Check out our Top Rewards Cards to boost your points earning and travel more!
Daraius at Million Mile Secrets did me the great honor today of inclusion in his interview series. I continually refer to his encyclopedic posts on miles and points.
Those visiting Rapid Travel Chai for the first time will see it is not a miles and points blog. And it is not a travel blog from someone on endless vacation. Travel writers often act as if everyone can take weeks, months, even years off to amble the world. Even those “36 Hours in…” columns leisurely treat a destination as if visiting for the third time.
This blog is dedicated to the rest of us that want to see the world AND have jobs and family still there when we return.
I bounce from topic to topic. What interests me and makes me a better traveler I hope will do the same for readers. Some highlights:
- North Korea and more travelogues.
- Baby consultants on the plane, Professor Peter Conn’s China romp and more humor.
- Destinations from American War Cemeteries to UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
- Practical information from TSA PreCheck to getting visas.
- New York, New York (and a little Jersey).
- Credit cards are more than just their sign-up bonuses: chip and pin, and the pitfalls of Verified by Visa.
- Concise photo albums with companion maps to fuel your travel dreams.
I explore corners of the travel world that few venture to share, hoping to provide a distinctive travel experience for my readers.
Reader comments and questions are what makes the blog fun. Write me to say hello, share your travel stories and pictures, and see if I can help with your travel wishes and questions.
Thanks for reading, I appreciate it.
Marguzor Lakes, Tajikistan
Check Out Our: Top Rewards Cards ¦ Newsletter ¦ Twitter ¦ Facebook ¦ Instagram
thanks to Daraius for pointing us to your blog. Love it! You have certainly been to a lot of places I want to visit some day (central Asia especially)…and lots of places I have also already been (mainly SE Asia). But I tend to travel slow, not fast. 🙂 cheers!
Stefan,
very interesting interview on MMS! You blog has been added to my RSS feed and looking forward to reading regular posts.
Great interview on Million Mile Secrets!!
Stefan, great interview on MMS! I look forward to your posts 🙂
@RTC – Thanks so much. Looking forward to read parts 4 & 5.
Very nice blog! May I ask if it is possible for us to see the China trip schedule that you recommended to Rick? Or if you can mail it to me, it is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
@Nguyen – I am happy to share, but I have decidedly un-rapid in posting them, here are:
Part 1: General Tips
Part 2: Hotels
Part 3: Beijing
Parts 4 and 5, Xi’an and Shanghai, well they have been on my to-do list to put online, with your reminder I will get them up within the week.
If you are curious about any other destinations in China, it does not take me much to get going. I have been to every province and loved each one, each different from the others in so many respects.
@Lindsay – thank you! @dale m – I feel it is important to consider ethics. It is easy to rationalize that these are all faceless corporations. But, tempting as it can be at times, I do not want to do things that would leave a pit in my stomach or make my friends and family ashamed if they knew. @Kay – maybe we will bump into each other in one of the NYC airports or on the road. @OceanBreeze – go for it and let me know what adventures you have. @DT – all good points and you do a… Read more »
Although it may not seem like it, even if you take some time off from work to travel the world, you CAN still have both a job and family when you return. It just takes a lot of planning (and guts) to do so. In our travel, we have met many who have done exactly that, and we are a living example of it. To travel for an extended period of time and to have a job/family is not mutually exclusive. There are also many benefits of traveling around the world in one big swoop, as opposed to taking mini-vacations… Read more »
I am also looking forward to your blog. I am trying to do more frequent shorter trips to see more areas within my vacation days. Your blog will be most interesting. Thanks for posting links to some of your highlights.
Oohh! I just found your blog through million mile secrets. I’m quite excited to find a blogger whose interests are similar to mine. I’m a backpacker who grew up 🙂 I managed a couple of 6 week trips when I was in school, but now I have a real job in NY, and I’m trying to jam in weekends away when I can. I just spent the weekend in Mexico City (thank you Skymiles and AeroMexico), which I highly recommend. I’m looking forward to reading your blog. I don’t feel like I’ve mastered the mini-vacations yet, and it’ll be nice… Read more »
That was a genuinely nice interview, with some nuggets of ethical perspective that are often missing from some of the boarding area blogs (that in fact often lean the other way). And I laughed at the anecdote of picking up the jiao on the street in china.
Thanks for a gentle dose of reality for most of us.
Looking forward to reading along! As another person with a job that does not require travel and doesn’t give me 8 weeks of vacation a year, I look forward to reading about your shorter jaunts. 🙂