Whenever I come back to the States two things always seem to grab my attention, cars and cell phones. I'm just amazed at the cars that I see that I had no idea were on the market.
I got a Toyota Corolla rental car when I went to visit my daughter in California and I was amazed at the quality and features the car had. It easily had enough acceleration to outperform my old Porsche 944, not that I tried to find out... Great gas mileage, roomy. I'm not selling this car, just 15 years ago I would have never considered a Corolla. It had a GPS unit (Hertz Never Lost) with it. I had never used a GPS so it was a little embarrassing to ask the clerk how to. I still ended up making a few U-turns during my trip.
I haven't seen a single SMART car on the road although I have watched the inventory at the local dealership dwindle daily.
And cell phones. Every time I come home the phones get more and more advanced. I had a cheap prepaid Wal Mart no thrills cell phone while everybody else has an iPhone or Android. Fact is, I'm not sure I would want one of those phones. I find myself spending too much time playing around with the baby browser that my phone had, couldn't imagine if I had full blown Internet access!
Well lets see what happens the next time I come back. I'm hoping to see flying cars.
Showing posts with label travelling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travelling. Show all posts
Friday, January 21, 2011
Saturday, February 20, 2010
One Last Thing About The Train
"Please allow the departing passengers to exit the train" Friendly recorded woman's voice that plays in the Washington Metro trains.
Arriving at the station I could see the crowds. Judging by the group building up in back of me both the departing passengers and those awaiting to get on board were anticipating a quick turnover.
As the train slowed down to a safe speed I grabbed by bags and stepped down from the train, that's about as far as I got. The crowd at the station was attempting to board the train, of course hardly a soul had left the train. It was mayhem. I thought Chris would turn to fist a cuffs but she just pushed through as did I.
On a small note when you reach the exit there are two men who take your ticket, which results in a traffic jam of sorts as tourists start digging through purses and pockets looking for tickets that they never though they would need anymore.
What fun!
Arriving at the station I could see the crowds. Judging by the group building up in back of me both the departing passengers and those awaiting to get on board were anticipating a quick turnover.
As the train slowed down to a safe speed I grabbed by bags and stepped down from the train, that's about as far as I got. The crowd at the station was attempting to board the train, of course hardly a soul had left the train. It was mayhem. I thought Chris would turn to fist a cuffs but she just pushed through as did I.
On a small note when you reach the exit there are two men who take your ticket, which results in a traffic jam of sorts as tourists start digging through purses and pockets looking for tickets that they never though they would need anymore.
What fun!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Long Bumpy Ride
I volunteered today to be an unofficial "reporter" of sorts for the election. I went on a ride 45 minutes into the interior of the country. This by itself does not sound like much but when it's 45 minutes of bumpy roads, passing buses, avoiding pedestrians and just about everything else Sri Lanka has to throw at you, it can be one fun experience.
Fortunately our driver was very professional and handled the 5 speed armored Toyota Landcruiser with ease on the roads. I'd really love one myself, a diesel 5 speed Toyota Landcruiser, never find one in the States, but nice to dream. It doesn't have to be armored ; 0
Well the funny thing about this trip is I'm thinking, I must be the only Westerner out here, I can't even pronounce half the names of the towns and on our way back I notice a western tourist couple resting on bicycles taking pictures of a river. So much for that.
Fortunately our driver was very professional and handled the 5 speed armored Toyota Landcruiser with ease on the roads. I'd really love one myself, a diesel 5 speed Toyota Landcruiser, never find one in the States, but nice to dream. It doesn't have to be armored ; 0
Well the funny thing about this trip is I'm thinking, I must be the only Westerner out here, I can't even pronounce half the names of the towns and on our way back I notice a western tourist couple resting on bicycles taking pictures of a river. So much for that.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Matara the Bus Ride
Now that I have recovered from our return trip from Matara I can fill everyone in on the details.
Like many of our trips this one was planned pretty much at the last minute.
There was a communication breakdown with our driver. We had planned on taking the train south but he thought we had agreed on taking the bus. We were waiting for him at 6:45AM but he ended up picking us up at around 7:20AM.
He took us to the bus terminal which is a crowded, noisy and somewhat confusing affair upon initial appearance but starts making sense as you walk around. There are different terminals and signs that show the destination and the class of bus, normal or semi-luxury or a little of both, normal with a/c.
Our driver took us to the "semi-luxury" bus to Matara. Semi-luxury pretty much means there is air conditioning and no bench seats.
Because there is no under bus storage for luggage we had to pay for an extra seat to put our bags. All together 890 Rupees, about $8.50
We left the bus terminal and the bus conductor stands in the door saying "Matara, Matara, Matara" to announce to potential passengers where the bus was going. On our journey south the bus would slow down as it approached a bus stop and the conductor would announce "Matara, Matara, Matara". If someone wanted to get on the bus they pretty much had to run to get onboard as the bus never did stop at the bus stops.
Somewhere around the halfway point the bus did stop for everyone to have a break.
Back on the bus and after traveling for a few minutes there is a loud clanking sound coming from the left rear of the bus, I thought we had a flat. The bus pulled over and the conductor gets out as well as a few passengers. We then hear "BAM BAM BAM", it sounds like a hammer hitting something on the bus. Everyone gets on and we start traveling for maybe a minute when the noise returns. A little bit more banging, back on the road and the noise never returned.
A little further down the road the air conditioning broke and we had to open the windows, fortunately the weather was mild.
A little further down the road and "BANG", flap, flap, flap, yes this time we had a flat.
They changed the totally bald tire that had gone flat with a totally bald spare tire. Pretty quickly actually.
We are back on the road. I do have to mention that a few times along the road I saw my life flash before my eyes as dump trucks and other buses from the other direction barely miss our bus on the narrow road.
We eventually made it to our destination much to our relief.
Like many of our trips this one was planned pretty much at the last minute.
There was a communication breakdown with our driver. We had planned on taking the train south but he thought we had agreed on taking the bus. We were waiting for him at 6:45AM but he ended up picking us up at around 7:20AM.
He took us to the bus terminal which is a crowded, noisy and somewhat confusing affair upon initial appearance but starts making sense as you walk around. There are different terminals and signs that show the destination and the class of bus, normal or semi-luxury or a little of both, normal with a/c.
Our driver took us to the "semi-luxury" bus to Matara. Semi-luxury pretty much means there is air conditioning and no bench seats.
Because there is no under bus storage for luggage we had to pay for an extra seat to put our bags. All together 890 Rupees, about $8.50
We left the bus terminal and the bus conductor stands in the door saying "Matara, Matara, Matara" to announce to potential passengers where the bus was going. On our journey south the bus would slow down as it approached a bus stop and the conductor would announce "Matara, Matara, Matara". If someone wanted to get on the bus they pretty much had to run to get onboard as the bus never did stop at the bus stops.
Somewhere around the halfway point the bus did stop for everyone to have a break.
Back on the bus and after traveling for a few minutes there is a loud clanking sound coming from the left rear of the bus, I thought we had a flat. The bus pulled over and the conductor gets out as well as a few passengers. We then hear "BAM BAM BAM", it sounds like a hammer hitting something on the bus. Everyone gets on and we start traveling for maybe a minute when the noise returns. A little bit more banging, back on the road and the noise never returned.
A little further down the road the air conditioning broke and we had to open the windows, fortunately the weather was mild.
A little further down the road and "BANG", flap, flap, flap, yes this time we had a flat.
They changed the totally bald tire that had gone flat with a totally bald spare tire. Pretty quickly actually.
We are back on the road. I do have to mention that a few times along the road I saw my life flash before my eyes as dump trucks and other buses from the other direction barely miss our bus on the narrow road.
We eventually made it to our destination much to our relief.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Worst Flight Ever!
My beloved is on her way from the States to Camp Colombo. She departed yesterday from Norfolk, VA.
We have this challenge game of sorts we play, being that she or me had just completed the worst flight ever.
I had held the record previously for my 3 day jaunt from Norfolk to Montevideo via JFK and Miami. That mission resulted in long delays in New York, a canceled flight resulting in a overnight stay in a run down Ramada in New York followed by a glitch of sorts starting the plane in New York resulting in at least an hour or more delay at the ramp followed by mechanical problems in flight to Buenos Aires resulting in rerouting the flight to Miami followed by hectic crowds at gate trying to rebook our flights resulting in a overnight in Miami (Okay, not so tough). I eventually made it to Montevideo. A 13 hour flight from Washington took 3 days.
So I get points for switching carriers (Delta to American at JFK), long delays, international flight, long haul flight, and multiple days.
My beloved is officially over the middle east right now on her way here.
So far she earns points for:
Stress and tears (No points for tears, counts for a tie breaker)
Pets
Confusion at ticketing (Never good)
International Flight
Business Class upgrade turned down because of no pets in Business Class (Quite possibly worthy of winning with that category alone)
Long Haul Flight
Multiple Time Zones
Switching Carriers
Reclaim pets and go through customs and security (Bonus points)
Long Delays (See http://tiny.cc/SP7W8)
Changing Carriers
Running through the terminal (Bonus points)
Questionable Carrier (Sri Lankan Air, hmmm)
Last but not least a one hour ride back home.
Oh did I mention she gets here at 04:45! Talk about oh dark !
Yes she takes home the trophy!
Thank goodness I have an expediter when she gets here, basically he will take all the cat paperwork and her passport, take her to the front of the line at customs and passport control and get us out pretty quickly. I also hold a special airport badge that gets me access past customs and passport control so I get to meet her soon after she gets off the plane.
My employer is picking me up in a pretty cool Toyota Landcruiser. The driver asked me if it was big enough, I said I hope so!
We have this challenge game of sorts we play, being that she or me had just completed the worst flight ever.
I had held the record previously for my 3 day jaunt from Norfolk to Montevideo via JFK and Miami. That mission resulted in long delays in New York, a canceled flight resulting in a overnight stay in a run down Ramada in New York followed by a glitch of sorts starting the plane in New York resulting in at least an hour or more delay at the ramp followed by mechanical problems in flight to Buenos Aires resulting in rerouting the flight to Miami followed by hectic crowds at gate trying to rebook our flights resulting in a overnight in Miami (Okay, not so tough). I eventually made it to Montevideo. A 13 hour flight from Washington took 3 days.
So I get points for switching carriers (Delta to American at JFK), long delays, international flight, long haul flight, and multiple days.
My beloved is officially over the middle east right now on her way here.
So far she earns points for:
Stress and tears (No points for tears, counts for a tie breaker)
Pets
Confusion at ticketing (Never good)
International Flight
Business Class upgrade turned down because of no pets in Business Class (Quite possibly worthy of winning with that category alone)
Long Haul Flight
Multiple Time Zones
Switching Carriers
Reclaim pets and go through customs and security (Bonus points)
Long Delays (See http://tiny.cc/SP7W8)
Changing Carriers
Running through the terminal (Bonus points)
Questionable Carrier (Sri Lankan Air, hmmm)
Last but not least a one hour ride back home.
Oh did I mention she gets here at 04:45! Talk about oh dark !
Yes she takes home the trophy!
Thank goodness I have an expediter when she gets here, basically he will take all the cat paperwork and her passport, take her to the front of the line at customs and passport control and get us out pretty quickly. I also hold a special airport badge that gets me access past customs and passport control so I get to meet her soon after she gets off the plane.
My employer is picking me up in a pretty cool Toyota Landcruiser. The driver asked me if it was big enough, I said I hope so!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Tour of the city
So I went on a half day driving tour of the city. First impressions? The traffic is by far the worst I have ever seen in my life! We took a small tour bus and I swear the driver had nerves of steel!
Saw some interesting things, would have been nice if I brought my camera (DOH!) but some of the folks who did take pictures will share them with me. There was this Hindu temple that was almost cartoonish in how it looked, hate to say this, it was a little creepy too! We visited a Buddhist temple complete with big golden Buddah's and big old elephant (A real one). There was a couple getting married in traditional Sri Lankan outfits with drummers and dancers. Let me tell you, wow. The bride was barefoot in a ankle length gold colored dress and roses in her hair, she looked beautiful, the groom wore traditional royal garbs, it was pretty cool. We visited a place to buy what I call, more stuff for your house. Some cool things but did I need any of it?
The day finished off with lunch at a nice restaurant. I had some Thai green curry, it was spicy but not overly so.
We work half days on Fridays so when we returned I had the rest of the day off : )
Friday, July 3, 2009
USA! USA! USA!
Can you guess where I am? Yes, good ol' USA! Specifically the "Admiral's Club" D Concourse at Miami International Airport. One of the bennies of flying biz class, you get club access before and after the flight. Got to take a shower and grab some Internet time.
The flight was pretty much uneventful. The meals where great and the one touch seat that turns into a full lay down bed was nice. I put in my ear plugs and snoozed away.
Watched "Grand Torino", great movie.
Well time to stroll to my gate, maybe get my first good ol' American Duncan Donut while I'm at it!
Oh, still catching myself speaking Spanish, going to be hard to break that habit.
The flight was pretty much uneventful. The meals where great and the one touch seat that turns into a full lay down bed was nice. I put in my ear plugs and snoozed away.
Watched "Grand Torino", great movie.
Well time to stroll to my gate, maybe get my first good ol' American Duncan Donut while I'm at it!
Oh, still catching myself speaking Spanish, going to be hard to break that habit.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Forfeited Air Miles
I got an email from US Airways telling me unless I fly one segment by September with them or sign up and get a US Airways credit I am going to forfeit almost 19K air miles.
Super bummer. It may actually be worth it to fly one way from Dulles to Norfolk one weekend while I'm in country as 19K probably won't earn a free ticket but possibly a upgrade.
I'm also getting close to losing my miles on Delta, although not as much
Super bummer. It may actually be worth it to fly one way from Dulles to Norfolk one weekend while I'm in country as 19K probably won't earn a free ticket but possibly a upgrade.
I'm also getting close to losing my miles on Delta, although not as much
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Blog catch up
So here's a short summary of my past week:
My son visited me, his first trip to a foreign country.
We took a tourist bus to Punta del Este. I had never took the bus so it was an adventure, mostly because of the language barrier. Managed to find the right bus company, buy the tickets and make it to the bus with minutes to spare. Our visit to Punta wasn't that great as we got off at the wrong bus terminal in Maldonado which put us far from the beach, but we ended up walking to Punta which then turned into another adventure as we became somewhat lost after finding our way back to the road the bus terminal was on (Wasn't sure which direction to turn). A taxi solved that problem!
All in all a good time was had. He found himself saying "Si" and "Gracias" quite a bit around the apartment by weeks end.
My son visited me, his first trip to a foreign country.
We took a tourist bus to Punta del Este. I had never took the bus so it was an adventure, mostly because of the language barrier. Managed to find the right bus company, buy the tickets and make it to the bus with minutes to spare. Our visit to Punta wasn't that great as we got off at the wrong bus terminal in Maldonado which put us far from the beach, but we ended up walking to Punta which then turned into another adventure as we became somewhat lost after finding our way back to the road the bus terminal was on (Wasn't sure which direction to turn). A taxi solved that problem!
All in all a good time was had. He found himself saying "Si" and "Gracias" quite a bit around the apartment by weeks end.
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Sunday, June 29, 2008
"Skooch" A Doc Report Podcast
Well that was fast! I have embedded the Flash Player version here, but the Podcast download is here: http://legacy.odeo.com/audio/19427973/view
Enjoy : )
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Enjoy : )
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