Respect Your Fellow Traveler

As I was walking down the concourse in Santiago Chile the night before last, I was passed by a fellow traveler who was in so much of a hurry that the bag he was dragging behind him almost snagged my computer briefcase and snatched it out of my hand. I watched him as he hurried up to the gate, pushed past a few people who were standing near the gate and planted himself near the front of the line. Not once did he slow down to even acknowledge that he had run into me. Obviously he was important and a Business Class traveler who was determined to be first in line to board the airplane. And he was about to board MY flight.

I boarded when Business Class boarding was announced, waiting for the initial rush of Business Class passengers to push ahead. As in almost all Latin American countries everyone was briefly delayed as each passenger's carry-on bags were searched by local security personnel. As I sauntered past, I noticed that the important "bag dragger" was being detained and both his briefcase and his drag-aboard were being inspected with a bit more interest than usual. I walked onto the airplane and found my seat, 5B, left hand side, one seat between me and the window.

International Business Class provides travelers with plenty of leg room. American Airlines advertises up to 5 feet of space between seats. I was standing in front of my seat (out of the isle to let other people pass) when I was pushed, ever so slightly, from behind. I glanced at the seat between me and the window and saw that my traveling companion for the night was going to be the important "bag dragger". GREAT!! This guy managed to ignore the fact that I was standing there and start unpacking his briefcase, take off his jacket, rearrange everything about his seat, inspect the menu for the evening's dinner and only bang into me 5 more times. No thank-yous or even an acknowledgment that I was there. I stepped out into the isle and put my briefcase into the overhead compartment, sat down, and had the pleasure of seeing the important "bag dragger" pull his drag-aboard into the isle, hoist it and discover that the overhead compartment was now full. Pay-backs can be Hell. He muttered something, then retreated to his seat and shoved his bag under the seat in front of him. His last act of arrogance during the boarding process was to take the evening's menu to a flight attendant at the front of the cabin and, obviously make a special request regarding his desires for dinner. (I think he was wanting to reserve his selection since it is possible that an airline will run out of certain popular selections.) The flight attendant let him know that she couldn't take his order at that time and he would have to take his turn at ordering after takeoff. As he came back to his seat he uttered the first words of the evening that I could actually understand, "That sucks big time!"

Fortunately, it was an overnight flight and I didn't have to deal with him except to ignore his snoring and know that, according to Bo, MY snoring had to be worse than his. I hope he woke up during the night while I snored away.

Overnight International Flights

Redeye's have NEVER been a good thing. Like a lot of other people, I find it difficult at best to sleep on an overnight flight. Flying back and forth to southern South America calls for Redeye's in both directions. Fortunately, for me, my company flies me in Business Class.

Business Class has varying degrees of comfort, depending on the airline, the aircraft and the configuration. My latest trips have been on American Airline 767s. I would rate my trip south to be excellent and the trip north to be average.

Heading south on this trip I was riding in a newly configured American 767 with seats that reclined until they were virtually flat providing the comfort of rolling from side to side while sleeping. Shields can be raised between seats to avoid the unexpected discomfort of waking to find yourself face-to-face with a total stranger. This configuration can spoil even the most jaded traveler.

Heading north I was on a traditional American 767 with the "old fashioned" Business Class seats that only partially recline. These seats trap you in a semi-reclined position with almost no arm room. Sleep, for me, is impossible and the best I can do is a string of catnaps.

The good news of traveling Business Class on American is that the Admiral's Club is made available. Food is available at a nominal cost. Coffee and juice is free. I can't bring myself to drink alcohol this early even though it is available.

The absolute greatest Admiral's Club benefit for veterans of overnight flights is the availability to take private showers. Simply check in at the Admiral's Club desk and make the request. Usually within 15 minutes you will be paged, handed a key and assigned a private bathroom. Available is a toilet, sink, seating area, towels and a wonderful shower that has a traditional high shower head, a lower shower head on a hose, and a number of horizontal shower heads to blast your entire body. Even though I checked my bags and had no clean clothes, the ability to stand and experience "water therapy" for 15 or 20 minutes was refreshing and a real eye-opener.

One final hint that I try to emphasize to all my traveling friends is to slow down and take your time. With proper planning, there is absolutely NO reason to run, trot or even walk fast through an airport.

Santiago Chile has gone to the dogs....

There are dogs everywhere on the streets of Santiago, but strangely enough they aren’t a nuisance. In fact they and the humans who move around them seem to have created a symbiotic relationship. On only one occasion have I seen someone swat at a dog and that was when a group of male dogs was following along behind a female and trying to propagate their species.

The people of Santiago freely feed the dogs. I have yet to see a malnourished dog. On a number of occasions I’ve seen them nibbling on small piles of dry dog food that has been left on the sidewalk and near a building. It is common to see them napping almost anywhere. They nap on the steps of buildings, on sidewalks, and in the parks of Santiago.

While walking down the sidewalks of the city it is common to see a dog, or even a small pack of dogs, purposefully trotting along the same sidewalk among the pedestrians. The amazing sight is when the dogs get to a street intersection and stop to wait for the traffic signal to indicate it is safe to cross. I’m not joking. They patiently stand and wait along with the pedestrians.

Okay. I have to admit that while the dogs appear to be waiting for the traffic signal, they are really only waiting for the people around them to start across the street. That is their signal to cross. I was at a crosswalk when a local woman took the opportunity to cross against a red light. As she started to cross, the dog between us stepped out into the street. When I didn’t move to cross the street, the dog stopped, looked back at me and then decided to hop back on the curb and wait for ME to cross. I wonder what his decision making process was.

Here dogs and cars get along as well. Drivers slow a bit to avoid them. Dogs stay on the sidewalks or next to the curb. The only vehicles that dogs find offensive are bicycles and motorcycles. Riders of both are subjected to barking tirades from any dog they pass.

On Being a Shaky Traveler

I’m being followed….

I’m not paranoid. I know I’m being followed. There are gremlins under the ground trying to track me down. (And I haven't been watching too many horror flicks while on the road.) I know this because when I was in Mexico City I was awakened by an earthquake shortly after midnight on Friday, April 13^th. I was at the Nikko Hotel in Polanco when I awoke because the hotel was moaning and groaning and the coat hangers were clattering against each other. I was staying on the 25^th floor and was glad I wasn’t higher. After managing to go back to sleep, I was jolted awake again from a minor but very noticeable aftershock. I was back in the Nikko Hotel last week and was staying on the 37^th floor. My “security” in being that high was that it had been explained to me that the Nikko had been built to survive a major earthquake.

Last week, from Mexico I flew into Santiago Chile. Nice city with a 50s, 60s, 70s look. This morning, being Sunday morning, I was sleeping in when the jolt of a new earthquake made my eyes pop open. There was no mistaking the feeling. The gremlins had tracked me down again. Check out http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2007blav.php

The expected aftershock occurred a couple of hours later.

My only previous experience with an earthquake was in a two story hotel, on the beach of California when my only indication was that the table I was using for a workspace began to move slightly. I looked over at the TV, which I had on a local all news channel, just in time to see the bulletin that an earthquake was in progress. I just sat there and rode it out while watching the squiggly lines being painted on the earthquake monitor on the TV.

I’m not sure what to seriously say about traveling and earthquakes. Logic tells me that if I’m in an earthquake zone that I first guarantee that the hotel in which I book a room has been built to withstand an earthquake. I should ask for a hotel room on a lower floor so that in the event of a quake I can either get down the stairs in a hurry or can be reached by a ladder system of a fire department. That means that I ought to ask for a room at or below the 5^th floor. (Of course, I then give up the luxury of less city/street noise that goes with the upper floors.) And on a lighter note, I need to get used to sleeping in pajamas while in an earthquake zone.