Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Travel Asia



Its time for a change. Meet me around Asia from january until end of march. Be prepared on in depth reports on traveling Hong Kong, Bangkok, Yangon, Phnom Penh, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bali, Bandung, Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai.

Stay tuned!

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Sunday, October 10, 2010

London

London is always worth the travel even so you had been there many times. Yesterday I celebrated 15 years returning guest with a traditional Cider @Piccadilly Circus. I used to have a couple of drinks there, during my first trip as a teenager. Long time ago, but still a very good feeling to return. London at all is best if you are slightly drunk. Just stop by any of the hundreds of pubs on your way and have a pint. Well to be honest the first one taste like pee..but you well get used to it very soon. Next weekend I gonna give you a in depth report on driving drunken throughout United Kingdom- so stay tuned!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Bucharest

I am going east!!! Its a long time ago I had been to romania. So keep in touch on my in depth reports on travel the east!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Sofitel Beijing Wanda



I stayed @ Sofitel in august for 4 nights. It was my first time to Beijing and I have to say location of the hotel is pretty good. Taxis are cheap but keep in mind that there is a lot of traffic jam during the day. At night its not a problem at all. You are able to reach the nightlife and entertainment area of Sanlitun in about 10- 15min. Next to the hotel are some local restaurants. Been there a couple of times, as these places are quiet nice to taste some local flavor. The overall style of the hotels is slightly "golden", maybe a little bit to much for my taste, but our Suite was very nice and the view facing the CCTV building was incredible. The Suite comes with a great bedroom, with a comfy bed, a huge bathroom with tub and extra shower. We had 3 TVs an Espresso-automat and fast Internet access- what else do you need? Well maybe a guest restroom, good room service and cool front office staff. I was quiet happy to stay @ Sofitel and will consider it for sure for my next trip to beijing!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Travel the world


My upcoming travel plans are more or less fixed. I will get in depth reports on travel St Petersburg, Tokyo, Seoul, Geneve and London. Can't go to United States again but might be able to check out Romania.
Stay tuned for more reports on travel the world!

Lantern Beijing

Beat Off Party - Beijing/China- at Lantern Club from Dorothée Sorbier °DOTHY° on Vimeo.

Lufthansa Beijing sucks!


After a great stay in Beijing, we left the Grand Hyatt right on time for the around 1 hours lasting journey to the airport by taxi.
Flight should have been a day flight leaving Beijing at 13.20pm and arrive @MUC in the evening same day. So we opted for LH Business Class, knowing well that there are better products in the air, but as premium costumers it shouldn't be a problem. Check in was a swift but security and passport control took ages as there is no priority lane. Still 30 minutes before flight we opted to check out the Air China Lounge which was more or less a nightmare as it was fu**ing hot at the airport. The Lounge offer free Internet access which is a plus. Just before heading to the gate I got told that there might be a minor delay. No problem so far, but I don't trust these guys and went to the gate to check. I asked Lufthansa staff at the gate about the delay and they said something about an hour and that we could go back to the Lounge again. i asked for the reason and they told me it is a "technical problem" with the aircraft. Well if you fly a lot you know, that technical issues won't be resolved within a couple of minutes. I went back to the Lounge to check my other option to reach my destination on that day and went back to the gate to request a rebooking to another flight or another night in Beijing. They refused and said that I will be fine as they intend to leave very soon. What a rubbish, got a text message right in this moment stating the flight will be delayed by another 4 hours! After long discussions with the flight manager, I got the OK from the immigration to leave China on another flight, which is not that easy, but besides there had been several more options he offered me to fly on my own cost to HKG and connecting on another LH flight to FRA. I refused as they should been in charge to make sure that I reach my destination on time. Later on I contacted the LH Station manager, a chinese Lady not willing to assist and lying to the costumers. She told me, that I am not allowed to leave the country on anther flight rather than the booked LH flight. That was the time I started to laugh even so it wasn't funny. I pointed out that I got the OK to leave already a few hours ago, she got really pissed off, why her flight manager was such a helpful person. End of the story- we left Beijing about 6 hours late, I missed my connecting flight in MUC and had to stay overnight. Did not got my luggage in MUC and had wear the same stuff again and again...
On top of that Lufthansa refuse to compensate us for the delay of around 14 hours and all the trouble caused!
Be aware as there is better way to fly!

Beijing







My recent trip took me to the chinese Capital and I must say I got flashed during my time over there. Besides people tend to promote Shanghai as the place to be in China I gonna let you know a secret- they are all wrong. Beijing is well worth the trip and even more exciting than Shanghai. For first timers to Beijing you will have to visit all the main tourist attraction like the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square e.g. For the day trip to the Great Wall I would recommend to use a private Car, as it is more flexible and comfortable as most bus tours will stop by some fabrics to buy some expensive rubbish. I did the tour with John - he is a very kind person and did a great job.
For inner City attractions you can easily take the subway or the plenty available cheap taxis. Just keep in mind that you need directions in mandarin, as the taxi drivers do not speak a single word english. Beijing is very huge and the traffic jam during the day is exhausting- so choose your place to stay carefully if you need to travel during rush hours.
My personal favorite is the new Sofitel Wanda, We had a very nice Suite facing the CCTV building! Location is great, as there are some cheap chinese restaurants near by and Sanlitun area is just 10 minutes by taxi. Another great option is the Grand Hyatt which is within walking distance to the Tiananmen Sqaure and Forbidden City. Its a very huge hotel with an amazing Pool and Spa area. The Hyatt is not really wow, but everything is solid 5 Star and the staff is very professional. Even if you don't stay there you should consider to indulge yourself to a traditional Beijing duck @ Made in China!
For a good night out you should head to Sanlitun and the streets around. There are plenty of bars, clubs and restaurants around.
My favorite is Lantern Club. Simply go for it!
If you need to relax and recover from your night out Dragonfly is a very good place to unwind. Its not posh at all, but quality is very good and prices are reasonable.
I did not try Herborist Spa but it seems to be a very nice place. So give it a try and let me know, as I gonna be back soon.

Stay tuned for my upcoming report on Beijing in winter!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Travel is Entertainment


Being in many places worldwide its not easy to find something really "new". Anyway traveling keeps me busy and entertained even so I am a regular guest to places like New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Jakarta. The upcoming month will be surprisingly new. I will head twice to all time favorite european destinations, namely Barcelona and Malaga. New places to explore will be Marrakech and Beijing. Yeah guys- I gonna explore the hot maghreb lifestyle and get spanked in the desert! If you wanna join: Hotel du Tresor!
And if you wanna dance the whole night you might check out Beijing nightlife:
You might find myself @White rabbit, Propaganda, Hei Hei or Suzie

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Moscow






Moscow is a really huge city and could be hardly compared to any other place I had been to. First of all its not easy to get a permit to join the russian party crowd for a weekend. Its complicated and expensive at its best. I would strictly recommend to use an Agent to apply for the necessary visa documents. They charge you a relativly small fee and you do not have to struggle with the russian officers at the embassy. I used this Agent in germany and it worked well. Keep in mind to apply early to avoid extra charges. You should try fly into Domodevo Airport as the Airport is quiet modern with pretty good Star Alliance lounges offering nice views on the tarmac, free wifi and a relaxed atmosphere. But main plus is the so called Aero Express train. Offering train service for 250RUB, which is about 6 Euros or 8 Bucks. Train runs at least every hour and the journey takes about 45 minutes to Paveletsky railway station, where you have access to the metro network.
Places to stay:
Well as I told you already it is very expensive in moscow. If you are on the cheap side go to Berlin or spend some money that you are able to afford your stay in moscow in style. There are some hostels available, but I not sure about the quality. Please keep in mind, that you need to register while you are staying in moscow. Most bigger hotels will do arrange that for you free of charge, but the cheap places will charge you extra for that service. If you are seeking a "cheap", clean and safe place you should consider the pretty new Ibis ,
located about 10 minutes walking from the Paveletsky station. The hotel offers affordable small rooms with ensuite bathroom and double beds. Wifi is free of charge and staff speaks english. There is a Starbucks on the way to Dobrininskaya station where you can grab a coffee and watch very sexy boys and girls having a rest from studying.
If you are not a penny pincher and looking for a place with charm you should stay at the Hilton, which is nestled in a heritage building. Rooms, breakfast and service received is to notch, but its pricey. Internet access is about 960RUB per 24hour, which is around 24 Euros!!
If you wanna stay in style go for the Park Hyatt.
Enjoy:
Entertainment is a huge topic while you are staying in moscow. There are so many places to choose from, but even if you have a enough money, keep in mind that they do have Face Control to keep places very special!
My favorite place for a relaxed dinner and a few drinks afterwards is Krizes Zhanra. This place turns into a club late at night, offering mostly life music or even electro parties. Its a place for the younger, hip, gay, sweet and beautiful crowd. Well don't worry- guests are mostly very nice and its a good place to start your night out in moscow. If you wanna dance all night go for Propaganda. A small club offering mainly electronic music with top Djs experienced world wide. I did not have to pay a cover charge and drinks are not to pricey.

Getting around:
Московский метрополитен- the moscow metro network is the main form of public transport in moscow. Its not only safe, fast and cheap its also on of the main tourist attractions of the russian capital. So get your sight seeing trip started in the underground! There are a few official taxi companies offering their service in moscow but they are not reliable if you don't speak any word russian. Try the "lokal" ones. Just wait a few seconds on a bigger street for a private car to stop by and tell the driver where you wanna go, fix a price and enjoy your trip. Its easy as far as the driver knows the place you wanna go to. You should get anywhere within the city center for about 200RUB. At night it might be more expensive- so bargain hard or wait for another car.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Moscow Baby!

Well folks I gonna be in Moscow in march. Hope to see you there and stay tuned for my in depth report on moscow nights.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Gulf Air Sucks!


My upcoming travel plan included flights on Gulf Air from Cairo via Bahrain to Bangkok. I booked my First Class tickets with them already in december. A few days ago I checked my schedule online to recognize that they canceled my flights, but didn't inform me so far. I did some research on the web to recognize that GF will stop their First Class service. I called them and they mentioned that they canceled my flights due to some fare mistakes and what they offer is a refund or fly Business Class for a much higher prices instead. I opted for the money and have to reschedule everything. F**ck- I hate these unprofessional guys!!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Same Same but different!

This is a movie about my "first" contact about Cambodia! Very impressive story....

Monday, January 11, 2010

BMI Number One Heathrow



London Heathrow is a nightmare if you need to transfer, but indeed even in on of the worst airports you might find something worth a visit. One of the first things you might need after a long haul flight is a refreshing shower. BMI "Number One" lounge offers what you are seeking for: shower facilities with private restroom, free wifi, snacks and drinks on the house with a nice view on the tarmac while you are waiting for your connecting flight.
You will have access to the well done lounge when flying on one of the Star Alliance Carriers no matter which class booked in, if you are Star Gold or on LH and LX flights if you are FTL.

Florida




I grew up in Europe and when i was a teenager it was very common to travel to Florida as it seems to be a big dream come to true during the early nineties. Well as I do many things not "on time" I decided to give it a try during my recent stay in California as First Class Travel on United is nowadays a different story to cattle class the "dream come true guys" where on. As I had some flights in and out of Tampa International so I opted for the very nice Intercontinental Tampa , as they do offer free of charge Airport transfer. The Hotel is located in an office building, so not a resort like place you might think of, when going to Florida. But the service received was very nice. Rooms where comfortable and they do have free Wifi. I you are in a hurry in the morning, I would recommend the Illy coffee shop on lobby floor. During the weekend we had two days off- perfect for a road trip to Miami! In my opinion Florida is famous for jewish grannies, the gay community, white dressed and black skinned guys and of cause Florida Rolf. So what do you think what car I opted for at Avis counter- right! A huge white convertible car!!! Perfect for cruising around Miami Beach and hunting for an alligator in the Everglades.

After a day of driving via Orlando, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale we finally arrived in Miami, but make sure you have the right address in your GPS (the Avis one sucks) as we first stopped at a "spaniocal" Hyatt before heading to our reserved Hyatt Miami
If you are seeking some more entertainment besides some beers at the bar and a final "Presidente" beer before going to sleep you should consider one of the following places:
White Room

Bella Rose

BLACK SUNDAY ft TROUBLE & BASS from Alexis Mincolla on Vimeo.