Traveling with Rob's Privacy Policy
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JW Marriott Mall of America
I have stayed at the JW Marriott, Mall of America location a few times, but I have never photographed it or blogged it which given it's proximity to my home is just nuts! So, given my inability to use my suite nights in London, I tried them here and I was successful, nea ...
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American Airlines Flagship Lounge - Miami International Airport
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JW Marriott Grosvenor House London
After lots of dreaming and drooling over hotels for a stay in London, and being a huge fan of the JW Marriott brand, I just reached down and paid the amount that was needed to stay here at the JW London. This is - I think - the second most expensive JW in the worl ...
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Harry Potter Studio Tour, Watford England
The Arrival - Dri ...
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Robs Travel Status for Flights and Hotels
Airline Status
Marriott Status
Hilton Status
So if you follow me with any frequency (and so few do), you see me in exclusive airline lounges around the world, in first class on flights, upgraded to suites and executive lounges at hotels and may think "Damn ...
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American Airlines Chelsea First Class Lounge, JFK
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Finnair Business Class Lounge, Helsinki
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Golden Lounge Kuala Lumpur First Class
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Hilton O'Hare
Driving back from southern Indiana and knowing it would be a 9 or 10 hour trip which I didn't want to deal with all in one day, I started looking for hotels at around the halfway point, which is Chicago. Downtown was stupidly high priced, but out by the airport, a hotel I have used ma ...
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Golden Lounge Kuala Lumpur Business Class
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Bangkok Thailand
Bangkok, as Murray Head says, "Oriental setting and the city don't know that the city is getting."
Originally a small village in the 1400s, it became the seat of power when the capital city of Ayutthaya was sacked in 1767 and the King moved the everything here. From its beginning a ...
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Wings at the 1900 on Fifth lounge in the Seattle Westin
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Wings at The Hilton Rosemont
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Wings at the Qantas First Class Lounge, Singapore
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Wings at The JW Marriott, Chicago
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Qatar Airways Premium Lounge Bangkok
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Qantas Airlines First Class Lounge Singapore
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Oriental Institute and Robie House, University of Chicago
On the grounds of the University of Chicago, a world renowned private research college with roots back to 1857, are two amazing places, the Oriental Institute initiated in 1919 for all methods of Oriental studies, and the Frank Lloyd Wright R ...
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Hilton Kuala Lumpur
I had a decent length layover in Kuala Lumpur, and while I could have spent the night in the First Class lounge since they are open 24/7, I decided I wanted a real room. I looked at the easiest to deal with and the Hilton right next to the Sentral Train Station was pretty much m ...
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Conrad Hilton Hotel, Bangkok
I was making an incredibly roundabout trip to Thailand, and with my recently re-acquired Hilton status, I wanted to give the Conrad there a try to see how it affected my stay and compare it to the JW Marriott in Bangkok which in my view is the equivalent luxury brand at ...
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Mojjo at Skyview Hotel, Bangkok
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Finnair Platinum Wing Helsinki
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The Roosevelt Waldorf Astoria
So I was searching the entirety of North America for a swanky hotel to stay at, and up came The Roosevelt which is a Waldorf Astoria, the highest property type Hilton has. The last time I stayed in one was 2009 so I was excited to go to one again.
I then started scouti ...
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New Orleans French Quarter
This is going to be a different style of writing as I'm going to give you a journey through the French Quarter, what places I liked, what I disliked, where to go and wander, and things I discovered during it. PLEASE let me know via comments if you like this style better t ...
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Conrad Indianapolis
Now that work has told me I can basically digitally nomad from anywhere in the world except an Iranian prison, and flights have been coming to a more palatable price range, I booked a flight to Indianapolis (in my great home state of Indiana) to talk and drink with friends I have ...
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Double Tree Cedar Rapids
I attend a World War II event in Cedar Rapids every year, and last year I had gone for a drink at the bar at the Double Tree Cedar Rapids which was a very nice place, so I booked a room in it for this year's stay hoping it was equally as nice.
Arrival
I drove south down I-38 ...
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Como Park and Zoo
Como Park, which is now 384 acres in the heart of St. Paul, was originally 300 acres and was farm land and wilderness in the 1870s. St. Paul at its heart is a Victorian city and many things happened along very English lines.
The original space of Como Lake was actually a resort es ...
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Minneapolis Institute of Arts
In 1883, business and professional leaders in Minneapolis were organizing art exhibits to bring them into the community. They decided to make a permanent home inside what was then the Minneapolis Public Library.
In 1911, Clinton Morrison, the chairman of the First Nati ...
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Baccarat Bar, London
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JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort
I was searching around for hotels and cheap flights towards cities where they aligned (hint, there was one in the USA), and found Tucson with the JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort for a weekend. I just couldn't refuse the rate and a sub $300 flight.
Arrival
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54thirty, Denver
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Amtrak, Roomette, St. Paul to Chicago October 2020
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Wings at The Hilton City Center, Denver
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Wings at The Crooked Pint, Minneapolis MN, April 2022
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Wings at Willies
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Wings at The Four Seasons, Denver
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Hilton Denver City Center
I was heading to Denver to evaluate a particular vintage automobile in the area, but would not able to see it before Sunday. Not wanting to waste all of my time just traveling, I drove overnight Friday to Denver and found an acceptable rate. (I found out after I got there, ...
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American Airlines Flagship Lounge - O'Hare International Airport
Hours
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Hotel Ivy, Minneapolis
I had a couple of free night certificates for Marriott expiring in June and then discovered I could add points to them to use at higher category properties. This opened a lot more options, including some really fancy ones, and I found a weekend where the points and my schedul ...
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Hilton Rosemont O'Hare
I was coming back from the JW Marriott in downtown Chicago to fly home and there was some snow. In this time period, we apparently just cancel flights, and I needed to find a place to stay for the night. I had initially looked at the Hilton at the airport itself, but I guess ...
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American Airlines Flagship Lounge - JFK International Airport
Hours
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Tate Modern Museum of Art
An old coal fired powerplant with massive spaces was converted into an art museum. Opening in 2000, after a couple decades of attempts to make something out of the old station, it's the #1 modern art museum in all of England.
The Arrival - St. ...
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Marriott Chandler AZ, 2020
I was consulting for a company in Chandler, Arizona and had to go for a week of meetings. I was looking at hotels in the area, mainly the JW Marriott Camelback, but the rates were not reasonable. I did find great rates though at the Marriott Phoenix Chandler. The name i ...
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Museum of London
A fairly young museum for such an ancient city. Built on the old Roman Wall, in the City of London, not to be confused with larger London. Only around for about 20 years, this has the largest urban collection of 6 million items, in the world.
The Arrival - St. ...
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Le Meridien Indianapolis
I had driven to Virginia to pick up some World War 2 items since shipping them would have been exceptionally difficult, and after 30 hours on the road, I was just exhausted. So I decided to stop for the night in Indianapolis and found a few hotels with attractive rates. Th ...
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Hilton Kensington 2022
So as part of my 2 weeks in London, chasing the best rates on the best days, I had a 6 day stay at the Hilton in Kensington. Having stayed here before, I had a good idea what was going to be up with the property.
Arrival
I took a bus which was only £1.88, quite a bargain ...
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The Westminster 2022
While figuring out my 2 weeks in London there was a particular Saturday night where rates were just not to be had anywhere in the city, so I used points to get a fancier hotel experience than the regular run of the mill Hiltons. I came across The Westminster which is a Curio Co ...
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American Airlines, First Class Flight New York to London, March 2022
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Hilton London Heathrow 2022
On my last full day in London, knowing I had a very early flight the following morning, I decided to stay at the Hilton Heathrow, located at terminal 4. This is also technically a closed terminal so there is no public transportation, but there is a shuttle bus that goes a ...
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Hilton London Hyde Park 2022
I was finally able to reasonably get back to London in March of 2022 based on their new rules at the time for fully vaccinated individuals, to attend some events for International Woman's Day with some institutions I belong to over there. It was a long trip and I was ra ...
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British Airways Concorde Room - March 2022
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Chicago 2020
Chicago started as a Native American settlement in the 1700s. After the Northwest Indian War, the area that is now Chicago was turned over to the military and they built Fort Dearborn in 1803 on the Chicago River.
In 1833, after getting stomped by the British in 1812 and then the later ...
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JW Marriott Chicago, 2022
In February of 2022 with the pandemic still in full go mode, I found a screaming rate at the JW Marriott Chicago for a few days during the week, so I purchased a flight and went.
Arrival
I had a very early morning flight into O'Hare and collected my luggage, then onto the s ...
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Malaysia Airlines, Business Class Flight Kuala Lumpur to Bali, October 2017
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Wings at the Westin Perimeter, Atlanta - October 2020
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Wings at the Blue Birch in the Minneapolis Marriott - June 2021
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Wings at Level III in the JW Marriott, San Francisco - October 2021
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Wings at Avenue Bar & Lounge in the Hilton Kennsington - October 2021
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The St. Louis Zoo
The area that is now the St Louis Zoo started as a very large bird aviary for the 1904 World's Fair, which was famously attended by Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. The local citizens purchased the massive iron cage to start the zoo (it was pretty much where it is now).
In 1910, the ...
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Museum Mechanical, San Francisco
The Museum Mechanical, or the Musée Mécanique, is a collection of eclectic and historically significant arcade type machines that are primarily of the kinetic variety. It was started by Ed Zelinsky when he was a little boy in 1920 in an amusement park ca ...
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American Airlines, Business Class Flight New York to London, October 2021
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The Marquette, Minneapolis
Having recently re-achieved my long languishing Diamond status at Hilton Hotels, there was a property in Minneapolis I had been looking at since 2008 as a place I really wanted to review. I got a one-bedroom suite in 2021 and in 2022 the opportunity that I couldn't refuse ...
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Anchorage Museum, Anchorage Alaska
In 1968, it started as an Art and Ethnographical museum, and became accredited in 1973 (which I don't know what you have to do to get this, but apparently it helps). In 1992, the Smithsonian opened the Arctic Studies Center here which helped with recognition and m ...
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Art Institute of Chicago 2021
The institute is somewhat related to the Chicago Academy of Design school, a free school for artists created in 1866 with a gallery to show works. They ended up charging $10 a month but the success allowed them to grow the gallery into a museum.
The great Chicago Fire ...
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Palmer House Hilton, Chicago 2021
Well, my London Christmas trip got cancelled by the Omicron variant (ok, not cancelled but it became infeasible to go with the length of quarantine implemented). I began looking for a place close to home since it was also now too expensive to buy a ticket being so s ...
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California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco
In 1853, the academy was created to collect natural items from every corner of California. Located in San Francisco, it comes as no surprise they were already progressive and hired many female scientists in the 19th century.
The first official permanent ...
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Turkish Airways Miami Lounge - July 2021
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British Airways First Class Lounge - July 2021
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Kew Gardens, London
The area started as royal estates and gardens in the 1200s. Throughout the reigns of various kings and queens, land was acquired, more gardens built, buildings rose and fell, and in the 1700s the estates were merged into a large botanical garden. In the 1840s, it was formally de ...
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Marriott Union Square, San Francisco, 2021
So I typically will variate between Marriott and Hilton now, depending on price and level of service available, and I was going to San Francisco to celebrate with former co-workers our mutual escape from the place we worked at together.
They were based in t ...
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Natural History Museum, London
The museum originally started from a collection in the 1700s by the Dr. Sir Hans Sloane in the original British Museum location. Notorious for its nepotism in handing out staff appointments (even those that knew nothing about what they were doing) and inability to pre ...
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Notting Hill
The neighborhood now known as Notting Hill was previously an industrial area for piggeries (large open fenced-in areas of nasty pig raising and slaughtering) and pottery makers, with a massive lake of pig "run off" (we know what that really means), making this a very difficult area to l ...
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London Bridges Walk
Apparently it's quite a thing to do, so I did it. There is an amazing tongue-in-cheek write up on the walk (but not really pictures, which is why I have this post) at this location: London Bridges Walk
It says it takes 2 and 1/2 hours. Don't you believe it. Count on 3 and 1/2 ...
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Dukes Bar, London, October 2021
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JW Marriott Resort & Spa, Las Vegas NV, 2021
Having stayed at only 14% of the JW Marriotts in the world so far, I have some catchup to do this year. I found a reasonable rate and lower points needed for a stay, so I booked the JW Marriott Resort & Spa for a few nights.
Arrival
After checking out of ...
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Angkor Wat - 2017
The history can be seen in my previous visit in 2016, here -> Angor Wat - 2016
The Arrival
A usual, my driver Lucky drove me to the temple. ...
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Wings at COV restaurant in Wayzata, Minnesota - August 2021
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Wings at the JW Marriott Resort in Las Vegas - March 2021
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Wings at the Marquette Hotel in Minneapolis - April 2021
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Wings at Crust and Craft at the St. Regis Maldives - July 2021
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Wings at Lily bar in the Belagio - March 2021
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Minnesota Landscape Arboretum 2021
The location was created in 1907 to study cold weather hardy plants like HoneyCrisp apples and azaleas, which had economic value. It formally became an arboretum in 1958 with the total acquisition of 160 acres, and it has grown over the years to include 1200 acres ...
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Qatar Business Class Miami to Doha, July 2021
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Qatar Al Mourjan Business Lounge - July 2021
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St. Regis Vommuli, Maldives
Each of my kids get to pick a destination for a special vacation, and my youngest daughter wanted to go somewhere with overwater villas. She didn't specify a location, just was fixated on staying in one. I had originally looked at Bora Bora because the island is lousy w ...
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Minnesota History Center, St. Paul 2021
Created as the headquarters and central draw point for the Minnesota Historical Society in 1992, the current building replaced the old long-term headquarters on the capitol grounds that has now been removed.
Holding over 1,000,000 artifacts of historical and c ...
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Bell Museum of Natural History, St. Paul 2021
The museum was created by legislative decree in 1872 to showcase Minnesota animal and plant life. It was originally just one room at the University of Minnesota before moving to a new building in 1940 that was half funded directly by James Ford Bell of ...
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Germany, 2009
It was the kick-off international travel trip that started all of this stuff you read about in here and part of the Germanic skiing trip with the oldest boy, a few days across southern Germany before heading to Austria.
The Arrival
We fl ...
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BMW World, 2009
The home of the BMW Headquarters, the Museum and the gratuitous delivery center. All things BMW can be had from hats to a $200,000 custom car.
The Arrival
I dro ...
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Paris, 2009
After I had my first foray into international travel earlier in 2009 (Germany/Innsbruck), I went to Paris that fall. It can be a dice toss for the weather, but I lucked out.
Not to bore you by repeating things here, I have the history of Paris in a previous post.
The Arrival
I flew fro ...
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Innsbruck, 2009
As part of my first major international foray since the military, I took my oldest son (12 at the time) to Austria to ski, which he was really into at the time. Innsbruck seemed a reasonable place given the proximity to two winter Olympic sites and a Hilton hotel where I was a Diamo ...
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Las Vegas 2021
Las Vegas, Nevada is a long-standing natural oasis. While it might be difficult to imagine now with its desert surroundings, it used to be a marsh until the rivers went underground as they have a tendency to do in very sandy and porous soil. A lot of animal life and Native traffic i ...
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Washington DC, 2017
Originally a couple farms and a lot of swamp, recently the disdain of the American voter. It's a monumental Capital location, with a couple hundred years of growth and building to impress.
The Arrival
I was ...
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Wings at Timothy O'Tooles in Chicago - October 2020
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Wings at the Observation Bar, Queen Mary Los Angeles - February 2020
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Wings at the Hong Kong Cafe, The Venetian Las Vegas - March 2021
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Wings at the Westin Perimeter, Atlanta - October 2020
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The Venetian and The Palazzo, 2021
Near the north of the strip (or what I consider the functional end even though it does continue a ways), is the Venetian. It's a grand themed complex that is confusing to navigate and designed to keep you on property. That's ok as you will soon see.
Arrival
I dr ...
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Cosmopolitan, Bellagio and Caesars Palace, 2021
At the heart of the strip are Caesars and the Flamingo (across the street behind another casino... strange), the center of luxury and the high end of gambling. Bellagio the king of elegance, Caesars the big roller capitol and Cosmopolitan the party ca ...
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Mandalay Bay and Luxor Casinos, 2021
Yes, we are all used to the history here for my posts, but... mainly these are casino/hotels at the end of the strip during the buildup in the 90s when themes were king.
Arrival
I drove s ...
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Shelby American, 2021
Shelby American was started by race car driver and car manufacturer, Carrol Shelby, creator of the AC Cobra and Ford GT (that won Lemans). He continued to modify existing frames with higher performance engines and suspension until his death in 2012.
His company continues on an ...
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Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort, Las Vegas NV, 2021
An Italian style resort on Lake Las Vegas, east of the city, but just west of the Hoover Dam. It was a very good points spend so I could use my credit card free night stay at The Westin Resort.
Arrival
After landing in Las Vegas, it was over to ren ...
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Marriott Minneapolis Southwest, 2021
I needed a break (and to hit 75 nights with Marriott for the year) and was searching around the Minneapolis area for a nice weekend stay. I had some criteria, like restaurant was open so that I would get breakfast for my status level. While searching I found th ...
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Le Meridien Angkor, Siem Reap Cambodia, 2019
In December of 2019, I took my third trip to the Angkor temples and once again booked my stay at the Le Meridien Angkor down the road from Angkor Wat and up the road from the party district of Siem Reap.
Arrival
I had flown into Phnom Penh because honestl ...
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Westin Perimeter North, Atlanta GA, 2020
I had to make a quick business trip to Atlanta, and the timing of the flights left me with the need to overnight in the area. Being that I was already far north, I decided to find a nice property north of downtown and found the the Westin Perimeter. I calle ...
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Rand Tower Hotel, Minneapolis MN, 2020
I had seen on a construction sign in September when photographing downtown Minneapolis, that the old Rand Tower was being converted into a hotel, and when I looked it up, I saw it was a Tribute Collection for Marriott, which was a double bonus for me.
Also it' ...
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Fremont Street, Las Vegas 2021
The first paved street in Las Vegas, dating to 1925, it was named for the explorer John Charles Fremont. It became the heart of downtown and the location of many casinos when the train station was built in 1940, taking away the southern strip's primary influence. (Mos ...
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Mob Museum, Las Vegas 2021
Situated in a 1930s post office and courthouse, the building housing the Mob Museum was sold by the feds in 2002 for $1 to start the museum. The Italian-Americans were notably against it, and the FBI in support of it.
The interests of the museum on organized crime won.
A ...
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Redrock Canyon National Conservation Area, Nevada 2021
Red Rock is an area inhabited by Native Americans for around 11 to 13 thousand years by various cultures (some unknown to us). Evidence of their occupation in the form of pottery, burn pits, and petroglyphs provide archaeologists the proof of t ...
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Pinball Hall of Fame, 2021
Starting as the personal collection of Tim Arnold, an enthusiast and repair pro, he started renting space in 2006 to show his collection. He moved to a larger one in 2009, where it is now, and is completing a purpose-built location to house all 700 machines in full access ...
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American Museum of Natural History
This New York icon was established in 1869, when everything was housed in the Arsenal Building by the Central Park Zoo. In 1877, they started building at its current location on Central Park West. Throughout the years, there have been several buildings added to t ...
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Bayon
Built around 1190 A.D., Bayon is the only temple in the Angkor empire to be dedicated to Brahma. It was, of course, constructed during the reign of king Jayavarman VII (whose name you recognize from many many other temple posts), and was the last temple he built.
After his death, many subsequ ...
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Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, Washington DC 2017
The museum's collection started in 1876 with some Chinese kites received as a gift from the Emperor of China. For 100 years, it was never consolidated into a singular location as items were mostly stored and spread between different Smithsonian loc ...
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Established in 1870, the museum was originally located at 681 5th Avenue, which is now a dull ass office building. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, more commonly referred to as The Met, was instantly the darling of the cultural elite. It rapidly outgrew its ...
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Napa Valley Wine District 2015
While the history of Napa is quite old into pre-history, I'm starting with the wine era, which was established commercially in 1861 by the Krug family. It's obvious by taking a walk through the wine section of a store that there are many many more wineries now (strang ...
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Alaska, 2013
Geologically speaking, a lot of Alaska is young; the rivers are pretty shallow as they haven't had a lot of time to form. Roads are limited, and usually in pretty rough shape from winter's destruction. Private aircraft rule the outer areas as they have the only access. Not a place to ...
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La Brea Tar Pits, Los Angeles 2019
Seeping from the massive petroleum deposits beneath Los Angeles for tens of thousands of years, some of the products reacted with heat, air, and pressure to become natural asphalt, or tar. The area got covered with foliage or water, and for millennia animals would ...
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USS Iowa (BB-61)
Laid down in June 1940, the first in her class of massive battleships created to counter the Japanese super battleships, USS Iowa launched in August 1942 from the New York Naval Shipyard.
The ship was armed with the biggest guns the US had to offer, 16 inch bores that could throw ov ...
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Hertz Presidents Status giveaway - Jan 2021
The How
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National World War 2 Museum, New Orleans 2016
The National WWII Museum, previously the National D-Day Museum, opened in 2000 on the 56th anniversary of D-Day. New Orleans was chosen for the location of the museum owing to the fact that the Higgins Landing Crafts were designed, engineered and built j ...
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Wynwood Art District
In 2003, Wynwood's creative community was started as a collective artists district , mostly centered around galleries and art shows. The area eventually hit a peak of 70 galleries, 12 studios and 5 museums along with the Wynwood Walls, the area's current claim to fame.
The Wyn ...
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Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago 2020
The Field Museum was incorporated in 1893 to hold various exhibits from the Columbian Exposition. The exhibits were held until the 1920s in the building that became the Museum of Science and Industry.
The massive building in the Neoclassical style conta ...
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Munich, Germany 2018
Details of Munich can be found on this post: Munich, 2014
The Arrival
I have tried to hit the Christkindlmarkt in C ...
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Barcelona, Spain 2010
A settlement since at least 5000 B.C., Barcelona was documented in 15 A.D. as a Roman camp that reshaped the settlement into a colony of Rome with many small towns around the area as part of Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino. The name was then shortened to Barcino as ...
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Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago 2020
Opened in 1933 for the Chicago Century of Progress, MSI is housed in an original 1893 building from the Columbian Exposition. It became a permanent fixture in 1933 and the building had to be upgraded significantly as it wasn't built to last in 1893.
Cove ...
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Sheraton Gangham, Seoul 2017
In December of 2017, I flew to Seoul, well because I needed to cap my status, and I had not traveled there before. 14 hours after leaving Dallas, I landed and began the journey of trains/subways/sidewalks to my hotel.
Arrival
The Sheraton Gangham is on a very busy stre ...
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Preah Khan
Preah Khan was built on the site of a great victory over the Chams who occupied what is now Vietnam since back around the 1150s. They marched 300 miles across untamed land to just get utterly stomped by Jayavarman VII (this guy was their greatest King). It contained such riches and an im ...
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Queen Mary Observation Bar, February 2020
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The Wing First Class lounge by Cathay - April 2019
Hours
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Wings at the Peachtree Marriott in Atlanta - January 2020
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Preah Ko & Bakong
The Khmer empire was solidified at 802 A.D. The first king, Jayavaraman II founded his capital, Hariharalaya, south east of current Siem Reap 300 years before the massive building spree of Angkor to the north of Siem Reap. His nephew, Indravarman I, built Prea Ko in 879, and a bi ...
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Prague
Prague is located on a Paleolithic site, meaning humans have been in this location from up to 100,000 years ago to around 12,000 years ago.
Various tribes inhabited the area since its surmised founding around 1306 B.C. Circa 500 B.C. a group of people called the Bohii settled here, which cau ...
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Neak Poun
First mentioned by a Chinese traveler in the 1200s, Neak Poun, "the entwined serpents" was named in honor of all the Naga statues around it. The other information about its name was not recorded or has been lost. It's assumed to have been built by Jayavaraman VII, the greatest king of th ...
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Dachau Concentration Camp, Germany
After the Reichstag fire and the National Socialist (Nazi) party winning the chancellorship and taking over a large part of the government, Dachau was created in March 1933 from an old Munitions plant. Using the fire as an excuse to basically declare a dictatorshi ...
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Phnom Bakheng
Constructed atop a hill in 1052, a good 200 years before the rest of this area took off, Phmon Bakheng was the primary temple in the Angkor space. Dedicated to Shiva, this was the first temple built here as the capital was moving from Hariharalaya. It's somewhat of a rarity since it' ...
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Jakarta, Indonesia 2019
The nation now known as Indonesia began as a Hindu kingdom called Tarumanagara in 417 A.D. as this is the earliest confirmed date based on a tablet found discussing waterways (sewage channels...) being built by the king.
It was stable and grew into a huge trading hub, given i ...
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Hawaii
Thought to have been populated by Polynesian travelers about 300 BC, the Hawaiian islands are comprised of an archipelago of eight major islands and numerous smaller land masses, atolls, and reefs. The first westerners to see the area might have been in 1500s but because the Spanish wanted t ...
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American Airlines, Business Class Flight Philadelphia to Munich, December 2018
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Shanghai, China 2016
A Stone Age settlement from 4000 years ago, Shanghai was taken over by several subsequent Chinese dynasties, which I am woefully unknowledgeable about.
It became a major trade point in 746 when coastal and inter-empire trade grew significantly. The value of the city being at th ...
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Pre Rup
Pre Rup is a Hindu shrine to the god Shiva. Built in 962, it's pretty old for the Ankgor complex, predating the larger temples to the west. It is thought to have been used largely for funerals and is nicknamed the 'turn the body' temple due to the practice of turning a body to each compass ...
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W Miami, 2020 - Another Covid Special
It was July, and I had some money value vouchers and other things for flights and hotels left over from before the epidemic hit. Miami had started opening up again, and there are some properties there I REALLY want to stay at and review (Like both JWs; I have s ...
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London, England
Ah London, my third trip to the capital of the British Empire. I won't bore you with the details of the history, as it's all here in this trip -> London, 2010.
The Arrival
Flying in to Heathrow with the family ...
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Chinatown, and Flower Market, Bangkok Thailand
Bangkok's Chinatown started as a Chinese trading community around 1782. It was nothing more than wilderness when the land was granted by the king of Siam, His Royal Highness Taksin, but it quickly grew as the city grew. It's now perhaps the largest Ch ...
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Innsbruck
A human settlement since the Stone Age, this area became an important stop on the Roman Road from Verona into Germanic areas circa 350 A.D. Around 1167, a bridge was built across the river Inn, which was a huge navigational barrier to that point, giving the city its current name (Inn, nam ...
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Qantas Los Angeles First Lounge - March 2016
Hours
6:3 ...
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Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo started as a small fishing village at an unknown time. In 1447, the local clan, the Edo (meaning Cove & Entrance), fortified it and built the castle where the Emperor current resides.
When the local leader, Tokugawa leyasu, became the Shogun of Japan (basically military dictator) ...
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Griffith Park
Started around 1882 as an ostrich farm by Griffith J. Griffith, planned to be the central draw for the area where he had built housing around the farm. After selling housing tracts, he donated most of the remaining land (3000+ acres) for a park.
Griffith was fascinated by many things ...
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Miami Beach
An empty coastal barrier island for most of recorded history, the first structure built was a shipwreck rescue station commissioned by President Grant in the 1870s. At that time, some coconut plantations were started but soon failed. One of the investors, John S. Collins, bought out th ...
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Miami
Originally a native American settlement at the mouth of the Miami river for 2,000 years, Miami became a settlement in 1836 after the United States got it from Spain. A fort was built soon thereafter to suppress the Seminole Indians. Major migration to the area started in the late 1800s and i ...
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Munich Germany
Munich is the capital of Bavaria, a state in southern Germany. Originally a Benedictine monk settlement as far back as the 8th century, the city was first mentioned in documents in 1158. At that time, the local Duke had a toll bridge built over the Isar River despite the existence o ...
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Helsinki, Finland
Helsinki, now a city in Finland, was originally part of Sweden, then part of Russia. After the Russian Civil War during World War 1, it became an independent country of loyalists to the Czar as the communist elements were not able to secure a stronghold with any success despite 20 ...
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Amphawa Floating Market
The Amphawa Floating market started off as a village that serviced the river traffic and other local villages via a boat trading service. The smaller boats would have specific wares or food, and would traverse the Mae Klong river plying wares and fresh prepared meals.
Fairly ...
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Ritz Carlton, Chicago 2020
As everyone alive knows, 2020 is the year of doom, with the economy crashing, the lethal virus circling the globe, and general unpleasantness. In the midst of that, hotel rates began to absolutely tank. Well, when one gets the chance for a suite for under $250 at the Ritz ...
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Wings at the Cosmos Bar Lowes Hotel in Minneapolis - February 2020
The Price ...
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Changdeokgung Palace, Seoul Korea 2018
Changdeokgung Palace was built in 1405 by the great Joseon Dynasty, also responsible for the development of the Korean language that everyone could learn (Chinese was controlled and it was illegal for many to learn it). The palace was burned down by invaders f ...
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Floor 13, Phoenix Arizona, March 2020
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Prasart Museum, Bangkok
The museum is owned and curated by Khun Prasart Vongsakul, who calls himself the head gardnerer, but is a very wealthy man and a consumate world traveler. He was saddened by all the local treasures being purchased and sent out of the country, so he decided to start collectin ...
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Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong, China is a special economic zone with special rights the rest of China doesn't have. Formerly a British Colony and before that a Chinese port. Passed around more than the blame for Corona virus, currently Hong Kong actually enjoys more rights than in the last 120 years. ...
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Seoul
Seoul is the Capital of South Korea, and has been the capital of the area since 18 B.C. with people living there since around 4000 B.C.
The Arrival
I fle ...
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Monterrey Mexico
Monterrey was founded in 1596 by Spanish Conquistadors. For 300 some odd years, it was a sleepy little town until independence, and it was made the capital of Neuvo Leon state. After a couple of wars with the United States, where its proximity to the border made it pretty vulnerab ...
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Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa, 2020
In February of 2020, I took a trip to Los Angeles for various WW2 events. After the non-stop time travel back to the 1940s, I usually use Sunday and Monday to wind down and then travel back home. Not wanting to stay downtown for a combination of costs and traff ...
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Toul Seng Prison & Choeung Ek Genocidal Center, Phnom Penh Cambodia
Warning, this post contains some very disturbing pictures, including some of skeletonized human remains. If you are sensitive to mental images of violence against both adults and children, you should not continue reading. This is t ...
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JW Marriott Los Angeles, 2020
In February of 2020, I took a trip to Los Angeles for various WW2 events culminating with the Battle of Los Angeles dance and event at Ft. Macarthur. Some of the events were downtown, so I stayed at the JW Marriott Los Angeles as I had in 2019 for the event.
Arrival
F ...
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Paris
English speakers refer to Paris as the city of light, and while modern Paris is full of beautifully illuminated areas, it isn't the entire story of the nickname. The city was one of the first European cities to adopt street lighting, but more importantly, it became a cultural and educational ...
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Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2016
Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia, founded in 1857 at the confluence of two rivers for Tin mining (Tin? Wow... not even used anymore, eh?). Chinese prospectors built it up to a thriving community; apparently it was valuable tin. In 1874, the Brits took control, a ...
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Aesop Departure Travel Kit giveaway - May 2020
The How
< ...
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London England 2010
London proper was founded by the Romans in 100 A.D., built on top of the city that had previously been sacked and burned to the ground. Originally a prehistoric settlement from circa 4500 B.C., it has prospered for now 2000 years through various changes in ownership and tragedi ...
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American Airlines, Business Class Flight Dallas to Seoul, December 2017
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Pamplona Spain, San Fermin Festival 2010
In 2010, I traveled to Spain to run with the bulls, as it seems the thing that every gentleman adventurer engages in. A medieval yet modern town with its roots in the Roman Empire (named after General Pompey), located deep in current Basque country in the fo ...
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JW Marriott Jakarta, 2019
In October of 2019, I took a trip to Jakarta because it was cheap and I hadn't been there before.
Arrival
After 28+ hours flying through Hong Kong, I landed at 4:00am local time and went out to get a cab. Tip: Never use a non-branded cab. They will screw ...
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Coburg Germany
As part of my month long trip with the family through Europe, during a week in Munich as a base, several trips were made to other areas to maximize the coverage and experiences.
The Arriv ...
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Finnair, Business Class Flight New York to Bangkok, October 2018
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Auckland New Zealand
Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand with the most temperate climate. Although it was founded about 170 years ago, it's a very modern city and sits on many extinct volcanos and fault zones. The prices are reasonable and the people are extremely relaxed. Auckland is th ...
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JW Marriott Bangkok, 2018
In November of 2018, I took a trip to Bangkok as part of an insane airline status run through Helsinki. As I had stayed at the JW Marriott Bangkok back in 2016, and being exceptionally impressed with it, I booked here again. It's located well for public transportation.
Ar ...
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Monaco
Monaco is one of the three remaining city states along with Singapore, and the Vatican. It's the most densely populated place on earth and ruled by a singular monarch. This is mainly a playground for the rich, and I mean ultra rich. Not a ton of beaches in Monaco, but lots of 'civilized' a ...
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Venice
Venice, the ancient maritime power for 15 centuries. Unassailable from the land until Napoleon, the city had a fleet that nobody wanted to tangle with, making it an economic power that could independently define its own rules and agendas while watching various empires rise and fall. The cur ...
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Ta Prohm
Ta Phrom was initiated in 1186 by King Jayavarman VII based on carvings found at the site. This style of temple is a flat temple, as opposed to Angkor Wat which is a mountain type temple. This means there are no big rises, it just goes from room to room, usually connected by corridors.
Th ...
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Phnom Kulen, Origin of the Gods
Phnom Kulen is a mountain range that was seen as the actual Mount Meru, the 5 peaks of the origin of the gods in Hinduism and therefore the making it origin of the world itself.This is the where the sandstone and laterite stones was quarried to be used in the Angkor T ...
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Sheraton Miyako, Tokyo Japan 2019
I flew to Bangkok to meet up with some people I met the previous year on a trip to Thailand. My JAL flight included an overnight layover and terminal change on my connection through Tokyo, which gave me a great excuse to experience this city for the first time. As ...
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Banteay Srei
Banteay Srei, or otherwise known as the Lady Temple due to the many figures of a ladies around the shrine, is over 1000 years old, and made from sandstone. The weather effects from the last millennium have not dimmed the craftsmanship or detail of the carvings, but the ground moving an ...
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Cru Champagne Bar, Bangkok Thailand, September 2019
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Angkor Thom
Angkor Thom was built in northwest Cambodia around 1170 A.D. It was constructed out of sandstone and laterite, a hard iron and aluminum stone. It was decreed by Jayavarman VII to serve as the capital city of the empire. It contains many temples, a wall surrounding the square over a mi ...
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Lebua Sky Bar, Bangkok Thailand, August 2019
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Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat was built in northwest Cambodia around 1125 A.D., making it almost 900 years old. It was constructed out of Laterite, a hard iron and aluminum stone, and sandstone. Construction was commissioned by Suryavarman the II, a very successful Khmer warrior and king, to honor the Hin ...
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Delano Rose Bar and Beach Club September 2016
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Cathay Pacific, First Class Flight Los Angeles to Hong Kong, March 2016
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JAL Haneda First Class Lounge - April 2019
Hours
6:0 ...
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Wings at the JW Marriott in Jakarta - December 2019
The Price ...
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Singapore
Singapore is one of the last 3 remaining City-States in the world, along with Monaco and the Vatican. It was a British colony and was ravaged during World War 2. It got independence from Malaysia in 1965, after Malaysia got independence from Britain. Known for being the economic powerho ...
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Cathay Singapore First/Business Lounge - April 2019
Hours
4:0 ...
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JW Marriott Singapore South Beach 2019
For my trip to Singapore in 2019, as part of my weird obsession with completing lists of things, I decided to stay at the JW Marriott, and check another one of them off my list. I had searched quite a bit and the Ritz at one point was a very reasonable price, ...
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The Pier First Class lounge by Cathay - April 2019
Hours
5:3 ...
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Premier Lounge Ngurah Rai Airport Denpasar Bali
Hours
24 ...
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Bali Indonesia
The Arriv ...
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Ritz Carlton - Nusa Dua Beach
I was taking a trip to Asia on Award Miles with Cathay, and the seat availability required about 12 days in Asia. So I wasn't going to stay in Malaysia or Cambodia for the entire time, and looked for another place to get on my list of places visited.
Bali popped up as ...