Trip Reports

Afro-Cuban Buena Vista Social Club Havana Cuba
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A Snapshot of Old Havana and A Forgotten Cuba – Buena Vista Social Club and Afro-Cuban Music

The Buena Vista Social Club is a remarkable ad-hoc group of performers in Cuba who light up Havana’s nightlife with their classic Afro-Cuban sound. Revisit a long forgotten grand age of Cuba nightly at the Sociedad Cultural Rosalia de Castro in Havana.

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Mount Bromo & Probolinggo (or Jen Versus the Volcano)

I’m irrationally afraid of a few things.  Included on that list – horses, heights, and sudden geologic activity.  So when we were planning what to do in the port of Probolinggo on a recent Indonesian cruise, why not just throw all three of those into one activity?  The sleepy port of Probolinggo is a great…

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Exploring Jakarta with Tours By Locals

Our first port of call on Seabourn Odyssey was Jakarta. I’ve only briefly visited the city previously and had no time to tour so I’d only seen one of their high-end shopping malls. We researched the tours available through the ship and while all were appealing, each had elements of interest. In the end, my…

Two women are seated at a table in an airplane, enjoying a meal. The table is covered with a white tablecloth and set with plates of food, glasses of water, and champagne flutes. The women are smiling and appear to be having a pleasant time. The airplane windows are visible in the background.
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The Princess Flies CX First (Guest Blogger)

In the spirit of my own “first time on Cathay” retro 2002 trip report I reposted last week, I thought it might be nice to hear a fresh perspective on Cathay Pacific.  I’m traveling these next two weeks with Rachel, another long-time frequent flyer (and former blogger/editor at The Princess Diaries, also known to some as prncess674 on FlyerTalk.com)…

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TBT – A Retro Cathay First Trip Report (April 2002)

In honor of my vacation starting tonight, I thought it would be fun to post a really retro trip report from Cathay First Class from April 2002 – it was my first US-HKG longhaul in first class (I had previously flown both business and coach on the transpacific routes). The original… This was originally posted…

American
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A Memory Hook – Meeting “Captain America” at a Kansas IHOP

When I was in middle school, my mother took me out of school one day to attend a “memory” seminar for salespeople, thinking it would help me with that struggle in school.  It was one of those day-long sessions where we learned to use “memory hooks” to help with first name recognition and memorizing long…

This image is a map showing a maritime route in Southeast Asia. The route starts from Singapore and travels through several locations in Indonesia, including Tanjung Priok, Semarang, Probolinggo, Surabaya, Benoa, Celukan Bawang, and Komodo Island. The map also labels the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean, and it shows the equator line. The route is marked with a blue line and arrows indicating the direction of travel.
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Indonesian Vacation 2014 – Plotting, Scheming & Planning

I leave on vacation in nine days. That means in about eight days, I will start packing.  I don’t do much in advance which means I will invariably be tearing the house up looking for something less than ten minutes before I’m being picked up for the airport. What I have done in advance however…