Do you wonder what the weather will be like in Tokyo in April? Or how hot it will be in NYC in July? Well, it is of course impossible to predict the weather several weeks and months ahead but we can look at statistics to get an idea of what the weather should be like. I normally use the site Weatherbase for this and here I can check out average temperature, average precipitation etc. But you should also check the weather forecast right before you leave for your destination to check what the weather is like at the moment

In February 2009 I went to Kuala Lumpur for work and I used SAS to get there. On the way to Kuala Lumpur (or KL as it is also known)  I was able to upgrade to business by using my SAS Eurobonus points but on the way home the flight was completely full and I had to stick to economy class. Even if I am a SAS Eurobonus gold card member this was actually my very first trip with SAS in economy class on a long haul trip. Here are some of my thoughts as I was going home…
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I have to admit that I haven’t used KLM that much in the last few years as I have gone over to StarAlliance and after I had a horrible flight with them from KL to Amsterdam (see KL trip report)- but I used them quite a lot to start with as they were a Braathens partner (when that airline existed), as the connection from Stavanger to Amsterdam was very good and as they were quite cheap. So over the years I have been to Schiphol about 40 times and it is a lovely airport. Anyway, KLM has made some destination guides that might be worth looking into. I’m not sure that it gives you the ultimate guide to each place but at least it gives you a good overview of the places to start with as it covers stuff ranging from eating out, weather, how to get around etc. You can check out the KLM destination guides here.

I like to get an idea of where I will be seated before I travel – maybe you have been assigned to a seat that is not ideal and maybe you can change it to a seat with better legroom. There is of course a website for this kind of information and it is called SeatGuru . On this website you can check out how the various planes for the various airlines are configured, which seats that are good or bad and get lots of useful information. There are also other websites with similar information and one of them is SeatExpert. Good luck with grabbing that perfect seat on your next flight

On July 4th the crown of the Statue of Liberty was opened for the first time in 8 years. So now you can climb 156 steps to enjoy the view from the top. We did go to the Statue of Liberty when we went to NYC in 2007 (see our NYC trip report) and the view from the top of the pedestal is also spectacular . Well, you can read more about the news in this article.

Over the years I have stayed at quite a lot of hotels in Bangkok and it is always fun to try new ones in different locations in the city. As a new SPG (Starwood Preferred Guest) I decided to try out Plaza Athenee Bangkok, A Royal Meridien Hotel on Sukhumvit when I went to Bangkok in April 2009. If you want to read more about Bangkok feel free to check out our Bangkok trip report from 2007 – and if you want to read the review of the hotel please continue reading 
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So this is what Norway is like? Well, I wouldn’t say that Norway is this picture perfect all the time but we can brag about some beautiful scenery here. The western fjords of Norway are beautiful and I do get amazed every time I go to places like Preikestolen (Pulpit rock) or Kjerag – at the latter place you are about 1000 meter (about 3000 feet) above the fjord so the view is just spectacular. Well, enjoy the video of Norway

Are you claustrophobic? Need a lot of personal space? I guess this means that the Tokyo Metro is one place that you should stay away from Well, honestly it was not that bad when we went to Tokyo a few years back (see our trip report on http://gardkarlsen.com/japan_tokyo.htm ) but there have been lots of reports of women being felt up on the subway and hence some of the cities in Japan have introduces female only cars on the subway systems. But as this video on YouTube shows it can get crowded on the subway in Japan.

I’m a bit of a Google fan and I use it for searching, the maps, gmail etc etc. Now there is a new tool available and you can find it on http://citytours.googlelabs.com/ . It is called City Tours and here you can get recommendations on what to see on a e.g. 3 day trip to various cities shown on a Google map of course. But it seems like you have to be reasonably fit to use this…when trying it out on e.g. Paris it suggests walking from Musée National du Moyen Age-Thermes de Cluny to La Cinémathèque française and the walk is supposed to take 84 minutes! Has anyone tried out this product in real life?

I have been to Dubai a couple of times now and when we went there the first time (see trip report from 2002) I thought it was great. When I returned in 2009 the place had changed quite a lot as they have added some of the most amazing structures on the earth in the city (Burj Dubai, the palm projects, the World etc etc). But I also came across some articles that worries me. Check this article from The Independent . It seems like many of the construction workers face slave like contracts and conditions. Human Rights Watch has also made reports from Dubai like this one called Building Towers. Cheating Workers. So are we supporting “slavery” by visiting Dubai and spending money there?

From VBS.TV and a BBC report