Actually, I’ve been busy, but that’s a topic for another blog (google Mushrooms to Motorcycles).

But here’s a travel issue near and dear to my heart–baggage fees. I hate ‘em. The airlines have charging for your baggage, as you probably know. I understand they need to cover their increased fuel costs, but I don’t happen to much like this approach.

I happen to be a fan of a small company that makes vests with lots of pockets, called Scottevest. (The president’s name is Scott.) They make a pretty good product—I should say line of products. Lately they started an advertising campaign plugging a jacket that has inside pockets for everything. The hook was that it was a way to get around those baggage fees. The airlines are trying to shut him out! Scott, and a lot of others, say this is a David and Goliath fight. Myself, I hope Scott wins. Here’s a picture of the ad they ran in the New York Times.

The ad the airline (Delta) wouldn't run has the caption "The Most Stylish Way to Beat the System"

Pretty clever, eh? Go check out their website.

First, a comic.

I've heard of Katmandu, but never heard of the song...

So where is Katmandu, what do you do there, and why is it famous?

Well, it’s the capital of Nepal. Nepal is northeast of India, in the middle of the Himalayan mountains. Even being the capital, it’s in the middle of noplace, as we say up in Minnesota. The city has been around for a long time, more than two millenia.  Back then, almost everyplace was in the middle of nowhere, so it was about as good a place as any to build a city. Actually, if you wanted to travel between India and China overland, it was on the main route.

Doesn't look like a highway to me...

Being so old, you’ll find lots of old architecture and ancient culture. Being in the Himalayas, you can find scenery (mountains and valleys), adventures, and wildlife. Tourism is an important industry there, and you can find multi-day tours to suit every taste. this brief post does not do the place justice. If you go there, you will find plenty to do.

Traffic doesn't look too bad...

If you want to go anywhere in Nepal, you pretty much have to start in Katmandu. But you could end up anywhere.

The time has come to remind everyone wherein lies the core, the basis, the heart, the true gist of a vacation.

A vacation is a change in routine activities.

Most people find it easier to change their schedule if they go someplace, and that’s certainly a good idea. You can, however, change your schedule without going anyplace and that would refresh you just like a “real” vacation, though it’s a little harder to do—too many temptations to retain the old habits.

But I want to warn you about a danger in vacations where you relocate for a while—bringing your schedule with you. Don’t!

Small electronic devices are easy to pack. Don’t. Want to check your Facebook? Don’t! Twitter? Don’t! The human race did just fine for centuries with nothing better than conversation and the occasional letter. When you vacation, disconnect yourself.

Vacation no-no

I’m not just pontificating, either. New research shows that being connected all the time tires your brain out, and having idle time refreshes your brain. So if you’re going to spend all that money on a vacation (even if you get a really good deal through your (ahem) Serenity agent) don’t waste it by hindering the refreshment. It takes a day or two to get used to not being connected all the time, so give yourself at least a three-day weekend.

Email us when you get back.

I like resorts after the lights go out. Y’see, I like astronomy. Resorts are safe places to be at night in the dark. I mean, who’s going to get New York City to turn off all the lights so you can stargaze? And would you want all the lights out there?

But some resorts even have star parties on their roofs, with telescopes, and lighting that points down so it doesn’t light up the sky.

Stargazing at a resort. Click to enlarge

There’s a resort in Atacama, Chile, only 40 miles from town, that features skies so dark they built the world’s largest telescope not far from there. For a little less remote, but still exotic, you could try the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa in Hawaii. They have 40 acres of back country, and they speak English. They even have a resident astronomer! Can’t make it to the Islands? How about Colorado? Viceroy Snowmass, a classy resort on the Snowmass ski slopes near Aspen has skies dark enough that you don’t even require a telescope. They have a person who gives talks about what’s up in the sky while you sit around a campfire. Don’t look into the campfire, though. It’ll mess up your night vision.

That out of reach, too? How about your back yard? Tonight just after sunset, go out and look west. That really bright star you see is Venus.

When you run a blog, you can get a lot of “junk mail.” Mostly it’s people (or software) cruising for links. Their site of choice is part of the form you fill out when you post a comment, and if you accept their comment, the search engines find a link to their site on your site, and it makes them look good. The comments tend to be bland and complimentary, such as “I found your post really helpful for my homework. You must put a lot of work into it.” or, “Your posts are very insightful and clearly represent a lot of deep thought. I really appreciate reading what you have to say.”

Bleah. This site doesn’t have too much deep thought, though I do think it’s a fairly interesting read, and I do put some time into it, both from research and my own experiences.

Normally I toss this stuff immediately into the trash folder. I’m not interested in supporting forex traders or their scams.

But my last post, below, garnered one of these from someone who runs their own travel blog, about Bantayan Island in the Philippines, and the site looks pretty interesting, especially if you’re considering a visit to the Philippines. (Ahem, your Serenity agent can fix you up with a vacation there.) So here’s a photo of the beach:

Sugar Beach in Santa Fe. Click to enlarge.

Looks like a pretty nice place, and the blog seems to be pretty active. Go take a look. http://www.bantayan-island.net/

There. I’ve done someone a good deed. Maybe I’ll go plug this site on that site!