Mr. (and Mrs.) Luth Travel in India

I've been home from India for thirteen months. It was about time to get organized and get to work on photos. Over the summer I completed a book about the three treks we had taken while on our expat assignment. For some reason chronicling those trips seemed like a more controlled experiment. The next planned volume was all of our domestic travel within India. It involved sifting through thousands of photos (which I had neglected to keep well organized) from nineteen different trips, recreating a 400 - 500 word summary of each of those trips that wasn't just a recitation of what we did, and organizing it into 332 pages.

A few things I realized while putting this book together:

• Neemrana may be one of my favorite places in the world. For anyone travelling to India that has an extra day, I'd highly recommend making the stop halfway between Delhi and Jaipur. It's a fantastic fort palace that they continue to renovate and makes a great one night getawway from Delhi. We discovered it for the first time in 2004. In total, we've returned five times since.
• Eleven of our 19 trips were to the state of Rajasthan, including multiple trips to the aforementioned Neemrana, Jodhpur, and Udaipur. While I really enjoy looking at the photographs from Jaipur, it remains one of my least favorite places in India; extremely touristy and, personally, I think it's a shame that it's the only Rajasthani city many travellers to India visit as part of the golden triangle along with Delhi and Agra.
• We stayed in some ridiculously nice hotels in India. Nicer hotels than we'll probably stay in for the rest of our lives (though having the ability to travel at the tail end of an off season, or in the case of Udaipur in late May right smack dab in the middle of off season, certainly helped make those places more affordable).
• There were a number of strangers we decided to trust along the way. I love having pictures of those (former) strangers - they bring back stronger memories than simply looking at a picture of the Taj Mahal.
• As a general statement, I have incredible family and friends. More specifically, I appreciate having had so many of them visit us (and allow me to direct their travel schedules to my own benefit) and having so many familiar faces sprinkled throughout our travels and the book.

While I'm pretty sure there's only a handful of people that will take the time to look at the book and even fewer that will read and look at the entire book (admittedly, I'm not sure how excited I'd be to look through over 300 pages of someone else's vacations), here are the links to the book in all its glory:

Blurb Bookstore - Preview

Apple Bookstore - Free

Environmentalism vs. Cost Containment

I'm not the most environmental fellow, but I'm certainly not anti-environment. I freely admit that. What bothers me is when hotels feel the need to make me feel like I caused an oil spill. I simply hate those annoying little signs instructing me to support their environmental efforts by reusing my towels. Do they really expect me to think their true intentions are as altruistic as those little signs would lead me to believe?

I would take those little cards a little more seriously if they were a little more honest: "Not only would you be helping the environment but you'll also be helping us reduce or contain our costs in a highly competitive industry with increasingly shrinking margins." In fact, I might even pay attention. Or better yet, more hotel chains could go the way of Starwood Properties. At least the fine people there had the decency to introduce the concept of gainsharing into their environmental efforts by throwing a few extra reward points your way for electing to forego room cleanings during your stay. Seems fair enough and is certainly a cost effective way to reward guests for doing the "right" thing.

On the other hand, I mean, it's been well over a year since I've had a cleaning crew picking up after me each and every day; why would I need that same level of service just because I'm staying away from home? For me, there's an inherent expectation built into the "deal" I make with a hotel: I pay you for a room, you give me clean towels every day.

The more expensive the hotel, the fewer of those little cards I want to see.

Travel Year in Review 2012

After two years of crossing a lifetime's worth of bucket list trips off the list, 2012 was guaranteed to slow down a little bit from a travel perspective. The trips of 2012 were more about reconnecting with family and friends that had been more or less neglected for the previous two years. If we weren't flying to see them, they seemed to be flying to see us - not the worst problem to have.

Here are the four things I learned from my travels this year:

If you want to experience cool places in the world, meet cool people that live in cool places.
Our longest trip of the year was a ten-day jaunt to the Canadian Rockies to reconnect with our trekking friends Judith and Glenn, whom we spent more time with than any other non-expats while we were in India (in my next life I want to be a Canadian that works in the oil and gas industry, let's just say the vacation benefits are advantageous and leave it at that). Judith and Glenn live in Calgary and they escorted us immediately from the airport into the clutches of Cowboys tented bar near the Calgary Stampede. They had always described the scene like it was some sort of "Cowboy Mardi Gras." Had Lindsay not been six weeks pregnant, we may have lived more of that scene.

Calgary Stampede, 2012

We spent the initial weekend with them in Calgary, attending our first rodeo (completely outfit in cowboy gear, well, except I had exchanged my boots for flip flops after some unfortunate blisters after the first night) and meeting their friends, most of whom we felt like we had known for years after countless hours of conversation on the Himalayan trekking trails from the previous two years. On other quick thing about Calgary - when most people think of Calgary, they don't think of the food, but it's kind of a hidden foodie's paradise.

After Calgary, we headed to the mountains for five nights. The vibe of the Canadian Rockies reminded me of the Colorado Rockies where I've spent a lot of time. In Alberta there's Canmore, in Colorado there's Frisco. Alberta has Banff; Colorado, Vail. Completing the SAT comparisons, Lake Louise is to Alberta as Beaver Creek is to Colorado. The area where Canada far exceeds the Colorado Rockies, in my opinion, is the scenery. I always equated "better" with "higher" in mountains. Not the case. The Canadian Rockies are extreme. More extreme than Colorado. Case closed.

The highlight of the trip, other than dinner at the Post Hotel, was a two night side trip to Shadow Lake Lodge. It's a hike-in/hike-out lodge that provides more luxury than one might expect at a place only accessible by foot. The only downside to the experience was it was the most mosquito infested place I'd ever been, but it's hard to hold that against an entire country or an unusually wet spring. Plus, that's what 98% deet is for.

Lindsay and Judith reunite at Shadow Lake Lodge

Our Canadian adventure would have been but a shell if not for Judith and Glenn. Not only were we able to really experience a new part of the world, we were able to do so with people we basically met our of sheer luck in Kathmandu and have since become lifelong friends. So the lesson is thus, meet cool people that live in cool places and go and visit those places. If you can't meet those cool people, at least know people that know cool people so you can replicate their experiences (in this example, my parents and their friends are taking advantage of Judith's planning services to take much the same trip in September).

Orlando has a lot of direct flights but is a hub to nothing.
What do the numbers 15, 9, 8, 6, and 3 add up to? The easy answer is 41, which is the number of segments I flew this year. Unfortunately, when you spread those flights across United, Delta, Southwest, American, and AirTran, it adds up to a whole lot of no special status for 2013. Nearly everyone wants to come to Orlando but no airline makes it a hub. As a result, I can get most places with a direct flight, I just have to pick the airline that flies direct (unless I want to sacrifice a couple hours in transit which isn't something I feel the need to do).

For a busy airport, Orlando is surprisingly easy to navigate. However, as one might expect, there's a dearth of children in the airport at any point in time. They try to create an "expert travelers' lane" to expedite the process for those that know what they're doing; however, when I got into that line behind a double wide stroller, I knew it was time for a change. Since attaining status wasn't an option and I haven't been asked to join that TSA Pre-Check thing, the best and only option was to pony up $179 for an annual pass to Clear, which is basically a concierge that cuts you to the front of the line. The $179 may seem steep, but then you've probably never seen the lines on a weekend morning in Orlando. It also enabled Lindsay to catch a flight when she ran into unexpected traffic one afternoon, so it paid for itself that day.

We can leave our house (twenty five minutes from the close-in parking garage at the airport) ninety minutes before departure and very safely make a flight. That's worth something as well. Clear might not be the best option for every airport and every traveler, but for our situation in Orlando, it makes complete sense.

Key West is nicer than people describe.
After flying someplace every other weekend this fall to see family and friends, we wanted to take a trip with just the two of us but decided we had spent enough time in the airport and on planes. As a result, we planned our "babymoon" in the state of Florida. Even though we knew it was a seven to eight hour drive, it was a drive I'd also wanted to complete: US-1 through the Florida Keys with Key West as the final destination. The drive was everything we expected, utterly boring until you get to the Keys and fascinating  once you get there. That being said, if and when we return to Key West, we'll likely fly - it's worth the drive but worth it only once (unless you're coming from south Florida).

People had told us that Key West was a little slice of Bourbon Street, full of derelicts, drunks, and debauchery. Honestly, it was every bit of that but we stayed far enough from the craziness in the luxurious Casa Marina. The room itself underwhelmed but the outdoor area at the hotel more than made up for it. For more details, I penned a Trip Advisor review called “Not great but would go back (if that makes sense)”. It reminded me a little of some of the travel we did in India. We could dive into the craziness knowing that we always had the peace and serenity of a nice place to say. Some travelers would call us wusses or, worse yet, tourists. Many people that go to Key West want to live like Jimmy Buffett. Casa Marina is probably very much like the way Jimmy Buffett experiences Key West. Jimmy Buffett 2012 as opposed to Jimmy Buffett 1972.

Hammocks are awesome

The unexpected thing in Key West was that the restaurants were far better than expected. We ate at Louie's Backyard two nights (once at their upper deck with the small plate menu and once on their main lower deck) and couldn't have been happier. The night we hit Duval Street, we tried Bagatelle which had unbelievable seared ahi tuna.

We had been told Key West was a total drunkfest, which sounds delightful if that's what you want and expect. However, Key West really is what you make of it. It's one of the more remote places in the United States where it really is possible to get away.

Pigeon Forge is tackier than people describe.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I didn't learn this just this year. I was just reminded of it. In college my fraternity had a Smoky Mountain date party each year. On three occasions we made the trip to mountainside chalets near Pigeon Forge. If you're into bumper cars, outlets, chain restaurants, mini-golf, airbrushed t-shirts, and Dollywood, Pigeon Forge is the place for you. I hadn't been back to Pigeon Forge in over 14 years until my Dad invited me to join a portion of a planned hiking trip he had with his cousin.

The thing about Pigeon Forge is that, for its tackiness, it serves as the primary gateway for some of the grandest scenery in the United States, Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It was a short trip but was able to hike three days and only use one vacation day from work. In years prior, my Dad and I have taken short father/son ski trips in the winter, and since a February due date effectively screws up an entire ski season, a hiking trip was the next best option. In three days, Dad and his cousin Jerry showed me three distinct sides of the great park. The first day was a trip up Mount LeConte. My first time up, Jerry's ninetieth. Yep, ninetieth. There's a great daily blog, High on LeConte,  about the conditions on the top, where a rustic lodge sits that reminded me a little of Shadow Lake. It was an unseasonably warm day though only a few days later the sidelights of Hurricane Sandy would dump multiple feet of snow on the mountain.

High on LeConte with Dad (left) and Jerry

The second trip was a through-hike (we left a car on one end and started from a different spot) that we started from the park headquarters and took the Cove Mountain trail up and around to Laurel Falls. It was a steady climb. People think, again because the elevation is low, that the Smoky Mountains are inferior; however, the altitude you can gain in a day in the Smokys is similar if not more than what you might find in the Rockies, the mountains are just smoother on top. The third and final day was a little bit shorter trip, only an eight-miler, to Ramsey Cascade Falls before getting cleaned up and heading back to the airport.

Thankfully, we hiked Mount LeConte on the clear day and were wise enough to stay lower as the weather got worse. Thankfully even more, I have a 70 year old father that not only can still do these types of things but invites me to do these types of things.

The Upgrade "Dilemma"

Thanks to our back-and-forths to India, both my wife and I attained "gold" status on American Airlines which is their entry-level premium status. I'd wager that we attained that status in as few flight segments as any other member of the program. As you might assume, I'm kind of a big deal.

It's been helpful this year for the few times when we've flown American from Orlando. Not only do you get to board first and check a bag for free, the prospect of a first-class upgrade always exists. In September when we got upgraded, I sat across the aisle from Nick Faldo on his way to the Ryder Cup. Other than being somewhat surprised by seeing him fly commercial on his way to broadcast the event (though I suppose he's wealthy and has a good gig with The Golf Channel, it's apparently not a gig worthy of a private plane), it was the only time I've ever seen anyone famous on a plane.

I would say we probably get an upgrade about half the time. On Friday when we flew up to Chicago for a weekend of baby showers, half of us got an upgrade. The non-pregnant half.

Let me lay out the entire scenario: Upon arriving at the gate, we asked if first class had checked in full. It hadn't, there was one seat. I was number three and she was number four on the list. The two spots ahead of us were occupied by another married couple. The gate agent (who was actually the friendliest gate agent I've met in a while) let us know that our only real chance would be that one of us would get it if that married couple didn't want to sit together. Knowing that if either Lindsay or I got an upgrade, we'd sit apart in half a heartbeat, we weren't too hopeful. However, what we didn't know was that that couple was flying with an infant and they both wanted to sit with the kid. I can't imagine people turn down upgrades too often, but that's exactly what they did. We moved up to numbers one (me) and two (my pregnant wife) on the list. For one seat.

I'd like to say this was a blog post about how I made my pregnant wife sit in coach while I swilled fine red wine in the front of the plane waiting for everyone to respond about what a heathen I am. But then I realized that this would be a story that would be recounted not just the entire weekend at her baby showers but pretty much any time I did anything wrong for the rest of my life. Baby Luth would hear this story; in fact, it might be the first story the baby every heard. There really was no option, no dilemma. I chivalrously stepped aside and gracioulsy deferred my upgrade for the comfort of my wife and our unborn child.

Shortly after, the world's friendliest gate agent let me know that the bulkhead row was open, so don't feel too bad for me, I had plenty of legroom and an open seat next to me. Some good deeds go rewarded.

Unfortunately, there were mechanical issues on the plane and we ended up sitting on the ground in Orlando for about 90 minutes. Well, they actually said the mechanical issues had been fixed and we were waiting on paperwork (even though mechanic-looking folks kept getting on and off the plane). They probably shouldn't have even loaded the plane but it was probably easier to just keep everyone situated. At any rate, if I had been sitting in first class because my spouse had graciously given up her seat, I would have, at the least, tried to send a fermented beverage of some sort back to my noble spouse. Was this what happened? Of course not. Some good deeds go rewarded, but sometimes they could be rewarded more.

(I know, I know, the warm and fuzzy feeling knowing that my wife and unborn child were comfortable should be reward enough….blah, blah, blah….)

Seriously though, I've read articles about frequent travelers that travel with spouses where the frequent traveler doesn't give up the upgrade. I get that we live in a liberated age where all things are "equal," but as a man, I can't imagine the shame I would feel watching my wife (pregnant or not) walk past me into coach as I sat comfortably up front. Now, if it was one of those planes where you enter and turn left to get to first class and right to get to coach, that would be an entirely different situation altogether….