Work and play in Israel - February 22-28, 2013

A few days after returning from Vegas, I left on a business trip to Israel with a group of co-workers.  This wasn't my first trip to the country; I had gone there for training 5 years ago.

As there were United and Delta frequent flyer members amongst the team, we ended up on different itineraries, arriving within a few hours of each other.  I was in the United contingent, but was unable to secure the same itinerary as my co-workers Marc and Ivan without costing the company an exorbitant amount of money.  They ended up waiting an hour for my flight to land at the Ben Gurion Tel Aviv airport due to delays, but at least they were able to use that time to claim baggage and pick up the rental car.  I traveled with only a carry-on to bypass baggage claim.

I lost United elite status this year, so my seats were in "regular economy" ("E-" according to Flyertalk) on the domestic legs, though I was able to secure non-middle seats for the entire trip.  The transatlantic portions were on Lufthansa, a Star Alliance partner.  Coach meals aren't usually great, but after reading Flyertalk about the food offerings on Lufthansa, I figured requesting a gluten-free special meal (GFML) would help, and it did.  I got entrees like fish and fresh fruit, which was nice and light, though I was not a fan of the stale chewy rice cakes.  Lufthansa even served free-flowing alcohol (United doesn't), but I didn't partake.  Each seat had its own personal in-flight entertainment system.  I watched movies and listened to different CD's.

my own entertainment system

nice to have that cup holder in the tray table

salmon, veggies and fruit

egg, veggies and fruit

My flight went through Frankfurt, notorious for missed connections due to the long distances between terminals in the airport.  I didn't have much time to connect, so I hustled; however, when I got to the gate, there was an enhanced security check for the flight to Tel Aviv, delaying everyone in the process.  I don't remember going through this last time.  My carry-on was searched and I was frisked by a female officer.  The baggage search officer pulled out my eyebrow tweezers and was inspecting it quizzically.  I was afraid he'd confiscate it but thankfully the female screener saw it, spoke to him in Hebrew (maybe something like "That's an eyebrow tweezer!"), and he put it back.  They don't like anything sharp carried on; while leaving Tel Aviv the last time, my eyebrow scissors were confiscated, even though its length was shorter than the allowable limit in the US.

I got another plate of egg, veggies and fruit on my morning flight to Tel Aviv.

The procedure to enter the country seemed to have gotten less strict now compared to 5 years ago.  Before, I carried a welcome letter from the manager at the Israel site to be shown when requested.  This time, I didn't carry such letter and it wasn't asked of me; the immigration officer just asked where I was going, for how long and that was it.  A little piece of paper with a QR code was inserted inside my passport, and I found out shortly that it was scanned in order to open an automated gate into baggage claim, which wasn't there last time.

When I got into the arrivals area, I didn't see Marc or Ivan and had no idea where to find them.  Fortunately, the airport had complimentary wi-fi, so I was able to send an iMessage text since we all carried iPhones.  I met the two at the rental car counter; we found our car and drove an hour to our hotel, the Dan Carmel in Haifa.

king bed

welcome bottle of water and chocolates

mini library

electric kettle with coffee/tea packets

small safe in the drawer

a window into the bathroom with mini-blinds...

a glass door into the toilet...

Dead Sea toiletries

We met up with the rest of our team and went to dinner nearby at Tokai, an Asian restaurant, recommended by a couple of vegetarian co-workers (who weren't on this trip).  It was expensive, but not very good.  We returned to the hotel and went to the business lounge for some drinks as our rooms included access.  Every evening, there would be hot soup available as well as assorted hors d'oeurves, cut fruit, raw veggies, and mini desserts in addition to hot and cold beverages (including alcohol).

That night (and for the next couple of nights), I kept waking up every hour from 1am to 5am due to jet lag.  With so many meetings on Sunday (start of the work week in Israel), it would be a fight to stay awake through the afternoon.

view out the window in the morning

I didn't take any pictures while I was in "work mode" of course, so I'll make do with words for now.

A breakfast buffet was also included in our room rate, served in the Gan Dan restaurant.  All the elements of an Israeli breakfast was provided.  Fresh squeezed orange juice was available as well as espressos and cappuccinos at the manned beverage bar.  You could pour your own juice as well as order coffee or tea from the roaming servers.  I enjoyed different varieties of yogurt cups (though I had one that tasted terrible, but no English on it to identify what it was) as well as the pickled fish offerings.  The pastries and bread were also very good, especially the chocolate croissants.

It took about 20 minutes to drive to work.  One of the gates to the parking garage was controlled by a sensor in the company badge, but unfortunately ours weren't activated yet and we were stuck in line and couldn't move to the manned gate.  We ended up tailgating the car in front of us to get through, but we hurriedly got chased down by security, asking us for identification and admonishing us.  Making our way down into the underground garage, it was interesting to see that the levels were labeled as "negative", such as level -2, -3, and so forth.  It makes perfect sense, doesn't it?  We then got our badges updated by lobby security to let us into the building and garage in the future.

Most of the buildings on site were connected via skybridge so you could walk from one to another without going outside.  It seemed like there was a self-serve coffee/tea station every 20 feet and there would always be people gathered there, sipping hot beverages and having conversations.  Many employees ate at the cafeteria, subsidized by the company.  There were a number of cafeterias spread across the campus.  Some days we'd eat at the main one, which served a different entree each day along with side dishes such as Israeli salad (fresh chopped tomato and cucumber), hummus, pita bread, and hot vegetable soup.  Other days we'd go to another cafeteria that offered four different types of cuisine:  sushi, salads, shawarma, and grill.  The hamburgers looked weird so I usually selected shawarma as I like to try local food.  An Israeli co-worker asked why I didn't try the sushi...judging from his plate of basic sushi rolls filled with mostly rice, I think I made the right choice!  The meals were so big, I was pretty stuffed by the end of lunch, which didn't help when jet lag hit in the afternoon during training...in a dark room...staring at a projection screen...you get the picture...

In the evenings, we'd go back to the hotel and grab a drink and snacks from the business lounge before heading out to dinner.  You could probably make a meal out of the lounge offerings since there was always a hot soup or stew.

For dinner one night, we intended to eat at Shawatina, an Arab restaurant, but it was so busy, we ended up going downstairs to Kalamaris, which had similar cuisine, but based on reviews, Shawatina would have been better.  I really enjoy eating the Arab salad spread, where they bring lots of dishes of different salads (like banchan in Korean restaurants) as well as olives, hummus and pita bread, but everyone thought it'd be a waste of food (since they keep bringing you more when the plate is empty), so we only ordered entrees and a few side dishes.  I did a little research after the trip and it turns out that the salads are intended to be never-ending, as this is a sign of hospitality and you're not expected to finish it all.

Tuesday night, there was a dinner hosted by our Haifa co-workers in a town called Atlit, 20 minutes south of the city.  The restaurant, Ben Ezra, looked easy to get to after plotting the route online, but we got lost as it was very dark, plus we were meandering through residential communities where the streets weren't well labeled.  (use Google Maps to locate HaHarduf 87 in Atlit, Israel and see what comes up)  We looked for people to ask directions but the area was deserted.  Eventually we find a convenience store and Marc jumped inside to ask.  (wow, a man asking for directions!)  He came out with a gentleman in tow, Mr. Ben Ezra himself!  He was going to the restaurant anyway, so we followed his car...what luck!  It wasn't too far away but we would have still been lost for a while had we not bumped into the "Fisherman".  He led us to the entrance of the restaurant, and pointed to photos of a man on the wall and proclaiming, "That's me!"  There was no mistaking it being him when he was younger.  He held my hands in his hands and welcomed me in, how hospitable!  The fish dishes and salads were tasty.  I had a good time getting to know our Haifa co-workers, listening to their traveling stories and learning about their hobbies, which include music and art.

Another dinner we did was shawarma at David's down the street from the hotel.  It was really tasty and cheap and the owners were very friendly.  I ordered shawarma on laffa bread and it was so huge, I had leftovers which I stored in my room fridge, but I forgot to eat it.

As some of our co-workers had meetings on February 28, and Marc and I didn't, our free time started the night of February 27.  The others had a dinner engagement, so we were left to our own devices and headed to Giraffe, a top rated Asian-fusion restaurant in Haifa on TripAdvisor.  After we ordered, the server warned us that both our dishes would be green in color; apparently some customers were put off by it.  I couldn't fathom why it was a big deal until we received our food.  Despite the color, the meal was tasty.  Dessert wasn't very Asian.

I think this was green curry

green noodles

turkish delight

The next day, Marc and I headed to Caesarea National Park, a magnificent ruins.  I had been here before on my previous trip, 30 minutes before closing, so I only saw a bit of it.  This time, I got to roam throughout the entire complex, including the Roman theater.

protective walls

expansive grounds

mosaic floors

in the chariot racing area

seawater bathing pool

Roman theater

fancy arches

pieces of ornate marble columns

bath house

how do you lift this???

P-U!	hit the gelato shop

After taking a gelato break, we headed to Tel Aviv.  We parked at a lot across from the promenade and took a long walk.  We were searching for internet access but most of the hotels we passed were guarded by security, letting in only guests.  Eventually we found a McDonalds (many have free wi-fi).

the Mediterranean sea

interesting architecture

We walked over to the old city of Jaffa and roamed the streets in search of a souvenir for Marc's wife and son, then had dinner at Itzik Hagadol, serving yummy Israeli cuisine.  I had been to Itzik the previous time I was in Tel Aviv.  (While searching for a link to Itzik on Google, it turns out they have a location in Encino, California!)  The waiter tried to sell us the "unlimited salad" option, but as we were going to get on a plane in a few hours, it was wise not to eat so much, so we just ordered a few sides.  We ended up with dishes of olives, pickles, tomato "salsa", and a huge crispy oversized flatbread with our meal anyway.  There was a gentleman eating alone near us and his table had at least 10 small plates of salads.  When he paid the bill and left, there was so much food on the table remaining, which supports my earlier research about not being expected to clear the plates.  (I do wonder where the leftovers go)  When we got our bill, we ended up getting charged for the unlimited salads, but since we were running late to the airport, we just paid cash and left. :(

Jaffa by the sea

lots of stands selling reasonably priced souvenirs

exotic choices

internal organs, yum!

side dishes

all sorts of grilled meats

There was security monitoring all the cars coming into the airport.  Last time I was here, my friend Satish was driving and security stopped us and made him show his passport, but not me.  This time, we were just waved through without checking anything...racial profiling?

inside Ben Gurion airport, where Marc and I caught up with Ivan

Marc, Ivan and I were on the same itinerary coming back, starting with a long 12.5 hour red-eye from Tel Aviv to Newark, NJ.  I hardly got any sleep on the plane.  The gluten-free meals were still acceptable (except for those stale rice cakes); I think I'll order it whenever I can from now on.

chicken and veggies

eggs and spinach

The inter-terminal air-side shuttle bus service in Newark took forever to get us from Terminal C to Terminal A (with no stop for Terminal B).  It was slow-going on the tarmac, through tunnels, then we sat on the road for several minutes waiting for other buses to leave the Terminal A bus stop.  According to the website, there is also a land-side AirTrain monorail that goes between the terminals, but you'd have to go through security again.  I would recommend at least a 2.5 hour layover after an international flight into Newark since we barely made it in time for boarding with 1 hour 40 minutes and sitting in the rear of the plane plus going through customs.

ugh, this guy stood up and pressed his salami-smelling butt into my lap while disembarking in Newark!

the slow-going bus in Newark

After our cross-country leg to San Francisco, we found out our puddle-jumper flight home was delayed by many hours, so we went to the United Club (courtesy of my free United Club membership again) to kill time.  Then we made a group decision to ditch the flight and drive a rental car back.  The helpful United Club agents were able to cancel our leg and give us a partial credit for a future flight (the value is unknown as I haven't booked another business trip).  The flight ended up being delayed almost 5 hours so we made the right choice.  This wasn't the first time puddle-jumper delays have almost waylaid my trips, so I may consider renting a car and departing from SFO from now on.

Plenty more driving than flying in my next blog entry...stay tuned!

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Food gluttony in Las Vegas - February 15-18, 2013

Note:  pictures in wide format are courtesy of my sister-in-law Angela, thanks!

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For Presidents' Weekend, we headed to Las Vegas along with my brother Ed and sister-in-law Angela.  I had traded the 1-bedroom side of my Marriott Shadow Ridge timeshare for a 2-bedroom villa at the Marriott Grand Chateau, located one block from the Las Vegas Strip, near CityCenter and across the street from Planet Hollywood.  We were occupying it for the long weekend, and my parents, aunt and uncle were going to stay there the rest of the week.

As it was a holiday weekend, airfare was much higher than usual.  We decided to try out Allegiant Airlines service out of Stockton Metropolitan Airport, a little over an hour's drive away, as the fares were half of what Southwest was charging.  In order to offer such low prices, Allegiant "nickel and dime"s the customer with fees.  To ensure that Kaleb and I had adjacent seats, I paid $12.50 per seat each way, else seats were to be assigned randomly with no guarantee to be together despite both of us on one reservation.  You either had to buy the tickets at the airport, or pay a $40 service charge to book on Allegiant's website.  I did save $16 by using a debit card, woohoo.  You were allowed one free carry-on the size of a small backpack, else it would cost $35 pre-paid, and even more at the airport.  Despite all the hassles, it was still a better price than Southwest, and we wanted to try the service out.

Kaleb and I managed to stuff everything we needed for the long weekend into backpacks to avoid paying the carry-on fee.  Driving to Stockton wasn't too bad on an early Friday afternoon.  There was one main parking lot in front of the terminal, which cost $7 a day.  The terminal was small, so security was a breeze.  For concessions, there were vending machines and a restaurant.

Our plane arrived at the gate and passengers exited from both the front door (via a rolling stairwell) or out the back stairwell of the plane.

pretty neat to leave from the tail of the plane

When the gate agent made the boarding announcement, she also added that passengers could only consume alcohol purchased on board; I suppose they get the occasional drunk?  Then it was a free-for-all at the gate; no one was boarding by zone number.  I noticed that passengers who paid the fee for their carry-ons had a special tag wrapped around the handle.  Not surprisingly, some carried over-sized backpacks, but they didn't get stopped.

Our seats were in the center of the plane, so we chose to use the tail stairs.  Snack and beverage service was brief as all items cost money and hardly anyone bought anything.

The plane landed 30 minutes after Ed and Angela, which worked out perfect as they got the rental car and picked us up from the passenger pick-up area (inside the parking garage) across the main road outside baggage claim.  We drove directly to Caesars Palace to hit the Bacchanal Buffet.  It opened last fall and was still the hottest buffet in town; it took about an hour and a half to get in, leaving us just 45 minutes to eat.  If you have a Total Rewards Card, you can save $1 per buffet, approximately a 2% savings, what a deal!  The buffet was advertised to have 500 items to choose from.  The layout wasn't too efficient; due to the way the stations were set up, if a long line formed for the carvery, it was hard to access any of the food adjacent to it.  There was also hot crab available but you had to know to ask behind the counter (but it was merely taking your plate of cold crab and dunking it in hot water for 10 seconds).  I couldn't really take pictures as there were so many people around, so I can only show you what I sampled.

limit eating to 2 hours? silicone gadget to pick up hot plates

black chicken soup, xiaolongbao, sushi, etc.

snow crab and fresh oysters

bucket o'clams, kobe slider, meatball, more chicken soup ;)

mochi ice cream, creme brulee, among other delectable desserts

After dinner, we checked into the Marriott Grand Chateau.  No self-parking offered, but valet parking was complimentary.  If you prefer to self-park, the Planet Hollywood garage is across the street, but it's really not worth the trouble.

I've taken pictures of the villa in an earlier blog entry, so nothing had changed since then, though there was construction happening on a third tower.  Our villa was right next door to the construction; a port-a-potty was sitting outside our window, up on the 12th floor!   Work was halted during the long weekend and unfortunately resumed the rest of the week during my parents' stay.

The next day, we slept in while Ed and Angela were dedicated to working out in the morning!  They used the exercise room at the Grand Chateau, though it had a funny smell (resulting in them driving out to 24-Hour Fitness for the remainder of the weekend).  We didn't meet together again until dinner; in the meantime, my friends Ching and Hung were also in Vegas, staying at the MGM Grand.  We made a lunch date and they picked us up from the Grand Chateau and headed to a Vietnamese noodle house called Pho Kinh Do (say that really fast) as it had decent reviews on Yelp.  The service was great and the food was tasty, though I didn't take any pictures.  After lunch, we went to the MGM and gambled for a few hours.  Unfortunately, none of us won any money.  Kaleb and I headed back to the Marriott.

For dinner, we hit my favorite Vegas restaurant, Raku.  I never get tired of eating here (so many blog entries about it).  This visit, I decided to try a few new things:  bluefin tuna sashimi (a chalkboard special), juicy chicken appetizer, ground chicken skewer, and the creme brulee.  The appetizer was definitely juicy, and most yummy!  The tuna melted in my mouth. The ground chicken was raved about in Yelp reviews, but I thought it was just okay.  The creme brulee was the best dessert I've had there so far.

homemade tofu

sashimi salad, so fresh

bluefin tuna, da bomb

raw kobe beef liver

kobe skirt steak, lamb chops, ground chicken

juicy chicken

my favorite: foie gras

creme brulee with green tea ice cream

satisfied couple #1

satisfied couple #2

On Sunday morning, we went to the airport to swap our rental car for a minivan so that we would have enough space when the rest of the party arrived on Monday.  The van was brand new; we had to tear off the plastic wrap covering the hubcaps and remove pieces of tape from the interior.

the minivan only had 2 miles on it!

Then we headed to brunch at Mozen Bistro, located on the third floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at CityCenter.  I read Yelp reviews ahead of time and was looking forward to trying it out.  We parked at Aria and followed the signs out to the Mandarin Oriental, arriving in time for our 12:15pm OpenTable reservation.  It wasn't specifically listed on the restaurant's website, but brunch was from 12-2:30pm on Sundays.  There was a live jazz band playing.  It was a combination of a-la-carte dining plus buffet with no lines.  There were also passed appetizers, but I forgot to take pictures of the little morsels we received before we ordered our main entree and hit the buffet.

brunch menu

seafood bar with sushi chefs behind the counter

charcuterie

tofu flower, sushi, raw oyster, crab claw

almost too pretty to eat

made-to-order noodle soup, dim sum, carvery items

colorful dragonfruit

freshly sliced sashimi (ask for it at the counter)

The service was very attentive; we were warmly welcomed when we entered and our water glasses were never empty.  The waiter came by every so often to ask if we were ready for our main entree.  Eventually we were...though we were close to full from all the buffet items, including sashimi, sushi, cold seafood, salad bar, charcuterie, made-to-order noodle soup, steamed dim-sum, and a carving station.  I didn't even eat anything from the salad bar nor the carvery; there was that much food.

Kaleb and Angela both ordered the scallops

steamed grouper

paneer curry, lentils, basmati rice, and fresh naan

Our stomachs were about to explode, but we had to make room for dessert.

We didn't leave the restaurant until close to 2:30...over 2 hours of pure eating enjoyment.  I would suggest arriving when Mozen opens for brunch, as items weren't replenished later in the day.

happy!

so full!

During our meal, I had noticed a table to my right (an empty table was in between us) with two men who looked like hotel security wearing dark suits, sitting with two other men.  Every time I got up to get food, the security guys would pause and throw a glance in my direction.  It turned out Louie Anderson was at that table, and the bodyguards were probably worried that I was going to approach him.  There was also another actor in the house, who we think was John Amos, who also happened to star with Louie in the movie "Coming to America".  When John left the restaurant, he stopped by Louie's table to say hello.

After brunch, we headed up to the hotel's Sky Lobby on the 23rd floor to check it out.  Hotel registration was located here as well as a couple of restaurants.  The area was especially decorated for Chinese New Year, which occurred less than a month ago.

seating in the elevator!

year of the snake

neat wall

We walked around CityCenter and the Cosmopolitan Hotel to burn off the calories.

CityCenter

agate staircase in Crystals mall

more Chinese New Year decorations at Aria

crystal chandeliers at the Cosmopolitan Hotel

the Cosmopolitan check-in lobby was interesting

At the Cosmopolitan Hotel, we sat at the bar at Holstein's to enjoy full-fat milkshakes.  Let's just say that after a humongous meal, washing it down with such richness is not recommended!  We later headed to Bellagio to check out the conservatory.

decorated for Chinese New Year

beautiful flower decor

even a tangerine tree

kumquats too

The epic feasting was taking a toll on our bodies, so we stopped by Whole Foods to pick up some dinner.

On Monday, my parents, aunt and uncle arrived into Las Vegas after noon.  We picked them up from the airport and headed to Pho Kinh Do for another round of Vietnamese noodles.  Afterwards, Kaleb and I were dropped off at the airport for our flight home.  Bye bye Vegas...we'll be back soon...

When we arrived in Stockton, there was a long line of people waiting to pay their parking fees with cash at the kiosk in the terminal, as the automated machines out in the parking lot took only credit or debit cards.  Would I fly Allegiant again?  Yes, if the cost differential between Southwest and Allegiant was huge, the flight time convenient, and I had time to drive to Stockton.  The plane wasn't too uncomfortable but then again, I don't normally recline my seat (Allegiant's seats don't move).  I may consider taking Allegiant to Honolulu as $199 roundtrip deals come up from time to time.  I'm willing to try it once.

I just organized all of my pictures to date and turns out I have 9 trips to blog, so behind.  Next stop, Israel...stay tuned!

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