This past June, my wife and I, along with two of our children, flew from our home in India to the eastern United States to see family and visit Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla. The trip included three domestic flights over five days on Frontier Airlines: Philadelphia to Orlando, Orlando to Atlanta, and Atlanta back to Philadelphia. The total cost for four people on three flights was an affordable $939.75, including a $99.99 “Discount Den” membership on Frontier. (We also spent $1,269.52 on tickets at Universal.) But our first flight was delayed and eventually canceled, and Frontier’s staff told us the next available flight was three or four days later — too close to our return flight to India. We were given a QR code at the Philadelphia airport to file for a refund, which we did for all three flights. But all we got was an email with a credit worth $339.92 and good for three months, plus four additional messages with a $100 voucher for each of us. Since Frontier does not operate in India, the credit and vouchers are useless. I fought Frontier through my Discover card, but lost. (Meanwhile, Universal reimbursed us in full.) Can you help?
Editor’s Letter: Celebrating Our Long-Anticipated Return to Asia
07.11.2023 - 15:37 / cntraveler.com
Like so many travelers, my family spent the first couple of years of the pandemic dreaming of visiting a place that was very far away and had become very, very inaccessible to visitors. In our case, it was South Korea, where my wife was born. We'd last visited in 2015, when our daughter was learning to walk and our son, as I've often joked since, was with us but we didn't know it yet. We promised the family there that we'd be back within five years, but COVID-19 intervened.
As they got older, the kids were becoming increasingly interested in their Korean heritage, thanks in no small part to the online tae kwon do classes they began taking during lockdown, which then turned into IRL classes. In early 2022, as it became clear that South Korea was readying to reopen its borders, we booked our tickets, and we went last spring.
When we arrived in Seoul, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, people were out in droves soaking up the balmy spring weather, and the city seemed even more dynamic than I'd remembered. The family had aged a lot—as had we—but they were in great spirits and so absolutely delighted by our children. We went with them to Gyeongbokgung Palace, one of the city's most famous cultural landmarks, where the kids wore hanboks we'd bought for them earlier in the trip, and then wandered along Myeongdong Street food alley, where I could not stop buying spicy snacks from vendors. The vacation also included a pilgrimage to Lotte World Adventure, the planet's largest indoor theme park, which our son professed to be the best day of his life; a day at Donuimun Museum Village, a time capsule transporting you to the Seoul of 50 years ago, which I wrote about in the September issue; and a side trip to the coastal city of Gyeongju, the capital of the ancient Silla kingdom. We returned home exhausted but also full of gratitude.
Last year, as South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and other Asian countries reopened their borders, a host of publications, including this one, heralded the “return to Asia.” But no one had really had a chance to visit at that point, so at the time, we also planned this issue to report on what it felt like to actually return to Asia. The stories we got include Danielle Demetriou's gentle meditation on nature, art, and Ainu tradition on the Japanese island of Hokkaido; Gary Shteyngart's own return to Korea, to the magical island of Jeju, with his wife (also Korean American) and son; and Alex Bhattacharji's visit to India with two prominent Indian American restaurateurs.
Alex's story, I should note, is both a return to India and a commentary on the nature of diaspora. This issue also features a number of stories not set in Asia, including R.O. Kwon's exploration of Asian art and food in
United Airlines Is Adding a Record-Breaking Number of Flights to Asia and the Pacific
Americans’ desire to visit the Asia-Pacific region has reached a high, and airlines are rushing to provide new routes that capture the rising interest.
Climate Change Not a Focus for U.S. Tourism Marketers: Report
Only 8% of U.S. tourism boards strongly prioritize addressing climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero. In contrast, 62% of European tourism boards and 29% of Canadian tourism boards have made it a top priority. That’s according to Sojern’s “State of Destination Marketing 2024.”
Inside the secret world of the Hopewell Mounds—our newest World Heritage site
An earthen circle large enough to contain the Empire State Building on its side. An octagonal earthwork capable of holding four Roman Coliseums. A vast hilltop enclosure overlooking a dramatic river gorge.
Celebrating Thanksgiving Overseas
This will be my 26th Thanksgiving abroad.
Bedbug Anxiety Has Come for Asia, and the Pest Killers Are Here for It
It’s a good time to be a professional bug killer in Asia.
China and U.S. to Improve Tourism Ties, Says Xi
The U.S. and China will improve air connectivity and streamline visa processing, said Chinese President Xi Jinping in public remarks on Wednesday. Xi made the remarks at a dinner hosted by the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and US-China Business Council.
7 of the best beaches in Melbourne
Melbourne probably isn’t the first city that springs to mind when thinking about Australia’s famous beaches.
9 Native American Sites That Will Blow Your Mind
The Aztecs, Mayas and Incas might have been the most renowned pre-Columbian builders, but various Native American societies weren’t far behind when it came to designing and erecting impressive structures.
UK Faces the Slow Return of Chinese Tourists
Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, November 16. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.
Where to eat in Kuala Lumpur, the Asian capital famed for its contrasting culinary legacies
I’m sitting with Leonard Tee at a marble-top table in the dining hall of Warong Old China. The Malaysian Chinese restaurant owner has been in business in Kuala Lumpur for 20 years, and this Chinatown address is the newest of his three venues. I ask a question that elicits a long pause for consideration: what dish best symbolises multicultural Malaysia? Tee finally speaks: “The quintessential Malaysian dish is nasi lemak because there’s a Malay, Chinese and Indian version.”
North American Airlines Look to Asia to Boost Profit
The return of North American flights to Asia-Pacific is accelerating heading in to 2024, as carriers bet on the region as the next source of high-margin revenue at a time of soaring costs.