Well here we go! My first entrance in to the travel reviewer/critic space. First some background. Ever since I started my career it has been a very heavy travel related job. Up until the Rona stopped things in 2020, I was traveling about 100-125,000 airmiles a year. I have been a Premier 1K on United for most of my adult life and have almost 1,600,000 miles on United alone. When you throw in the over 40 countries I have been too and all the trips on other US domestic carriers I have easily put up over 2,000,000 air miles since 2002. But what I have never done is fly an Indian airline at all or domestically in India. Our recent trip to Goa provided me this opportunity so here we go…SPICEJET….yes as if it wasn’t hot enough and the food wasn’t spicy enough we now get to travel Red. Hot. Spicy (I am sweating writing this).

As with most things in India I must say my experience was better than expected. If you google or YouTube search SpiceJet you will encounter some pretty awful stories. Honestly the worst experience I had was booking and the website. Most of the rest was acceptable.

My wife and I had to work on three different computers before we could get one that could make it all the way to the payment screen. Sometimes the website would change our genders without letting us properly identify. Other times it would let some of us get snacks and others get sandwiches. It wanted us to pay for the premium SpiceMax service but when we got to seat assignments every seat was taken. It took us at least an hour to finally get a low enough fair that had seats available, at least one cucumber sandwich, and Priority Boarding. The good news is that the website was good at emailing me all itinerary documents as well as boarding passes and even emailed me bag tracking information. Check in online is mandatory but easy. Once you show up to the airport you go to a desk and check your bag (they are strict about the 15kg/33lb bag rule though). Bag check in at both airports looked like the below and we honestly didn’t wait more than 5-10 minutes at either desk. So far so good.

Bag check in Pune. They gave us priority tags here which we paid for.

Bag check in Goa. We paid for priority bags here and then did not tag them saying our ticket didn’t purchase them.

Then we went through security. Pune’s security was a breeze but Goa’s was a nightmare. Not the airline’s fault but worth noting:

No fancy conveyor belts to bring you your screening bins. You just have to be tall.

Feeling frisky? Easy tiger. They separate men and women at security. Men go in one line and women in the others. While men are fully examined in the open women get special booths where they can go in and prove their innocence.

Then we found ourselves sitting around the airport. Pune was fairly empty and had very few retailers or services. Goa had a huge open sitting area and plenty of shopping and a food court. The similarities during both experiences — the update board is terrible. It only says you are delayed but not by how much. Neither airport had gate speakers so you only knew where to line up or what was happening if you could hear the very meek lady yell what was going on (from my experience that was only within 6 feet of her at both locations). Boarding was a free for all. If we hadn’t shown our priority boarding passes and had an infant we would have been swallowed up by the sea of humanity that swelled to engulf the airplane.

Some line discipline in Pune

No line discipline in Goa.

Here is the food court in Goa. Word to the wise – when traveling in ANY public transportation in India I strongly advise you eat a huge breakfast or stock up on protein bars.

Waiting room in Goa.

We finally boarded. Both appeared to be fairly newer 737’s as I could tell by the windows being placed higher, more updated air vents (rather than air knobs its the air circles), and more overhead space. Speaking of overhead space — you only get about 14lbs for your carry on and that includes total weight of all carry ons. My carry on bag itself weighs at least half of that! Luckily for me they didn’t weigh them.

On board accomodations were nice. We were delayed on both segments because of a late arriving airport but made it to our destination only about 10 minutes late each time. The service in the cabin was quick and of course confusing. Can I have a Coke? No what coke here is juice. I don’t want juice. Ok no juice (cart starts moving). Wait I would like to have a Coke. Sorry you didn’t pay for it. I think I did check the sheet. Mumbling. Here is your warm Coke. Thanks, I will never ask for one again and I apologize.

Regardless each flight was only 45 minutes so it barely made a difference. I hear SpiceJet is notorious about their unclean restrooms so we all were prepared before flight time.

After getting some random cookies, some chips and dip, and one cucumber sandwich (paid for 3), we guzzled the one Coke between us and quickly threw our trash in the trash bag that was being rushed down the aisle.

We landed and both times the bags made it. No problem. In fact I think the bags game out faster than they do in the US. I mean look at how many people came out to work on our plane when it arrived:

So bottom line I give SpiceJet a solid B. Honestly other than the website it was on par or maybe better than some US domestic carriers. It didn’t stink. The people weren’t overly pushy or rude. They got us there in pretty good time and with acceptable delays. I would definitely try flying them again and just pray that this wasn’t the one good experience amongst a sea of bad.

I remember back in my early days of corporate travel going to places all over Asia and a common joke was “passing or eating” at the American Embassy. The reference was for McDonalds. I am continually amazed how McDonald’s has a footprint everywhere around the globe. I have been to six of the seven continents and all of them have the golden arches located somewhere in their cities or rest stops. True the menu changes for local flavors — good luck getting a Filet of Fish in Brazil or in China getting something that does not have chicken in it. India is no different as I found out.

Let me start by saying I do not eat McDonald’s hardly at all, maybe 3-4 times a year max — usually on road trips/airport stops, early morning dental appointments (sorry dentists but this has been my routine since my childhood), and when I lived in Chicago my late late night after party gorge fest. And almost all of those visits per year are for breakfast. I like the Bacon, Egg, and Cheese biscuit (i get two and skip the hashbrowns because I am healthy), a black coffee, and an orange juice. I rarely if ever eat their lunch/dinner menu. I am more of a Burger King guy. Bigger burger, juicier, flame grilled flavoring, but the fries I will give are better at McDonalds.

Pardon the ramble. So here I am in India. Lunch time is always the big gamble with my new office because I am surrounded by eating places that look, well scary. Some look like they have survived at least one World War, others look in need of a serious deep clean, and others have menus that I cannot even read. However, in the basement of my building there ironically is….an American Embassy.

I’ve already waxed eloquently about my search for a cup of joe and so I went to McDonald’s for coffee as I am at my breaking point with instant coffee. After ordering an Americano (which to be fair was great) my coworker happened to show up and recommend I try to see if it “tastes like America”. I have to admit looking at those long, slender, greasy and heavily salted fries….and then seeing something that was probably safe (chicken nuggets), I got weak and ordered. And for the first time in India, I had a meal that did not include 350 different spices. Just precious salt…and ketchup. Yum. The fries tasted almost the same as I have had before and the nuggets actually had more chicken in them (all white meat too) than the ones in the US. So after three weeks of being in India I finally had my first full, non scary, lunch. I don’t see doing it very often but good to know its available.

I have some pictures below of the menu. You will notice there is no beef…anywhere. The Big Mac is chicken instead of beef. In fact they have multiple varieties of Big Macs. The little cheese nuggets are very spicy and my guess is the sauces they put on them have chili flakes. Here are some photos below. I know next time I am in a rush and want some good ol fashion high fat, fried, low nutrient, but no spice too the American Embassy is not far away.

Check out the menu folks, a little different eh? Mondale to Hart — “where’s the beef?”

Ohhh the Big Mac had a family. But do these Big Macs look like their daddy? Uh oh…

Coffee time!! Remember the failed McCafe experience in the US??

These were pretty good and no added spice. Even the BBQ sauce tasted about right. Full to the brim of chunky white chicken too. I even brought some home to Tenley who devoured it.

Lunch at the American Embassy.

He is smiling because he finally won. You profit off of my bland tastes buds you old clown. Always looking for the next customer….

I am very simple in my coffee preference. I prefer black coffee — no sugar added, no cream, no soy, no chai whatever triple gumdrop with foam. Just black so I can you know taste the coffee beans? As my dad used to say, “Its the way John Wayne liked it”. Yeah that is me John Wayne….a cowboy looking for a cup of black drip (or brewed) in a land that looks at me like I am crazy.

To be fair, outside of North America and a few European states, most of the world does not drink dip coffee. They do their cappuccinos, frappawhatevers, expressos, and lattes. Most of the time I am visiting another country I just settle for a Caffe Americano. Its basically a shot of expresso with added hot water. My understanding was that this came to being when American soldiers liberated Italy during World War II. Anyway, it isn’t the same as my precious cup of Joe.

So here I am in India. No drip coffee to be found. Same issue as most of the world. A French Press coffee definitely does the trick but it usually takes awhile to get it ready and can be expensive. So the search continues until I finally found my safe haven. Starbucks! Not my favorite brand of coffee (tip of hat to Dunkin Donuts) even though I was raised in Seattle. But still in India it is like seeing an oasis in the desert!

So I walk in. I have found most Starbucks around the world will offer brewed/filtered coffee. I didn’t see the right machine. Just coffee beans in a huge vat, lots of train like whistle noises, and steam everywhere. I scoured the menu. And then the clouds parted and the sun shown through. There in the middle of the menu was a section that said “Brewed Coffee”. Thank you Jesus! I had two options…Pour Over or French Press. The French Press was good enough but only came in a large size. But what is this Pour Over? So I asked for an explanation. The extremely patient and kind barista explained it to me and honestly I couldn’t understand half of what she said until I heard “you put the beans in the filter and then (words I couldn’t understand) hot water (more words I couldn’t understand). John Wayne would have lost it. But I said “Yes!! Close enough, let’s do a pour over.”

What I did not expect was that my typical cup of Joe which takes about 30 seconds to serve was going to be a 10 minute coffee craft extravaganza. These are the steps I witnessed in the pictures below:

First they have to take the top off of this machine to gather a cup worth of coffee beans.

The beans are then put in to the coffee grinder. How fancy just like how Costco used to do it!

And now the moment of truth. She brings out this device shown above. It looks like two coffee cups sitting on a piece of lumber on the 2nd floor of a building. She puts a filter in each of the two cups.

Then she gets piping hot water from some contraption and begins to pour over the cups in to the filter creating the the chain reaction that drips brewed coffee in to the cups on the 1st floor.

So basically completely manually assembling a cup of coffee which my CoffeeMate at home would do in 3 minutes. This process took 10 and seemed to cause her a ton of focus and at time confusion. But what did I get??

The answer to my quest — just a cup of black coffee. About the same price as I would pay in the US (India has a 18% national sales tax) and pretty much the same taste. John Wayne would approve…almost, he probably liked grounds in it. True Grit.

So now I know how its done if I really want one. I mostly survive on instant coffee (crap) and hotel produced Americanos which give the caffeine trip but seem to miss the taste. At least I learned a few things: 1) I can find what I want if I am patient and diligent enough 2) I know what a Pour Over is so I can sound impressive at Indian cocktail parties, and 3) a good cup of joe does exist even in the heart of Pune.

John Wayne would maybe be ok with the coffee but what about the steak? That is for another time.

Finally getting some down time to update everyone. I have now left Oregon and before I arrived in India I got to spend a wonderful week with my two sons and my ex in laws (yes you heard that right, but they are like 2nd parents to me). We had a great time visiting Florence, Pisa, and Rome. I haven’t been to Italy since 2005, and it seems like English is much more common now that it used to be. Honestly you could get by just knowing some Spanish as many of the root words are the same. I am sure the food was great back then but it tasted even better this trip it seemed. It was similar to the feeling I have when I have been to France — it doesn’t matter which restaurant you go in the food is going to be great. Granted there are always exceptions. We did go to one restaurant who actually had terrible pizza! Mama Mia!

Florence — This was probably my favorite part of the trip. It is a smaller town that doesn’t have all of the crowds and hustle and bustle of Rome. Granted we were there during the winter which is low tourist season but the weather was still warmer than back home. We went to the Galileo Museum and had a private tour by Ricardo from Get Your Guide. It was about a 2 hour tour and we got to learn and se alot of artifacts and explore the history of science. We got to see so many different creations and tools including a flat earth map! Then we went on another Get Your Guide Tour (private) to the Duomo or Florence Cathedral. It was breathtaking. Through all my tours on this trip I actually got a huge appreciation for how much the church sponsored and regulated art work. Very interesting. The tour was 3 hours but it went by very fast. If you can spring for it definitely do a private tour. My boys and I asked so many questions there is no way we could have had the same experience with 15 other people. The next day started at 9:30am and was a 5 stop restaurant tour. Starting with coffee and pastries and then moving on to meet and cheeses to finishing with gelato, it was fantastic and I highly recommend it. Please again arrange a personal tour. And you can always order more! We took extra to our airbnb for eating in the morning. After naps, we went to go see the David and it was breathtaking. We learned alot about Michaelangelo on this trip we never knew (a fantastic artist and a Ninja Turtle). We pretty much laid low on Christmas Day, nothing opened until noon. I was amazed though that by Christmas afternoon everyone was out and about. Italians apparently have their tradition of a huge afternoon Christmas lunch. Oh that reminds me of one thing to keep in mind during Italian restaurant visits — check to see when the kitchen closes. We only got half way through a meal and when we ordered our main course found out the kitchen would be closed for 3 hours. Only apps and salads for that dinner! The next day we were on a train headed to Pisa!

Pisa – First of all this town is so much more than a leaning tower (it is actually called the Belltower).  Our train arrived on time and we took a cab to eat at a restaurant near the tower.  Food was fantastic and I definitely had my share of Peroni and Morretti beers!  We used Martina Manfredi’s Personal Tours By Locals.  Martina recommended our lunch spot and met us right on time.  She was a great guide.  We learned so much about the entire cathedral complex.  Though the belltower is what makes it famous the stories of the sinking cathedral (yes all of the buildings are sinking in the marsh where this was built) to learning about the expedited deterioration of human remains in the burial yard (dirt was shipped in from the Holy Land and apparently could fully decompose a body in 24-48 hours).  Going up the tower was an adventure which sort of hurts your legs when you get back down because you are walking up a long narrow staircase at a crooked angle.   We finished in about 3 hours, Martina called us a cab and we were off to the train station for Rome.  If I were to go back to Italy again I would love to stay in Pisa for a couple of days.  It is even smaller than Florence but had much better prices, similar friendly attitudes, and was much more quiet. 

Rome – We took a train from Pisa.  It felt more like Amtrak than the commuter train we took from Florence.  We had first class seats but don’t be deceived.  The only thing first class about it was that we got assigned seats and a little more room (2 and 1 configuration vs. 2 and 2).  There was no drink or food service so we had our worst meal in Italy in the train dining car.  I felt like I was back in Elementary School eating the “Italian Surprise” lunch which was obviously just a bunch of oddball ingredients thrown on some sort of pasta.  The best part about it was throwing it away. Our hotel was Hotel Capo d’ Africa in Rome. It was literally a few blocks from the Colliseum, was very comfortable, and had a nice small bar in the lobby. I would recommend it.

The next day we visited both the Collisuem and the Vatican.  For the Colliseum we used City Guide Experiences (Walk) and did a group tour that got to go on the floor of the Colliseum.  It is an amazing structure and feels like the prototype for our stadiums today.  The group tour wasn’t as bad here but it was super crowded given it was Christmas break.  We also got a tour of the Roman Forum afterwards.  We got to do a lot of learning and walking!  We headed straight after to the Vatican for a quick lunch outside the gates and then on to the tour.  We used Maya Tours and our guide was named Debra.  She was a ball buster.  She made us leave on time, leave some slow people behind, and kept the group focused.  She was a great guide but seemed more like a German Kommandant than an Italian art lover.  She would push us through to the front of every exhibit yelling “VIPS please VIPS”.  You get what you pay for her with her.  She was very engaging and taught me more about art history than I have ever known or experienced in my life.  The Vatican is definitely a place of immense spirituality and faith but it is also a shrine to one of the best art collections in the world.  I loved hearing how Michaelangelo painted rebellious images and designs in to his work, even in the sistene chapel which offended Cardinals and Popes alike yet it was subtle and due to pride a lot of them didn’t realize what his paintings truly showed (one was of a Cardinal known for child abuse who he painted drowning in hell with a snake eating his genitals).  Hoo-ah!!  We ended the evening with a self guided tour of St. Peter’s Basillica and then had a huge steak dinner!

My last full day was much more layed back.  We did the hop on hop off tours.  I know these sound corny but its actually a really cheap way to get around town.  You can pay for 24, 48 or 72 hours for your ticket and rarely did they even check that I had one.  The bus comes every 15 minutes so you don’t wait very long.  The audio tour on the bus is sort of lame and brief so I would just recommend taking in the sites for yourself.  We got to visit the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain by using our walking app.  We ate at an incredible pizza place in an alley close to the fountain and I am kicking myself because I do not have the name for it.  It was 5 stars and run by two guys in the kitchen and only one out front.  Luckily we ate early because by the time we finished there was a line out the street.    We had a nice dinner and went to bed early since I had a 7am flight to India the next morning.  I kissed and hugged the boys for as long as I could, shedding some tears of course.  Due to my India move I will not be seeing them again until Spring.

In summary, I want to go back to Italy again with Tami and Tenley and whoever else wants to come!   The food for the most part was delicious whether it was a quick café or a sit down restaurant.  I mean does anyone have problems eating pizza and pasta for a straight week??  The people were very friendly and helpful.  Make sure you bring good walking shoes as there is a ton of walking (And a lot on either hard marble floors or cobblestones).  We walked usually between 3-6 miles a day if not more.  Italy is not very handicap friendly in most of the older buildings so keep that in mind.  I think it is worth the extra 20% to pay for front of the line VIP tours.  You get to see everything and it is customized to your interests.  One thing that stood out to me was the amount of people that smoked cigarettes.  Most restaurants have outdoor smoking (not indoor) so if that bothers you be aware of where you are sitting.  Taxis in Rome can only pick up from Taxi stands so make sure you keep tabs on where those are.  Uber is not in use in most of Italy due to protests and the taxi unions, but you can use them in Rome (its really expensive though). When in Rome! Now it is off to India for more travel adventures….

Yes I know it has been awhile since my last blog.  Since our August trip, I have been back in the US due to some startup delays and immigration issues.  Yes…that is right, I am having immigration issues.  Getting the right VISAs with the proper support.  It can be time consuming.  At least when it comes to government work, India does not allow digital signatures on documents.  So I have learned what an apostille is (not apostle unfortunately).  An apostille is a government notary from your state certifying the notary that signed your signed document (Confused yet) is legal.  So that can take a week to a month depending on which jurisdiction you are in.  And then you have to sign in blue ink only.  And then you need a company stamp (which you could probably have made at amazon for $5 but it looks oh so official).  Regardless to say, things move yet not too quickly…hmm sounds like traffic in India.

So I found myself back in Pune this past week for a whirlwind of a trip.  Nonstop meetings as usual but wanted to highlight three items of interest.

First – I often get questions of “what do you do for a living” “what is GIPS” “why does your job sound so boring that within 15 seconds of you describing it I start thinking of what my next meal is”.  Well I will save another blog for that answer.  But this you will find interesting.  This week I got to make the BIG DOLLAR decisions of such things as – desk colors  (gasp).  Carpet color (gasp).  Which desk chairs should we order (yes).  And of course my favorite – finding out how we can fit as many toilets in to a smaller space as possible and still meet all requirements.  Suffice it to say, I did it all fairly quickly and as you can see in the photos with an audience of about 15 people staring.  Just like when I go to the mall with my wife and within 15 minutes I am asking when we can leave, I did my most efficient selection process ever.  I did consider and think about the options but really….all of the 6 chair choices for example looked and felt the same.  Anyway something I haven’t been able to do in my 20 year career yet but now I not only shop for my home but for my firm as well! 

Second – I had a lovely invitation to one of my colleague’s home for my first real homemade Indian lunch.  It was fantastic and “all veg” – that is right mom I am getting my veggies (And then some) over here.  It was a great meal and they even toned down the spices for me.  I enjoyed getting to see how someone local lives and was struck by how close families are knit and how multi generations live together.  The food was fantastic with cooked mixed vegetables, paneer masala, some raw veggies for a salad, homemade naan, and a grain soup that I forget the name of but was perfect on top of the veggie rice.

Finally – I give credit to my wife for pointing these out on our last trip but the Pune-Mumbai Expressway was either created by a comedian or the contractor who did the signs had a couple of drinks!  Check out these hilarious roadway signs on the highway.  They are almost a distraction in and of themselves!

We stopped at a travel center on the highway for a washroom stop and lunch. I took a picture of the Burger King menu so you all can see what a mostly veg Burger King menu looks like. Look at that variety!

I leave India to return back to the US before our big move in early December.  See you next time!

Carpet selection time!

You all like this chair?

Picking desk colors with an audience!

Homemade lunch…YUM!!!

Best naan bread I have ever had!

Here is the comic relief, these are hilarious.