New US Passport Laws go into effect June 1, 2009!

http://ow.ly/9GyA

Groucho Marx once said, “I don’t want to be a member of a club that would have me as a member!” Well, Groucho, I disagree! Once again, I’ve been included on a panel of travel experts for Forbestraveler.com. Here’s what Jeff Koyen of Forbes Traveler says about the list of the top 400 Hotels in the World and the people who chose them:

The world’s most distinguished travel experts pick the finest hotels

“A once-in-a-lifetime experience that sets a new standard for over-the-top luxurious hotels. This is a masterpiece. If you want to see what living like a billionaire is like—just once in your life—stay here.”

“In 35 years of hotel design and visiting, this is the best hotel experience I have ever had. Such a wonderful location and such wonderful service—it was a magical experience. I was heartbroken to leave.”

“Truly one of the most beautiful spots—and hotels—in the world. What more can I say?”

“These are just three of the many comments we collected from the Forbes Traveler 400 board of travel experts who determined the 2008/2009 list of the world’s top luxury hotels. You’re just dying to know which hotel they’re talking about, right? Well…to paraphrase the Bard, there’s the rub.

When we first published this groundbreaking list two years ago, we broke rank from the other travel magazines and websites that place great emphasis on mathematically ranking the best hotels in the world. Statistically speaking, the only way to make such a claim is to ask several thousand people for their opinions. The world’s best hotels, then, are often ranked by a sea of anonymous web surfers.

Turning to the crowd is good for certain tasks. When you can’t remember the capital of Belarus, ask everyone on the bus. Someone will probably remember it’s Minsk (a fifth-grader, no doubt). But when picking the right hotel means the difference between an unforgettable trip and an unforgiving spouse, shouldn’t you ask people who stay in luxury hotels once or twice a week—not once a year?

So, from a wide variety of industries, we assembled a board of 79  luxury-travel experts. Arianna Huffington is a renowned author, publisher and one-time California gubernatorial candidate; her fellow board member, Todd English, is a celebrity chef and restaurateur. Adam Tihany is a noted interior designer and architect who’s responsible for several high-profile hotels around the world; Tony Wheeler co-founded Lonely Planet, publisher of the eponymous guidebooks.

We were fortunate to have Erik Blachford, current CEO of TerraPass and former CEO of Expedia, opine alongside Peter Greenberg, noted travel writer and The Today Show‘s travel editor. And if anyone knows about luxury hotels, it’s Matthew Upchurch, CEO of Virtuoso, a consortium of upscale travel agents, and Aaron Simpson, group CEO of Quintessentially, a global concierge service for discerning travelers.

We asked our board members to rate nearly 800 highly regarded four- and five-star hotels in seven categories. Because new hotels need time to find their rhythm, we omitted properties less than two years old; and, we didn’t include hotels that are undergoing major renovations. Our experts were promised anonymity so they could speak freely, and they had nothing to gain from any of the hotels they praised (or criticized). We then took the top-rated 400 and commissioned reviews from professional travel writers who have first-hand experience with the hotels (and did not receive complimentary stays during their visits).

The result is the Forbes Traveler 400, a rundown of the world’s best hotels, spread across six continents and presented geographically.”

I am honored to be a member of this panel! I hope you click on the link below to see the Forbes 400!

http://www.forbestraveler.com/forbes400/

Meet the other 78 members of this panel!

http://www.forbestraveler.com/forbes400/panel

Apply for a Passport or review the one you have.  Now wasn’t that a great, simple resolution? No food to weigh, clutter to organize, or daily aerobic exercize!

You may recall the fiasco that ensued when people suddenly realized they needed to have a passport to travel to destinations that previously only required a certified birth certificate, etc. Our Senators and Representatives even had appointed staff members whose sole function was to assist you in expediting your passport application through the issuance process. Next, Congress delayed the implementation date of the new law requiring valid US Passports for travel in the Western Hemisphere by auto or ship. Anyone traveling by air has needed a passport for quite some time.

Now Congress and the Department of Homeland Security are at it again. The latter wants the law implemented some time this summer while the former slipped some verbiage into an omnibus spending bill requesting the law not go into effect until June, 2009. Now, add in the reaction of the countries/islands you are planning to visit and you get total confusion. Many small Caribbean countries are unaware of the proposed delays and are currently requiring travelers to carry a valid US Passport. In short, you can get several different “opinions” on whether you’ll need a passport for your travel and the catch is that this is not a multiple choice test.

I can assure you from experience that within the US and in countries abroad I’ve received different answers to what seemed to be simple questions. For example, when flying internationally, how many carryon bags can a person bring? Oh, and what constitutes a carryon bag? Since the suspected bomb assembly scare occurred in London, the Brits have banned travelers from carrying more than one “carryon” (Is a purse a carryon? It depends on the agent checking you through security, the agent checking your boarding pass, etc). Now we are allowed to carry 2 bags in Great Britain. The problem is that sometimes these changes in law don’t filter to the “Powers that be” at airports who actually can keep you from boarding a plane.

I’ve heard people explain that they aren’t planning to leave the US in the foreseeable future. If I could accurately foresee the future, I’d pick next Saturday’s Powerball numbers and retire! Why wait until you’re ready for a vacation outside the US, then find that you need a passport and because of the beaurocratic nightmare of the passport process, you won’t be able to secure one?

Other things to consider for those of you smugly gloating because you already have a passport: When does your passport expire? Most countries require you to carry a passport that is valid for AT LEAST six months after your travel dates. How many blank pages do you have in your passport? Many countries require Visas and that you present a certain number of BLANK Visa pages in your passport.

So, do yourself a favor—get a Passport or renew your Passport today!

I am filled with gratitude today! I am sitting on my bed with my two dogs blanketing me as I gaze outside at a winter wonderland—you know, one of those scenes where the sun’s rays bounce off the freshly fallen snow. I have so much goodness and love in my life and have been blessed with so many varied and rich experiences. I’ve met brothers and sisters around the world (in Ravello, Stratford on Avon, Jerusalem, Raiataia, Helsinki, Cairns, St. Petersburg, Agra, Valparaiso, Luxor, Fernandina, Kuala Lumpur, the Great Barrier Reef, Whistler, Shanghai, Cusco, Kansas City, Ushuaia, and Anguilla—to name a few) who have taught me the meaning of words such as grace, hope, and love. Some have taught me about gluttony, greed; about apathy, disdain; about war, AIDS, and death. All have left an imprint on my soul that have led to the joy I have today. You see, I am a member of the Lucky Sperm Club! I had no control over choosing my parents, my homeland, and the abundance of food, healthcare, and education. It is not enough for me to “feel” grateful because I’ve learned that my feelings are not facts! Today I know that gratitude is an action word. How can I do “gratitude?” To give daily—time, hugs, a phone call, money, stuff—is my way to thank God for all the incredible gifts I have received. Some days I am more miserly than others and I discover I’ve slipped back into the world of ME. That is okay today because I am, day by day, becoming a better Giver and less of a Taker. Many days I treasure the fact that the journey is the destination. Becoming a member of the Lucky Sperm Club was a gift—as simple as that—a gift that has taken me years to unwrap and treasure.

This entry may run towards the “sickenly sweet” for some of you, so consider yourselves warned!

I love my husband. Okay, there! I’ve said it, I’ve admitted it, and I show it! There has been no earth-shaking event that caused me to share this with you; rather, there have been a compilation of everyday loving moments, moments where my heart swells with a happiness that causes my lips to curve up in a Cheshire cat smile.

Michael and I met in 1997, a time when my definition of the perfect relationship was “You keep your place and I’ll keep mine. We’ll see each other perhaps once a week and we’ll travel together.” If you want to make God laugh, tell God your plans! Fast forward several months: I turned 50; Michael and I married; I became a mom of an 8 year old (Josh) and a 16 year old (Lauren) and had no stretch marks! Michael had lost his wife to cancer and was a single parent. Years before that, I had lost my only child, my son David, to a sudden death when he was 2. As Josh (no longer 8—now 18 but just as sweet and loving today) said, “God put us together! You needed a son and a husband and we needed a mother and a wife!”

Needless to say, I faced some challenging times with my new (to me) teenage daughter—resistance, resentment, rebellion, reconciliation, and, as of today, a mixed bag. Josh and I bonded immediately. When he was 10, I told him I wanted to have him “freeze-dried” so he’d stay just the way he was forever.  A year or so later, he asked me if I was glad he kept growing up? I smiled, hugged him and told him I was so glad for every day I could be his mom.

Now, back to my love story: Michael and I will celebrate 10 years of marriage in May. That is certainly not a long time for many of you and I doubt you’ll find that statistic in any record book; however, I am convinced, truly convinced, that we have met before, and that, at some future time, when we have passed from this existence, we will meet again.

Michael and I have a 24/7/365 (plus leap year day) relationship. We live together, we work together, we dine together, and often, we play together. I could not imagine this type of arrangement working for me. I need my space—and I get it; I need time for my friends—and I have it; I need my independence—and we are interdependent not codependent.

We just spent 10 days together exploring Ancient Egypt and many times we caught ourselves smiling, holding hands, and delighting in the ability to share this time together. Many of my friends comment that it’s easier to be kind to a stranger than to a loved one. Sorry, guys, that’s not true for me! What I have is so precious, so special, so sacred—I find myself working harder on kindess, respect, and love at home than with people I don’t know.

Before falling in love with Michael, I couldn’t tolerate imperfections in my partner. We all have “warts” and somehow I’d focus on the warts and lose sight of the person. Today, I so love Michael and because his warts make him who he is, I love his warts even more! Maybe that is what love is all about…

If you have been following every electifying word I type, you’ll know we just returned from Egypt. And, if you don’t read every entry I post, we just returned from Egypt. Once again, I witnessed the curious phenonenon of many US travelers—we expect the rest of the world to behave like we do and to treat us as if we were still in the states! That attitude and the behavior exhibited by those of us who are hellbent on Americanizing the world perpetuates the stereotype of the Ugly American traveler!

“Excuse me, could you move over” as the US person tries to stage “the perfect photo” of a sacred shrine, while denying the rest of us a chance to view and explore. “Young man, young man! Where’s the ice for my drink? Do you think 2 cubes are enough?” Most cultures do not try to cram an iceberg into a glass.”Those vendors—they don’t take ‘NO!’ for an answer!” We’re in their culture—get over it and get into it!

I think one of the things that prevents me from blogging more often is ME! I tell myself that I must be profound or humorous, make an impact and I act like that “musty” message is a fact! It is an opinion, albeit mine (which means it MUST be right!) and my new mantra is write, just write!

 We just returned from cruising Da Nile and loved every minute of it! We were hosted by the President of Big Five Tours and Expeditions aboard the gorgeous, sleek, contemporary Oberoi Zahra. We arrived in Cairo at dinner time and as soon as we got to the hotel, the Four Seasons Nile Plaza (Four Seasons is so predictably excellent!!!), we went to sleep. When we awoke the next morning we felt rested and did not experience the usual jet lag.

The ancient Egyptians were so advanced. I used to believe that old or ancient was synonymous with primitive, backwards, and outdated. How wrong I was! The first time I visited Pompeii I was jolted out of that belief. Yet, old beliefs die hard and on this journey I once again confront my “I’m so cool and 21st Century” arrogance. I learned that the ancient Egyptians were very advanced in the sciences, arts, and, of course, in engineering.

It’s now 8:20 PM Friday evening and I’m very tired. More travelogue and photos to come soon!