Work Bonus!: Free trip to see Roger Waters / The Wall!

Sometimes you get to do cool things at the last minute. Today is no exception!

I am going to see Roger Waters do Pink Floyd's "The Wall" live in Charlotte, NC tomorrow night. I am staying the night and coming back Wednesday. The downside is I have to take megabus. I have never ridden them but am not a fun of buses. But for free I cannot complain!

It will be a short trip but I am OK with that. The boss is paying for it all and I am grateful. We had a good quarter and this is a reflection of that. I got really good seats and can check a small item off the bucket list. I also have never been to Charlotte so it will be a new place for me as well.

It's been a while since I have been to a good concert. I am excited!

Delta Booking Tip: Book on Mondays

Always books itineraries originating in the USA on Mondays. You have 24 hours to cancel it without penalty and a full refund regardless of the fare you booked.

The reason: Sale fares are released on Tuesdays. Here is an example scenario:

Today is Monday and you need a flight that is 3 or more weeks away from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Today's price is $400 round trip in economy. Not too bad! You book the ticket today.

Tomorrow you check the prices for your same flights again. Delta has loaded their weekly sale fares and you notice the the exact same flights in economy now price out at $320. You feel a little duped. But wait!

You are still within your 24 hour grace period. You can go online, cancel your original fights, and rebook at the new $320 price. A quick flight search and about 15 minutes of your time has just saved you $80!

I do this all the time for myself as well as work flights. You don't always end up finding lower fares but it does happen. There is 0 risk since you can cancel within 24 hours. If the price goes up then you got in at a good time. It's a win-win for air travel.

Fun Travel: Last Minute Tickets to "The Wall" by Roger Waters

My boss surprised me with tickets and expenses paid to go see Roger Waters perform "The Wall" in Charlotte, NC. I will be taking Megabus there and back (I'd rather fly but will take it for free!) and see it Tuesday July 10th. Lower level seats!

Apparently this is part of my quarterly bonus. We have been quite busy lately so I appreciate the extra fun trip and not getting docked time off. It will be a quick trip up and back. I can check a Pink Floyd show off the list!

Stomach problems finally clear?

I think I am finally back to normal after that parasite from South America did a number to me. Many unpleasant days and bland meals later I am feeling normal again. I am still not sure what the source was but that is always the mystery with these types of things. It could have been much worse (and has been worse in the past!).

The part that bothers me the most is the food we could not eat that went bad as a result. I went grocery shopping when we got home for our usual stuff and half had to be thrown out. I absolutely despise wasting food. Food is expensive. Such is life.

The good news is that we are both doing better.

Red Oxx Sky Train Bag Review

Last week I started traveling for work with my new bag. I wasn't sure at first when it arrived and I did a trial packing of all of the essentials. Now that I have lived out of it for a week I can form a better opinion. I have figured out all the little quirks and tricks to make it work better.

The result: The bag was worth every penny!

It is smaller and more light weight than my older backpack (which was meant as a laptop bag!). I can get all the clothes, electronics, work stuff, and everything else I need into it with room to spare. I use the large section for clothes and toiletries. The middle section I put electronics, notebook, and other odds and ends. The outer pocket happens to fit my macbook pro by itself.

I had to change the way I organize my stuff since it has essentially no internal pockets. I am using small bags and ziploc bags to keep things organized. I have ordered ditty bags from Amazon to save weight and space in the long run. I highly recommend them!

It construction is solid. I can tell they used very high quality materials and workmanship when building the bag. It does everything I need it too and more. I can certainly see using it for longer trips too and fully intend to do so. My main gripe is that it is not great for laptops. They are not really protected at all in the bag. I also have to note that it wasn't built for that purpose.

I will probably end up getting a small separate laptop bag as a solution. While I don't like to carry 2 bags I can see where it will be useful. Firstly I will have proper protection for the laptop. Second it transfers a lot of electronic stuff out of the main bag. That leaves room for more clothes needed for longer trips and better weight distribution. I also like having the big bag in the overhead and my smaller bag with everything I need under the seat.

Overall I am very happy I bought the bag. It will give me a lifetime of good service and easy traveling in the air. I have a lifetime warranty, no questions asked, and can get a new one if I have any issues. They are USA based and manufactured so I don't have to worry about getting stiffed on some sort of warranty exclusion.

Eating well on the road

Eating well on the road is tough. I am getting better at it but when I am tired after a 12 hour day and not familiar with the area I go for what is close, fast, and easy. Usually means mediocre food that may or may not be healthy. I am trying to change that.

Tools I use:

• Yelp. I look for a place that has at least 20 reviews with 4+ star rating average. I find great local places this way that I can go back too.
• Ask my customers. They live here! I have gotten some good suggestions over the years.
• Ask hotel front desk staff. They also live here and work where I am staying so they can suggest healthier options. 

The results are like the Lebanese meal I had last night:

November 2012 Travel Booked!

It's official: I am going to Guatemala for 2 weeks in November! I just booked my award ticket with American Airlines to use up the majority of my remaining miles with them. I will leave on November 14 and return November 28. I am looking forward to some awesome scenery, people, and of course food!

It cost me 32,500 miles plus $57.60 in taxes. I had a little over 33,000 miles in my account so it worked out great! I fly thru Miami on my way down and Dallas on my way back. My time off from work is confirmed and I am excited to see more of Central America which is my least traveled part of the world. Everything there is inexpensive so I may actually come out ahead financially for that vaacation!

I am not sure exactly what I will do once I am there but I begin phase 2 of my research which is where to go and what to do! I am already looking into the Mayan Tikal ruins, Antigua, and Lago Atitlan. I don't want to try to cram in too much since I will only have 2 weeks. I still need to get a guidebook and do some reading to see what all is available.

Investing in quality -- frugal does not mean cheap!

Today I decided to pull the trigger on a $255 piece of luggage. On the surface that sounds expensive. When you get into the details you can see the real value of the transaction. I have looked high and low for the best piece of luggage for my needs and I believe I have found it. We will know soon if I made the right decision!

I admit it was a leap to drop $255 + shipping on a single piece of luggage. I did a LOT of research before buying the bag and found lots of great reviews. I am still not 100% sure it was the right choice. I checked and I can get a refund if I am not happy with it as long as it is new with all the tags on it. I plan on doing a test packing of the bag first.

I travel a lot for work and have long been unhappy with my carry on bag. I started of with a rolling bag which made me quite unhappy. It now collects dust in my closet. I currently use my Targus 17" laptop backpack for work travel. It is heavy when I fully pack it but I prefer it over my rolling bag. I have also used it on a couple of personal trips and it got the job done. The problem is I am still left with sore shoulders and generally unhappy with it.

Now I have discovered the Red Oxx Sky Train. I can carry it with a handle, shoulder strap, or backpack-style straps. It comes with a lifetime warranty for any damage from any source. It also weighs 4 pounds empty which is very light for a carry-on bag of any kind. From the reviews, pictures, and videos I have seen it looks like what I have been searching for all these years traveling.

Even still $255 seems like a lot of money--because it is! Between the ability to return the bag, the no questions asked lifetime warranty, and raving reviews I felt it was worth a try. My risk is $9.44 in shipping to try it out. I can get a full refund if I don't like it for any reason.

Thinking long term I will probably be better off with the new bag. My current Targus bag cost me $60 and has lasted me roughly 4 years. The seams are starting to show wear and could break soon. This sparked my search for a new bag. After reading about many different bags I discovered I hate wheeled bags due to their wasted space and needless added weight. Backpacks are my thing.

If I decide to keep the bag I will be making a big investment. The good news is that it is an investment for life since I can get it replaced any time for any damage what-so-ever. As long as it holds what I usually carry comfortably on my back I am sold. It is legal carry on size so I will never have to check it even if I over pack the bag. I am all but certain I made the right decision.

The moral of the story is that cheap does not equal frugal. A frugal person invests in what will last the longest and end up being the cheapest over the long haul. I can buy several $50 bags as I go and deal with frustrations of damage every few years or I can buy this once and not have to worry about it. Don't be afraid to invest in quality. It always pays off in the end.

Looking like a busy quarter!

Things are heating up at work and that means more travel for me. I already have New Orleans this month for pleasure as well as a definite trip to Baltimore/Maryland at some point. It is also looking like the possibility of North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Mississippi, and some other irons in the sales fire.

Today was a particularly busy day of year end and quarterly stuff we have to do around the office. I get to go to work at 2PM tomorrow since I have to do the server upgrades when no one else is working. I will use my morning off to run errands and have lunch with the girlfriend. I am not looking forward to being at the office late but life gets in the way sometimes.

I am already tired of the cold weather and am reminded of why I am working in the first place: to save enough money to get away from the cold. I don't mean Florida. More like Asia, South America, etc. Travel is where it's at. Work is just a necessary evil to get there.

2011 Travel Roundup

2011 was a fairly good travel year for me. I had quite a bit of work travel and some fun trips mixed in too! Looking back on the year I have covered some ground. I will start with the fun travel first:

• Feb 2011 - Cruise to Bahamas for the weekend
• April 2011 - New York City with a friend
• May 2011 - United Mileage run to San Diego 
• May 2011 - Myrtle Beach, SC weekend
• July 2011 - 4th of July back home, St. Simon's Island
• July 2011 - Mileage run to Chicago 
• October 2011 - New York City with my girlfriend
• November/December 2011 - Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore for a month!
• December 2011 - Home for Christmas

And of course my work travel:

• Mar 2011 - New Hampshire
• April 2011 - Baltimore
• May 2011 - Boston
• June 2011 - Baltimore
• June 2011 - Detroit
• July 2011 - Boston
• August 2011 - Baltimore
• August 2011 - Boston, twice!
• September 2011 - Boston
• October 2011 - Rochester, NY
• October 2011 - Hartford, CT, twice!

Overall a good year including 2 mileage runs, 3 new countries under my belt, my first cruise, my first leisure Amtrak journey, and of course tons of miles earned and redeemed. I am looking forward to a strong 2012 starting with New Orleans in Jan and Easter Island / Mendoza in April. Happy trails!

US Trusted Traveler Program

The TSA is doing a "pilot program" that allows "trusted travelers" to use designated security lines. In these lines you do not have to remove your shoes, take out your laptop, nor take off a light jacket. I really liked the sound of this so I looked into it. This would save me time for work and personal travel!

I found out that be already being a member for the Global Entry program I am also in the trusted traveler program! All I had to do was put in my Global Entry number on Delta's site and it is done. I will be testing it out this Friday when I fly home for Christmas. I am interested to see how it all works and how quickly I can zip by all the rookie flyers!

For now it is only available for Delta and American Airlines fliers in certain airports. I really hope this becomes a permanent thing nationwide. What remains to be see is if the speed improvements will stay or will everyone join it and be roughly the same?

Link to the Program: http://www.globalentry.gov/tsa.html

Upcoming Travel: New Orleans, Easter Island!

Aside from going home for Christmas I am heading to New Orleans for a long weekend in January for my girlfriend's birthday. What an all in fare of $91 per person round trip I had to do it. It is a fun place for a weekend with plenty to do, great nightlife, and of course fantastic food. Best of all New Orleans is not an expensive place. All wins in my book.

We are also going to Easter Island and Argentinean wine country for 9 days total the first week of April. I am looking forward to a lot of big head statues, the best steak you will ever have, great wine, and some beach time. And the best part is this is all fun travel for not a lot of money!

I still have to renew my passport before we go and that is on the docket if January. It is a steep $110 to renew but at least it will get me 10 more years. I have pay an expensive visa fee for Chile that is good for the life of the passport so it pays off in the long run.

Quick Summary of my month in Asia

Asia was awesome as always. I had great food, nice beaches, and ran into some great people along the way. For the most part the weather was nice and sunny. We took over 500 pictures, rode every form of transportation available, and enjoyed business class flights to and from Asia. Very memorable!

I started off in Phuket, Thailand for my solo week. I took a few days to visit a nearby island with almost no tourism. I had great local food and did absolutely nothing but wander around, read, and relax on the beach. It was rough I assure you!

My girlfriend arrived after one of the hardest rains I have witnessed thus far in my life. A true flash flood that went away as fast as it came. I met her at the airport (at 1AM!) and we started our vacation. We spent another day in Phuket then off to Phi Phi Island (from The Beach movie). It was as great as I remembered just more built up and more expensive. Still worth it!

We headed on to Ko Lanta which was actually better than I expected. Though it is popular with tourists it is still remote enough to not be too built up. We stayed right on the beach in a nice room and had many great meals. The food in Thailand is simply excellent! Next we flew over to Ko Samui. I knew what to expect: very built up, overrun with tourists, McDonald's, etc. It wasn't too bad but it rained everyday. It was rainy season for that part of Thailand so not great. I am sure it is great other times of year.

As a result we left a day earlier than planned from Thailand. We took the overnight sleeper train down to Malaysia (a long ride!). I am glad we did because I loved Penang. The food in Penang is certainly the best I have had in Asia and will return too. It was also very affordable and we ate well for next to nothing! We did various activities each day until our flight to Singapore. I need to see more of Malaysia!

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from Singapore. Once we got settled at the hostel I was pleasantly surprised. There is not a whole lot to see but it is a nice, very clean place. The best I can describe it is a modern western city that has been jammed together with a typical Asian city. The food was just as good as Malaysia just more expensive. Singapore is a great place for a couple of days to layover or cure jet lag. Getting around is very easy and everyone speaks English. I would go again if flight routing was optimal.

This trip further solidified my love of southeast Asia. I still have lots more to see and getting a taste of Malaysia has sparked my interest to see more. They have great islands there too as well as good highlands and fun cities. Now that I know things can be very affordable there I can look at a longer trip. I need more time off of work!

Back to work! ...and jet lag

My month off in Asia was great! I saw some great beaches and ate a lot of awesome food. It was just what I wanted and expected! I had a misconnect in Hong Kong but I still made it home at a reasonable time.

I did a quick tally of what I spent on this trip and it was just north of $1020. Not bad for a month away from home. Biggest expenses were hotels and transport between places. It would have been less if I could have gone to Bangkok and Chiang Mai but the floods prevented that.

It is  now back to work and the boring grind of life at home. Bills to pay, traffic to get stuck in, and the other usual suspects. Good thing I am already researching and planning 2012 trips!

5 days to go!

I have 5 working days left before I depart for my long journey to Thailand via Frankfurt, Germany and Seoul, South Korea. This includes a day in Frankfurt and afternoon in Seoul. It will be a long haul but I am in First and Business class the entire way for roughly $50 out of pocket. Not bad!

During my stopovers I am going to the First Class Lounge in Frankfurt and then doing a free tour in Seoul and probably stop off at the airport spa for the hot tubs and a rest before flying onto Thailand. I am quite excited to be flying Lufthansa's International First Class and Asiana's business class products. They get great reviews!

I am spending this week doing all of my travel preparations and of course packing and getting supplies. Today is also Halloween so I have to participate in the fun too before I go!

I can't wait until Saturday. I am ready for the trip and for the beach most importantly!

Vacation 2012: Guatemala?

Here I am 2 months away from Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore and I am already thinking about 2012!?!

I have to plan in advance so I can get the most out of my trips. I have done some reading and heard stories about Guatemala lately and am leaning heavily in that direction for next year's extended trip. I have seen some great photos from there also.

Since I am already burning 6 days off to go to Easter Island I am considering a destination closer to home for my next extended trip. I will only have 11 work days off assuming I don't need them for something else. If I combine that with the 3-day Thanksgiving week I can make a decent trip of it!

With only roughly 2 weeks to work with I don't think the Asia jet lag will be worth it. Central America has little-to-no time difference. It is also inexpensive and has lots of interesting places. It is one part of the world I have seen little of to boot. As I write this I am further convincing myself this is a good idea!

Nothing is set in stone at this point as I will continue my research on a couple of other places then pick one from the top 3. I am planning on buying these flights as I can get complimentary upgrades on Delta and they should be a lot cheaper than going over the Pacific. It is all up in the air right now. Either way it will be fun to research and plan!

Random Story: Mark from Lexington, MA

Last night after a long day of working in Boston with no lunch break I walked over to the restaurant next to my hotel. I was too tired and hungry to look around for anything else. I had some mediocre food and a couple of beers to end the day.

When I travel alone for work I tend to go to the bar and eat dinner there. Sometimes I meet interesting people and have good conversation while enjoying a couple after work beers. Last night was one of those times and a gentleman named Mark was beside me at the bar.

Mark has things figured out for himself for the most part. He was divorced 7 years ago and has no kids. He decided to sell his antiques business. After that he sold his house and most of his belongings and packed up and headed down to the Dominican Republic. He now lives there 10 months per year.

He made enough money selling his business where he can live comfortably in the Dominican Republic and not have to work. He comes back to Boston during the summer time to visit family and friends and attend to various things. Last night was his final night in the USA before heading back. We had a good conversation about travel and life in general.

Mark has a situation that I strive to achieve. I want the financial freedom to do pretty much what he does. Replace Dominican Republic with southeast Asia and I would be happy with that arrangement. Come and go as I please and have less stress in life. Most importantly I would be out of the rat race world of America. Get me out of this hyper-consumerist nightmare!

Meeting people like Mark is what keeps me going. I feel that if he can do it so can I. It helps me to renew my focus on my goals and stay the course. My impatience works against me here. I will make this happen come hell or high water. NO ONE will get in my way.

Global Entry Approved and Complete!

This morning I had my "interview" with US Customs about the Global Entry program. It was very easy and non-formal. I can now skip the lines at customs when coming back to the USA! Not bad at all!

I left home a little late and took the train to the Atlanta airport. I went to the shorter security line only to find out I had to go to the longer security line to get a special pass to get past TSA for my interview. This was 10 minutes before my interview time and I was very concerned. I was able to get through the handicap line to skip the crowds. They told me not to worry if I am late they will process anyway.

I get past security and the airport trains between concourses were not running. I had to go all the way to concourse E (literally 1.25 miles away). I walked up to concourse A and the trains were running again. By this time I am 20 minutes late for my interview and still mildly concerned. I got off the train at E and hoofed it up to customs. Such an odd experience going through US Customs backwards.

I made it to a small office where I had to sign in and hand over my driver's license and my passport. After about 10 minutes or so we were brought an even smaller Global Entry office. We were shown (as a group of 6) how to use the kiosk and then I was first to "interview".

Based on what I read online I was expecting all sorts of questions on my previous travels (extensive!) and having to justify where I have been. I was surprised when all they did was take my photo, fingerprints, asked me 4 questions about customs violations and criminal background and I was done! They told me 24 hours later I could start using the kiosks. Awesome!

Overall the experience was very easy and I am now in the system for 5 years before I would need to renew. For those wondering: If your passport expires before then 5 year period (such as mine will) all I have to do is take my passport back to the global entry office and they will add it to the system and I will be good to go. I can't wait to try it out in JFK in December when I come back form Asia!

Ready for Asia!

I have finally narrowed some details and booked some very cheap flights to save time on my trip to Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. I am going to clock in some much needed beach time as well as some city time.

My plans are to spend my first night in Bangkok then head out to Ko Chang for some beach/island time for nearly a week. Girlfriend arrives in Bangkok late at night and I will meet her. We will spend a couple of days in the city seeing a few sights. We then head up to Ayuthaya for the day and then overnight train to Chiang Mai.

My only real plans for Chiang Mai are a day visit to an elephant reserve and possibly a cooking course. The rest of the time will be spent exploring the city, eating awesome street food, and some general chilling out with come cold beer. Always build in time to actually relax!

After an overnight train back down to Bangkok we fly to Phuket to catch the ferry to Ko Phi Phi which is one of the best beaches I have seen. Period. A few days there then on to Ko Lanta for a few more days on another island. We then have a day of overland travel down to Penang, Malaysia where we will spend a few days seeing the sights and eating all of the awesome food that is available there.

Finally we fly down to Singapore for a couple of nights before heading back home on December 3rd. I have no real plans for Singapore yet and am going to let the girlfriend figure that part of the trip out. I am curious to see what she comes up with! I am ready for this vacation and can definitely feel the burn out setting in a bit form work.

Global Entry: Approved!

Just got an email saying that I am approved and can go for my interview. I was expecting it to take a few weeks but it came through fast!

I am excited as I can skip the immigration lines when coming back from my vacations abroad. Nothing is worse to me than coming off of 24+ hours of flying and having to stand in a long line. It ended up costing me $0 thanks to my Platinum AMEX.