China's Travel Revolution: Jets, Exoskeletons, and Adventurous Journeys!

China has rapidly become a rival of the United States on just about every level, from military strength to technology to athletic competition. The world of travel isn’t outside China’s realm of advancement, either, as a recent issue of CNN Travel pointed out on several fronts.

            The first Chinese-designed and -built mainline passenger plane, the C919 jetliner, is now in service, courtesy of the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, based in Shanghai. The twin-engine jet is China’s answer to the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, two of the world’s best-selling aircraft types. CNN travel writer Steven Jiang, a seasoned traveler with over a million air miles under his belt, recently flew aboard an Air China C919 from Beijing to Shanghai. The plane had 8 first-class seats and 158 in economy class, although some configurations go up to 192. Jiang pre-paid for an emergency exit row seat and was pleased with the legroom he encountered. Otherwise, the seats were not very special, he noted, and amenities are few; there are no seatback screens, for example. He also liked his in-flight meal and noted the bathrooms were a little more spacious than those he’s used on other airliners. Jiang enjoyed his flight to Shanghai and gave the C919 a solid grade of B in terms of safety and comfort.

            In about ten years, the C919 and its sister planes, along with lots of others, will be landing and taking off from the world’s largest airport on a man-made island, off the northeast coast of China. The Dalian Jinzhou Bay International Airport is scheduled to open in 2035 and will cover nearly 8 square miles with four runways and a passenger terminal of nearly a million square feet. The airport will be able to accommodate 80 million passengers a year across 540,000 flights. By comparison, the busiest U.S. airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, serves just over 50 million passengers per year.

            Dalian Jinzhou Bay International will pass Honk Kong International and Kansai Airport of Japan as the world’s largest airport on an artificial island. It will be just offshore of the city of Dalian, which has 7.5 million people and has long been a transport hub due to its proximity to Japan and Korea. Its current airport, Dalian Zhoushuizi, opened a century ago and has reached its capacity.

            Every tourist visiting China wants to see the country’s amazing sites, and some of them want to explore the exotic places more closely than from a tour bus. One of those destinations is Mount Tai, in the eastern province of Shandong. It’s 5,000 feet high and takes more than 7,000 steps to climb it, a punishing trek that has been known to turn legs to jelly. But a Chinese robotics company has come up with a way to make it easier: an exoskeleton that assists climbers. On January 29, the first day of the Chinese New Year, ten AI-powered exoskeletons debuted at Mount Tai, attracting over 200 users for a fee of about $10 to try out during a week-long trial. The device is designed to wrap around a user’s waist and thighs. It weighs about 5 pounds and is battery powered. Using AI algorithms, it can sense the user’s movements and provide “synchronized assistance” the ease the burden of the legs.

            How did it work? A 68-year-old who used it to climb the mountain was enthusiastic. “It felt like someone was pulling me uphill!” But a 29-year-old was a little more restrained. “Once I took it off, I felt a bit clumsy walking on my own.” Other climbers reported that the device was inconvenient when they needed to use the bathroom or tie their shoelaces. The company said that the beta testing period is giving them plenty of data from which to design improvements, and the device is expected to hit the market next month.

            Finally, there is a new travel trend developing among Chinese youth, who are looking for alternatives to air travel due to economic uncertainty. Thus, we now have the “iron butt” travelers, who go long distances on buses and trains. One of them, age 27, told CNN, “Iron butt travel lets me visit more places for less money.” Lin En, age 23, described a grueling 46-hour bus ride from Xinjiang, in China’s northwest, to Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The bus would stop for food every few hours, but otherwise he had to endure the long haul in a near-vertical seat, which gave him severe back pain. But he says the experience was much more “down to earth” than flying, and not just in a literal sense. “I came across so many interesting stories along the way—about culture, family or making a living—it’s all super engaging,” Lin said. He’s been on ten iron butt trips in the last year, logging more than 300 miles on buses and trains.

            Well, we’re not necessarily fans of that kind of travel, nor are our clients, but we can certainly recommend some great train trips, not to mention a visit to China itself, high on a lot of our clients’ bucket lists. Give us a call!

 

Unlock the Secrets of a Romantic Getaway - Tips for Couple Travelers!

Valentine’s Day is this week, so a lot of people are planning a romantic getaway for a night or two, or maybe longer. Traveling together as a couple is exciting, and it’s good for the relationship, too, according to research cited recently in USA Today.

            Couples who travel together “can experience greater romantic and physical intimacy and higher satisfaction with their relationships,” say the scientists. But any seasoned traveler knows that romantic getaways can go wrong, just like any other trip, often through no fault of the couple. Flight delays, overbooked hotels, bad weather…the list of potential problems is a long one. But relationship experts say that the benefits almost always outweigh the risks. Here’s why they say traveling together can be good for couples.

·         Break out of the mundane. Do something different while traveling. Step outside the familiar routines of daily life and immerse yourselves in new experiences. A shared adventure fosters teamwork as you plan the trip, encounter obstacles and work around them. Stepping away from your daily schedules and distractions allows you to focus on each other, leading to meaningful conversations, laughing at silly moments, and being together in ways that are often hard to do at home.

·         Plan an itinerary together. Even if one member tends to be more of a planner than the other, it helps to work together in planning the itinerary. Agreeing on a solid itinerary before departing can decrease the chances of conflict on how to spend vacation time. Make sure each person has the opportunity to enjoy the trip. Having said that…

·         Don’t be afraid to stray from the itinerary. Flexibility is key to a couple’s vacation and a healthy relationship overall. How you deal with flight delays, vehicle breakdowns and the numerous other pitfalls that you might encounter will determine whether you can have a fun and memorable trip in spite of the hiccups. Working the problem on your trip can also help with conflict resolution skills at home.

·         Talk to each other (a lot). Communication is mandatory for a successful couple’s trip, especially if this is your first time traveling together. You’ll both need to adapt to each other’s habits, preferences and inevitable personality quirks. The cooperation and mutual support you need on a trip help build trust.

·         Get a new perspective. You’ll be seeing your partner in a new light, away from his or her familiar routine and lifestyle, giving you a fresh perspective. How do they adapt to stress, handle surprises? Are they willing to dive into new experiences? That could be something as simple as sampling a new dish at a restaurant or engaging in an outside-your-box activity. Travel can help reignite feelings of novelty and spontaneity in the relationship, allowing couples to rediscover each other in a fresh context.

·         Take some alone time. There will be times during the trip when you might want to be by yourself, and that’s okay, even necessary. Take a walk or a swim, read by the pool or on the beach, shop, hit the gym. Spending every waking moment with your companion isn’t a requirement. You’ll feel the need to recharge your own battery.

·         Don’t set lofty expectations. Eventually, your vacations will grow into trips that are bigger and better than the first ones you took. My husband and I took our first trip together to a resort in Jamaica, and since then we’ve traveled all over the world, climbing mountains and exploring Tibetan temples. But occasionally we still like a simple long-weekend getaway, or even a road trip for a night or two. These types of trips allow couples to reconnect. It’s not about where you go or how far away it is; it’s about being intentional with your time and creating memories together.

It might be a little late to plan your getaway for this upcoming Valentine’s Day, but there are plenty of days left in the year, and there’ll be another Valentine’s Day next year. Give us a call and get ready to get away with your special someone! 

 

Journey to Morocco: Explore the Timeless Charm of Casablanca!

In what promises to be a busy year of travel, one of the places I’m thinking of visiting is the North African country of Morocco. Just a short flight—or even a boat ride—from Spain, this historic nation has some of the most intriguing destinations for American and European travelers, especially movie buffs, because one of Morocco’s most famous cities was the scene of one of the greatest movies of all time.

            Eighty-one years ago this week, the Academy Award nominations for films released in 1943 were announced. The top two films, in terms of nominations, were The Song of Bernadette (12) and For Whom the Bell Tolls (9). But the movie that came next, with 8 nominations, is the one everybody remembers: Casablanca. It would go on to win Best Picture, along with Best Director and Best Screenplay. The star of the film, Humphrey Bogart, was nominated but lost out to Paul Lukas of Watch on the Rhine. Nobody remembers Lukas today, but everybody remembers Bogie.

            I’m not a film buff like my husband, but Morocco is also an intriguing destination because of its history and culture. When the French colonized Morocco early in the 20^th century, they envisioned Casablanca as the country’s New York, its international port and economic hub, and the capital of Rabat as its Washington. Since gaining independence in 1956, Morocco has slowly been climbing its way up the scale of preferred international destinations, thanks in part to its close proximity to western Europe, and of course its association with the movie.

            The biggest attraction in most Moroccan cities is the medina, the walled historical center of the city. With labyrinthine streets, quirky restaurants and unique shopping opportunities, the medina of a Moroccan city is often the most interesting place to visit. Many cities are now refurbishing old buildings in their medina and converting them into boutique hotels. Graham Cornwell of the Washington Post recently wrote about his trip to Rabat, in which he described a morning stroll along Rue Bouqroune: “…vendors line both sides of the street, where you’ll encounter half a dozen varieties of mint piled high on little tables, silver sardines on big trays of ice, and beautiful ‘heidi’ eggs still with traces of feathers stuck to them.”

            Rabat also boasts ancient ruins dating back thousands of years, as do many other Moroccan cities. These historical locations, many of them preserved as UNESCO World Heritage sites, tie in well with the country’s many and widely renowned museums and art galleries.

In Casablanca, the medina is smaller than those in other major cities (about 125 acres) and its charm carries the visitor away when you pass through its gates. It’s essentially a large bazaar, where you can get everything from native-made leather goods and rugs to spices, linen, antiques and so much more. In Arabic, the place is known as a souk, which makes it even more exotic.

Where can visitors to Casablanca find Rick’s Café Americain, where much of the action in the film takes place? The movie was filmed entirely in Hollywood, but about 20 years ago, some restaurant entrepreneurs opened Rick’s Café Casablanca near the harbor and right on the edge of the medina. The café’s interior is a faithful replica of the movie set, there’s music and high-end dining, but no back-room casino. Reservations are required, and there is a dress code.

Ready to go to Morocco? Give us a call, and when you get to Rick’s, toast your companion with the classic line, “Here’s looking at you, kid.”