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The Art of the Extended Business Trip

May 23, 2014 //
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As a working professional in the U.S.,  I accrue up to three weeks in paid time off. Some peers aren’t so lucky; they only get a solid two. Compared to my peers in Europe, who get a blessed five weeks of holiday, two weeks a year to get away from one’s desk sounds pathetic. What’s a typical 9-5er to do?

More often than not, extending your business trip can be affordable, especially if the company you work for is already footing your return ticket. You’re already in a new (or at least different) destination, so why not make the most of it.

Whether I am able to build in a few extra days to a business trip or not, my goal with any trip I take is to squeeze as much of an authentic experience out of my time in a destination as I can and to treat every trip as an opportunity to explore. When I’m in a new city, I almost always:

  • Hunt down a local coffee shop for a local a.m. jolt. I will admit, I’ve cut it close on business meetings because I refused to enter the corner Starbucks
  • Avoid chain restaurants unless it’s a regional chain or a chain I haven’t yet experienced. (This travel rule, born from a Pacific Northwest road trip I took several years ago with some high school friends, has stuck with me ever since)
  • Dine at the bar to chat up the bartender for a local perspective, and my bar mates for some interesting conversation
  • Maximize my downtime between meetings and events to get outside and walk around, even if it’s only around the block

You might also have the flexibility to travel beyond your work city. For example, I stretched a three-day conference in Houston to include a road trip to Austin for another few days before returning home. Within that span, I was able to chow down on some good barbecue (no not Franklin’s, but it was still delicious. Lesson learned: Get there EARLY), enjoy my first country dance and music at The White Horse and float starfish-style (I mean stand up paddle) down Lady Bird Lake while the UT women’s rowing team muscled their way past our lethargy. Another perk; I was lucky to have a friend join me for the jaunt!

With another business trip on the immediate horizon (Hey Tampa!), I’m also looking forward to checking out some interesting activities I’ve been browsing on Instagram, which is something I recently began doing to supplement the planning process for my international trips.

How do you maximize your business trips? And if you’ve got any recommendations for a quick stay in Tampa, let me know in the comments!

Hanging out at The White Horse, Austin after a three-day conference in Houston. (Love those overalls! Are those Oshkosh?)

Hanging out at The White Horse, Austin after a three-day conference in Houston. (Love those overalls! Are those Oshkosh?)

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Categories Business Travel, Passing Through, Travel, Travel Tips

Ten Things I Learned in Panama

May 20, 2014 //
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A collection of insights I’ve gleaned after a week-long trip to Panama. In no particular order and some less practical than others, and nearly all involving food. Here it goes:

  • Eat your ice cream fast or the the sun will zap your treat quicker than you’ll have time to slurp up the slush.
  • There is no bus schedule. Headed to El Valle de Anton? Hail a taxi to the Albrook bus terminal (or maybe take the new Metro), look for your destination plastered on the row of windows, hand over your cash and board the vehicle with your desired destination and wait till the vehicle is full before departing.
Our rapidly melting treats from Granclement in Casco Viejo.

Our rapidly melting treats from Granclement in Casco Viejo.

  • For shorter shuttle service, $5-$7 will get you a cab ride almost anywhere within and around the city
  • The free zone, Colon: part holding area for goods on their way to Latin America and the Caribbean via the Panama Canal, part mega strip-mall at mega-appealing prices. For example, a pair of the latest Nike’s = $50. You’re welcome.
  • The Guna Yala people, the indigenous folks that call the San Blas islands home are some of the friendliest and good-humored people I’ve met. They are proud of their specks of paradise; I couldn’t help but crack an endearing smile when one of them, our boat navigator shouted over the roar of the waves as we whipped past, “Es mi Isla!” Quite literally, that was his island. (They are also quite adept at navigating the waters slightly inebriated)
San Blas, Panama

San Blas, Panama

  • Maybe this is a universal truth, but a mojito tastes best outside with the sun beating down and the humidity at an all-time high. Also, if you are in Casco Viejo and are in the mood for the refreshing beverage, the mojitos are better at the little place wedged between the Red Lion pub and the Italian restaurant.
  • According to our driver in Colon, Panama is one of the only countries where you can watch the sunrise over the Pacific and see the sunset beyond the Atlantic.
  • The local fruit is so sweet, and so delicious. I was skeptical at first (I too grew up in the tropics), but fruit cup I had at a fruteria in the El Cangrejo neighborhood made a believer out of me
  • Is it just me, or is Panama City severely lacking in dark beer options?
  • Air Conditioning is. a. must. Lesson learned.
Fruit stand on the way to El Valle de Anton.

Fruit stand on the way to El Valle de Anton.

 

Note: I traveled to Panama during the tail end of its dry season and was fortunate to spend a lot of time outside and travel quite easily through the mountains to get to San Blas from Panama City.

 

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Categories Panama, Travel, Travel Tips

Excerpt from Panama: Casco Viejo

May 19, 2014 //
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We whizzed through the narrow, brick-layed streets, our cabbie with reckless confidence and me, the dizziness from my mild dehydration exacerbated by his aggressive maneuvers. He stopped abruptly in front of the Panamericana Hostel [UPDATE 2018: Now, a swanky club], our sleeping quarters for the next several days in Casco Viejo, Panama City’s historic quarter and UNESCO World Heritage site.

The sun hid deceivingly behind the cloud cover that afternoon and the days that followed. Its heat, coupled with the moisture in the air assaulted us every time we stepped out into Plaza Herrera, or trudged the handful of blocks to Luna’s Castle to book a jaunt to San Blas and as we strolled around in search of our next ceviche fix.

We were so removed from the manicured neighborhoods of San Diego. Being in Casco felt a bit like New Orlean’s French Quarter; beautiful arched windows and ornate balconies for days.

Graffiti greets you as you turn the corner of both crumbling and newly restored buildings. The old town is small, and although we meandered through the same streets multiple times during our stay we always seemed to stumble across a new alley, cafe or a different view of the new causeway, which created quite the traffic jam on the day of its inauguration (Apparently the then President was in town to help with the inaugurating).

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One of the handful of graffiti murals around Casco Viejo.

We woke each morning to the sound hammers whacking away at yet another renewal project to complement the cafes and the few swanky bars already in place. The newer boutique accommodations and evening entertainment options like the American Trade Hotel and the Hotel Tantalo rooftop bar seemed to mingle amicably with the more casual options; we frequented both with ease.

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The Panamericana Hostel in Plaza Herrera; next door, a neglected building and across it the American Trade Hotel.

Many buildings remain neglected, and an eye sore on the one hand. Rather than view it that way, I chose to see the renewal among the scraps; a second chance. Most of the ragged buildings were still standing, as if seeing the rest of the town grow more vibrant each day gave them a reason to hang on.

Casco Viejo’s future is a beehive; it is buzzing within the circle who have already bore witness to its potential while the murmurs from outside begin to get louder. Being there last month felt like watching a rehearsal of a grand performance; the fundamentals are there, all it needs is a little more practice to smooth out the rough patches and work out the dynamics.

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View of the new causeway (it lights up different colors at night), and beyond it Panama City.

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Categories Panama, Travel
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