Travel Calendar

LOS ANGELES –  Travel for humans during holidays is tough enough: Long lines, crowds everywhere, extra bags full of presents. Throw a pet in the mix, and it’s a recipe for disaster.

But Sheron Long, a frequent traveler and author of “Dog Trots Globe — To Paris and Provence,” say it’s worth the trouble.

“Every trip was better when Chula could be with us,” she said of her Shetland sheepdog. “She was so excited, I could imagine her dog’s eye view of the world. It causes you to explore and go see different things and meet people.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates more than 2 million pets and other animals are transported by air each year. Pets aren’t allowed on Amtrak trains, Greyhound buses or cruise lines, but they can go on many regional train, bus and boat lines.

The majority of four-legged carry-on passengers are dogs, but some airlines allow rabbits, birds and other small animals. Experts say before including a pet in travel plans, consider whether it would enjoy the experience.

“Some dogs don’t like to travel, some love it,” said Kelly E. Carter, the pet travel expert for AOL’s Paw Nation and a Chihuahua owner. “You have to know your pet.”

Caroline Golon’s two Persian cats “are not big fans of car travel” — the only way that they can travel since their breed is banned by many airlines — so they don’t go on trips. Golon said when they travel, the family stops at pet-friendly hotels rather than drive nonstop.

“Stopping overnight gives them a chance to use the litter box at their leisure and eat and drink comfortably,” said Golon, the founder of High Paw Media.

Gwen Cooper, the author of “Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale, or How I Learned About Love and Life with a Blind Wonder Cat,” said animals pick up on their owners’ moods, “which means if you’re nervous, your cat or dog is going to be nervous too. The best way to avoid being nervous is to prepare you and your pet ahead of time and think through as many contingencies as possible.”

For eligible cats, as well as dogs, airlines have size requirements for pets in the cabin, so a small pet must fit in a carrier that can be stowed under a seat and larger ones must be checked in. Long’s dog weighs 30 pounds, so 9-year-old Chula has to fly in cargo.

During the holidays, though, when planes are fuller and lines are longer, some airlines ban pets in cargo, as well as times when the heat or cold is intense. Certain breeds can never fly on some airlines, including those considered to have bullying characteristics, like pit bulls, and snub-nosed animals like shih tzus or Persian cats because of potential breathing problems.

Animals that travel on Amtrak, Greyhound or cruises get a ticket to ride through their roles as service animals. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, trained helper animals such as guide dogs or signal dogs must be allowed.

Pet accommodations at airports differ, though every airport has animal-relief areas. Some are easy to find — San Francisco’s has paw prints on the floor leading to them — and most or all areas are located outside of security checkpoints. Federal transportation guidelines require animals to be removed from carriers, so pets should be collared and leashed — especially cats. Pet carriers are not X-rayed, but owners’ hands may be wiped for chemical testing.

The hassle of traveling is only half over once the plane lands. Carter, who once canceled a trip in which she and her dog were hoping to try a new hotel in Northern California, recounted how the hotel worded its pet policy online: “We are smoke-free and pet-free.”

“My God, are pets being considered killers, like smoke? That’s a sign people don’t want to be around pets,” she said.

Lisa Porter, CEO of a website that lists pet-friendly places to stay and activities around the country, said more businesses are catering to customers with a pet in tow than ever before. For example, vineyards and wineries have opened their tours to pets, and as many as 90 percent of hotels in some cities are pet-friendly, she said.

Most five-star hotels have accommodations and perks for well-behaved pets, and even most discount hotels, including Red Roof Inns, Motel 6 and Extended Stay America, are pet-friendly. Other hotels have weight limits on animals. Some charge a nightly fee for animals, some have cleaning deposits and some will charge only if there is damage.

In France, where Long and Chula spend four months every year, so many people take their dogs to restaurants that there is an “under-table culture going on,” she said. The French hospitality for dogs stops at museums, though: “The French prize their dogs, but they prize their art work even more,” she said.

Chula has been such a good travel buddy that she inspired Long’s book, which is a travelogue written from a dog’s point of view. Long said having Chula around means never being lonely — partly because of all the people who stop to admire the dog.

“If you want to be a hermit, go (traveling) alone,” Long said.

By Niluksi Koswanage

KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia (Reuters) – A traveller’s first stop in Borneo, the world’s third largest island, should be Kota Kinabalu.

It’s the capital of Malaysia’s Sabah state, with nearby islands and forests, scrumptious seafood, tribal cultures and a history of Japanese rule during World War II.

Yet this coastal city often gets ignored as most travellers make a beeline to Mount Kinabalu, Southeast Asia’s tallest mountain at 4,095 metres (13,435 ft). So stop by KK, as the locals call it, for a relaxed 48 hours after the trek from Borneo’s rooftop.

FRIDAY

530 p.m. – Start your weekend with a pretty spectacular sunset in KK, a seaside city also seen as the gateway to Sabah’s steamy jungles and tropical islands. If you just won the lottery, head to Sutera Harbour Resort and charter a luxury yacht for a sunset cruise with fine dining and champagne.

Or keep it simple and head over to Tanjung Aru beach with the locals and toast the sunset with an avocado shake. If you are feeling adventurous, try hinava — a dish of raw fish mixed with bird’s eye chilli, lime, grated ginger and salted bitter gourd — at nearby Grace Point food court. This is a favourite of the Kadazandusun people, whose tribes used to dominate Sabah.

7 p.m. – Time for a southern Filipino seafood barbecue at the KK night market on Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens. Much of the seafood is caught and grilled by Filipino fishermen who either legally or illegally moved to Sabah for a better life.

Just head to one of long tables piled with seafood and point to what you want. As you wait for the stingray or prawns to be grilled, mix your own dipping sauce from lime, chilli paste, salt and sugar. Best served with hot rice.

10 p.m. – Go a little crazy with Sabah’s lively pubs and clubs where bopping your head to a local or Filipino live band is the way to go. Check out Bed at the waterfront esplanade and rock on.

SATURDAY

9 a.m. – Book a guided, two-hour heritage walk through Kota Kinabalu, shaped by years of British rule, a brutal Japanese military occupation followed by Allied forces restlessly bombing the city during World War II.

Here British colonial buildings stand by side by side military monuments, Chinese coffee shops or kopitiam and wet markets in this seaside city also seen as the gateway to Sabah’s steamy jungles and tropical islands.

1230 p.m. – Now for the first of many seafood feasts. Head to Kedai Kopi Fatt Kee on Jalan Bakau or Bakau road for crispy salt and pepper prawns and stir fried jungle ferns, popularly known as “Sabah veggie,” with hot shrimp paste or garlic.

230 p.m. – Peer into a wooden house of ancient skulls collected by Monsopiad, a famous head hunter with magical powers from one of the Kadazandusun tribes. His descendents set up Monsopiad cultural village where visitors can get a snapshot of Kadazandusun life with rice wine making, tribal dances and cooking classes

You can also make your way through a tangle of jungle and rice fields to Monsopiad’s final resting place. The famous warrior was put to death by his tribe after he developed too much of a blood lust for cutting off heads.

4 p.m. – Indulge in a Chinese teatime snack of roti kahwin or marriage bread at the bustling Fook Yuen Bakery in Jalan Damai. With one centimetre thick slabs of butter on one slice of thick bread and generous lashings of kaya, or coconut jam, on the other, it’s a match made in heaven.

7 p.m. — Time to upscale the Chinese seafood dining option with dinner at Port View Seafood Village and its huge aquariums teeming with fish and prawns on Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens. Ask for prawns in rich, slightly spicy butter sauce and deep fried soft shell crabs.

9 p.m. — So you heard the locals sing last night. Now it’s your turn for some karaoke, made easier with some jugs of beer. So just grab the microphone and belt out some Lady Gaga at the Cocoon, opposite the Hyatt Hotel.

SUNDAY

7 a.m. Try and wake up early for KK’s Sunday market on Gaya street. Traders from all over KK and the surrounding areas hawk interesting wares from traditional spinning tops and tribal gongs to local cigars and Kadazandusun handicrafts.

After some hard bargaining, sate the hunger pangs with a quick breakfast of mee Tuaran goreng, or fried Tuaran noodles at Seng Hing Restaurant on Ruang Sinsuran 2. Topped with slivers of roast pork and fried egg rolls, this is the breakfast of champions.

10 a.m. – Take a 15 minute boat ride to the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park with five small islands, coral reefs and crystal clear sea that cover an area twice the size of Manhattan. Rent snorkelling gear or just bask in the sun, and don’t forget to pack a picnic.

3 p.m. – You have two choices when you come ashore. Head to the Sabah Wetlands Centre and explore 24 acres of eco-rich mangrove swamps found in KK, which protect against tsunamis and cyclones. Apart from the odd-looking mudskippers and helmet crabs, this patch of mangrove has seen more than 80 species of birds including some migratory species coming as far as Siberia and nothern China.

Or, you can see some orang utan primates, also known as the men of the forest, at the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. One of the largest parks in Malaysia managed by the wildlife department, Lok Kawi is also a rescue center for Borneo animals, from rhinos to pygmy elephants and the Malayan tiger.

6 p.m. – Watch the sun set over the islands at Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park from Signal Hill, which is just a ten minute drive from the center of KK. The best picture to take: the one of the stilt villages on Gaya island bathed in a warm, summery glow.

(Reporting by Niluksi Koswanage, editing by Elaine Lies)

By Richard C. Morais

This article was written by J.R. Brandstrader

Tired of biblical weather? We recommend colorful Trinidad Tobago, the twin volcanic islands at the southern tip of the Caribbean archipelago off the coast of Venezuela. The islands are below the hurricane belt, so nasty weather surprises are less likely than, say, New York.

For some the trip to Trinidad Tobago is best at Carnival, the weeks preceding Easter; for others, it’s the summer months when the leatherback turtle is nesting on Trinidad’s Grande Riviere Beach. (Hotels will wake you up at any hour to watch the magic birth of a new turtle.) We think the ideal time for the islands is slow-paced December.

The rains have abated; December’s temperatures range from 72 to 85 degrees. The popular Maracas Beach is not crowded. You can explore the Paria Falls on Trinidad’s north coast, or the island’s Aripo cave system, and then deep sea dive off Speyside. Not your thing? Try the golf at Trinidad’s Millennium Lakes Golf Country Club, a PGA-designed par 71 championship course, or over on Tobago Plantations’ PGA-designed golf course.

Courtesy of Island Experiences
Scarlet Ibis coming home to roost.

Kids with looming science projects will get a leg up over their Christmas break. That’s because Trinidad is home to one of the oldest protected rainforests in the New World. In 1776, the British Parliament decided that the Main Ridge Forest Reserve, which lies along the island’s central mountain spine, needed to be preserved for future generations. This extraordinarily forward-looking move has given the rest of us a unique opportunity to spy on flora and fauna of great biodiversity.

The island’s proximity to the Orinoco River Delta (you can actually swim to Venezuela) makes the islands a haven for birds. About 450 species have been spotted. Hikes through the Asa Wright Nature Centre on Trinidad, or the Main Ridge Forest Preserve in Tobago, turn into wonderful photo opportunities for kids to put a snap up on the board of their science projects.

We took a boat tour of Trinidad’s Caroni Swamp, where you can photograph the silky anteaters, or boa constrictors sleeping in the branches of mangroves above your head.  The climax of the tour was nature’s equivalent of a Broadway Show. The tour guide brought the boat into open water opposite the Caroni Bird Sanctuary just before dusk; we watched thousands of Scarlet Ibis come home to roost in a clump of red mangrove trees for the night. By dusk, the island looked like a decorated Christmas tree lying on its side.

Trinidad  Tobago are not like their Caribbean neighbors in several ways. Christopher Columbus landed there on his third tour in 1498, but the gold-obsessed Spanish were not that interested in the islands. Then the French, Dutch and English vying to establish cash crop plantations fought over the lush islands. Blackbeard, the pirate, famously terrorized its coast, while Sir Walter Raleigh used the asphalt from Trinidad’s Pitch Lake at La Brea — a 95 acre lake of tar that is 350 feet deep — to patch his ships. Today, much of the asphalt ends up paving Chinese roads.

The islands are also the birthplace of the writer, V. S. Naipaul, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Literature. More than half the population is at least part Indian. Sugar, coffee and cocoa barons once ruled but these days the islands are wealthy because of abundant oil and natural gas reserves, most of which is shipped to the U.S.  The nation’s capital in Port of Spain will remind some of Brooklyn’s most diverse neighborhoods. Timid souls might find it a little rough in pockets. We loved it.

Trinis have “sweet hands,” which means they know how to cook. The islands have a fascinating mixed cuisine featuring coconuts, curries and pepper-sauces influenced by the large populations of Indians, Africans and Chinese.  Our favorites: Chaud Creole  which dishes up tasty callaloo (a local curry), corn soup, and rice pelau. Ali’s Roti Shop, in St. James, is well-known for its delicious roti, a flat bread filled with curried chicken, duck or shrimp. But whatever you do, don’t miss the “bake shark” (a fried shark sandwich on homemade bread) at one of the beach shacks. Trinis love to talk about their food; ask someone to guide you through the sandwich toppings.

Because the islands don’t particularly promote tourism, you will find mostly business travelers from U.S. stay at the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, which is right on the Gulf of Paria in downtown Port of Spain, the nation’s capital, near the Parliament and Supreme Court. A plunge in the rooftop infinity pool at dawn is a must. A serene open-air restaurant means you can watch the sunset while listening to calypso.

Another luxury hotel on the island is the competitively priced five-star boutique hotel, Carlton Savannah, which is adjacent to the Queen’s Park Savannah, a former sugar plantation.  Enjoy the authentic Northern Indian dinner at nearby Apsara, named for dancers who are said to move between heaven and earth, creating joy.  We loved the
Lamb Rogan Josh and Goam Lobster Curry.

Courtesy of Island Experiences
Nylon Pool off of Tobago.

From the centrally-located Hyatt, you can walk to the Botanical Gardens. The shopping district also is just a short stroll away, which is a good thing since Trinidad’s traffic jams are mind-numbing. Gas is less than a $1 US a gallon; everyone owns a car.  At least one driver at St. Christopher Taxi Co-Op Society Ltd. provides his Towncar passengers internet access and play stations because of the traffic delays.  The public transportation system consists of buses. Don’t even go there.

But other than that, Trinidad is a pretty fine place to forget about school runs, work stress, and snow storms.  So is the 116-acre Tobago, a quick flight away on Caribbean Airlines. Not that chilling comes easy to us New Yorkers. We spent an excruciating plane delay with a sturdy fellow in dreadlocks. He just pulled his hat over his face and slept. Once on the plane, we noticed he had a smile for everyone who came up to say “hi.” It turned out he was the renowned reggae artist Luciano, known to stay at Coco Reef on occasion.

Tobago’s Coco Reef Resort and Spa at Crown Point has a pool and private beach. Its breakwater provides an especially quiet swimming hole where teenagers have the freedom to come and go. They’ll also enjoy a glass boat ride on a blazing afternoon to the Boccoo Reef, a living-coral barrier reef, home to giant manta rays, groupers, and sharks. The fish are running in December, so avid fishermen should check out the boat charters available all over the islands.

The islands have historically been racial melting pots, so perhaps no surprise that Tobago is a favorite get-away for locals (people actually commute between the two islands), as well as Europeans, especially Brits and Germans. Don’t be surprised to find a completely veiled Muslim woman snorkeling next to you.

In the end, we found there were few things more relaxing than a swim in Nylon Pool, a huge, shallow, white sand pool in the middle of the sea off Pigeon Point. Lore has it that a dip in the pool takes 10 years off your appearance. They say, if you kiss your lover in Nylon Pool you will be together forever.  And here yet another reason to take your kids to Trinidad Tobago over the holidays: if teenagers swim in the pool, legend has it, they come out five years wiser. How marvelous.

So no surprise we half-believed the local when she said, “God is ah Trini.”

The year has and is still having its share of travel markets, from the not-too-recently concluded International French Travel Market to World Travel Market billed to start in United Kingdom tomorrow. Travel markets provide a platform for major players and destinations in the travel and tourism industry to meet, network and exchange ideas on how to move the industry forward. The 8th edition of Akwaaba, one of West Africa’s leading travel and tourism event has shown that with each year, it articulates themes that add value to travel and tourism industry.

More than grand aesthetics, colourful representatives and a carnival-like ambiance, travel markets are serious business investment opportunities for destinations, airlines, tour and travel operators and other stakeholders in this industry.

For countries serious about driving their tourism industry, travel markets provide a unique platform to forecast and project dividends and announce major GDP earned accrued from their tourism drive.

Last week, from Monday to Wednesday, Akwaaba our own local Travel Market attracted a mammoth crowd consisting major players and destinations in the travel and tourism industry across the world, with significance to the West African countries. It is the only international travel fair in the West African region and a major feature in the tourism calendar of Nigeria. Akwaaba took place at Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos, providing a perfect opportunity to establish their presence in the market, increase sales, attract new customers and make available a benchmark for gauging the growth of travel and tourism industry in the sub-region.

According to Ikechi Uko, publisher of Africa Quarterly Travel (ATQ) and organizer of Akwaaba, this event is meant to enable participants explore the country’s, tourism and hospitality industry.

“This year’s edition holds a lot of promise as it is coming with all the regular features and events for the benefit of the exhibitors and the public. For the first time, people now understand what a travel expo is all about; people know what to do and they are doing it well,” Uko said.

The 8th edition had organizations running the whole gamut of the industry from regulatory bodies to destination marketers. Organisations and and governments from Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, the Gambia, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates (UAE) were also active participants. International airlines such as Emirates, Lufthansa, Delta airlines Qatar airways, Ethiopian Airline with its captain and crew of its new Boeing 787 Dreamliner, South African Airlines amongst others were also in attendance. Other exhibitors include Eko Hotels, Protea Hotels, Sun International, Starwood Group of hotels and others. Other stakeholders in the travel and tourism industry such as regulators, tour operators, food and beverage organizations were not left out.

This year’s fair also attracted the insurance industry part of the ancillary service needed in the industry, a first in this regard.

The event was flagged off with the executives walking through the various exhibition stands on display, taking pictures and answering questions where necessary. One thing all participants and executives agreed in unison is the need for a viable airline industry as the tourism business needs it to develop. This is in line with the theme of the fair: Showcasing the tourism and cultural potentials of Nigeria.

Runsewe spoke about the forthcoming influx of American tourists into the country soon. This influx he ascertained would happen because 70 per cent of black Americans had traced their origins back to Nigeria through DNA tests conducted in the U.S.

“Nigeria is done with talking; we are ready to sell the destination. The story that nothing works in Nigeria has changed as 70 per cent of American tourists are ready to visit Nigeria,” Runsewe said.

He further explained that NTDC was partnering one of the most proficient U.S. tour operators, Mr Paul Cohen, in organizing a package for American tourists wishing to travel to Nigeria. According to him, Nigeria has been listed as one of the major preferred tourism destinations among African countries by the U.S. tour operators.

He said that this achievement was recorded through the U.S. road show, which the NTDC conducted.

The second day was as interactive as the first with Rector of Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Captain Chinyere Kalu and The Gambia tourism taking pride of place amongst other events. Delivering a paper, titled, Training future aviators, Mrs. Kalu saw the training of future aviators as paramount in the development of aviation in Africa. She said the development of Africa’s economy is tied to the development of the transportation system, especially air transportation. Using statistics, she explained that about 99 per cent of investors that come to Africa came through the airport.

She continued: “The state of aviation sector of Africa is almost moribund due to dearth and declining manpower development in Africa. Although Africa is the second largest continent and home to over 17 per cent of the world population, it has the least developed transport system, including air transportation.”

She said to train future aviators; government must see the need to make policies that position the aviation industry as a top priority area of development.

The third day, also the Nigerian day was another memorable one. From tasty Nigerian cuisine made available courtesy NTDC to Alexander Gasseur of Starwood’s stirring address on the growth of hotel business in Nigeria, these were three days well spent.

American based tourism expert, Paul Cohen at the invitation of NTDC was on hand to help in capacity building for tourism practitioners. He advised tourism practitioners on the need to create products that American tourists will buy in order to reap from the American travel market.

To buttress this point, Runsewe said Cohen invitation was in line with his effort to move the industry beyond the realms of indoor discussion and give the private operators practical guides on how to package and market their tourism products in Nigeria. He re-iterated the need to understand the multiplier effects of tourism, which will also impact on a large number of Nigerians who will make their livelihood from such visits.

In all, the raffle draws, the Aviation Day seminar by Dr. Demuren and papers delivered by Alhaji Aminu Agoha, the National President of NANTA among other attractions made the 8th Akwaaba an outstanding one.

Chinyere Kalu, Nigeria’s first female pilot and the Rector of Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria, along with Captain Desta Zera of Ethiopian Airways the first African to fly a Boeing 787 Dreamliner was honoured with Legend of Africa award. Cross River State for the third consecutive year won the Outstanding Tourism State of the Year and Emirate Airline won the Best Stand Award.

Neal Frankle

Are you frustrated because you love to travel but don’t have the scratch you need to get out there? Lots of people I know share that problem. The good news is there are three easy solutions you can put in place fast to turn your hesitation around.

Before we jump in, let me share a quick story about two people who really took travel seriously, as I think it may motivate you. Lynne and Tim, a retired couple, traded their house key for a backpack and have been on the road a few years now. Lynne even wrote an article published in the Wall Street Journal about her adventures. The couple epitomizes the solutions we’re about to discuss. You may not want to be a full-time vagabond, but you can use the same solutions to hit the road and have a better time while doing so.

Your Spending Plan. When you talk about being able to travel, you can’t ignore the cost. This may sound counterintuitive but the longer your trips are, the lower your daily cost will be. Often the difference is dramatic. That’s because when you travel for longer periods of time, it’s easier to find inexpensive lodging and dining solutions.

If possible, try to arrange trips that last at least three weeks or longer and have a “home base” that will allow you to branch out and make side trips. Your home base should have some type of kitchen facilities, since there is nothing more expensive than dining out. Such lodgings are significantly less expensive per day than pricy hotels. Chances are you won’t be in the center of the action, but so what? The money you’ll save more than makes up for the inexpensive train or bus fair to town.

Check out sites like www.vrbo.com and www.homeaway.com for inexpensive vacation rentals.

Your Savings Plan. Now that you have squeezed out every bit of travel cost possible, it’s time to set up your budget. You know how much money you are going to spend and possibly when you want to spend it. Let’s assume you calculate that you need $5,000 for your trip and you want to travel in 10 months.

Guess how much money you need to save each month? $500. There are many ways you can accumulate that money. The easiest way to achieve your goal is to go through your spending with a fine-tooth comb. Can you squeeze $500 out of your spending every month? If so, set up a travel bank account and have that money automatically deposited into the account.

If you can’t find $500 in cuts, line up as many cuts as possible. You can make up the difference by either delaying your trip (to give yourself more time to save) or finding a way to bring more money each month with a part-time or weekend job.

I’m against the idea of raiding your savings to fund travel. You set up those savings accounts for a reason. Travel doesn’t qualify as an emergency, so don’t think about dipping into your emergency fund. Don’t cheat yourself by taking the easy route. Cut your travel costs and then cut your spending or earn a bit more in order to accumulate your required amount.

But what if you can’t find the savings you need in spending cuts or side jobs?

Your Priorities Plan. If you’ve taken the steps I’ve outlined above and still don’t have enough money to go, it means you should not travel because it’s not your priority.

Granted, there are people who won’t accept this. They simply don’t have the money to travel. They aren’t willing to do what is necessary to come up with the money. And yet they travel anyway. They either bust into their savings or investment accounts or rack up credit-card debt. Both of these options can lead to financial consequences. Once you start finding excuses to stick your fingers into the cookie jar, it’s hard to put the lid back on.

Your solution here is to re-evaluate your priorities. If you really want to travel, I’m all for it. Just make sure you cut your travel costs and accumulate the money you need to travel before you shit the road.

How do you fund your travel? Have you found other ways to cut costs?

Neal Frankle is a Certified Financial Planner and blogger at www.WealthPilgrim.com. One of the most detailed posts he has written was his review of the online bank Perkstreet.

As the executive director of Utah Pioneer Heritage Arts, Clive Romney — he’s a distant cousin of presidential candidate Mitt Romney — helps lead tours of the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area, which was established by Congress in 2006. Here’s an edited chat with him:

What will a tourist learn about Mormonism and Utah history in the heritage area that they might not learn in Salt Lake City?

If you go to Temple Square in Salt Lake, you learn all about the doctrines of the Mormon church. If you go to the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area, you see the doctrines put into practice on the ground. The mind-set affected how the people interacted with the territory. For instance, you see all of these almost carbon-copy town plats, where they laid down a grid pattern. People drew lots to find out what lot of land was going to be theirs. These pioneers built for the future, so there are a lot of old stone homes.

Why was the platting important?

It was called the plat of Zion. These were all viewed as little miniature experiments in Zion, in building Zion in each little town. Some of them even were communal living. They were called the United Order, a way of living where everybody just deeded over all of their belongings to the church and then they were given back as they needed, according to what their assigned tasks were in a community. If they were a cattle herder, then they needed a horse.

What impact did the pioneers

have on Utah’s natural environment?

Some places have really blossomed as the rose, which is a biblical phrase that they kind of took as their mandate, to make the desert “blossom as the rose.” There were some that were pretty barren and now they’ve got farms, homes, trees. But there were other places where the valleys had hip-high grass, and by overgrazing, those have been damaged. The pioneers were not nearly as knowledgeable as we are today about the effect people have on the land.

– William Yardley, New York Times

NB: This is a guest article by Jack Zhai, chairman of Abacus China.

Many in the travel industry have heard about China travel deregulation, but not everyone understands what it actually means to them.

As of October 1, a change in the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) Computerised Reservation System (CRS) saw foreign airlines begin to leverage distribution partners such as Abacus to enable access to their fares and content across a wider network of travel agents.

As noted in the CAAC provision:

“Foreign Carriers may, with the approval of CAAC, entrust its Sales Agent to directly access and use a foreign CRS and use the ticketing certificate of the said Carrier to sell foreign tickets”

…including…

“international routes which consist of domestic and foreign routes of China but does not include international tickets of domestic routes that have no code-sharing with a China air transportation carrier”

…and an…

“approved international ticket which has a code-share with either a China air transportation carrier or foreign transportation carrier”.

All this points to a good first step, with the CAAC opening up just a glimpse of the market – a taste of enhanced travel distribution in the China market in a controlled manner.

Travel services in China are generally viewed as strategic service, and guarded heavily to prevent dissolving it from the monopoly that it is.

In the end, it’s all about traveller choice – more flight options, choice of itineraries, fares and rates all will help to driver greater growth in the Chinese tourism industry.

In the long-term, all the foreign distribution players would hope for wider deregulation; not only to obtain a piece of China’s pie, but also to play a part in helping with the overall growth of China’s travel market.

This all in one of the world’s fastest growing airline markets – air gross bookings reached US$43.4 billion in 2011, and is expected to reach $53 billion through 2013, according to PhoCusWright.

With 271 million passengers on domestic flights and 21 million passengers on international flights in 2011, also predicted by PhoCusWright, China is rapidly expanding both in orders for new planes as well as hotel development to be able to satisfy this strengthening travel demand.

While this new provision in travel distribution is a welcome move, there is still a great deal of work yet to be done. Let us summarise what the recent deregulation actually means:

• All bookings and ticket services for Chinese airlines are still only applicable to local travel player TravelSky.
• Participation by foreign GDSs are subject to approval by CAAC.

The potential piece for foreign GDS companies actually represents less than 5% of TravelSky’s total segments, as the company will continue to maintain a dominant role in air distribution in China.

Although limited in scale, this increased competition will help to drive a higher level of customer service and better agency products in the market, especially as TravelSky will look to take an increasingly international view in cutting distribution costs in overseas markets.

China has taken a step towards deregulation to meet the needs of further development of its socialist market economy and to bring domestic regulations on trade and investment more in line with international practices.

Deregulation has opened the Chinese travel market to competition.

While local distribution and services remain largely the same, the power of travel distribution can help to drive lower costs, better services and more relevant solutions for both the travellers and travel companies alike.

Short-term, this looks to have minimal impact on distribution companies like ourselves.

Long-term, however, there are potential great ramifications, and companies like Abacus should remain vigilant, in a number of ways:

• through close relationship with foreign carriers servicing China
• close relationships with key travel agencies in China and Greater China
• a suite of relevant and innovative solutions
• a sound understanding and presence within the China market
• a good working relationship with local travel leader TravelSky.

Deregulation works.

I applaud China’s effort in taking a step from its traditional policies of protectionism and centralised planning to discovering the potential of the free market and delivering greater fares and productivity to travellers and travel companies alike.

NB: This is a guest article by Jack Zhai, chairman of Abacus China.

NB2: China airport departure board image via Shutterstock.

I AM writing these lines at the Charles DeGaulle Airport in Paris. I’m on transit to Abuja, after a troubling transatlantic flight which started from Los Angeles, California, through Atlanta and over the eastern part of the US, which was literally in lockdown as a result of the hurricane. News of that dominated the airwaves in my last two days in America.

Practically every television station devoted attention to the likely consequences, what citizens should do, the expected damage, plans for evacuations, etc.

Even the politicians were forced to respond to the coming catastrophe and president Barack Obama and his challenger, Mitt Romney, both took time away from the punishing schedules they had kept in the past week, in an electoral race that had become too close to call!

It was refreshing to see how the human condition overtook politics temporarily and that contrasts sharply with the way our leaders responded to the nationwide floods of the past month! NIMET warned for months of an impending crisis but our leaders were too busy to notice; after all, it was not about money to share or positions to grandstand about!

Our leaders have always had more important things to think about than to be bothered about the citizenry and it is that small matter of responsibility and responsiveness which defines the nature of our ruling class and their imperial puppeteers!

And talking about politics and electioneering, that was the dominant motif of my two week sojourn in the USA. And as I travelled between Texas, Arizona, California and Georgia, it was clear that the upcoming election will be a very defining moment in American history.

For one, the fate of its first black president is hanging precariously in the balance and it is a bit worrisome that Obama has gone through the meltdown of an almost definitive re-election, to the uncertainty of the past week.

Some pundits on TV said if he loses the election, then his uninspiring performance in the first TV debate will have returned to haunt him big time! But things are not often as simple as they appear in American politics.

The black vote which played a significant role in his election four years ago is becoming fractured as a result of the backlash from fundamentalist Christian evangelist groups that resent his approval of gay marriages and in a critical state like Ohio, these groups might tip the balance. Whoever wins Ohio often ends up winning the election. Then there is the subtle, sometimes ill-disguised efforts by white groups to ensure that Obama does not get a second term.

The Republican Party has rallied and all the rightwing pundits, their TV outfits and the general fear that the white population might no longer determine the presidency in an immigrant country whose demographic picture continues to alter to the detriment of the White Anglo Saxon Protestant (WASPs), have all come together to play a significant, if unstated role, in the electoral race. American democracy has many contradictory sides to it; on the one hand is the role of money in the process.

It is the democracy of the rich and one in which the rich have increasingly used their dominant economic position to consolidate the inequalities in that society.

The statistics can be frightening indeed. Naomi Klein in her book SHOCK THERAPY reported that in 1980, when Reagan kicked off the Milton Friedman reforms, CEOs made 43 times what the average worker earned; but by 2005, they were making 411 times as much!

Economic power of the rich

The consolidation of the economic power of the rich has had direct bearing on the politics too. American politics has become more stridently right wing and on a worldwide scale, it has provided the basis for the imposition of the Washington Consensus on nations around the world, with its mantra of privatisation, the roll back of the state and cut back on social spending.

It is partly responsible for some of the conservative backlash which Obama has faced, with his healthcare programme, his demonization as a ‘socialist’ and the determined effort to wrest power from him.

A notable liberal talk show host sympathetic to Obama was reading out the worldwide polls of countries and who they would rather win the election.

Nigeria was included and overwhelmingly, people rooted for Obama, with the exception of Pakistan, where the population is very angry at the near-daily use of drones to kill people in the tribal areas which affronts their sense of national dignity.

As I told a couple of Nigerian friends over dinner on Monday night in Buena Park, the peoples of the world are not stupid; they retain vivid memories of what usually happens when Republicans come to power.

They seem so ready to invade countries around the world and Mitt Romney has pretended to have moved to the centre of the political spectrum just to win votes. Nevertheless, he retains a gung-ho support for Israel and with the controversy about non-existent Iranian nuclear weapons, it looks more likely that a Romney presidency might just be too willing to be part of the Israeli plan for war against Iran.

The next few days will bring things to a head. But having said that, it is also admirable to see how the candidates go around the country in search of the votes of the electorate. Americans elections have had their fair share of controversies, or who can forget in a hurry the hanging and dimpled cards of Florida in the 2000 election which brought George Bush to power and inflicted the neoconservatives on the world, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iran?!

I was struck by the warning from Texas that electoral observers would not be welcome in the polling areas in the state and I couldn’t but recall the arrogant insistence that foreign electoral observers must validate elections in neocolonial countries. Different strokes are meant for different folks, especially in the imperial heartlands of the world.

For me it was also very difficult to be away from home during the Eid holiday, because I missed that once-in-a-year opportunity to be part of an elaborate family reunion. The obverse was that I got that unique opportunity which travel affords, away from one’s day-to-day routine, to examine work, life and choices.

What the French call auto critique can be done from the remove of a journey and it became even more imperative for me, because of the new professional aperture I am opening, trying to be an entrepreneur in the media, with a new multimedia venture which I have been nursing for a couple of years now, and which should start business in November.

A new venture

When I discussed the idea with an elderly friend of mine a couple of months ago, he reminded me of the hostile business environment in Nigeria, especially when one is committed to doing things honestly and honourably.

But I’ve always felt that having worked in radio and television broadcasting and print journalism, I occupy a unique place in the media firmament to push through a multimedia venture.

I also have no delusions that it would not be an easy thing to do; but my father used to say that every true beginning in life is difficult! Besides, I have been part of many pioneering endeavours in my 35 years of media life, that has seen me work for Radio Nigeria and Radio Kwara; report for Radio France International; Radio Netherlands International; the BBC World Service; serve as pioneer GM of Kwara Television; Editor and Chairman of the Editorial Board of DAILY TRUST and now writing for VANGUARD and BLUEPRINT newspapers. So this is within that continuum too, with the small twist of being one that I am originating!

The Nobel Peace price

I felt very happy during last week, when I read of Bishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan’s elevation as a Cardinal of the Catholic Church(it is an item of news in the current edition of JEUNE AFRIQUE that I’ve just picked up here).

I had in fact written about his remarkable work for inter-faith harmony in Nigeria last week, which led to his joint nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize with the Sultan of Sokoto. His elevation was widely welcome around Nigeria as honour done an outstanding son of our country and a truly exemplary religious leader.

We were still in celebration mode when a suicide bomber rammed into a Catholic Church in Kaduna last Sunday, killing so many innocent worshippers and wounding dozens. It was almost as if whoever did that was issuing a cruel riposte to all people of faith who had rejoiced at Cardinal Onaiyekan’s elevation.

As has become the norm now, in the immediate aftermath of the bombing, equally innocent bystanders were promptly set upon and killed by the aggrieved from the bombing! It was a classic of two wrongs never making a right.

In a moment like that, I recall John Donne’s poem about every man’s death diminishing our humanity because we are involved in mankind. The intensity of emotions which religion triggers cannot be underrated and the fear and paralysis of terror trigger anger and the urge for revenge.

The fact that no one knows when next we might be harvesting terror-induced death further complicates our feelings of fear and paralysis as well as anger; and in sections of society, the urge for revenge. We then end up in a vicious circle of killings, revenge and deepened hatred; our society is further torn apart and the effort to build an inclusive society suffers.

The reality is complicated by the irresponsibility of the ruling class, the ruination consequent upon the socio-economic choices they have foisted on our country and the exploitative manipulation of ethno-religious identities! The hopelessness which envelopes our society and the increasing absence of the state in the lives of the majority of our people strengthen non-state forces of division.

And in the desperate search for power, ruling class factions continuously manipulate these divides as well as stoke base emotions which feed into fear, resentment, profiling of the other and retreat into divisive laagers. It is Nigeria which suffers the consequence in the loud rejection of patriotic harangues. These are not the best of times in our land.

Yet, I remain an incurable optimist at a time when optimism is becoming an endangered emotional attribute. If we give ourselves the pause, we can find those threads of inclusivity that can become the basis to build platforms of national cohesion and liberation. Let us cast our minds back to the unity of purpose which came in the wake of the national strike against the hike in the price of petroleum products last January, because it tells a story of what is possible.

The sight of millions of Nigerians united to fight an unpatriotic project of the ruling regime, shook the nation. It was incredible to behold in Northern Nigerian cities, Christians holding hands of protection for Muslim demonstrators to pray and the same scene was enacted for Christians.

Similarly, the Kano community visited churches in the city to remind Christians that we are brothers and sisters, united in a patriotic indignation against the corruption and irresponsibility of the Nigerian ruling class. They then urged that we should resist efforts to divide us along religious lines!

Such a narrative of unity across the fault lines of Nigerian existence offer glimpses of what is possible. Unity across ethno-religious divide is also the best response to terror and the propensity for revenge attacks, terror-induced paralysis and fear. Those who exploit and manipulate the laagers they’ve forced Nigerians to retreat into will rue their decisions when the Nigerian people take the decision to repossess their country!

It is the optimism that such a possibility can happen which drives my passion to continue to write and observe our condition humain, as the French say.

I am literally catching a whiff of Nigeria again and it’s so good to be homewards bound. And as our flight took off from Charles De Gaulle, I am also sinking teeth into Kofi Annan’s new book, INTERVENTION: A LIFE IN WAR AND PEACE; it is a marvelous way to relieve the burden of a long flight from Paris to Abuja!

NIGERIA’S MISSING OIL BILLIONS

One of the questions I asked President Jonathan during the MEDIA CHAT of June 24th, was the issue of a daily theft of about 180,000 barrels of oil in the Niger Delta. He expressed embarrassment that such a level of theft takes place.

This is inspite of the fact that Niger Delta militants get paid to protect pipelines and Tom Polo has morphed into a Nigerian version of Blackwater, making millions of dollars, ostensibly for securing our maritime resources. The world of oil is absolutely murky, combustible and insanely lucrative.

Not just for those who steal by bursting pipelines or siphon the 180,00 BPD. The network of theft goes to the highest echelons of the Nigerian state, as shown in the report of the committee headed by Nuhu Ribadu.

When Malam Abba Kyari was nominated to be member of the committee earlier in the year, I felt it was right to accept to serve so we can at least get a sympathetic look into the entrails of the cash cow which a few people have turned into a source of the most mind-boggling theft of national resources. If NNPC has reached the level of stink everybody now talks about, we must especially interrogate its husbandry, especially since 1999.

The most poignant thing for me, is the level of indignation which we reach each time these different scandals come to the public space.

We were angry that Obasanjo spent $16B in the power sector without supplying us electricity; we lament the systematic stripping of national assets in a dubious privatization process; Nigerians are shocked about the pensions scandal; we are livid about the fuel subsidy scams and yet, we somehow don’t seem able or willing to see the interconnectedness in our social space.

As a tiny elite of Government-Approved Billionaires get richer by the day and deepen the corrupt linkage with the highest echelons of political power, the NBS says over 120million Nigerians live in Abject poverty; over 60% of our urban population lives in slums; there is increasing levels of anti-state violence; the deepening of religious fundamentalism; ethnoreligious crises and the state rolls over in incompetence and is hollowed out by corruption! Can’t we see that these things are interlinked? In truth, Nigeria has been privatized as a huge kleptocracy! Neoliberalism since 1999, and before it, SAP, merely became the handmaiden for the stripping of Nigeria in the service of the private acquisitiveness of our ruling class and their Governmet-Approved Billionaires allies.

The system we have now cannot be reformed in truth; it must be uprooted! It will not be uprooted with religious violence, because the ruling elite come from the different religious backgrounds; we won’t win by retreating into ethnic lagers or the delusion of regionalism, because those who exploit Nigeria come from all the regions or states! It is the democratic organization of the Nigerian working people, the poor and patriotic intellectuals that can breach the fortress of heist erected by the ruling class and frankly I see no better approach.

It is 1640HRS on Tuesday evening and our plane has just landed in Abuja. I’ve been airborne or transiting in different airports for the past 29 Hours! It’s so good be back to the existential reality of our country, warts and all.

I’ve often written about sports, politics, jobs and career, but rarely about the things I like to do or the things that make me happy in life. I am a self-professed foodie; I enjoy cooking and trying out new cuisines, but only occasionally have I written about the good food I’ve eaten and tried around the world. I love to travel, but rarely have my travel experiences made it into my blogs. I guess it’s never too late to change, and so here goes…

Since I have moved to Asia, I have had the opportunity and been lucky enough to carry on a trend of expanding my horizons and broadening my mindset, visiting different parts of the world. Since I moved to Singapore three months ago, my travels have taken me to Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines. Not only have these travels given me an education, but they’ve also made me realize that Karl Pilkington wasn’t the only Idiot Abroad. If I had only paid heed to my grand dad’s advice and listened more than I spoke, I wouldn’t have had the “enjoyable” experiences that I did… And I guess you wouldn’t be getting a laugh out of this blog either!

On one of my weekend sojourns recently, I found myself in the vibrant, hot and naughty (yes, I said naughty) city of Bangkok. It was a whistle-stop trip, spanning all of a weekend, giving me just enough time to explore the sights and sounds of this very diverse and contrasting city. On one end of the spectrum you have the temples and religious shrines dedicated to the Holy Buddha that dot the landscape of Bangkok and at the other end you have the night life and “extracurricular activities” that are a hallmark of areas like the (in)famous Pat Pong.

Saturday morning was dedicated to some local sightseeing and possibly some (much required?) religious penance at some of the temples and religious shrines of Bangkok. My first stop was the Grand Palace, which is also home to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. What came next was something I was totally unprepared for; I should have been but I wasn’t!

As soon as I got off outside the palace, a gentleman standing outside the palace gates (who appeared all official with some kind of a security badge hanging around his neck) whisked me away and told me that I couldn’t enter the palace. When I asked why, he pointed to my shorts and said “Shorts. Not allow before 1:30 p.m.” (It was about noon then.) It was an odd sort of comment as to why I would not be allowed in now, but would be allowed later with shorts, but I just took his word for it.

In the meantime, however, he advised me that I could use my time by taking a ride around the city in one of the “tuk-tuks” and an hour later, when I returned, he would sell me a pair of full pants that would allow me to enter the temple/palace. He was even considerate enough to hail one for me and strike a “deal” with the driver. 20 Baht (approximately US$0.65) for a ride showing me some other sites around the city didn’t sound like such a bad deal after all! Very thankful to the guy, I hopped in and off we went…

First stop, “Big Buddha Temple” (or at least that’s what the guy referred to it as), where strangely, shorts were permitted before 1:30 p.m.! Next stop, “Thai Culture Center,” which for all practical purposes was a jewellery store… Then came the “Thai Fashion Stop,” a custom suit store… And then I realized what was going on. (I know, slow reaction time!) My one hour ride around the city was a way for my driver to make 20 Baht off me and an additional commission from every store he took me to. So when, after the “Fashion Stop” I told him I had had enough, he insisted we visit a couple of more before I would be “allowed” into the palace.

It was one o’clock and I insisted on being taken back to the palace. My happy, cheerful driver for the first part of the ride was suddenly not so chatty and cheerful anymore. Now slightly wiser, I got off at the Palace and walked right past the guy trying to sell me the full pants. I reached the palace gates only to hear an announcement that was being frequently repeated over a loudspeaker for all to hear which said, “Do not trust anyone outside the palace gates trying to sell you clothing or directing you towards other time wasting activities. Appropriate clothing can be rented for no charge inside the palace gates.” And I thought to myself, if only I had listened to grand dad… “God has indeed given us one mouth and two ears for a reason!”

Note: This post is not a reflection on Bangkok or the people there. I had an enjoyable time in the city and was extremely impressed and touched by the hospitality of Thai people. The post above is more a reflection on my lack of vigilance and a poke at how even some of the most “well educated travelers” can be taken for a ride (quite literally).

Follow Tarun Sakhrani on Twitter: www.twitter.com/tsakhran

More than 14,000 flights have been cancelled and many more cancellations are expected to wreak havoc on travel plans as airports slow operations and airlines scrap flights because of Hurricane Sandy.

Passengers are stranded across the globe, from Los Angeles to as far as Hong Kong, as carriers cancel flights in and out of New York City, the nation’s busiest airspace.

Some airspace activity is expected to slowly resume on Tuesday, but with Sandy bringing winds of up to 90 miles per hour and storm surges higher than 11 feet, the Port Authority continues to warn travelers of potential delays and shutdowns.

John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, both based in New York, were facing “significant disruption to operations” Monday, with LaGuardia completely closing as of 8 p.m. ET.

In New Jersey, Newark Liberty International Airport’s delay index was set at “high,” representing “severely impacted departure conditions,” including many cancellations and delays. The airport remained open last night but planes were grounded.

Washington D.C.’s Dulles International Airport and Reagan National Airport remain open but airlines have cancelled flights. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is encouraging fliers to contact carriers directly to rebook trips.

At Philadelphia International Airport, all operations have been suspended until further notice.

“Travelers should consult with their airlines for the status of flights before coming to the airport,” the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said in an alert.

Nearly 14,000 flights were cancelled as of Monday evening, according to FlightAware, and the number continued to grow overnight.

United Continental (UAL), Delta (DAL) and American Airlines led the flight cancellations, followed by US Airways (LCC), Southwest (LUV) and JetBlue (JBLU), and a slew of other regional and international airlines like AirTran, Pinnacle Airlines, Air Canada, British Airways, Alaska Airlines (ALK), Virgin America and China Airlines.

Delta, which cancelled more than 2,500 flights as of Monday, said it is aiming to resume limited flights at JFK and LaGuardia on Tuesday with a full restart targeted for Wednesday. Flying at other U.S. East Coast airports is expected to resume by mid-morning on Tuesday.

United has agreed to waive cancellation and rescheduling fees for customers ticketed on flights to, from or through impacted cities from Oct. 28 through Oct. 31.

Two days before Halloween, the “Frankenstorm” has travel plans in disarray.

Guy Nestor, a meteorologist with Mobile Weather Team who was on site at the CIMB Classic golf tournament in Malaysia for the last week, was stuck in Doha, Qatar, on a layover after his connecting flight through Dulles was cancelled on Monday. Nestor secured a transfer in Houston for Tuesday on his quest to reach his family in Pittsburgh.

Mike McCann, an employee at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, is stuck in Miami where he was vacationing after his flight to LaGuardia Sunday night was cancelled. Flying on American Airlines, he tried to squeeze onto an earlier flight but was told planes were grounded or completely full until Thursday.

“Today and tomorrow everything is cancelled. Wednesday is tentatively cancelled,” McCann said.

John Kingston, Director of News at Platts, a news service specializing in the energy sector, is capping off an unfortunate few days that began when the Detroit Tigers lost game three in the World Series Saturday night.

The Tigers fan flew out to Detroit on Sunday morning to catch game 4 with plans to fly back to New York on Tuesday morning. After an ugly sweep by the San Francisco Giants, Kingston learned his American Airlines flight was postponed a day to Wednesday.

“Fingers are crossed,” Kingston said.

Since driving a rental car home to New York would have run him at extra $500, he chose to bunker down at a hotel near Detroit Metro Airport and await a resumption in East Coast airspace activity.

“I have plenty of work to do and given that I’m sure my house will eventually lose power, I am probably going to be more productive here,” Kingston said. “But let’s face it: airport hotels are hardly examples of warm, beautiful places to stay.”

On Sunday night, the Port Authority closed NYC’s massive public transit system. The Holland Tunnel that connects Manhattan and New Jersey, George Washington Bridge and other bridges and tunnels into Manhattan were closed on Monday.

The two-day airspace standstill is expected to cost both the global business and leisure travel industries hundreds of millions of dollars.

“For the most part we’re seeing a fairly widespread to almost complete shutdown of business travel activity from Virginia up the coast to New England,” said Joe Bates, vice president of research at the Global Business Travel Association.

Depending on how quickly the storm moves through, how many people are out of power and the extent of damages, travel could be stunted or at least face “lingering impacts” through the end of the week, Bates said.

Some travel spend will be made up as plans are rescheduled, but Bates said a “large chunk” will be completely lost.