Category: Travel

Choosing a Hostel

Hostel Intentions: Tips for Staying in a Hostel

Posted on by Michael

There are so few certainties in life. The house always wins. Australians will try to put beets on everything. No matter how many or how few beds there are in your hostel quarters, one of them will always be occupied by the loudest snorer you have ever heard, and it will last all… night… long.

So let’s get you up to speed on hostels.

Privacy goes out the window via the hostel route, but it can lead to some of your most memorable travel experiences.
Privacy goes out the window via the hostel route, but it can lead to some of your most memorable travel experiences.

You don’t need much to be a hosteler. Just being a traveler with an aversion to spending large sums of money qualifies. However, like so many aspects of travel life, there is quite Continue reading “Hostel Intentions: Tips for Staying in a Hostel” →

Uluru - Ready For Its Close-Up

Uluru, Part III: My Apologies to Mrs. Henle

Posted on by Michael

My tenth grade English teacher would most likely have an aneurysm if she knew I was violating one of the most sacrosanct rules of the road when it comes to essay writing… never use words like “thing” and “stuff.” There are always better words that are more accurate and more descriptive.

Still…

Here’s the thing: after spending most of my adult life trying to get to places like Uluru… places that speak to our most primal nature and searching for those once in a lifetime experiences that have to be seen Continue reading “Uluru, Part III: My Apologies to Mrs. Henle” →

Avoiding Hotel Fees

Hotel Fees: Avoiding Costly And Unexpected Charges

Posted on by Michael

“If your mother says she loves you, get confirmation.” This piece of advice, which can only be the sign of someone who has spent too many Thanksgivings, Christmases and Saint Swivens Days (that last one always hurt the most) in a newsroom rather than grandmother’s dining room, was actually a literal sign on the desk of one of my newsroom ex-pats in the early days of my career. I’m not sure I ever bought in to that level of skepticism, even in my days as an investigative reporter, but when it comes to traveling in general, and avoiding costly hotel fees in particular, skepticism should be the order of the day when it comes to whether you’re seeing the whole picture..

So let’s talk a little more about hotel fees.

Avoiding hotel fees
You can avoid paying some hotel fees if you do your homework before you travel.

I’ve written about steps you can take to make the actual process of traveling to a hotel, booking a hotel and staying in a hotel easier. However, avoiding hotel fees can have a big impact on your wallet. As always, the goal when it comes to travel Continue reading “Hotel Fees: Avoiding Costly And Unexpected Charges” →

Picton, New Zealand
Auckland, New Zealand

Get a Room – Hotel Reservation Tips

Posted on by Michael

I’ve had the good fortune to have worked a number of different jobs in my life. They all come with their share of learning curves and you’re just going to have to believe me when I tell you ice cream jockey at the local Baskin-Robbins next to Big Al’s video arcade had the steepest one of all, but the jobs I’ve had that really taught me about customer service were the ones that required me to get out from behind the counter/desk/Muppet costume (another story for another day) and experience my job from the vantage point of the customers I was serving. Buy something from your store. Order your own pizza. Ride your own ride (that was at Walt Disney World, so it may be a little job-specific). Try to understand what the people you’re serving are experiencing.

As we plowed through a driving rainstorm the dimly lit streets of Napier, New Zealand were doing very little to make the night on Hawke’s Bay magical in any way. The travel fates seemed Continue reading “Get a Room – Hotel Reservation Tips” →

Uluru in ocus

Uluru, Part II

Posted on by Michael

 

The size and scope of Uluru goes well beyond the physical presence of the monolith itself. Even the word you use to refer to “The Rock” says a lot about your politics. Do you call it Uluru? Then you probably agree, at least in part, with the Australian government’s decision to return ownership of the land to the Anangu tribe of Aborigines who have lived there for almost forty thousand years. Do you call it Ayers Rock, the name given to it by white explorer William Gosse, who came upon the site in 1873? That may say something about you, too.

Uluru
The view from the sunrise viewing platform where we began our filming of Uluru for the documentary.

Me? I never knew quite what to think while I was there. The park is called Uluru-Kata Tjuta. The airport that services the region, Connellan Airport,  is designated with Continue reading “Uluru, Part II” →