Hotel options I could get down wit'

My parents are coming through San Francisco next month and, as a good son, I'm doing a little research for them on where they should stay here in the city. They've made several pilgrimages to SF over the years, and have been guests at a wide variety of places, including various Holiday Inns on one end and smaller European-style bed and breakfast's like the Red Vic and the Hayes Valley Inn on the other. (I try to steer them towards some of the local flavor contained in the latter choices.)

They've enjoyed all these places, even with their quirks (or perhaps because of them); who doesn't get a kick out of the many young mid-western punk panhandlers in the Upper Haight? That said, my mom requested recommendations for something more, um, familiar (and with an elevator) this time around; so in that vein, I've been looking at straight-up, modern, city hotels.. while still trying to given them a unique SF experience.

In the course of the research, I came across an article on "The Coolest Hotel Designs in California", as chosen by California Home + Design magazine. In fact, a couple of the hotels I was looking at for my parents are actually on this top-10 list: Good Hotel and Hotel Frank; and rooms in either can be had for about $100. Cool stuff.

Here's the full tenner:

1. Good Hotel in San Francisco
2. Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles
3. Custom Hotel in Los Angeles
4. Hotel Frank in San Francisco
5. Viceroy in Palm Springs
6. Ivy Hotel in San Diego
7. Thompson Beverly Hills in Beverly Hills
8. The Standard Hotel in Los Angeles
9. The Parker Palm Springs in Palm Springs
10. Hotel Tomo in San Francisco

Yeah, so given that this list covers the whole of California, it's got *my* imagination going to maybe do some hotel-exploration myself (with at least one other partner-in-crime, natch); and the ones down in Palm Springs are especially appealing to me. You see, I could always -- always -- use a nice cocktail-by-the-pool after a few days of hard climbing and camping in nearby Joshua Tree National Park. haha. And beyond the two hotels mentioned above, a commenter on the original article says to check out the Ace Hotel as well.. and from their website, I think that's another solid option I could get down wit'.

To the desert! In style!

A gentle enticement back towards Moscow

While their new bag policy is getting all the press this week, American Airlines just sent out the word today that they are starting service from several US cities into Moscow on June 2, 2008. And as an introductory gesture, they are hooking up the adventurous traveler with 10,000 bonus miles and 25% percent off "normal" round-trip fares, which translates to something like $467 from NYC and $582 from SF ("Additional restrictions, taxes and fees apply", natch).

Check the website for the details, but "tickets must be purchased 7 days prior to departure or within 3 days of making reservations, whichever comes first, but no later than 11:59 p.m. (CT) June 20, 2008", "sale fares are valid for outbound travel June 2 through September 4, 2008.", and "all travel must be complete by March 4, 2009."

As I've mentioned before - probably en vivo - I wanted to head back to Russia and/or its neighbors early this coming Fall. But, now, with me doing a bunch of climbing lately (and getting a little taste of it outdoors), I've had my sights reset on more local destinations, including those in Utah, Colorado and California.

That said, it's hard to totally ignore this fare sale.. and it comes just when I received an offer yesterday to meet a friend in Japan - he's going to be there working at a museum for a few weeks in August. (In fact, one of my envisioned Russian adventures had me in Eastern Russia - maybe around Lake Baikal (Байкал) or Kamchatka (Камчатка) - then meeting our other friends *living* in Japan, on the way home).

We'll see; I need to think more about this; anyone interested?

Implications of my grammatical construction

As I alluded to in a previous post, my work was sending me to Beijing to present a few days of training to our colleagues in Asia; some of my US-based coworkers and I have been developing a ton of new material over the past couple of quarters. In fact, I was supposed to leave tomorrow!

And as the grammatical construction of the above sentences is implying - "was" this, and "was" that - my trip, as of this morning, is canceled. Really, what the f'?!

It's funny, I've been so blasé about the prospect of this Asian junket, even as I bought the plane tickets (about a month ago), been visiting the Chinese Consulate here in San Francisco, and doing final preparations with the training material. I think this odd attitude was a result of the combination of things being so well for me here at home - climbing and cycling, meeting new people and rockin' mad concerts, etc. - and the fact that China has never really been high on my travel radar for some reason. Well, at least, I haven't been interested in the major east coast cities of China, like Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou; however, I do have some passing interest in some of the "wild west", like hiking in the Tien Shan mountains or taking photographs of the oilfields around Korla. But those latter musings are not really here, nor there (for now).

In any case, the short version is that I've been, of course, ready to go from a personal and professional standpoint, but not really "excited" about going. But it still feels weird (i.e. not cool) to have the official word that I *can't* go. You see, after a month of efforts, I couldn't get a Chinese visa in time for the trip.

I'm not interested in laying out the entire timeline of snafus, but suffice to say that it's rooted in mad bureaucracy and unfortunate coincidences. In fact, as of yesterday, I finally have all the necessary paperwork (err, well, I think I do - they changed the rules on me for business visas mid-process the other week), but the Chinese visa office is closed until Monday for a Chinese holiday. Go figure.

Yeah, so, if everything went perfect at the Consulate, I *could* - theoretically, anyway - get 1-day turnaround on my visa application and be in Beijing 5:20AM Wednesday morning.. which *is* in time for 3 solid days of work (vs. the originally-planned 5), but my manager deemed this alternative too much of a risk, given my trackrecord with the Consulate thus far. Instead, my other coworker on the trip (there were two of us) is going to do all the training by herself.. yikes!, for her; it'll be pretty stressful.

It's fine that it worked out this way, of course, but too bad; it's been a (medium/minor) bummer on my morning. For now, maybe I can shake off the bad taste in my mouth from this experience, read up a little more about the country, and make my way over there one of these days, for work or otherwise. In the meantime, I'll have to find my Gold Tips closer to home.

New pages for my wonderful little book

Man, my passport looks a mess.

I picked it up this afternoon from the US Passport Agency here in San Francisco; I needed to get new pages added in order to get a Chinese visa for an upcoming work trip. Crazy fast turnaround: I dropped it off this morning (along with an $60 expedite fee, which I'm *ahem* putting on my expense report).

The passport folks threaded in 24 fancy new pages in the middle of my passport book - which is all well and good - but they totally don't match: these high tech sheets are new and crisp, for one (my passport has taken a lot of abuse over the years and the condition of the old pages tell that story well), and two, they are of a slightly different size than the old passport pages (slightly taller, and narrower), so they peak out the top a little as if to explicitly proclaim their superiority.

And you know what, they actually *are* a bit superior to the old-style pages. Each two-page spread is a little advertisement for classic American iconography, eagles lording over rugged mountains (bison too), cowboys running longhorn cattle ragged, and all. The limited use of color and anti-copy protection patterns put a less-than-subtle haze between the action and the viewer, making these (potentially) syrupy scenes palatable. In other words, I find the American icons' delivery somewhat subversive via the medium, even if that wasn't the intent (of course it *wasn't* the intent!). And so I say: kudos to the passport people! haha.

Beyond the pics, the new pages display some patriotic quotes; luckily, most have meaning beyond a strict patriotic interpretation. And, so, I'm sure I'll find myself meditating on the meaning of lines such of these, next time I'm traveling out of country (and sans other reading materials):

"Democracy is based on the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people." -- Harry Emerson Fosdick

And,

"We live in a world that is lit by lightening. So much is changing and will change, but so much endures and transcends time." -- Ronald Reagan

In any case, yeah, it's nice to look through the ol' passport every once in awhile; each stamp - or even just the feel of the well-worn cover - sparks the memory, trips both (insanely) lovely and (insanely) mundane rotate again to the conscious surface (where else can I remember?). And I smile.

What a wonderful little book (looks aren't everything); I'm glad we'll be together awhile longer..

Submit yourself to a broken logic

I've taken my fair share of flights over the years - mostly in the US, but also in Europe and western/central Asia (think: Russia and its friends) - and even though I've never been the most comfortable on a planes in general, I've gotten on every single flight I've scheduled for myself, regardless of the weather, the airline, or any other "environmental" factor. But a Practical Traveler article in the NYTimes today got me thinking that maybe I should be paying more attention:

Does Low Cost Mean High Risk?
By Joshua Kurlantzick
Published: December 23, 2007

It explains the explosive growth of the low-cost airline industry in Asia, and how it's been a boon to business and the burgeoning middle class.. but it draws particular attention to the somewhat-shoddy safety record that has developed recently. It seems regulators can't keep up with the need for oversight, given that cutting corners is the (stereotypical) hallmark of emerging Asian ventures; initial capital is low, pilots can be under-experienced, equipment can be poorly maintained.. in fact, planes have been known to disappear, um, while in-flight. Quotes like this abound: "Currently, the European Union bans every Indonesian carrier." Of course, problems are not limited to Asia, but it certainly gets it's fair share of press coverage, given its emergence as a powerful economic force over the past decade or so.

It's funny, I read this just as I've never been more comfortable with the whole process of flying, enhanced security and all. That is, I literally go into a Zen-like frame of mind even as I'm heading to the airport, which continues until I've arrived at my final destination (even without, ahem, jokester friends hooking me up with large doses of anti-anxiety medication - as has been known to happen). Long lines?; whatever. Need extra screening?; whatever. Missed flight; whatever. Crying babies on the plane? whatever. Obviously I don't prefer these things, but for the most part they don't bother me anymore; they are all automatically filed under the "things I can't control" folder in my brain.

In any case, I'll keep the information in the article in the back of my mind next time I fly on an airline I'm not familiar with, especially if it's in Asia. But still, I see myself following my usual plans of "choose whatever flight makes the most sense from a timing+cost point of view" and not from a safety point of view. Does that sound stupid, given some of the statistics that the article drops on us? I think not, given that the real chance of an air catastrophe happening is still much less than that of an automobile accident.

Plus, when I travel, my "when in Rome" instinct kicks up a notch or two, riding packed local buses, front seating it in taxis sans-seatbelt, and so forth. I'll admit, part of that is a desire for a subconscious thrill, via total submission to fate. And somehow it seems to me - especially when I'm out of the country - that I've escaped from the trappings of "real life"; how can anything bad *really* happen when I'm on holiday? Of course, that's just my mind playing tricks on me, but, given that fact that nothing bad has happened so far, them's is sweet tricks indeed. How's that for broken logic? Knock on wood, for sure and forever; knock on wood..