Hotel oddity #14
byOkay, this is priced in Canadian dollars, but still. $6.49 for a bottle of water? No matter how elegant it looks on the nightstand,…
Travel
Privacy: WAY out of our hands
byMy nephew, planning an extended jaunt through Vietnam, applied for a visa. What he received horrified him. A bilingual letter authorized his entry and…
Airlines: disclosure and liability
byOn February 11, I flew Delta 110 from Buenos Aires to Atlanta. Before the plane pulled away from the gate and after several minutes’…
Hotel oddity #13
byHotel hypocrisy. This is certainly not unique to the Delta hotel in Newfoundland, but that is where I was struck by the pretense and…
Where does your pickpocketed stuff go?
byJewelry, watches, pens, wallets… Ever wonder where all that pickpocketed stuff goes? Think Mrs. Pickpocket is decked out in your stolen pearls and Swatch,…
Bedbugs’ growing defenses against pesticides
byVery bad news on the travel front. Seems bedbugs are here to stay. The Wall Street Journal reports on a comprehensive genetic study of…
Bangkok scam
byBarely five minutes after hitting the streets of Bangkok, a jolly, friendly fellow approached. Conservative and 50ish, the short man put himself head-on into…
Airport teargas box
byArlanda airport, Stockholm—When I first saw this box from a distance, I took it to be some sort of dispenser. As in, get your…
Japanese Breakfast
by“Burning condition salmon” on the breakfast buffet in our Tokyo hotel. I guess we might call it “blackened.” Good for an early morning smile.
How pickpockets use razor blades
byA Close Shave, or, Honey, There’s a Hole in my Handbag Archil Zantaradze keeps a razor blade in his mouth the way someone else…
Hotel Oddity #12
byPasted onto our Reykjavik hotel bathroom tiles: Yes, we came out of the shower quite rancid-smelling—and the fragrance lasts. I imagine the locals: “You…
Hotel room security lapses
byWhen you check into a hotel and are handed a key to a room that turns out to be already occupied, you have to…
Masked man “swapped boarding pass”?
byNo reports expand on the claim that this ballsy Asian impostor “swapped boarding passes with a U.S. citizen and passenger who was born in…
“Needed the money—sorry”
byI’m happy to report a bag theft that ended with a smile. Jay and Lyn Smith, of Tallahassee, took their 18-year-old son on his…
On touring
byBob and I are presently touring. It’s just three weeks across Canada—nothing long or exotic. We’re not roughing it, either. Well…15 cities in 21…
Publicly accusing hotels of theft
byBefore a lengthy stay in a certain hotel in Italy this summer, I searched for reviews of it online. Among the raves on TripAdvisor,…
Den of thieves, outtakes
byThiefhunting day one is not over. Not by far! Days have passed, however; things have happened and plans have been made. In order not…
A Stockholm garden
byEvery frequent traveler has a personal list of what he misses about home. The list varies depending on the type and length of travel….
Hotel room theft by door-pushers
by“Door-pushers” are a problem in some cities. These thieves saunter down the long corridors of giant hotels with their arms outstretched, methodically pushing on…
He Packs, She Packs
byRoad Warrior Packing Tips Eighteen years of near constant travel gives one a certain authority on the subject. Bob Arno and I are on…
Hotel room security check
byHow to do a hotel room security check ob and I sleep more nights in hotels than in our own home and, to date,…
Bambi’s bag snatch
byas it instinct or anger that made Bob chase my bag snatcher? He rocketed down the street brandishing the famous umbrella weapon that was…
Pirañas: Pickpockets in Lima, Peru
byA dozen boys swarmed around Gary Ferrari in front of the Sheraton Hotel in Lima. At least it seemed like a dozen—they’d appeared out…
Common sense takes a vacation
byWhat’s in the nice red bag? Camera? IPod? Cash? Credit cards? Its owners are snug in the hammock, backs turned, oblivious.
Pickpocket statistics
byYou want pickpocket statistics? How prevalent is pickpocketing? How many thefts occur in one day in New York, or Rome, or St. Petersburg, Russia?…
Coffee on the road
byGo ahead—laugh. I did. Is there a more phallic kitchen tool on the planet? Or one more ridiculous? You should see the thing in…
“CYA” theft warnings
byIn my previous post on theft from lobbies, I reported that the Hertz office had a sign on its door warning that thieves worked…
Lobby luggage theft
byPurses and backpacks go missing at the worst times. Like, when they’re filled with cash, passports, cameras, medications, travel documents, and laptops. Like, when…
Hotel lobby luggage theft #2
byThe scene: a hotel lobby, late morning. Guests sit with their luggage, waiting for rides. Some are waiting to check in. A man walks…
Hotel oddity #11
byWhat could be the purpose of a motion-detector inside a hotel room? Is this a new trend? This one, in our room at the…