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Can't Get Enough Time on a Plane?

If you are an aviation junkie (or just plain crazy) spending time on a plain may become an enjoyable pastime (or an obsession). The folks at Stockholm-Arlanda airport can help you out with their new Jumbo Hostel. Boasting a converted 747-200 formerly operated by Singapore Airlines and Pan Am, this historic domicile offers chic hostel rooms for travelers right outside the airport's entry. Small, yet cozy and attractively sterile looking, each room gives you more space than you otherwise would receive on a trans-oceanic flight. Maybe we'll see more of these popping up around the world, giving the Japanese Capsule Hotels a run for their money!

 

SAS TV Ad: I Can Relate

While I've complained about SAS as an airline, I've always appreciated their sense of aesthetic. Their agency did an excellent job with a recent ad being shown in their Danish market. It stars the former foreign minister of Denmark, Uffe Ellermann-Jensen. I can certainly relate to many of the scenes in this ad from my business trips! Sometimes it just feels good to make the journey home.

 

In Mumbai: The Taj Palace Hotel is All the Raj

I couldn't spot much of the dawn from where I was sitting. The sky was blue, splotched with a gelatenous cloud that stretched like cotton wool above the edge of the far wall. My breakfast table sat 25 feet from the hotel pool where three early morning swimmers, mostly German from what I could tell, flapped back and forth. A gentle draught from the wooden ceiling fan alleviated a bit of the scorching, humid day. I folded the Times of India, put the paper next to my plate, and motioned to the cafe butler.

Continue reading "In Mumbai: The Taj Palace Hotel is All the Raj"

 

Flaunting the Social Ethics of Flying: Part 1

Congratulations. It's an exit row seat. The glorious salvation from 29" pitch in SAS Punishment Class. I smile and settle in, even buckling my seatbelt to make sure no one removes me from this economy throne. I stash a book or two in the marsupial pouch in front of me and clip my iPod to my belt. No matter how bad the day was, I am determined to enjoy this flight.

Then She shows up. You know the one. Blond, her hair cropped short, she wears her make-up like a racoon. "Excuse me, sir." She is always very polite. "Would you be willing to switch seats with my boyfriend?" She points and smiles innocently to Her boyfriend a few rows up in 14E. That's right: E. It's a middle seat. He has just managed to unwedge himself from between the drunk German tourist and the photocopy salesman to look my direction with wide, imploring eyes.

Continue reading "Flaunting the Social Ethics of Flying: Part 1"

 

From Ouch to Ahhh in Bangkok

"Pain?" she remarked, quite matter-of-factly considering that my face had twisted into a grimace. I think this was the only word the Thai woman knew in English. Her right leg was wrapped under my left one, and her arm had somehow had found its way to my right shoulder via my spine. I tried to smile. But ouch.

I was wrapped in a Thai massage or "nuat phaen boran" which literally means the ancient-manner massage. Over the scheduled two hours, the woman beat and kneaded every known and heretofore undiscovered muscle in my body, gradually turning me into a soupy piece of human chewing gum. I didn't even get her name.

Continue reading "From Ouch to Ahhh in Bangkok"

 

Taipei: All in a Day's Walk

Taipei lacks the charm of San Francisco, the beauty of Paris, and the glitz of Singapore. But beneath the formless, polluted skies, the monotonous cement buildings and the noisy road construction, there is the heartbeat of a young, independent city. Last night our Country Manager took the team to eat at AoBa, the self-described mecca for "creative Taiwanese food." The restaurant sits just a few blocks from the tallest building in the world, Taipei 101. This was an area of town where you could feel the pulse of this young country. At dinner, course after course of heavily-flavored Taiwanese and Chinese dishes paraded in front of my eyes and, after relatively few questions, into my stomach. Taiwanese food fuses together flavors from the middle and southern provinces of China and even has a hint of Japanese influence. It was delightful and put me squarely in the mood for some well-deserved rest.

Continue reading "Taipei: All in a Day's Walk"

 

Flight Attendants for Your Coffee Table

Flying the friendly skies, Brian Finke began photographing flight attendants as he crisscrossed the country on Delta, JetBlue, Hawaiian, Hooters Air, Southwest, and Song airlines, before going abroad on Air France, Qantas, and British Airways. In London, he visited a flight attendant school, complete with emergency rafts and billowing smoke. Continuing east, Finke traveled Air Asia, Thai, Tiger, ANA, Japan, and Cathay Pacific. For the grand finale of his two-year trip, Finke traveled the illustrious Icelandair.

The result of this fascination is Flight Attendants, a vibrant document of those adventurous souls who choose to work at 40,000 feet. Shot before, during, and after trips, at school and at home, Finke's photographs capture the allure of this high-flying profession alongside the more quiet moments of the attendants' daily lives.

 


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