Started again...SEA,HNL and NRT

OCT.18,2009

We started again. Some of the team look like they went a lot.
We can not lose.

We went from DTW to SEA on OCT.18 after the work.
On Saturdays they don't have late flight to the westcoast any more.
So,we flew DTW to MSP to SEA.
We spent $70 on taxi to go downtown for the original Starbucks.



OCT.19,2009

Next place was HNL.
We checked in to The Pink Palace...Royal Hawaian Hotel.



We were lucky that they UPG us to the Suite. So,we could share with confort.
Thanks a lot to SPG Platinum status.



After checked in, we went to look for a Canue and a Surfer.
Took us very little time.




The biggest challenge in HNL was the Diamond Head.
I almost gave up after 15min.
It is not a place for someone who is heavy like me.
Some one told us if it is impossible to come back call 911.
I was lucky that I did not have to call 911.
However my legs had so much pain for 4 days...




After the big job, we found realy great Hong Kong style chinese restaurant.
Great food there and LOBSTER FOR ONLY $10.99 !!!!!

We highly recomend this but forgot name.
I will ask Julia when she comes back from EZE.



Last shot in HNL is the Breakfast in the Pink Palace.



It was way more expensive than the chinese dinner.



OCT.20,2009
Julia went back to DTW after spending one more night in HNL.
I went to look for the Maman.

In Google there were more than one place.
Brad and I could not find Maman in Paris.
So, it was 2nd challenge.

AND I GOT IT !!!



I spent only one night in Tokyo then I came back.
I needed to see my family in Texas.
I also spent 1 night only.Very sory to my wife and children who suffer with
my challenge...

Now I am back in DTW for work.
Julia and Suzy went to EZE.
We are asking Brad to cover BOM.
Hopefuly he goes for the deal.
Me,Julia and Suzy are paying for all the expence if he goes to BOM.

Ali so far has not taken any flight....

The biggest challenge...Johannesburg

I made it !!!
Came back alive from Johannesburg, South Africa !!




When we entered to Non-Rev Challenge 2009,
we started planning.
What I found out from internet "Cape Town is not as bad as Johannesburg”.
“Johannesburg is one of most dangerous city in the world” such and such.

When the planning team change the city from Cape Town to Johannesburg,
I really felt nervous but, my set goal was to go every 15 point places in the world. I could not give up.



This trip was another challenge.
The day of departure, they had bad weather in Atlanta.
With IROP Julia could not make it from DTW to ATL.
I was lucky. I went to my home in Texas the night before and
with using S-2 pass, I made it from DFW to ATL.

When Julia called me, I was shocked at Atlanta airport.
I was counting on her for this trip. We were going to get help by her
sister in law.

Anyway without a choice, my challenge started.



When I arrived to JNB, I was already extremely nervous because it was
getting dark. I canceled Crowne Plaza hotel and changed to Airport Grand
hotel because they have shuttle service. I wanted to make everything minimum to avoid any chance of danger.




People who is planning to go there….please be extra careful.
I had a hair cut, manicure and pedicure there.
The lady said that she does not go out even in the day time.
She only goes door to door with her car.
She said that for most protection, car window should not be completely closed.
The window can easily brake when it is closed but if window is open by quarter or half of inch, it does not brake easy….
She also said it is better to run through the red light when you can.




Flight from JNB had issue with weight and balance.



They were numbers of empty seats but only 4 of us could get on.
About 15 non-rev was rebooked for next day.
I was lucky there again but seat number was 57D….
Near 10,000 miles of flight each way with only one night of hotel stay…

Lady next to me told me that I was really lucky. She said many non-rev
are waiting 3 to 5 days to get on.

It is easy to say all these things but going to JNB was a BIIIIG CHALLENGE.

Keep on going !!

Sep.24, 2009
We went all the way to Sydney, Australia and stayed only
one night. We jumped on the plane and it was same crew.



Back to the U.S.A….
We went to the Hollywood and then to Las Vegas.
Julia and Suzy stuck there…
Not because of the plane were full from LAS…
they simply stuck in a casino.
That was the end of a big travel for them.



Sep.25th 2009

Myself kept on going.
I spent a night in Las Vegas and took a flight to ATL
next early morning.

My next destination was Quito, Ecuador.
I didn’t expect this but Quito ended up as my favorite
place of this traveling contest.



Everything were so unbelievably inexpensive there.
Hotel taxi could be chartered with 10 U.S.D. per hour!!
You can eat nice dinner with 3 U.S.D.
I speak Spanish as well and that makes it even better.
I am sure that I will soon go back for a pleasure trip,
possible many times.

Sep.26th, 2009



Then I took a Copa flight to Panama City.
Off cause… only spent one night there.
Things were expansive there. TAXI driver said Panama has the highest
minimum wage of all Latin Americas.
My hotel again had a Casino. I quit serious gambling about 5 years ago.
So, I only played little bit of Poker machine.


Sep.27th

From Panama City I went back to my home in Texas.
I have been working in DTW for almost two years but my home and family are still near the DFW.
One thing happens here.
I went home and start feeling like traveling after one hour.
I am traveholic or what am I ?
I U-turned to DFW and took a flight to Guatemala City.

There were no more TukTuk in Guatemala City…but I went to
a town where those things still exist.



I have been working since I came back from there and I had
one week ACS training this week.

I am ready to travel again.
Julia and I are going to JNB if we get on the flight.

AMS to LAS to LAX to SYD....ONE SHOT !!

Hard trip...even for the young man

SEP.19th 2009
After covering 3 cities of Italy in one day, Brad and I flew
from Rome to Munich, Germany
Julia came from DTW to join and we went to Oktoberfest.



It was unbelievable….so difficult to ask anyone to be a
photographer because every single people in the tent were
….you know what. They were all out of control.



Same night, all three of us flew to AMS and spent a night.

SEP.20th
We flew back to our home station DTW.
Brad ended European tour there but, Julia and I took
The immediate connection flight to LAS then to LAX
then to Sydney ,Australia…all in one shot !!!



Are we crazy or what are we ??
DTW to LAX were all full but we didn’t give up.
We went via LAS.

Fortunately we all got on Delta’s new flat bed to SYD.

By the way before we got on SYD flight, it was a big announcement.
After we saw all fifteen non-rev were on the cleared list,
they made an announcement.

Just one non-rev can go on that flight…they say the flight
was weight critical due to the amount of the cargo.

A ramp manager came and we all ended up getting on but,
one time we were talking about going to Guatemala.


(Special thank to PAUL of Westin Hotel Sydney)
Challenge after challenge…..
We spent only one night after so many thousand of miles and
came right back to the next stop…LAX.

Venezia,Pisa and Rome in same day

On Sep.19th
We covered 3 cities in Italy in 1 day.
How? I am not gonna tell you.
We did not charter a plane.
We worked so hard.
That much I can tell you.



We left CDG in the morning and went to
my another favorite city of Europe…Venezia !!

Such a beautiful place.




I have traveled 50 countries but, when some one ask me
“Where could be the best place in the planet for honey moon?”
I answer is always “Venice, Italy”

By the way the Gondola cost €100.
We tried to talk to them just for one minutes picture,
everyone told us they do minimum of €100 tour and
nothing else. So, we ended up paying €100.
We wish so much for that planning team consider more for
the subjects.

Anyway it was very short stay but we enjoyed Venezia.


After 4 hours in Venezia, we went to Pisa for the tower and
Rome in the night.

Westin Excelsior Hotel in Rome is one of my favorite hotel in
Europe.

les Champs-Élysées

On Sep.18th

After the dangerous night, at about 4 am, Brad and I went
back to Cairo airport.



We flew to the CDG for 3 tasks.
Such a wonderful city… This was my 5th visit to Paris but
I always somehow like this city.
♪Oh Champs-Élysées, Oh Champs-Élysées♪

Brad and I stayed at Prince De Galles hotel.
Built in 1928 during the Art Déco period,
the Prince de Galles is centrally located on
Avenue George V, steps away from the
Avenue Champs-Elysées and some of
the most celebrated landmarks including
the Arc de Triomphe.

And more than that,
this Starwood Luxury Collection Hotel
was Elvis Presley’s favorite hotel in Paris.

We stepped out to the Champs-Elysées and
had French gourmet dinner.



Brad had foie gras for appetizer and steak for the
main dish. I had escargot for appetizer and the orange duck
for the main dish.

That was extremely happy night.

Almost killed!! Teams....Please be carefull!!

(Picture with chauffer...we pritended like having fun but look at the chauffers face)


Brad and the limousine chauffeur then went on the horse.
I said no but the man
pressured me saying "common now". Brad also said,
" we didn't come all the way here for nothing."
I was so uncomfortable.
I was not sure but I felt like we were walking into danger.

I still went on the horse but the saddle did not have any grip to
hold like the one in Texas. And after riding 5 yards I told them,
"I can't ride a horse!!"

The leader of hill bandits said, "I will get you a carriage".
Soon after his order, a younger hill bandit brought a carriage.
The leader put me on a carriage then he said
"My request to you is to make a smiling face".
He saw my nervous face.
However for me, I felt that something was going wrong,
and I could not give them a smile.

Finally, the midnight tour started.
I rode the carriage with the carriage operator.

The leader, Brad and the chauffer were riding a horse.
Going up the hill we went through total darkness several times.
Some places were very rough and the horses almost fell several times.

Many groups of hill bandits with 5 to 7 horses were running opposite
way with full speed and many times they looked like they wanted to
attack us.
There were also groups of vehicles look like snow mobile coming
toward us many times with smoke of ground.

I was so worried that the surrounding horseback men in the area
would attack us, and the leader said to us very often,
"Be careful with your belongings. If you lose anything here,
you will never find it again."

The leader said this so many times. It sounded like if someone
had killed you, nobody would ever find you.

The leader told us the tour takes 15min each way but that was
a big lie.It took us more than 3 times of what he said.

Groups of hill bandits came across us so many times.
Most groups were riding horses while some of them were with
special vehicles.

"Be careful with your belongings. If you lose anything here,
you will never find again."
(If someone kill you here, nobody will ever find you)

We are already nervous to the max.
His words did nothing to calm us.

With maximum strain, we finally arrived to the peak of the hill.
We could see the pyramids in the total darkness but there was
no light at all.

They took us tothe back of the pyramids.
The front side was lighted and the back side was engulfed in darkness.
The leader said "from here, you can see the pyramids by the heart".



For our purpose that we went there for the photograph that was
not an acceptable tour. As I felt earlier it was a total trick.
However our priority was going back alive.

Brad is telling the leader "This is great" "This is awesome"
"Thank you for taking us here"
(He later told me that all of those words came because he wanted them
to be great tour guides, not a group of hill bandits…for our safety reason)

I so many times prayed to god…I want to go back to the hotel with
both of us alive.

Finally, we left the peak going down the hill.
The leader is still repeating "Be careful with your belonging.
If you loseanything here, you will never find it again"
(If someone kill you here, nobody will ever find you)

I don't remember how many times or how long I pray….but finally
we arrived to the place that we got off the car.

The leader said, the government prohibit the pyramids tour after
3 o'clock. At that time I thought we have to finish in 30 minuets
or so.

I want to go back to hotel with both of us alive.
At the end, the leader said "give me the money."

"How much"
"I am not telling you to give me all you have. For a carriage 1200 pound.
There were 3 horses and 600 each for horse. Total of 3000 pound".
At the airport, one U.S. dollar was about 5.5 Egyptian pound…..
It was so much money but I didn't want any risk or argument.
I simply paid 500 some much U.S.dollars.

The leader said "you don't tell police or anyone in the hotel about this
tour".

Brad said "I promise you. You gave us such a wonderful tour.
There is no way that we tell anyone".

I said "I understand. we will keep our mouth shut".

Then the leader said "You promise to god?"

Brad and I both said "Yes, we promise to god".

Luckily it was only money and they did not take my professional camera
(Canon EOS-1D) or my Rolex.

Finally, we made it to the hotel.
We told the hotel manager immediately and the manager fired the chauffeur
on the spot. The limousine became free and he also gave us free Mercedes
ride back to the airport.

For any other people than me, it was probably impossible for photograph.
Thank god I was full time press photographer for more than 20 years.
I know how to adjust…



The next city will be Paris…

Teams.Please,be extra careful. Do not go to Pyramids any time after 3 pm.
We were lucky that came home alive.

Total culture shock...then ...

We took Egypt Air flight 452. We left BUD at 445pm and arrived
at CAI at 810pm. And during the flight the cabin attendant never
came to serve drinks to us.

Even domestic flights serve at least one drink... This is an
international flight! Won't they even sell a glass of water to their
customers? And when I went to the back of the plane to use the lavatory,
I found a group of cabin attendants resting and a cart full of beverages
and meals.

I asked the attendants, "When are you going to start flight service?
Do we need to special order anything? Or can I buy it here?"

An attendant answered responded, "Because of Ramadan we are not
showing any food or drinks to passengers. If you want something
I can give it to you now."

...After the sun went down...People started eating...

This was a total culture shock for us. Islamic people, during Ramadan,
do not eat any food or drink while the sun is up... not even one drop
of water!

Finally, We arrived at CAI at 810pm.

It always takes extra time after international flights in some countries...
after a long wait in the immigration line my turn finally comes.
The officer tells me, “You must go and purchase a visa.” I then had to
wait in another long line - we didn't know that we had to wait in line for
a “visa on arrival.” And when we finally arrived at the Sheraton Cairo
Hotel it was midnight.

After checking into the Five Star hotel, we immediately visited the
“Limousine Service Desk.” We then asked the attendant that, “We would
like to go somewhere where we can take picture with the pyramids in the
background.” They then told us it would cost 270 Egyptian pounds
(about 54 USD). That is about the average weekly income of people in the area.

It costed much more than a taxi on the street but we were willing pay extra
for using a hotel car for the extra security... a Mitsubishi Lancer pulled up
and Brad and I left for the pyramid tour around 1230am.

Although it was midnight the city of Cairo was full of life as if it was broad
daylight. Even small children were playing outside. The bright fluorescent
lighting created an unusual atmosphere in the darkness of the night.

This strange spectacle continued for a while after coming out of the hotel.
After about 45 minute the car stopped at a place in what looked like a
strange village. One man who looked about 30 years old came by the
car and the chauffeur went out to see the friend. They made us come out
of the car - we didn't want to come out but the chauffer was already out.
We had no choice but to come out of the car. The chauffer did not speak
English at all....


The other man spoke in English and told us “I am a friend of this chauffer
for many years” Soon after, 3 young men with horses came. They seemed
to be hill bandits." The man then told us "the only way to see the pyramids
is by horse or camel" We were then forced to get on the horses.
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