Showing posts with label airport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label airport. Show all posts
Friday, August 31, 2012
A Passport Encounter Makes My Day
My flight from Münich landed in Philadelphia about noon yesterday, en route to Phoenix. I had started my journey home early in the morning (waking at 5:45am, Germany Time) and I had been awake most of the flight, though I did take a couple of short naps. After sitting for many hours on a plane, I typically enjoy taking an invigorating brisk (i.e., fast) walk from the plane to wherever I need to go, often skipping the automated walkways completely because they are too slow.
First stop yesterday, after the restroom, was the passport immigration check. There was a pretty long line which was filtered into many shorter lines of eight or so people each. When I was about in the middle of the shorter line, I noticed the person who was with the immigration agent in front of me. He was there with his wife, who was holding a baby, and the look on his face and his body language was one of total disgust at having to be put through the passport check process. His wife also had a frown on her face, though she did not have the totally negative body language that the guy had.
When they left the agent shook his head and raised his hand as if to give the guy the finger, though he did not actually do that. For some reason, I thought to myself that I should try and get him to smile when I got up there. It is unfortunate that people who are just trying to do their job have to put up with the bad moods of others. The next two people in front of me, however, did not smile at all, though they were not grumpy like that one guy was. That then made me think that, well, maybe I wont be able to make him smile after all, and I mostly forgot about trying to do that.
It was now my turn. The agent asked me where I had been, how long I was gone and what I had been doing. I told him I was in Germany for about 10 days to attend a conference and visit some relatives. He then asked me what I did, and I told him I was a professor at Northern Arizona University, after which he asked me what I taught. I told him geography -- that is when things changed. He said he has come to like geography since he started his current job. I said that our students are typically a bit older than some other majors, because they usually discover geography later. He laughed and said that he was too old to go back to school. I wasn't trying to recruit him, but I laughed as well.
And after I left him I thought to myself, wow, that was pretty amazing. I hope the rest of his day went well, because that encounter sure made my day. It really is those small and unexpected encounters that are the most memorable when we travel.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Travel Tip: AirAsia's Row 4
Warning: This is not for the superstitious! During my semester in Malaysia, I have flown on AirAsia maybe a dozen times now. AirAsia is the most successful discount airline in the world, and is a great money saver. And, I have found an *almost* guaranteed way to get a full row of seats to yourself on an AriAsia flight. First, you have to pay a little extra for a "Hot Seat". These are the first five rows and the two exit rows of most AirAisia planes. They have a little more leg room (I think) and you get to board and unboard before everyone else. Next, select Row 4.
The word "four" is considered unlucky by Chinese, for whom it is a homonym of the word for "death". Thus, most buildings in East and Southeast Asia do not have a 4th floor. They either call it 3A or just skip it altogether. I saw one hotel recently in Hong Kong that skipped both the 4th and 13th floors.
I accidentally stumbled on AirAsia's 4th row on a flight about a couple of months ago. I was on a packed AirAsia plane on which almost all of the Hot Seats were taken (which is extremely rare -- perhaps caused by a canceled flight?) and I was in the 4th row, which I had selected not remembering the Chinese superstition at the time. I had the whole row to myself, allowing me to lean against the window and put my legs up on the seats next to me.
No, I am not superstitious when it comes to numbers. My lucky number has always been 13, and I have never had an unlucky number. While I generally avoid 4 and favored 8, due to my Chinese background, it is not something that I have strong feelings about. In fact, I think bad luck numbers are really silly.
I suspect that this 4th row tip may apply to most all airlines in East and Southeast Asia (and especially in China). So, if you are comfortable with the number 4, like me, take advantage of this more comfortable upgrade before everyone else figures it out!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Travelography #103: Prostitutes and Pilgrims
Use the players on this page, or click the title above to listen to this podcast.Links to today's stories:
Well, at least I put a tech story between the Amsterdam's brothels and the Vatican...
Amsterdam to clean up famed red light district
Denver Airport offers 802.11n Wi-Fi for free
- Higher fares don't deter holiday fliers
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Travelography #77: Worlds Best/Worst Tourists + Top of the World Destination
Use the players on this page, or click the title above to listen to this podcast.Japanese tourists were ranked the best, but who was the worst? Record numbers of people are climbing Mt. Everest this year. An American tourist streaks nude through Nuremburg, and is caught with lame excuse. Madrid Spain Airport holds its biannual Lost and Found Auction.
NEW: Chris Christensen of the Amateur Traveler podcast sent me links to two US-based airport auctions. These are a bit dated, but it is my guess that these happen all the time, for those who are in the know:
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