forged ahead. “Can I go on standby?”

“No.”

“Does my American Airlines Gold Card help me?

“No.”

“I have 100,000 miles with you guys. Can I pay with my miles?”

“No.”

“Can I speak with a supervisor?” While I never raised my voice, became sarcastic or condescending — as it has never paid off for me in situations like this in the past — I believe it is here that I probably became a nuisance to the shiny man.

“No. Nyet. Nein. Nah (I exaggerate). I can speak to the supervisor for you,” said the shiny man. He leaned toward the supervisor and they exchanged more quiet words. Then, more keyboard clacking. The supervisor walked away without looking up or saying a word. The shiny man said, “I can get you a ticket for $451.”

I ignored that ‘all flights are booked’ and forged ahead again, “But, I was told that it was $250 on the phone.”

“No. I’m sorry.” He then explained that the price of the fare must have gone up $200 in the last hour or so.

The news was good, sort of. I was happy to pay for my mistake, but $451 was a little more than what I could comfortably do, especially with no available flights. I left a message with the PR firm to talk about options and listened to the sounds of LAX announcements, shuffling shoes and passing passengers, all sounding excited and exhausted. As I waited for the return call, a woman working behind the counter saw me and asked if I needed help.

“I am being helped by him.” I said and pointed toward the shiny man, who was now explaining to a traveler that had been double-billed that there was nothing the shiny man, now glistening, could do to help. “But actually, I need to speak directly to a supervisor,” I said to the woman. The woman wore a dress shirt with a beige suit jacket and looked, to me, to be a supervisor. She paused, smiled at me and went back to whatever she was doing. I walked away just as my cell rang.

After some coordination, the PR firm paid (with the same good humor) for my new ticket with my personal assurance I would pay them back the $451, in full, which is more than fair. I got back in line and waited some more.

Back at the counter, I stood in front of the woman I spoke to earlier. “I am here to finish my ticketing, but I would like to speak with a supervisor after we are done,” I said. I decided to share my increasing desire to write about my experience with American Airlines, which had not been great. For the record, I never try to throw my travel writing weight around. My travel life has been filled with perks, but they already had $850 from the first payment and made it difficult just so I could pay them another $451.

I said, “I want you to know that I write travel articles and my intention is not to punish American for my error, but I do want readers to know about the difficulty I have had trying to get anything done and the inconsistency in procedure at the expense of your customers. What if this was my family vacation? It would kind of suck. Wouldn’t it?”

“Why didn’t you say so? I can help you. I am a supervisor.” She introduced herself to me and shook my hand. I explained the situation. I can just have you pay $150 like you were quoted on the phone, the change fee.” Then she leaned toward me, “But I am not doing this because you are a writer. I just want to do a ‘good deed.’” I believed her.

American Airlines customer service part one
American Airlines customer service part three

A usual itinerary to Jamaica, for me, starts with an overnight flight from L.A. to the Caribbean the night before — in this case, I assumed, the flight would leave on the 15th and arrive in the early afternoon on the 16th. My official itinerary came to my cell phone the afternoon of the 12th. At the time, I took a quick peek at my flight plans and saw the date the 15th, which did not register as July 15, 12:10AM. Sure, I have missed many flights before, but this was due to delayed planes and disagreeable weather.

You can see what happened next. On the morning of the 15th, about eight hours after my plane had took to the sky, I planned a slow day of packing. I sat relaxed sipping OJ when I thought I would finally look at my flight numbers. Did I mention that I am a jerk face?

It was the first time I had missed any flight for a professional assignment, ever. My heart sank and the orange juice curdled in my stomach when I read the flight times. I looked at several calendars assuming there must be some mistake — but there was no mistake. While I began to perspire from a severe hot flash, I started calling numbers to fix this problem. My first call went to American Airlines.

I offered my gold card and my booking numbers to the polite voice on the other end of my call. I took notes as I thought this might be a good story for travelers, “What to do when you miss your flight.” Fortunately, I am not the first person to miss a flight — but let’s talk details.

American Airlines Customer Support — the Phone

“I missed my flight,” I said to the polite American Airlines agent over the phone. I was put on hold. When she returned, the polite operator told me that the “computer” canceled my return flight the moment after I missed my first flight. I was also told that I had a non-refundable ticket. I explained that I was not looking for a refund, and I would still like to travel to Jamaica. I was put on hold. Several minutes later I was told there was nothing they could do.

I asked, “Can I speak to a supervisor?”

“No*, but maybe I can help you.” I was put on hold. A few more minutes went by.

“There is a $140 ‘change fee,’” she said.

“Fine,” I said.

“And $110 ‘fare increase.’”

“$250? Of course, an increase. Okay, I’ll take it. Thank you. Can I pay with a credit card or use my miles?” I just wanted to fix a bad situation as quickly as possible and save my reputation as a reliable journalist.

“Well,” she said, “If I were you I would just go to the airport and be put on ‘standby,’ but they might charge you a $140 change fee. This should not be a problem.” This made sense as this kind of thing must happen all the time.

“Will this be a problem?” I asked.

“No.”

“Is there anything else I will need? Passport? American Airlines Milage card?”

“No.”

“Are you sure it is not better to just pay now, and confirm my tickets?”

“No.”

My next call was to the PR firm who had originally arranged my flights to let them know what was going on. To my contact’s credit, she handled the situation with humor. I packed and grabbed a few hundred in cash and rushed to the airport with new found encouragement. Everything would be okay, right?

American Airlines customer service, part two
American Airlines customer service, part three

In my personal history, I have visited several Islamic countries: Malaysia, the Philippines (in the south), and Thailand. I also have a slew of Islamic countries on my to do list: Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, and Syria to name a few.

While I have read the Qur’an (Koran) and a couple of books about the life of Muhammad, I felt it necessary to get a deeper insight about what a traveler should know before buying a plane ticket to the Middle East, Africa or Southeast Asia. After all, my experiences with Muslim people in their own back yard is limited.

However, after sitting in a number of coffee shops and chatting with Muslims certain truths come out. People, regardless of religion, have far more in common than not.

This had become abundantly clear to me when I was chatting with several men in a Muslim village in Thailand. We all have kids and our conversation drifted toward what we want for our families. Here is the short list: we want health and happiness for our children, reasonable shelter, food on the table, and a few bucks in our pocket, but I still needed some help to write my story.

I called my friend from grad school, Ghada, who is a native of Egypt and a practicing Muslim woman for some advice about how to approach the subject of religion and travel. We talked about fear, culture, and being different. We also talked about a lack of religious awareness beyond the scary headlines and the need to get better information out to travelers.

Funny thing, after I spoke with Ghada about fear, Islam and our common plight of being human, she wrote me an article, which included her personal experience and 12 helpful hints aimed toward travelers considering a Middle Eastern adventure. Something that makes me drool just thinking about.

Since I will likely not be able to do it better, I offer Ghada’s story as inspiration to visit a place completely different, 12 Tips to Travel Muslim Countries.

For more about Ghada Bedair

Photo by Robert Romano, public domain

10. Japan
Would be higher on the list if I just didn’t return from there.

9. Puerto Rico
I loved the energy, food, music, architecture and beaches.

8. Nicaragua
Similar to Japan in that I have recently visited

7. Brazil
One word: Carnival

6. Cook Islands
When of the best travel surprises ever.

5. Denmark
I still hope to one day move to Copenhagen

4. Costa Rica
I saw four kinds of monkeys before noon on my first day.

3. Thailand
What a photogenic and interesting place!

2. Iceland
For a while, I was thinking I was drawn to Iceland because I was the reincarnation of Snorri Sturluson (probable writer of the Icelandic Sagas). Still drawn but less certain about why. Sadly, an erupting volcano may make it hard to return to Iceland for some time to come.

1. Ireland
Twenty years again I was offered a job to play guitar and hang around for a few pints. I was told, “We can’t pay you much, but you will eat and drink and have good craic.” I believed him, but refused the invitation. Ireland was the first country of a planned 25-country visit. To this day, I wonder what if…

Now it’s your turn. If not ten. What is your number one dream place to return.

10. Argentina/Uruguay
I have added these two together because I am drawn to both countries and would never make a trip to one without stopping at the other.

9. Cambodia
Two words, Angkor Wat. I have more words about why to see Cambodia, but the two are enough to justify the visit.

8. Turkey
Over the last five years, I have had more stories submissions come in about Turkey to ITKT than any other place. I should see what I am missing.

7. Kenya
I am not sure of Kenya has the best safari possibilities, just the most familiar one.

6. Oman
I have heard too many good things about Muscat from too many travelers that I respect.

5. Cuba
Please don’t tell me I can’t go and expect me not to want to go. This is before music, food and communism is added into the interest mix.

4. Jordan
The origin of civilization, maybe? I sent an ITKT writer there a few years back and I have been jealous ever since.

3. Madagasca
The lemurs alone make it of particular interest.

2. Mongolia
I want to travel with a nomadic family and live in a yurt for a week. I doubt I will ever get this lucky, but still nice to consider.

1. Papua New Guinea (which with any luck should happen this year)
There is simply too many different cultures and too much flora and fauna diversity to miss. Maybe the most interesting place on Earth.

Ask me tomorrow, and I will probably have a different list, but for now, planning this adventure has me drooling. I think I will add my top ten travel list for places I have already been for next week.

What’s your list?

Photo by me. Map by the Wizard of New Zealand (placing south and New Zealand at the top of the world)

Press trips are great and there are wonderful perks, but at the end of the day, I am traveling on someone else’s dime and I have a job to do. So believe it or not, the trip usually feels like work. After a week, I am ready to call it quits and come home. Not this time.

I had just arrived in Leon, a charming Colonial city, and felt there was more to explore as I had found a stride with Central America and my improving Spanish. Unfortunately, I had an itinerary and a flight to catch. I was handed over to Efren and away we went. There is always a certain amount of faith that goes along with being a sponsored writer. Get in the car, bus, plane, taxi and go. So far, I have had few problems.

In the pickup truck, a combination of disco and Billy Joel music played on the radio. I tried to make conversation because I had gotten used to trying to communicate, albeit poorly, in Spanish. I had no choice, as Efren spoke no English at all.

While I tried to think of questions to ask in Spanish, I could not help but think of all the “FSLN” (The Sandinista National Liberation Front, or Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional) graffiti that I had become accustomed to seeing almost everywhere I visited in Nicaragua. I began to think about what I knew of socialism, Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas. It was not much. Then, I began to wonder aloud about these things to Efren. “Socialistica is muy interesante, si?” I said.

Before I realized how awful the topic of politics and socialism might be, I asked Efren what he thought about Socialism in Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, clashing opinions about socialism then I added my own views of the importance of some socialistic ideas like: the fire department, police, and libraries. Only moments after the jumbled words fell from my lips did I realize these could have been terrible questions. Efren continued to look ahead at the deserted countryside of Nicaragua. I thought, how do I say, “I am just a conscientious objector,” in Spanish?

The car began to slow. I tried to change the subject. At the time, I was wearing a gray baseball jersey with orange piping with “Nicaragua” emblazoned on it. “Do you like baseball,” I said. The car hit the crumbly gravel shoulder of the road and then stopped.

Efren shifted the pickup to idle. I looked around and realized I was nowhere near civilization, just a few trees and no one to hear my screams. Had I offended an anti-socialist? Had I angered a FSLN sympathizer? Did I even know what I was saying with my pitiful Spanish? Then I thought, what is a Sandanista anyway? It is not like I knew anything about the subject. Did they feast on human flesh? Sure he was older, shorter, and weaker than I was. All I knew was that he had been cordial, kept his eyes on the road. I felt sorry for all those people who read my articles about trusting the world and the people in it. All those people I told to have a great time traveling, inviting them to explore the world. It never occurred to me to get out of the car before Efren would kill me.

Efren then grabbed at the glove box by my knees and flung open its door. He began to rummage. I said, “I love baseball. It’s a really great game (Si, el béisbol es un gran juego).” While I stammered, Efren pulled out something red and black from the glove box, the colors of blood and death. Then Footloose began to play on the radio. Efren pulled back to show me what he had pulled from the glove box. It was a flag. It was red and black and had “FSLN” in white letters on it. Of course, he was going to strangle me with the symbol of the Sandanistas while I thought about Kevin Bacon. It all made so much sense.

The blood in my neck pulsed faster. For a murderer, he seemed so calm, almost kind. He showed me the flag and then pointed out the letters, “F, S, L, N.” He smiled and took his time before he spoke. I listened intently waiting for his next move.

Finally he said, “Por favor, tenga presente. Recuerde Nicaragua (Please take this. Remember Nicaragua).” Then, he began to fold the flag neatly and handed it to me. He calmly closed the glove box door and pulled back on the road. I put the flag into my pack, took a deep breath and began to outline this story.

All of this story is true, except when I temporarily swapped Footloose, in my outline, for the Gloria Gaynor song, I Will Survive — which seemed a better song to die to. Then I debated whether a small kernel of lyrical fiction made my entire story a fraud. After a few minutes, I put Footloose back into its rightful spot in this story and then thought about the nature of creative non-fiction (more on this subject in a future article).

When I finished writing, I looked up to find myself on the outskirts of Managua. I closed my steno pad and relaxed into the pickup’s bucket seats. Efren had been silent and still kept his eyes forward on the road. Twenty minutes later, Gloria Gaynor finally did begin to sing I Will Survive on the radio. I began to sing along. It seemed to make sense to celebrate the irony of travel-related fear, another safe passage, and being safe in Nicaragua.

As it turned out, this was the extended remix of I Will Survive, which carried us into the heart of Managua. The walls on every building were covered in graffiti, where signs of viva [live] flourished: “ Viva el frente, Viva Daniel [Ortega], Viva FSLN.” Then Let it Be came on the radio and Efren began to sing.

During my stay in the Philippines, I had the opportunity to struggle with durian as raw fruit, cooked and topped on sticky rice, pudding, candy, and as an ice cream flavor. I am always willing to try, but each experience felt as though I had lost a bet. However, as emotionally scarring every bite was, durian is a cultural must-have and the locals will appreciate your efforts. I recommend everyone should try durian at least once while visiting any Southeast Asian nation.

On subsequent trips to Malaysia and Thailand, I could not help but want to try it again, just to make sure. Was durian still the dry heave producing fruit I had remembered? It was. I am now convinced that my hair is slowly falling out, not because of routine male-pattern baldness, but due to too much exposure to the durian fruit.

Durian looks like a thorny football, can weigh up to ten pounds, and is readily available in the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. Durian is not allowed in some hotels or on local buses due to its overpowering super stank. While its flavor and odor has never killed anyone, it grows high in a palm tree and its thorny, and weighty, disposition has fallen on the head of more than one unsuspecting durian fan.

Another story that might be of interest, Return to Japan and the Lord of the Flies

For free stuff

  The two disturbing creatures that symbolized Japan's   Aichi Expo

When I realized that this was not comedy, I did my civic duty. I tried to explain to the management, who were wearing hats similar to Captain Crunch, that their multi-lingual menu had major blunders in its spelling. They smiled and listened carefully as I tried to explain this oversight. Then they walked away unconcerned with my corrections. As I was the only native English-speaker for miles, I ordered the ironic sandwich with flies with a pocket full of yen. I assumed a Japanese dignitary was the pawn of a demonic translator, and watched the world go by, quite literally, at the Aichi World Expo’s food court in 2005.

My first trip to Japan was memorable and included many other notable moments: Sumo wrestling, soft pink powdery candies that tasted like eggplant, a plate of chicken tongue appetizers resting on a lettuce leaf, robots, Buddhist simplicity, a complicated game show featuring two guys in white spandex unitards swimming in gray ooze, a thoughtful tea ceremony, and a brown crusty blob with red warts that was candy.

Now, I am preparing to return to Japan at the end of the month for a press trip. The plus side will be seeing the highlights and having first class accommodations. The downside is – and it is a big one – the limited amount of down time I will have to absorb the experience. It will be go-go-go for the entire trip – although this is an assumption based on my previous trip.

Here is my complete itinerary, which speaks volumes about my understanding of Japan coming from their tourism board: “We will show you around Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa.” That’s it! No more detailed explanation for a seven-day trip. What am I, crazy? Actually, this is exactly why I am going – Japan’s cultural mystery is my lure. I realize how interesting Japan and its society is to me. There is something so distant, vague and confusing, yet fun, different exciting. It is like Japan’s NTO is saying to me, “Don’t worry, you will see the dichotomy of 5000 years of tradition and cutting edge technology, and eat a basket of tuna faces in the process. Congratulations and welcome to Japan.” I might be crazy, but there is no way I can pass this up.

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