Tips to Traveling Headache Free

Travel Headache Free- (yes, leaving your spouse at home is always an option too..)

These sounds so basic, yet emotionally people have a hard time letting go of their comfort zones-trust me it works!  Try it!

1. Travel Light- if you forget your favorite T-shirt, get over it!  Buy a new one for 1/3^rd of the price.  You will see I have a few bags here (out of the norm), yet don’t be deceived, the majority of the contents are culinary related items that are required to be checked through.
2. *Thinking ahead- I will soon fill the empty suitcase (the size of a small circus clown) with newly purchased goods.  And little does the world know the first person that comes to visit will be taking it back home for me!  Transitioning me into a lighter load and simply creating what I like to call “baggage freedom”.  This allows easy nomadic travel- always been my style.  Be honest “Who wants to deal with baggage?”  (NOTE: International flights you are allowed 2 checked bags FREE)
3. ONLY take what you need! –traveling is not a fashion show ladies, take the basics, hard to believe the rest of the world wears deodorant, uses shampoo, likes shoes, shirts, etc.  Always just pick up the basics once you arrive- beyond travel size
4. Checking in/Seat Assignments- When purchasing your ticket (or in my case) if someone else does the purchasing always let them know to reserve you your favorite location in the plane.
5. Personally, I am an aisle guy (up towards the front please!), waiting for slow people is a nightmare after being cooped up with hundreds of germy bodies for hours!  We are humans not chickens at Tyson Farms!

1. The Final Annoyance- The arrival (on the flip side!)
   
   1. Picking up checked baggage (avoid checking unless a must!)- Let’s be honest when you’re done flying you just want your bags, a cab, and a hot shower.  So make it that way! The general employee in any part of the world that works baggage handling is slow and has minimal motivation to get you your belongings –don’t expect Olympic pace. (Most in the US ride the union clock, shocker).
   2. How to avoid the headache of waiting- I laugh as I watch the vast majority of people flood to the baggage claim as they sit and wait for 15-20 minutes aggravated.  That is just the right amount of time to grab a cold beer or cocktail in the terminal! Standing there is not going to get your bag there any faster!  DUH!
   3. Know the Game on the other side-Take the 5 minutes, go online, read about “the game when you arrive”.  You are a tourist no matter where you go, what you look like, the locals can pick up that you are not from there!  Know the scams (example: Bangkok International Airport- you will be attacked right past immigration with taxi drivers, by pass them head to the airports transportation desk, about 300 feet further, you save 35-45% and keep your sanity)

Follow these  3 guidelines and traveling will be far less stressful, and more of a pleasure!  After all that’s what it’s all about!!!

I will leave it to someone else to comment regarding the partner/spouse travel!

Travel Summary of Africa to Amsterdam. Flights. Miles. Time. Kilometers. Climate. Weather. Find it all Here!

Time to call this one a wrap!  Ben and I are just totally beat from the intense  traveling. Here we are at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam awaiting our flights.  Its 5am here, and Ben and I find ourselves watching the cleaning crew and graveyard shift getting ready to leave. We sit here reflecting on this trip, this was a trip of a lifetime!  I am heading directly back to Dallas, Ben to Atlanta then to Birmingham, AL, so saying adios in Amsterdam (shortly), until I see him in Dallas in January.

In 23 days we covered the following ground-

14,058.8  air miles

3 continents (US, Africa, Europe)

Crossed over 3 massive bodies of water

drove 2,394 miles (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana) map of our driving trip

consumed roughly 6 pounds of wild game biltong

walked roughly 40 miles each

drank 41 gallons of water

crossed 6 borders

experienced 8 climate & terrain changes

ate zebra, giraffe, gimmsbuck, warthog, ostrich (and egg), panakoken, and many other treats- (you will just have to go back through all the food finds in the blog from the trip!)

saw some of the best sunrises/sunsets, wild animals, art, & architecture in the world!

That is some intense stats to produce in the better part of 3 weeks!  Stay tuned for more  adventures, we spent the countless driving hours figuring out where next.  And of course how to  become a full time tri-lingual  “Ninja”-

Travel.Cook.Eat.

Thanks for following the Africa to Amsterdam Adventure,

Chef David & Ben

Shipol Airport in Amsterdam to Train Station, Central Station in Amsterdam. ALSTUBLIEFT

Completing our Africa Journey and for lack of better words a giant U-turn through Southern Africa we made it back to JoBurg to catch our flight to Amsterdam,  Holland will be the last destination on our trip. Amsterdam is a special place for most for their liberal views on sex, drugs, and rock & roll! …and Heineken consumption!

(I spent my 21st Birthday at the original Heineken Brewery)..I could pass on the American Hein-e, but the real deal is a whole other story! …and you wonder why the canals are green…

It was even more of a special place for me- I have not been back there in 12 years since doing my apprenticeship in the highly acclaimed Restaurant Vermeer (Michelin Star rated restaurant). Of course first stop had to be the restaurant-Knowing the “ins and outs of Amsterdam” sure did make the 2 day intensely packed trip much easier. Not many people know about the “other areas” that are off the main tourist streets, where the real Dutch culture thrives.

One thing I have always appreciated about the Dutch culture is that there is no problem if they want to indulge in a libation during their lunch break. It is completely accepted among their business society.Amsterdam’s streets are full of history, mystery, myth, legend, and all the in between. Unfortunately, the city gets a bad wrap for being full of pot smoking, herbal drugs, legalized prostitution, gambling, and liberal attitude, but look beyond that and you will see a city enriched in culture, art, amazing food, and great history.

(I will touch on the above in another post!)

(more…)

Fish River Canyon. Fish River Canyon, Namibia, Africa

We crossed the border with great success which is always a crap shoot in a 3rd world country!  we started the two hour trek to the canyon.  We headed down a gravel road for about 20 Km, bumping around in the “flying toaster” (the name we gave the Toyota Yaris) we rented.

Thailand Tour. Places to Travel and Pictures of Thailand. More Thailand Travels to Come!

What an Adventure!

I have just returned home from Thailand, what a day of flying Phuket to Bangkok to Tokoyo to Dallas! The one very nice thing about having all that time was that it gave me the chance to look back on all the highlights of my adventure!

Beyond the Kitchen will post some of my “out takes” soon on video- and I have to say some of the first takes are rather humerous… but hey, everyone gets a little camera shy at first.. especially when you look like the weird-o holding your own camera in front of you recording yourself! After a few times, I quickly got over it, and just had fun!  After all it is all about showing everyone what is really going on out there is this amazing world!

The Ultimate Highlight -was the Thai Food! I mean, WOW! I ate everything there I could get my hands on… okay, the insect thing was a bit weird.. but I think I just discovered where the term “I have butterflies in my stomach” comes from! I am a chef through and through, and all great chefs are passionate about food, but more so the ingredients that go into making a great dish!  The Thai’s have nailed it 100% from an ingredient stand point and a flavor profile stand point!  They have the magic of combining the ying and yang of flavors.. they just melt together perfectly!

Reflecting Back- The one thing I realized on this trip is just how much I enjoy writing- not always being politically correct, just being myself… being real- writting about what people want to read about… THE REAL DEAL… not some “tour guide” to restaurants and attractions type nonsense… where to really go, what to really see, and how great it is to interact with people and embrace their culture and customs!

I have many of special thanks to give….

Mr. Bussey owner of Left Right Now.  He has been a great inspiration of this adventure and journey through Thailand.  He is also the creator of Beyond the Kitchen, and was my techinacal support from Asia! So Thanks Bussey, and remember i still have the Sanchez Hat! Perhaps it will make an appearance somewhere again!

My parents, for supporting my wild idea of taking a culinary adventure to Asia! Not exactly I think what they had instore for their son, but see the great benefits it had! They had all their friends following my blog while I was gone!  So thank you! I have had so many of their friends say to me “I can’t beleive you ate the bug!” hahaha!

Family friends, thanks for following, please stay tuned, there will always be more to come! And during the down time, there will be posts, so don’t worry, the great humor will never end!

My friends (professional and personal)- Mike thanks for taking care of the casa, and everyone else for following and checking on me while I was gone…

My sister and my great brother-in-law Lance- thanks for following and keeping me in the loop, and not thinking that this was an insane idea!

Skype- thank god you exist!

And last but not least- O’neils (flip flops & board shorts), THANK YOU for having a durable flip flop that I wore every day and not once did you break or give my feet any trouble! Finding a great flip flop is hard to do these days.. and you passed the test!

Stay tuned for more blogs and content from Beyond the Kitchen

Thank You EVERYONE for the support!

Always remember….

TRAVEL. COOK. EAT.

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