| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 |
At Stake: The greatest threat to world stability in history.
The Story: One man's journey of profound personal transformation in the midst of extreme international crisis.
The Title: The Lazarus Covenant
BREATHE PressPublisher of The Lazarus Covenant
Publication Date: March 2009
488 pp. 6 x 9
ISBN: 978-0-9822379-0-8
Hardcover
$24.95PRE-ORDERS ACCEPTED NOW!
Get Your Copy of THE LAZARUS COVENANT First!
The Book in One Sentence:
An interesting article for those who travel--frequently or not...
From the Page:
"Our experience with airlines has shown us that they update available seats around 12 a.m. Eastern time every day," said Assen Vassilev, who is also the company's CEO.
He added that weekend specials are usually released Thursday night. So, Vassilev said, late Thursday night is a good time to check for the best deals.
This article by Forbes' Lauren Streib came out on June 5th, and provides some great insights on how you can increase your chances for a free upgrade to First or Business Class...
What makes a first-class seat so covetable?
Well, for starters, your dollar (depending on when and where you are flying, these seats may set you back as much as $10,000) gets you expedited check-in, a wider seat, more legroom, use of power ports and individualized service. Some domestic carriers offer access to private airport clubs, seats that extend almost 7 feet and dining on fine china in their first-class seats.
On international carriers, "the list [of amenities] is pretty much endless," says Susan Daimler, vice president of marketing for SeatGuru.com, a Web site that allows users to compare seats by airline and plane type. On Virgin Atlantic Airlines, for example, first-class ticket holders are offered complimentary limo rides to and from the airport, full flat beds, on-board massages and access to an onboard bar.
Business-Class Boom
Some travelers are happy to pay up. Others? They prefer to score their seats in more wily ways.
Seat Secrets
The most basic and effective way to weasel into a first-class seat is to be a member of an airline's frequent flier program.
Sign up for one and the airline will match each trip you take in miles or points. These can be used to purchase upgrades. What's more, regular travelers can qualify for elite status based on annual mile accumulation--or by flying a certain number of times or a certain number of segments during a calendar year--and receive free, automatic upgrades on flights. Other perks include priority boarding and access to airport lounges.
Elite status, says Morgan Durrant, spokesman for US Airways, "will always give you more muscle to upgrade."
Beyond miles, it's best to plan your flight when and where it's likely to be less crowded to avoid the potential competition for an upgrade. An early-morning flight to and from a major city will probably be packed with business travelers who fly a lot, so they'll have lots of miles and preferred status with an airline. A better time to fly would be in the early afternoon and late evening.
Sleuthing 101
A little investigative work doesn't hurt either.
When booking, pay attention to the fine print. Certain classes of coach fares, which are usually indicated by a letter, are not eligible for upgrades. The airlines' Web sites outline the stipulations, and customer service can answer pre-booking questions.
Before using every last trick to get bumped into first class, know you could be sitting just as well with a coach-class ticket. The quality of seats and service on different airlines, even when using the same type of planes, is vastly different. A coach fare on JetBlue is just as roomy as a first-class seat on America West, but on JetBlue a traveler also gets a personal LCD television screen with DirecTV, according to a search on SeatGuru.com.
"Some airlines offer a class of service that is a lot like first class, but it's a lot cheaper," says Michele Perry, director of communications for TripAdvisor.com.
Premium Placement
Another option, while not as expensive as first class, is envoy or business class. These fares usually have more room, better entertainment capabilities and power ports in all the seats to accommodate business travelers.
When booking a first- or business-class ticket is imperative, better deals are often reached using a travel agent with the right connections and experience. In the event of a weather cancellation, agents will "know exactly how to reprotect [clients] and get them out in a much quicker fashion than the airlines can," says Joseph Leifer, CEO of Traveler's Choice, a New York City-based travel agency. "That alone has some added value."
Join The Club
Sign up for an airline's frequent flier program, and you will earn points or miles each time you fly. These can be redeemed for upgrades (most airlines charge between 5,000 or 10,000 reward miles for an upgrade) or tickets. Note, though, that airlines treat reward miles much like they do actual money; during peak travel hours and around vacation periods, the prices for travel using reward miles go up, and the chance of scoring an upgrade with miles goes down.
Fly Frequently
It's a simple equation: Fly more, get more. Many programs allow frequent fliers to earn preferred status that can mean automatic upgrades or the ability to purchase upgrades earlier than other passengers on an upcoming flight. Some airlines have levels of preferred status. This means the members with the highest status are able to purchase upgrades before any other members.
Resist Outright Bargains The class of ticket you buy often determines the likelihood of an upgrade. Travelers who buy full-fare coach seats have a better chance at getting into first class than those who choose discounted seats, which often aren't upgradeable. It's easiest to find and reserve full fares by talking with a telephone agent directly or using an airline's online booking system where classes of fares are clearly marked.
Pick An Alternate Route
Interested in an upgrade? It's best to choose a less-crowded flight. An early-morning journey to and from a major city will probably be packed with business travelers who fly a lot, so they'll have lots of miles and preferred status with an airline. A better time to fly would be in the early afternoon and late evening.
Do The Research
A first-class seat along the same route and even in the same type of aircraft varies greatly from airline to airline. America West's first-class seat has just as much legroom as a JetBlue coach-class seat on the same type of aircraft, for example. But a little investigation at sites like www.seatguru.com, which allows users to view and compare different airlines' seat accommodations, will ensure that even if you don't score the seat promotion, you'll be confident of your comfort.
Be Nice
Even if the days of flirting or haggling the gate agent for the better seat may be long gone, courtesy will always make you appear in a better light. According to Morgan Durrant of US Airways, gate agents "do have a fair amount of autonomy." If an agent has to choose between a polite platinum frequent flier and a rude platinum member for an upgraded seat, chances are good that the premier seat will go to the nicer guy or gal.
And here's another tip from SmarterTravel.com: Buy full-fare economy tickets
You can also get upgraded for free if you are willing to pay for the most expensive coach tickets. US Airways offers GoFirst fares, which are full-fare economy tickets that receive automatic upgrades to first-class on a space-available basis. America West also offers fully refundable fares in economy class Y that include free upgrades. Several other airlines have similar policies, but the upgrades are limited to elite flyers.
Full-fare economy tickets can be significantly pricier than deeply discounted economy and sale fares. However, they are cheaper than buying a first-class ticket, and in that way they can be handy for travelers who want upper class at a lower cost.
Mon Feb 19, 7:32 AM ET
Author Stephanie Elizondo Griest hit the literary scene in 2004 with her critically acclaimed coming-of-age travel memoir, Around the Bloc: My Life in Moscow, Beijing, and Havana. Her newest book, 100 Places Every Woman Should Go, is a fresh and insightful look at destinations for the female journey.
Yahoo asked Griest to share some of her travel recommendations. Here are eight of her favorite picks for women wanderers:
1. For inspiration and enlightenment: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Goddesses reign supreme in Hawaii, and the most venerated is Pele, who presides over the volcanoes. Legend has it she secretly envies Poliahu, goddess of the snow, and the two quarrel often — especially over menfolk. Poliahu usually wins, causing Pele to erupt in fury, and Poliahu gets stuck cleaning the mess with her ice afterward. (Indeed, traces of lava have been found seeping through glacial ice caps at various epochs in Hawaiian geological history.) Even when Pele triumphs, she soon tires of her lovers and sends them racing down the mountain, trailed by her hot, molten lava. To see her in action, head to the Big Island. Lounge upon the white-sand beaches at Kona Coast and the black-sand beaches at Puna district, then soak in thermal pools set in lava rock at Ahalanui Beach Park. Pele dwells in the Halema'uma'u Crater Overlook of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Devotees leave her offerings of flowers, gin, and ohelo berries. Then pay homage to Poliahu atop Mauna Kea, the world's tallest mountain (when measured base to peak). Linger til sunset to see why Hawaiians consider their homeland to be Earth's connecting point to the universe.
2. For indulgence: Lingerie shopping in Paris
Every woman should have at least one fabulous piece of lingerie tucked inside her drawers — even if there's no one around to show it to. Slipping on a chiffon babydoll and dimming the lights is, after all, the best way to turn a lonely TV dinner into a romantic dinner-for-one. To spice up your collection, fly to Paris, where they claim to have invented it. Herminie Cadolle went down in fashion history for "freeing" women by slicing the stifling corset in two in 1889, thus creating the world's first bra. Even today, her Parisian boutiques — currently run by her great-great-granddaughter — remain among the finest places to buy one. Cadolle specialties include Victorian corsets, bodices, and a broad collection of hand-sewn brassieres, but to truly indulge, make an appointment for a satiny, made-to-measure something at 255 rue Saint-Honoré (Metro: Concorde or Tuilleries). For her ready-to-wear collection, visit 4 rue Cambon.
3. For purification and beautification: The banyas of Moscow and St. Petersburg
The Russian banya is a Slavic Eden: a steamy, womb-like place that will tack years onto your life. According to folklore, these baths are haunted by mischievous spirits that bewitch clothing worn inside, so strip down all the way. (Most of the baths are gender-segregated.) Rinse off in the shower and enter the steam room, where scores of women will be massaging salt into each other's pores, swapping beauty secrets, and gossiping. Grab a branch of birch leaves and slap it against your body. Roast. When the heat becomes unbearable, proceed to the pool room and jump in immediately. (Some are kept as frigid as 42 degrees; stick a toe in first and you'll lose your nerve.) Get out before hypothermia kicks in and return to the steam room. Repeat as many times as possible: your skin will glow afterward! In Moscow, visit Krasnopresnensky on Stolyarny Pereulok 7, near the Ulitsa 1905 Goda Metro. In St. Petersburg, try Mitninskaya Banya at Ulitsa Mitninskaya 17/19 near the Metro Ploshad' Vosstaniya.
4. To celebrate powerful women and their places in history: Frida Kahlo's Mexico
Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is one of history's grand divas. A tequila-slamming, dirty joke-telling smoker, she hobbled about her bohemian barrio in lavish indigenous dress and threw dinner parties for the likes of Leon Trotsky, poet Pablo Neruda, Nelson Rockefeller, and her on-again, off-again husband, muralist Diego Rivera. Half a century after her death, her work fetches more money than any other female artist's (Madonna is said to be an avid collector), and she was the first Latina ever featured on a U. S. postage stamp. Visiting her cobalt blue home in Coyoacan is like stepping inside one of her fantastical paintings. The walls are awash with color and mosaics; a Day of the Dead altar yields pastries, flowers, candles, and papier mâché skeletons; the courtyard blooms with tropical flowers and cactus. Her personal effects are displayed throughout the house, including her pre-Hispanic jewelry, sketchbook diaries, love letters, artwork, and corset-like body cast. (Stricken with polio as a child, she shattered her spine in a bus accident at age eighteen.) Frida t-shirts, computer mousepads, and coffee cups are sold in the gift shop, and you can sip a café con leche in the tranquil café. La Casa Azul is located on Londres 247 and accessible by the Coyoacan Viveros Metro Station in Mexico City.
5. To celebrate struggle and renewal: Arts and voodoo festivals in Benin
Traveling in West Africa is empowering for women — precisely because it is challenging. You must utilize every available resource to make it through the day, and when you finally find that market or village you are seeking, it is like unearthing rubies. The warmth and hospitality of its people make Benin especially welcoming. Upon arrival to any town, visit the mayor's office and ask for the local women's group. A guide will likely take you to the local crafts cooperative, where you can buy directly from the artisans. Also explore the world of voodoo, a belief that natural forces like rain and wind have spiritual forces behind them. Practitioners build shrines out of small mounds of earth and offer their gods alcohol, flowers, food, and the blood of animals sacrificed in their honor. On National Voodoo Day — January 10 — partake in dancing fueled by copious amounts of sodabe (a local palm liquor) at the vibrant festivals in Ouidah. Look out for the Mami Wata worshippers, who dress in all white. Mostly women, they are considered very powerful and are often feared.
6. For womanly affirmation: Belly dancing in San Francisco, New York, or Austin
Belly dancing dates back to pre-Biblical times, when it was performed as a fertility-cult ritual. In ancient Arab tribes, midwives assisted women in labor by dancing around them, rolling their stomachs to imitate the contraction of the uterus. It was also performed as entertainment throughout the Orient by and for women who stayed home while their husbands were out. Not only a great physical workout, modern belly dancing will get you in touch with your earthy self. Communities can be found in every corner of the United States. San Francisco is home to Fat Chance Belly Dance, a renowned tribal dance troupe. Take a class at their studio at 670 South Van Ness Avenue. In New York City, look up legendary teacher Morocco of the Casbah Dance Experience, or Sarah Johansson Locke of Alchemy Performance. Austin, Texas is the place to be on full moons, when Lucila Dance Productions hosts Haflas, gatherings of dancers and drummers who snack on grape leaves as they dance barefoot beneath the stars. Down some wine if you feel inhibited: it's the best hip lubricant around!
7. For all-around wonder: Mongolia
Mongolia. The word might conjure desolation, but this "last frontier" is actually steeped in ritual and tradition and surrounded by stark, natural beauty. Come to race a pony (or yak or camel) across a grassland speckled with wildflowers, to meditate in hidden Tibetan Lamaist temples, to bask in the legacy of Mandhai-Setsen, the Wise Queen who re-unified her turbulent nation by leading her troops into battle in the fifteenth century.
In the countryside, hospitable families will welcome you to their ger (wood-framed tent) with a small bowl of vodka (if you're lucky) or a potent brew of fermented mare's milk called airag (if you're not). Drink every drop and hold the bowl upside down over your head to prove it. Then explore the surrounding area on horseback, which could mean Sherwood-like forests, Ghobi desert, or tundra. The best month to visit Mongolia is July — not just for the sunny weather, but for Naadam, a three-day, Olympic-style festival celebrated throughout the nation. The wrestling division features 300-pound wrestlers clad only in boots, briefs, and sleeves who clutch each other for hours (and hours) until their strength wears out and they knock each other over. Like sumo, but sexier.
8. Just for the fun of it: The Bahamian island of Eleuthera
Nearly every sea culture has tales of lovely maidens who propel through the ocean with fish-like tails. A few believe mermaids help steer ships from harm's way, but most claim they are seductresses who, like the Sirens of myth, lure sailors into the water with their songs and then sink their ships. One place where mermaids are thought to be alive and well is the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. Locals say that if you rise early enough, you can sometimes catch them washing their golden locks on the rocks of Whale Point, an old swimming hole. Bahamian children believe that their parents have seen this, and they will too someday. If your own sunrise outing is in vain, become one yourself: there is little to do here but splash in the water. Eleuthera's beaches (in particular, Harbour Island) have crystalline waters filled with colorful reefs, eagle rays, octopus, and dolphins. Whales migrate through annually. Then pass the night at Elbina's in Gregory Town, where locals gather to sing along to live Southern Caribbean music. Ask the old-timers about their own mermaid encounters; you'll hear some great stories.
Stephanie Elizondo Griest's 100 Places Every Woman Should Go (Travelers' Tales, $16.95) debuts in bookstores this month.
This post, from BestLife Magazine...
By: Peter Greenberg
Feb 21, 2007 - 5:01:29 PM
Once upon a time, air travel was a glamorous adventure. Now, it's more of a calamitous misadventure. Here's how to get from place to place without feeling like part of a cattle drive
So a whole group of weary travelers picked up their carry-ons and moved over to the new gate. And waited. An hour later, a second plane landed and taxied in. Passengers got off. It would only be a short time, we were told, before we boarded and headed to Hong Kong. We waited. And waited. And then, materializing out of a doorway, came the same shy and embarrassed airline employee.
"Very sorry," she said, "but this plane is more sick than the other plane...so...we will take the first plane!" And, like dutiful (and dumb) sheep, and without even questioning the agent as to how sick any of the carrier's planes were, we all marched quietly back to the first malfunctioning plane, boarded, and somehow made it to Hong Kong.
A few days later, I found myself on an Aeroflot flight to Moscow. The flight was not only oversold but also overcrowded. And not just by passengers, but by what seemed like hundreds of oversize horseflies. We actually roared down the runway with a standing-room-only crowd of 12 people in the aisle, desperately holding on to the sides of passengers' seats as we became airborne.
And the flies? No problem. The flight attendants apparently were used to this problem on Aeroflot, and, without even cracking a smile, walked down the aisle handing out...flyswatters! Talk about in-flight entertainment.
When it comes to airplane horror stories, I have more than my fair share. I travel nearly 400,000 miles a year, and I've seen just about everything that can go wrong when you fly. I've experienced three emergency landings. My flights have been hit by lightning five times, once so severely that it burned a grapefruit-size hole in the plane's tail. I've been on aircraft that have lost engines and other parts of the plane in midair.
And once, my flight landed safely only to be broadsided on the ground...by a catering truck. I've been laid over in London, delayed in Des Moines, marooned in Khartoum, and stuck -- more than I care to remember -- in 35E. But I've lived to tell the stories and learned a lot along the way. So this holiday season, don't put yourself blindly in the hands of the airlines, hotel chains, and car-rental companies.
Use these 21 rules of stress-free travel, and seize back a little control. You'll reduce the stress and the strain on both your mind and your wallet.
TALK TO A HUMAN
Your new travel mantra for 2007: human being. While it may seem cheaper and easier to book your flight on the Internet, remember that many Web sites pose as informational when they are, in fact, transactional -- trying to push the sale. I'm not saying not to use the Internet; I'm just saying not to book your flight there first. Instead, quickly go online and find out which airlines service the route you want to take, then type in gethuman.com, which will tell you how to maneuver quickly through the customer-service tree of your chosen airlines. Now, pick up the phone.
START WITH THE PRICE
Let's say you're calling to make a reservation for a flight from Chicago to San Francisco. The first question the agent will ask you seems reasonable enough: "When do you want to travel?"
Don't answer that question. Instead, respond with a question: "Before I answer that, can you just go to your screen and punch up all the published fares on the Chicago to San Francisco route?" This will take the agent about four seconds. "Now," you say next, "scroll to the bottom of the list. What's that fare?" (Since no airline wants to promote their cheapest flights, the lowest fares are buried at the bottom of the screen.) Work your way up that list, finding the best fare for you with restrictions you can live with. Then, and only after you get the lowest rate possible, go to the Internet and see if you can find a deal that beats what you have.
Remember, once you make an airline reservation, you have 24 hours in which to book it. During that 24-hour window, you can go to the Web and see if you can beat that human-being deal. Be sure to check out farecast.com, a new site that actually predicts airfare prices on routes at the 55 busiest airports in the U.S. It's a good guide.
Also check out farecompare.com and my new favorite site, airfarewatchdog.com, which constantly searches travel databases for little-known, sometimes hidden, fare deals. For last-minute deals, check out site59.com, which does an excellent job of unloading unsold inventory.
RESEARCH YOUR FLIGHT
Each month, the U.S. Department of Transportation publishes a list of flights with the worst on-time records in America -- by route, airline, and flight number. In one listing, USAir flight 1619 between Philadelphia and Atlanta was reported late 100 percent of the time. And there are dozens more that are late more than 95 percent of the time. You can also get real-time information at flightstats.com. It lists how often a flight is canceled, diverted, or late.
STAY FLEXIBLE
If all the flights to your destination city are booked, think alternate airports (Providence instead of Boston, Oakland instead of San Francisco, Milwaukee instead of Chicago, to mention just a few) or routings that get you to Hawaii, for example, through Denver, Phoenix, or Las Vegas. You'll almost always save money and in many cases have less stress (and fewer delays) because you'll avoid the giant airports. For example, Midway has fewer delays than O'Hare, and Long Beach has a better record than LAX.
NEVER CALL TOLL-FREE NUMBERS
The same thing applies to making a reservation for a hotel room. Never call the 800 toll-free number to find a hotel room from a large chain. You'll only be connected to a third-party clearinghouse with a mandate to sell rooms at a designated price -- no room to negotiate. Instead, call the hotel directly.
But don't ask for reservations -- they'll just reroute you back to that 800 number. Instead, ask to speak to the manager on duty or the director of sales. They are the best arbiters of their room inventory. If the Schmidlap wedding party canceled last night and they suddenly have 60 rooms to sell, that 800 number (or the chain's Web site) may not have that information.
You're now in the best negotiating position. And an even better reason to talk to a human being at the hotel: You've established a relationship. Look for that person when you check in and you stand a much better chance for an upgrade.
CALL DURING FOOTBALL
Always try to call a hotel at 4 p.m. on a Sunday to make your reservation. Why? That's the one day each week that hotel revenue managers -- the folks who set and control room rates -- aren't working. You're in a better position to negotiate, since the hotel knows that an unsold room is revenue they'll never recoup once the sun rises.
DON'T BE BLINDED BY STARS AND DIAMONDS
Forget hotel ratings systems. In many destinations, stars are a government designation for how much the hotel is charging, not a reflection of quality. It just means you're paying more for your room. Stars and diamond awards are great for hotel-employee morale and are used by hotels to justify charging a higher rate, but how does that benefit you? It doesn't.
MAIL YOUR LUGGAGE
There are essentially two types of luggage: carry-on and lost. That's why I haven't checked a bag on a domestic flight in eight years. If I need to tote more than I can carry on, I simply ship my bags ahead to the hotel. I use FedEx, but there are more than 17 other private courier companies that perform the same door-to-door, room-to-room service.
In addition to DHL and UPS, check out luggageconcierge.com, luggagefree.com, and virtualbellhop.com.
I save an average of two hours of my life every time I fly by not checking bags. I don't have to schlep, I don't have to stand in line at the airline counter, I don't have to stand in line at the TSA, and then, when I land, I don't have to stand in that refugee circle around the baggage carousel, hoping against hope that my bags were actually on the same flight I was. Where are my bags? In my hotel room. How cool is that? How much does it cost? As little as $40 per bag. But the real question -- and a rhetorical one at that -- is, how much is it worth?
Because of issues with customs, it's not always a good idea to send your bags ahead when you are traveling internationally. In cases like that, if you must check your bags, practice some basic common sense: Always put an identification tag on the outside of each bag (but list only your name and cell-phone contact number), and do the same on the inside of each bag. Airline baggage conveyor belts can devour ID tags, but this way, if your outside tag gets ripped off, someone from the airline can still reach you.
IGNORE DEPARTURE TIMES
If you call the airline and ask if your flight is on time, you'll be sorry. More often than not, the airline agent will interpret your question to mean, "Is the flight scheduled to leave on time?" That's meaningless. Instead, ask to be given the tail number of the aircraft assigned to your flight, and then ask where that aircraft is. If you're scheduled to fly from Boston to Atlanta in two hours, but the aircraft assigned to your flight is still in Belize, well, now you know you're not leaving on time before you ever leave your house or office.
GO WHERE YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO GO
Since you won't have any bags to check, follow my advice and save even more time and aggravation. If you have an early-morning flight from a dual-level airport, don't have your car drop you off at departures -- it will be jammed with vehicles and people -- but at the empty downstairs arrivals area. Who is arriving at 6:30 in the morning? No one. No traffic, no lines. Get out of your taxi and just take the escalator upstairs and through security to your gate. And when you land, there's absolutely no reason to go to arrivals, which will be a zoo. Get picked up at the empty departures level.
UNDRESS FOR SUCCESS
Before you leave for the airport, put everything metallic you're taking with you -- watch, keys, coins, jewelry, pens, chains, et al -- in ziplock plastic bags and pack them in your carry-on. Dress on the other side of security, please! This will save five minutes per passenger. Do the math: It makes so much sense.
IGNORE THE DEPARTURES BOARD
If the airlines ran the shipping business, the departure boards would still show the Titanic as "on time." Look at the departures board for only one piece of information: the gate from which your flight is scheduled to depart. Then go immediately to the arrivals board. Check to see what is arriving at your gate. If nothing is arriving at your gate, then you can enjoy the luxury of not being disappointed at the counter.
INVOKE RULE 240
The airlines definitely don't want you to know about this one. It's a rule that has been around for more than 20 years, but unless you invoke it, don't expect the airlines to volunteer it. And here's what it means: In the event of a delay or cancellation for any reason whatsoever (except those caused by weather), if you invoke rule 240, the airline must endorse your ticket over to the next available flight -- not their next available flight, which might not leave until next Tuesday. One word of caution: Some low-cost airlines, like JetBlue and Southwest, which have no interline arrangements with other airlines, are not covered by the rule. But each of the legacy airline carriers (American, United, Northwest, Delta, US Airways) is still governed by 240.
NEGOTIATE YOUR PHONE BILL
Yes, phone and Internet charges are negotiable, as long as you make a deal ahead of time. Before you take your room key, tell the person at the front desk you want your phone and Internet charges bundled -- a flat fee of $10 or $15 a day for unlimited Internet and domestic long-distance calls. More often than not, the hotel will agree to the deal. This also applies to other annoying charges like resort fees and use of the hotel gym. Negotiate everything up front.
STAY BELOW THE EIGHTH FLOOR
Modern firefighting equipment doesn't have the capacity to easily fight fires, or rescue people, higher than eight stories. Staying on a lower floor is especially important in third-world countries, where fire-safety regulations and procedures aren't quite as strict as they are in the U.S.
FOLLOW THE BOOSTER PUMPS
Most high-rise hotels cannot maintain adequate water pressure. As a result, many have installed booster pumps in their buildings. The pumps aren't necessarily on alternating floors, just different floors. So when you check in, ask the front-desk clerk to call engineering and find out what floor the booster pumps are on. If, for example, the answer comes back that the pumps are on 4, 6, 9, 11, and 15, then ask for a room on either 4 or 6. Why? Because when you walk into your room on a floor where there's a booster pump, you'll be guaranteed a decent hot shower no matter what time of day you need it.
ASK ABOUT CONSTRUCTION
Now that you've made friends with the front-desk clerk, ask another question: "How close is my room to the construction?" Virtually every hotel runs on a constant cycle of renovation, which means that, at any given time, an entire floor (or floors) is closed for reconstruction. If you don't ask that question, you could be given the keys to the Jackhammer Suite.
GERMPROOF YOUR ROOM
Short of wearing a biohazard suit, you need to do three things immediately upon entering your room: First, always pack some sanitizing wipes, and use them to wipe down the TV remote and the phone handset. Second, walk over to the bed, pull off the bedspread and throw it into a corner of the room. Never look at it again. Never touch it again. And last but not least, go into the bathroom. Turn on the hot-water faucet and place the water glasses under that faucet for at least three minutes.
Why? Hotel maids are heavily tasked to clean between 12 and 16 rooms per shift. And if your room is one of the last three she worked on, chances are your maid ran out of time and didn't replace the water glasses from the last guest. Instead, she probably wiped them down with the dirty towels left lying on the bathroom counter.
THINK LOCALLY
Once again, using an 800 number to reserve a car may not get you the lowest rate or the best car. Check out rentalcars.com for great comparison prices at the local level. Another tip: Rent a car on a Saturday. Why? Many cars suddenly become available on Saturday when customers who reserved them for the weekend don't show up.
TAKE PICTURES
Since you probably travel with a digital camera, why not put it to good use? Walk around the rental car and look for dings and dents. If you see any, activate the camera's date-and-time option to stamp on each photo, and snap a few shots. Show them to a rental-agency employee, and get his or her full name. This will take all of five minutes. Later, if the company claims you banged up the car (and these repair charges can be draconian), you'll have proof the damage was preexisting.
GET YOUR OWN GAS
In some cases, rental-car companies will charge you north of $6 a gallon to fill up your tank when you return the car. Save some real money -- and time -- by going to gasbuddy.com, which lists the cheapest gas stations along your route, and then fill up the tank yourself. Since time is also money, traffic.com will get you customized traffic information for your trip, and the info can even be sent to your cell phone.
We arrive in Lviv, Ukraine aboard another sleeper train. As we drive to our hotel I'm attracted by these old 17th and 18th Century buildings and churches that remain untouched by the Soviet occupation. The city has a long history of occupation and conquest by the Tatars, Turks, Poles, Hapsburgs, and others, but the people have not lost their spirit, and they finally have the independence they have craved for so long.
We take a walking tour of Lviv and I can't help but think that Lviv must look much like Prague did before its extensive post-Cold War renovations and reconstuction projects. In many respects, time seems to have stood still here. Lviv is in Western Ukraine, and it's here that the Orange Revolution began...where the first Ukrainian flag was raised as the Soviet Union dissolved. And yet, as I talk to students here in a local Catholic university, it's clear that the people of Ukraine are still fighting for their own identity. The regional divisions between eastern and western Ukraine, as pronounced as they may be, seem to only scratch the surface of this identity crisis. "We are searching...competing," one third year university student tells me. "We are asking what our relations are with Russia...what our relationship should be to Europe."
When asked what it means to be Ukrainian, the first caveat I hear is that this is a complex question. "Oh! This is complicated!" says one faculty member of the university. There seems to be an initial reluctance to even discuss the issue, but eventually the flood walls are breached and a sophisticated, nuanced discussion ensues.
Religious differences are immediately downplayed--there are several Catholic churches and cathedrals here and in at least one cathedral downtown where the masses are still said in Polish. There is some religious politics between the Independent Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Patriarch, but "there are not so many religious differences," says the president of the university's student union. "To be Ukrainian," a young lady and 2nd year student beside me says, "is to be tolerant. We all have different associations, different languages and different backgrounds and ethnicities." One young man quickly agrees: "My parents and grandparents are Russian, Jewish, and Polish, but I'm Ukrainian. I feel at home here!"
Politics is viewed with disillusionment and disdain by these students. I'm taken a bit by surprise, because at least half of them are political science majors. "The easiest way to division," a student explains, "is through politics." I ask a young political science student if she would consider entering into politics at some point. She shakes her head slowly, "I don't think so. To be in politics, you must be corrupt. If you are not corrupt, you must deal with the corrupt. That is not something that appeals to me." This worries me, because disillusionment is the enemy of good government.
But on a positive note, it's also clear that the disillusionment these students may feel hasn't (yet) led to complacency. When asked about the current constitutional crisis in Kyiv, a young man exclaims, "It is very superficial what Yuschenko and Yanukovych are doing right now." When I ask what would make the situation better, the answers come in rapid fire succession: "We need help on how to make policies," says one. "We need the political will to do changes," says another. Perhaps the most incisive comment I hear comes from the president of the student union: "Everyone is taking from Ukraine, but no one gives back," he says in flawless English. "Honesty is needed. Inside this nation, we are not honest with ourselves."
A hotbutton issue among the Lviv college students is language. Here the divisions of the country are more apparent, and controversial. The national language in Ukraine is Ukrainian; but from Kiev eastward, the spoken language is Russian. With Ukraine's assimilation into the Soviet Union, an entire generation, I'm told, does not speak Ukrainian. "The Ukrainian government doesn't have the political courage to make Ukrainian the required language...the dominant language," a student tells me. "Just as the Baltic countries made language a requirement for citizenship, Ukraine should do the same." The scale of the issue isn't entirely clear to me until I'm told that Russian is spoken by 70% of the population--as their primary language! How did this happen, I wonder? "Over time, it became fashionable to speak Russian," a faculty member from Lviv informs us. "It's prestigious because learning Russian requires education. It's not that Ukrainians in the east can't speak Ukrainian," she says. "Some East Ukrainians can speak Ukrainian better than I can!" Some students are clearly angered at the emerging (if not already present) dominance of the Russian language in Ukraine. Says one woman: "Some of our vice ministers can't speak two sentences in Ukrainian without horrible mistakes...just to demonstrate how difficult it is. It's disrespectful, and it removes any stimulus to learn Ukrainian. There are not enough Ukrainian language schools in east Ukraine."
In an effort to more fully understand their identity crisis, we ask: Do Ukrainians feel more European or more Russian? After just a little prodding, girl beside me answers cogently, "I feel more European than Russian. But I don't like it that Europe or Russia must decide that they have a choice of accepting Ukraine or not. We have a long, rich history, and we must be Europeans in our thinking." Another faculty member from the University clearly resents Russia's aura of superiority when it comes to its relationship with Ukraine: "The Russians look at us and say 'Oh the Ukrainians, they are good at baking bread. And we Russians...we're good at conquering the world.'"
At sunrise this morning, I go for a jog around this fascinating city. I'm alarmed at the state of disrepair of the city's old buildings. The brick and stucco is crumbling and graffiti mars the facades. I see little-to-no renovation, but when I ask a senior city official about the problem and about what it means for UNESCO recertification in the future, he recognizes it as an issue but boasts at how during a recent visit UNESCO representatives were impressed that the renovations conducted have not interfered or marred the original achitectural design. And yet, as I jog along the polished cobblestone streets, I don't see any visible signs of renovation. I also hear a comment from our interpreter that an international donor has provided $800,000 to renovate a street across from city hall. In the grand scheme of things, that's really not much...but it's a start. For this quaint and beautiful city of Lviv, that's what is so desperately needed: Faith.
Faith in Lviv, at home and abroad....
Some stream-of-consciousness impressions of Kyiv, Ukraine...
We arrive in Kyiv (formerly "Kiev"), Ukraine on board an Aerosvit Boeing 737--a comfortable ride after my recent Aeroflot experience. From the air, it's immediately apparent that there are immense wide open spaces in Ukraine with dark, fertile soil that is reportedly the most fertile in Europe, but because of political and bureaucratic obstacles it is often not farmed or used for other agricultural purposes.
Judging from the languages spoken around me in the passport control line at the airport, it's clear that the vast majority of visitors to Kyiv are Russian. One young lady beside me pokes fun at the Ukrainian's "funny way of speaking." This is a rather common outward sign of Russia's condescension toward Ukraine, and perhaps their resentment toward the Orange Revolution and its aftermath.
But did a real "revolution" occur here? This is the question I ask myself as I walk around the city.
Indeed, this is a fascinating time in Ukraine, but a turbulent one. A few weeks ago, Ukrainian president Viktor Yuschenko dissolved the country's parliament (the "Rada"), and called for new elections, causing an uproar across the country that has been publicized worldwide. Indeed, Ukraine remains hostage to its legacy as a former Soviet republic. Divided by east and west. Stuck in a Soviet legacy where change is avoided...even feared. More specifically, as one senior U.S defense official tells me, "there are those have travelled to the west and have had their eyes opened and those who haven't. Those who fall into the former category favor integration into the West and to Europe; those in the latter category--The Party of Regions, led by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych--do not. There is a more worrisome development that is largely invisible--because salaries are so low and with the recognition of opportunities for better work and careers in Western Europe, Ukraines best and brightest are leaving in droves.
Driving through Kyiv's city center, there is a scattering of demonstrations that seem remarkably well-organized...too organized, in fact: there are encampments with colorful tents and large nylon embroidered party flags in various city parks and squares, strategically positioned so that they face each other. And yet, each side remains remarkably civil to the other.
Ukraine is in the midst of a constitutional crisis. After 20 members of parliament who were formerly loyal to Yuschenko defected to Yanukovych's Party of Regions (it's widely believed that they were bribed to do so), President Yuschenko dissolved the Ukrainian parliament. Yanukovych challenged Yuschenko's decree, and the matter now rests with the country's constitutional court to decide. No one quite knows how the court would ultimately decide this case--the court is evenly split, with only two or three swing judges. Even the Constitutional Court's objectivity has been thrown into suspicion after allegations that some judges may have been bought off. In any event, the pressures currently placed on the court are enormous--five judges have said that as a result of the pressure they are under, that they wish to recuse themselves from the case.
It is precisely this political pressure (in addition to the fact that the constitutional grounds for the dissolution of the Rada are shaky at best) that may well cause Yuschenko to decide to suspend his decree and come to a compromise with Yanukovych in order to avoid a certain political train wreck. In the meantime, it's a near certainty that the court will do everything it can to avoid making a decision.
What does all this say about Ukraine? A Danish diplomat I spend some time with remarks, "If Turkey was described as the 'Sick Man of Europe,' Ukraine is absolutely the 'Naive Man of Europe." He's one of the pessimists. Short-term optimists, it turns out, are nearly impossible to find here. Another diplomat I speak to is a long-term optimist: "While Yuschenko may have squandered the opportunity for rapid political change," he tells me, "the social winds of change are in full gale."
Nonetheless, Ukraine's current trajectory is plainly worrisome as it is drawn closer and closer to the Russian center of gravity. The Russians want to restore their empire, and as another diplomat tells me, "For them, Ukraine represents the jewel in the crown."
Russia opposes Ukraine's accession into NATO with every fiber of their being, because it would establish a precedent for other former Soviet republics (Armenia, Azerbaijan, etc) to follow suit. Restoring Russia's empire, they know, is not possible without Ukraine. This, therefore, is Yanukovych's distinct advantage--in addition to his political acumen: he has Vladimir Putin's full support and influence, as well as the financial backing of the Kremlin and Ukraine's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov--worth a reported $12 billion (I subsequently discover that he also owns the Pearl Hotel, where we're staying).
Yanukovych has been able to use his substantial financial leverage to his own political advantage by hiring a K Street Lobbying firm in Washington, D.C. headed by power lawyers Paul Manaford, Phil Griffin and Bruce Jackson to lobby the Bush Administration and Congress on behalf of Yanukovich and his Party of Regions for an initial sum of $9 million. They continue to work on Yanukovich's behalf, but reportedly have not applied through the State Department as foreign agents. Astounding....
Yanukovych single-handedly rolled back Yuschenko's NATO accessions plans in an uncoordinated surprise visit to Brussels last year. And yet, even Yanukovych recognizes the dangers in ceding too much control to Russia. He saw the dramatic result of handing over control of Byelorussia's pipeline rights to Gazprom in return for short-term gains of relative price stability for energy. The result was a measurable loss of sovereignty and an effective re-assimilation into Russia's sphere of influence. U.S. officials seem to agree that loss of Ukrainian sovereignty is not something Yanukovych would accept were he to have complete control either.
From a U.S. perspective, Ukraine will always have a close relationship with Russia. "We can change a lot," one official says in a resigned tone, "but geography isn't one of them." We regard Ukrainian membership in NATO as a Ukrainian choice. The door to NATO is wide open and would surely be fast-tracked whenever they do elect to join NATO--but the choice is theirs alone to make (not Russia's).
Kyiv is a beautiful and clean city, filled with ancient European architecture dating back to 900 AD. We tour the St. Sophia's Cathedral and have the opportunity to see one of the oldest standing churches in all of Europe. It has been magnificently restored to show the original frescoes and mosaics, as well as the original architectural components of its construction. It's a remarkable site. In these former Soviet Republics, history has often been revised extensively to fit the visions of tsars, kings, queens, generals, patriarchs and dictators. Ukraine is no exception. Conflicting accounts of this region's history abound, with muddled versions inspired by the invasion of the Mongol hoardes, Tatars, the conquests of the Vikings, Polish-Lithuanian Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, not to mention the Bolsheviks and Soviets. With the ghosts of empires past, I've learned, it's best to look for the ground-truth in what has been left of the architecture (as well as what is known to have been destroyed).
With all of Ukraine's issues, the people are clearly its great strength. Change is a difficult thing for the older generation who lived during Soviet times to accept, let alone embrace. But the younger generations of Ukrainians who crave economic opportunity, integration and equality with the rest of Europe will most certainly be the future super-agents of change for this country, as well as the long-term cause for optimism.
The question here in Kiev is whether you are a optimist or pessimist about Ukraine's future.
After my own visit here, I'm a cautionary long-term optimist for Ukraine....
I'm leaving Ekatrinburg, Russia bound for Moscow on a genuine Aeroflot airplane--these aircraft have to be 30-35 years old and my enduring impression is that they don't exactly inspire confidence. There are numerous bondo patches on the side of the airplane (inside and out) and the whole plane screams and vibrates as it's taking off. Beside our airplane as we boarded was a Ural Airways jet that had no tail (it had fallen off probably during a botched refueling, and lay on the ground, where it fell).
So, at a relative loss for the best course of action to follow...run across the tarmac back to the passenger terminal (and certainly be arrested), or board and hope for the best, I choose the latter and say a quick prayer for us to land safely in Moscow.
So, a quick missive about Ekatrinaburg, known in Soviet times as Sverdlovsk...it's a two hour flight from Moscow on the east side of the Ural mountain range--often referred to as the "Window to Asia." Honestly, looking around, I felt like I was back in Sarajevo. Stepping off the airplane, we saw a fresh bed of snow on the ground and felt a blast of cold air that we Americans weren't fully prepared for. On the drive into the city we passed by a cedar forest that lined the highway, along with a host of unfinished construction projects. As Russia's third most populous city, Ekat is also the industrial center of the country, so it's sort of the Russian Pittsburgh. We toured the "Ural Mash" factory just outside the city--a big steel-iron parts factory...and a fascinating study in inefficiency-- but you can't help but admire the tenacity of the workers and their assembly-line approach to metallurgy: massive cast-iron parts for cranes and nuclear power plants are constructed from ingot to finished form on site! The floor is paved not with concrete, but with cast iron tiles. 75 ton pieces of iron pass held with steel noose cables routinely over our unhelmeted heads, and I asked the factory manager about their safet record--it's surprisingly good: one fatality last year and 18 "minor" injuries. All of the crane operators are women and all of the other workers appear to be men. Their monthly wage of workers in the factory is $400 ($2000 for "very highly skilled" workers).
We also toured the site where Tsar Nicholas and his family were executed under the order of Lenin and Sverdlov. Recently the city of Ekat placed a huge Russian Othodox cathedral on the site and called it the "Church on the Blood." Walking through the cathedral with the blown-up photos of Tsar Nicholas and his family, and the full, graphic description of how their execution was carried out, you can't help but be reminded in very stark terms of the brutality of the Bolshevik rule.
Seeing this, it doesn't take long to see that the whole city stands as an odd contradiction unto itself: as the destroyed cathedrals are rebuilt, the memorials to Lenin and the rest of his Bolshevik comrades remain, as do the main streets that still bear their names. On these same streets and avenues too are the memorials to the Romanovs, who have since been canonized by the Russian Orthodox church. Inside the Church on the Blood, people light candles, kiss icons of the Tsar and his family with great reverence and even on occasion, tears.
The roads are muddy during the winter and Spring, which we're told is preferable to the pervasive dust in the summer months. Sharing the roadways, you have a full mix of '70's and '80's vintage Ladas and Skodas with new, high-end Audis, Mercedes and Hummers. Our translator, Nikitaa, tells us that she has a home-based business teaching English, which has great potential because it avoids "the mafia...the self-important boys who are usually unhappy if you occupy their space." Just outside town there is a cemetary filled with the graves of the Russian mafioso--crowded with life-size headstones with photo-realistic engravings of men in black leather jackets, cigarettes hanging from their lips...some smiling, some scowling. Most of these men, we're told, died during the Yeltsin years when the mafia dominated Ekatrinaburg.
The place has a "looking glass" feel to it, and I've been told by folks who live here that they're still in the midst of a pretty significant identity crisis. In fact, it has all of the outward signs of an East European city in a pretty severe midlife crisis.
Tomorrow evening we're off to St. Petersburg in the overnight (sleeper) train...
I arrive in Moscow after a 10 hour flight from Washington, D.C.. After presenting our passports to customs and collecting our baggage, we step out of Sheremetyevo Airport and are greeted with a blast of air that is more reminiscent of winter than spring. Although the sun is shining, purple snow-laden clouds hung in the distance. Snow still covered some of the cars from an earlier snowfall during the week. We load into an embassy van and begin the drive into downtown Moscow. Throughout the ride, I'm reminded of the last time I was here...22 years ago...in October, 1985.
It was a different time: at the height of the Cold War. Ronald Reagan was the U.S President and Mikhail Gorbachev was the Soviet Premier. Perestroika and Glasnost still hadn't fully taken hold. East and West were still staring one another down across an Iron Curtain. Powerful nuclear arsenals were expanding dramatically...our armies were training to fight one another to the death on a European battlefield. The tensions were so pronounced that my entry visa presented me as student rather than as a U.S. Army officer.
Moscow is the same city I remember: the same buildings... the same streets and wide boulevards...the same grand tsarist and Stalinesque architecture...the same parks enclosed by wrought-iron hammer-and-sickle adorned gates. And yet, everything has changed. The realization comes gradually to me...almost imperceptibly: there's more traffic, more congestion-- and soon our van is struggling through a traffic jam of almost biblical proportions. To our right, a public bus driver works his crossword puzzle intently as he continues to drive, barely looking up each time he lurches forward, braking and stopping behind an Audi 300 just in time, with only inches to spare. To the left, a beautiful young woman driving a new BMW 740i takes her time applying her makeup and brushing her hair as if she's planned the drive for just such a purpose. And then--the bill boards: massive, imposing, modern. Ubiquitous. Rolex...Lexus...Toyota...Gazprom..Pamela Anderson..... They accost you, announcing the full commercialization of the city in the boldest terms.
On its surface, Moscow appears much like any European city: the unique blend of old and new-- at once in harmony and in dissonance with the other, but here there's a generally accepted recognition that such tension is also irrelevant, because it's all part of a complex, often troubled evolving metropolitan identity. Indeed, Moscow has evolved... beyond what any of us could have dreamed 22 years ago.
The next morning, still plagued with jet lag, I find myself wide awake at 3am. I put on some sweats and go for a run along the Kremlin Wall, through the World War II Memorial, past the statue of General Zhukov riding triumphantly on horseback. Turning the corner of a cobblestone street, I find myself alone in Red Square, staring down at a lit-up St. Basil's Cathedral--looking exactly as I'd left it over two decades ago. At that moment I feel as if I'd been locked in a time capsule, but outside the Kremlin Walls, I now recognize that everything has, in fact, dramatically changed....
