The Work Travel Thread

I like Delta for flying to Europe, but pretty much have to fly United to Asia because of cost. I have gold status on both carriers but thinking to concentrate on United to max out the perks. United just changed their policy so that miles don’t expire, so the value will probably drop in the future.
 
The car Nixon rode in when he visited Hangzhou during his presidency:

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Airport
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Chinese red bull:
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Been working in Iowa and north Missouri for the past month there is nothing to do but work and drink
 
Was.in Boston a few weeks back and will be going back again at end of Sept

Great food.
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Was.in Boston a few weeks back and will be going back again at end of Sept

Great food.
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When you're back, be sure to swing by Mikes Pastry in the north end for a cannoli and other contributors to diaabeetus. If you're a cigar guy at all, there is a cool little hole in the wall cigar bar next door to it. We will be up at the end of the month as well for a family thing in the burbs but hope to swing a day in the city. Such a great town.
 
When you're back, be sure to swing by Mikes Pastry in the north end for a cannoli and other contributors to diaabeetus. If you're a cigar guy at all, there is a cool little hole in the wall cigar bar next door to it. We will be up at the end of the month as well for a family thing in the burbs but hope to swing a day in the city. Such a great town.

Don’t forget to stop by The Black Rose. Go the morning of a hangover, order the traditional Irish breakfast and a couple of draft Guinness. That’ll set you straight for the morning.
 
Between landing in Haneda and now I took a metric shit ton of pictures. Last night I watched a well-oiled crew unload containers from a ship as the sun set on Tokyo Bay. Today I visited the Meiji Jingu and Hanazono-Jinja shrines, took a tour of the Samurai Museum, visited the ruins of an Edo-era castle, and shopped on Character Street (Hello Kitty souvenir request from my daughter). In between I ate lunch #1 at Family Mart, lunch #2 at an awesome ramen shop in Tokyo Station, then took a break from shopping (not my thing) with beers at the Beer House - also in Tokyo Station.

Here comes the photo dump (in chronological order)...

Preparing to unload:
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Flounder, tuna, and salmon:
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View from hotel room:
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Meiji shrine:
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Random building:
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Random street with a naming arch:
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Authentic Samurai armor from 1100’s-1800’s:
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Hanazono-Jinja shrine:
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Moat around Endo-era castle ruins:
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Ramen break:
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Needs no explanation:
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Daytime view from hotel:
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@andy J what exactly do you do for a living that has you globe hopping so often? I feel like you mentioned it earlier in the thread but I'm too lazy to dig back to find it :lol:
 
I sell airplane seats. It’s also why I never have time to wheel or even fix my junk

^^^ Cue everyone on NC4x4 thinking: "Gee, will airplane seats fit my Jeep/buggy/truggy/truck and will Andy get us a good discount on a pair of them"
 
^^^ Cue everyone on NC4x4 thinking: "Gee, will airplane seats fit my Jeep/buggy/truggy/truck and will Andy get us a good discount on a pair of them"

Haha! They are crash test certified. I doubt they will fit any NC4x4 member’s build budget though, even with discount.

Today was my last day of ‘fun’. I started by visiting the Tosho-gu shrine and Tokyo Tower. Did a little shopping for souvenirs at the Tower, then went over to the shopping district in Shibuya and wandered around a bit before eating in a cool basement Ichiran ramen shop. Then I crossed the massive intersection you see in a lot of movies (ie. Tokyo Drift and there really are THAT many people crossing at one time). Then I rode the train for about 1.5 hours because my dumbass wasn’t paying attention and I didn’t get off on time. Finally made it to the Megaweb and saw all the Toyota race and concept cars, then the History Garage, then wondered around that massive Venice mall next door. I had to reason with myself a lot in order to not take multiple pictures of every car.

They had a service going on that I watched for a few minutes. It was interesting.
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I was wondering what would happen if I rang this thing and ran..
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Tokyo Tower
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A magazine to teach kids how to be ‘City Boys’? Found this is a cool shop attached to a train station.
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Actual furniture made from plastic mesh
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The service process was really interesting. It kinda felt like that scene in Boondock Saints where the mob boss is at the titty bar and he puts the money in the slot and hits a button. Then the curtain goes up...
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Toyotas
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From the History Garage:
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Worlds largest Pac-Man (so it claimed)
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Here’s something I never imagined I would contribute to this thread: Tokyo is going to be hit by Typhoon Faxai over the next 12 hours. Right now it is a cat 3 storm, wind speed 90mph, 135mph gusts. I’m on the 13th floor of a bayside hotel, so I should be sitting front row for the action. Now that I’m thinking about it, maybe I better check in with the front desk ...

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I sell airplane seats. It’s also why I never have time to wheel or even fix my junk

^^^ Cue everyone on NC4x4 thinking: "Gee, will airplane seats fit my Jeep/buggy/truggy/truck and will Andy get us a good discount on a pair of them"

My first thought was now we know who to blame for the ever shrinking seats.
 
My first thought was now we know who to blame for the ever shrinking seats.

Haha! Well...actually you can blame 1) the air frame manufacturer (dictates seat width) and then 2) the airline (dictates leg room). We have made enormous strides in the living space of economy class seats over the last few years so airlines have taken advantage of this to shove the seats closer together to get an extra 6 people on a plane for max revenue.

Or you can stop being a cheapskate and get a business/first class seat (says the guy who flies LCC on his own dime) :lol:
 
When you're back, be sure to swing by Mikes Pastry in the north end for a cannoli and other contributors to diaabeetus. If you're a cigar guy at all, there is a cool little hole in the wall cigar bar next door to it. We will be up at the end of the month as well for a family thing in the burbs but hope to swing a day in the city. Such a great town.

I think we hit Regina Pizza then walked over to Mikes Pastry on our trip a few years ago. I would love to go back again. I agree @StretchASU, its a great town.
 
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