Las Vegas New Years Eve

As if Las Vegas is not on fire enough it puts on one of the largest New Year’s Eve parties and pyrotechnic firework shows on the planet. The rundown of fun brings an exhaustive list of happenings at Strip hotels hotels and in the downtown Fremont Street corridor. The Strip , itself closes to traffic in the early evening and the mile-long neon byway becomes a pedestrian free-for-all through the early dawn hours.

The following is a list of what is happening where for New Year’s in Las Vegas as the curtain falls on 2012.

The Las Vegas
sky will light up as the clock strikes midnight, and celebrators ring in the New Year by watching a stunning fireworks display across the Strip . The dazzling show will be fired from the rooftops of seven resorts along the iconic boulevard: MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, ARIA Resort & Casino, Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, Caesars Palace, Treasure Island (TI), Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino and the Stratosphere. The much-anticipated America’s Party presents a pyro sky show produced by Grucci of New York.

• Music and sports legends will run headline events. The Killers kick off New Year’s Eve weekend at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. They take the stage on Dec. 28 and 29 at 9 p.m. inside The Chelsea The Red Hot Chili Peppers will perform on Dec. 31 at 11 p.m. inside of The Chelsea Ballroom to ring in 2013. Visitors will also be able to see the GRAMMY® award-winning band perform live on the 65-foot digital marquee facing the The Strip .
• The Black Keys rock in the New Year with two epic shows at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino with performances at 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 30 and 31 with special guest Divine Fits.
• Pitbull takes over the Pearl Concert Theater inside The Palms Casino Resort on Dec. 28 and 29 at 8 p.m.
• UFC returns to the Grand Garden Arena at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino on Dec. 29 for a well-anticipated rematch between Dos Santos and Cain Velasquez. Additionally, the legendary rock band The Eagles return to the Grand Garden Arena for one night only on Dec. 30 at 8 p.m.
• Celine Dion performs a special New Year’s Eve concert at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace at 7:30 p.m.
• Partygoers can rock in the New Year with Fremont Street Experience’s Downtown Countdown starting at 6 pm with a street party featuring Buckcherry and Queensryche plus special guests Quiet Riot, Pop Evil and Otherwise. The Downtown countdown also includes a 2012 year-in-review on the Viva Vision screen, and a midnight countdown led by Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman.
• SHe will become the newest nightlife and dining destination on the Strip. Located inside the ultra-luxe Crystals in CityCenter, the upscale, Art Deco inspired boutique nightspot is the only nightlife venue set to host its grand opening celebration on New Year’s Eve.
• Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas will host the grand re-opening of Body English on Dec. 28, just in time for an indulgent New Year’s 2013 celebration. Body English will showcase indie, electronic, rock and pop music.
• TAO Las Vegas at Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino will ring in the New Year with hip-hop sensation, J. Cole. LAVO Las Vegas inside Palazzo Las Vegas will play host to a party with GRAMMY® award-winning artist Brandy.
• Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas starts the New Year’s Eve weekend with ATB on Dec. 28, Kaskade on Dec. 29, AVICII on Dec. 30, and Benny Benassi hosting the biggest bash on New Year’s Eve.
• There are also four nights of celebration at XS, the ultra-sexy nightclub at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas. Tiesto kicks it off on Dec. 28, followed by Steve Angello with Third Party on Dec. 29. Deadmau5 takes over the celebration on Dec. 30 with AVICII playing into 2013 on New Year’s Eve.
• N9NE Group Las Vegas will throw several bashes that partygoers won’t want to miss inside The Palms Casino Resort. Questlove and DJ Jazzy Jeff will get the crowd going at Moon Nightclub on Dec. 29. Kelly Rowland hosts a dynamic evening at Rain Nightclub also on Dec. 29 with the club’s big bash on Dec. 31 with Travis Barker & Yelawolf acting as the New Year’s Eve grand marshals.
• The Light Group welcomes guests to ring in the New Year Las Vegas-style, celebrating with a full line-up of star-studded entertainment. Foster the People will perform favorites at The Bank Nightclub at Bellagio Resort & Casino. Kim Kardashian hosts the evening in style at 1 OAK Nightclub at The Mirage Hotel & Casino.
• Collective Zoo will transform the Sky Combat Hanger at the Henderson Executive Airport to host the black tie “The Great Gatsby” themed bash in roaring 20s style.
• As for dining Wynn Las Vegas will host an exclusive New Year’s Eve soiree in the Lafite Ballroom starting at 9 p.m. In addition, the evolution of Las Vegas nightlife takes a culinary turn with the Dec. 28 opening of Andrea’s, a unique new dining concept at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas. The restaurant debuts an alluring style of “vibe dining,” combining a restaurant and nightlife experience into one environment.
• miX Lounge at THEhotel inside Mandalay Bay will offer guests a front row seat to the fireworks spectacular. Located on the 64^th floor of THEhotel, the sexy and sophisticated restaurant and ultra-lounge will provide a prix fixe three-course menu complete with champagne, along with indoor and outdoor dining options of the incomparable fireworks display.
• Caesars Palace will be offering a variety of dining experiences for New Year’s Eve, including the perfect place to countdown to midnight. Starting at 10 p.m., guests should arrive at Serendipity 3 to claim their seat at this Strip-side hotspot.
• Two-time Michelin Star recipient Gordon Ramsay will host a special five-course prix fixe menu at his Las Vegas flagship restaurant in Paris Las Vegas , which includes his signature dish, beef wellington rossini.
• Inside the Luxor Hotel and Casino the party gets started at Tacos & Tequila with the ladies of FANTASY stopping by on New Year’s Eve to hand out complimentary Patrón tequila shots at 9 p.m. At nearby TENDER Steak & Seafood, the restaurant is offering steak, lobster and champagne specials.

A word to the wise: Las Vegas fills up fast on New Year’s and that includes its hotel rooms, which can be booked at prices that range from double to five times the usual rate. Early planning ensures a well-planned and fun evening with no sticker shocks or stuck-in-traffic plan Bs. Also, because The Strip shuts down to traffic for the night, visitors must try to be where they plan to be for the evening and try not to count on taking cars or cabs during that time. A street position somewhere on the Strip promises decent fireworks visibility. A high-rise window from the South side of The Strip looking north over Las Vegas Blvd. ensures a show like none other.

I do not suffer ghosts lightly. So when I walked into the Double Eagle in Mesilla, New Mexico, a 150-year-old great house in the middle of a preserved adobe village that was once defiantly part of Mexico, I paid serious attention. It is now the top steak and gourmet restaurant in a little corner of New Mexico near Las Cruces. And the dining experience, if not the setting itself, is worth every dime.

I had been prepared for this moment with the story that preceded it.  It was a lurid story with all the blood and drama a good ghost story should carry. And it went something like this:

There was a sweet teenager named Inez who was a servant girl in this great house. It was the largest in the village and owned by the aristocratic Maes family, including the mother named Carlotta, and a teenage son named Armando. In what is now called the Carlotta room, Armando’s mother found her son in bed one day with the young beautiful servant, Inez. Carlotta immediately grabbed a pair of sharp scissors from a nearby sewing basket and violently started stabbing at the young servant. When she cleared from her frenzy Carlotta discovered she not only had  stabbed and killed the girl, but she had mortally wounded her son as well. It is said following the burial of her son she moved to Chihuahua and lived out the rest of her days behind the walls of an asylum for the insane.

A Restaurant with Old World Ambiance

A walk into this restaurant shows a story of a private domicile that remained that way until the late 1970s when a wealthy oil baron bought it and stuffed it with enough European gothic décor to rival any horror ride at Disneyworld. There are images of Spanish royalty on the wall along with naturalist scenes and even funereal art (the Old World tradition of painting or photographing dead children as alive in order to remember them). I am greeted just after the foyer by a magnificent oak bar that once stood in a Prohibition-era speakeasy inside Chicago’s Drake Hotel.

On this night I wander the rooms: the patio lounge where authentic handwritten letters by Billy the Kidd hang under glass; the Maximillion Room where life-size paintings of French nobles preside over a grand scene of gilded mirrors and Louis XVI furnishings – and where the strange image of Inez has appeared in photographs; there are back rooms and hallways all ornate and strangely beckoning as if the walls would burst with tell tale paranormal life.

One Ghost or Two?

But all was quiet on this night – until I wandered into Carlotta’s Room. I was told by the restaurant’s manager that the chairs in each corner belong to Inez and Armando and I would be able to see their imprint in the strange wear patterns on these seats that no one ever uses. And I was warned — under no circumstances should I actually sit in either one.

Indeed, a round table setting for eight illuminated by a chandelier above is all that most guests use should they choose to dine in that room at all. Two paintings on the wall – of the Senora and Senor Maes — are complemented by a pair of marble hearths and a table with an antique brass and crystal lamp.

I walked into the room slowly, taking note of every step, every sound, every sensation. Three steps in and I knew I was in deeper than I wanted to be. A sharp cooling as I inched along the wall, then a cool breeze. Ok, I thought. Could be ghosts, could be me, could be too little to consider for the moment. The hair on my arm stood up at the sudden, yet otherwise barely perceptible drop in temperature.

I crossed the first chair and tried to determine whether it belonged to Armando or Inez. The wear patterns were visible but indistinct as to whether they matched the pressure of pants or skirts. I crossed the table to the second chair, taking note of all that was in my immediate space. And then I sat down in the chair. Alone. In a room haunted by two ghosts where I was told clearly not to sit in either chair.

The effect was immediate, so immediate it I did not have a chance to register it for several seconds. In a motionless and silent room, the lamp next to me began knocking in a clear way meant for me to hear. The sounds came from deep within the lamp as if it were the rapping of a person trapped inside and trying to get out. Or the gentle persistent tapping one might make on a crystal glass, although in this case prolonged, in a motion to be heard.

I looked at the lamp. It got my attention. I slowly lifted myself from the chair and the knocking stopped. Walking out of the room I stopped at the painting of the father. Suddenly I felt a violent rapping under my feet. I stood there incredulously and then I felt it again – swift, clear, powerful. I left the room and went to the empty bathroom next door. New knocking started, clear, swift and coming from no place I could discern.

Reporter’s Hat

After dinner I learned that others in my party had ventured into that room as well at some point after I had. What I did not expect was their confirming reports of similar experiences with the now angry spirits once they had sat in that same seat: the lamp did not just knock, it shook wildly “like an earthquake” a fellow travel writer reported. She noted similar knocks under foot in varying areas of the room and then noted another astounding experience. A second woman in the room had taken a row of flash photos. As she reviewed the photos she had taken with her fellow writer both women saw the photos just disappear from the camera never to return.

A similar report by a another no-nonsense writer who had gone into that room later than evening, only further confirmed what I already knew. She, too, had sat on the chair and saw the lamp start to shake. She also saw movement from the chandelier. She could have said that she saw an apparition or watched the curtains flutter even though they did not cover a window. But she saw what others saw: the deliberate, if not passionate, communication from some unknown, unseen force through the lamp next to the chair that was supposed to be left alone.

As a journalist I have long used observation coupled with outside confirmation by several sources to arrive at whatever can be considered the truth. “Do you believe in ghosts?” asked one of the women I was traveling with that day. I am merely an observer traveling through life, I said. It is not a matter of belief.

Water. It’s all around me here in Hawaii. Crashing against the sand, stretching to the whites of the sky, giving this island in the middle of nowhere a reason to exist. So why is it that even the thought of wading into that soft blue until my feet are no longer secure in the sand sends me into a spasm of hyper ventilating?

I did not even know this was a fear of mine. Until, at the age of 58, I decided to learn to surf.

I was sent here by Outrigger Hotels to look at their properties on Waikiki, write about their recent renovations and return to them feedback on their media methods. I did not come to swim. In fact, for all the beach resorts I cover around the world I can barely count on two hands the number of times I have gone into the water. I am afraid of waves. I am afraid of water. I am afraid of the simple act of staying afloat.

I, one who has covered wars, famines and coups in Africa, who regularly travels to hot spots alone and has chased away would-be attackers repeatedly, am afraid. Of water.

And so it was in the bustling tourist town of Waikiki I decided to face that fear in the water, with Tony. Tony Moniz is a beefy guy of Hawaiian descent who grew up on a surfboard. His heroes are easy to count: Duke Kahanamoku is his god and he worships at that altar every day with every wave. He turned his religion into a surf school call Faith Surf School and creates new converts daily within the four operations he has going around Waikiki. I am not one of them. But I now understand trust and the act of surrendering to a higher power, even if that higher power is a tan, muscular guy pulling me up from my knees and making me face the wave I am running from.

We went through the lessons on land first. Find that sweet spot just below the logo on the nine-foot board and lie there prone with feet together. Paddle this way, paddle that way, watch the waves, watch the shore, pull to knees from a place below your chest, one foot, the next foot, point in, point out and ride. Easy enough.

Until we took it to the water. I was less than five years old. And I was alone. My mother chatted with friends on the beach and I wanted to see if I could swim to China. So with the horizon in my sights I set out to find the other side of the world. I swam and swam and did not see a big rope that extended from a spot on the shore to some unknown place beneath the breakers. But when the inevitable wave came and I went down I tumbled and tumbled in its energy and circled right into the rope’s taught heaviness. The memory is gray, as if played in black and white. And I do not remember much. But I do recall the waves, forceful, rolling, loud, crashing over me and that I was somehow prisoner of a heavy rope that would not budge. And I remember swallowing the thick water and talking to myself about getting up and out of there when it was so tempting to just lie there and do nothing. But I knew I had to make the rope move so I could find my way to the surface and back to shore. I pulled in my strength from some far off place, probably the first of such instances when I would have to do that in my life. When I got to shore I saw my mother still talking, her back to the ocean, not even aware of my misadventure.

I paddled toward Tony and toward the waves. Even in this sleepy bay the waves looked to me like little Tsunamis rising with foamy scythes and letting me know I could not escape nature’s power.  The orders came quickly and follow I did even though I only wanted to stay prone on the board gripping it through any and all of the water’s motions.

Paddle forward! Now power paddle! To your knees! Stand up! In an instant I was up, balanced and riding that wave toward the shore, a dance as difficult and as basic as learning to follow your partner in a swing dance. I fell off and into the water, repeatedly. Waves came and went. I counter-intuitively dove through these death traps obeying Tony’s barks.

An hour had gone by, and many waves passed. My toes were torn up from the board’s friction. My neck felt like a hundred pounds. My eyes burned from the combo of saltwater and sunblock. Even my estrogen patch had disappeared in the tumult. But I was ready for one last ride, and a chance to finally forgive my mother.

Learn to surf in Waikiki: www.faithsurfschool.com

(808) 772-6291

Photos courtesy of Faith Surf School

More stories from Lark Gould:

www.Travel-Intel.com

Glo-to-Sleep magic mask

I am not an insomniac, except in airplanes. I crave space and open windows and while not sinking into a claustrophobic panic zone as I adjust back of my middle seat (oh those precious three inches!) into the down position, I am still a tensed up wire in a tube counting down the hours to landing.

But Glo-to-Sleep may change all that. When going to sleep or flying or breathing in and out in pursuit of a good meditation session success comes through managing to control, in whatever ways you can, your environment.
My answer on planes: hypnotic recordings or Audiobooks through my iPod coupled with the completely enclosing Glo-to-Sleep mask that blacks out all light except for the four symmetric blue lines in the center, akin to a soft indigo flame. That flame of sorts allows me to focus my thoughts until, after a few long breaths, they too disappear with the world around me.

The Glo-to-Sleep mask is actually a set of soft goggles made of foam, with a recessed space big enough to blink easily and to focus on the light in front without producing that “closed-in” sensation. The visor has four rows of photoluminescent ink lines (charged simply by 30 seconds under a lamp or in sunlight) attached to the inside of the eyepieces. The act of looking up and focusing on these blue “points of glo,” clears the wearer’s mind by converting disruptive Beta brain waves to calming Alpha waves while stimulating the body to produce natural melatonin.

It’s lightweight, feels like a feather to the face and one wonders how something so simple could be so effective. But the small thing in the small package comes with a lot of big science behind it. Parent company, Sound Oasis, puts a battalion of doctors into the developing sound systems for solitude and stress reduction. Glo to Sleep is a natural progression from that research and provides some added benefits that sound alone cannot achieve.

It may not work as well as Ambien or have quite the anxiety-busting value as Valium. But the clear head you get when you rise from a Glo to Sleep rest or meditation may make up for the missed knock-out session. For the traveler who has to run the gauntlet of airport immigration woes at ungodly hours or meet associates for a meeting on arrival in an opposite time zone, the mask will make him or her whole while keeping those worries and that threatening pill-head fog roll at bay.

The concept seems to work for some celebrities who have tried the Glo-to-Sleep mask. Samuel L. Jackson, George Lopez, Melanie Griffith, Antonio Banderas, Rumor Willis and an ongoing list of stars who found the item in their Oscar gift bags.

Weighs under an ounce and costs less than a family dinner at Burger King. But unlike fast food, Glo-to-Sleep comes with a money-back guarantee.

Where to Buy it

Apparently, this is modus operandi in Addis Abeba, and I thought I had protected against it by using a surge protector. But it acted like gauze against the continuous ons and offs of energy here and I was just thankful my computer still turned on.

If you try to locate an Apple replacement part in Addis you are chasing a lottery of sorts. These items have to be special ordered, take a month to arrive, and cost double what you would pay in the US.

As I counted my available cash (and no one takes credit cards here) and my reserve of luck, my mind circled on my secondary options. I am a journalist currently on a five-week reporting marathon in Africa and Asia and cannot — simply cannot — be left without a computer.

My available inventory of stuff included an iPhone and an iPad. The panic started to clear when I realized I could make do by using the ZAGGkeys Flex Bluetooth Keyboard I brought with either of those I-devices if it came down to that. The ZAGG with the iPad would work just fine for the interviews I had to do, coupled with the ability to then use available Wifi from somewhere to email the notes to myself for security.

Fortunately I found a power cord solution in Addis somehow, but I take my iPad to interviews now and let the ZAGGkeys steam under my fingers without worrying about power surges or the quickly draining battery life on my aging MacBook Pro.

The keyboard, which usually charges through a USB connection to my computer, easily powers up directly through the wall chargers that come with the iPhone and iPad as well. The keyboard hooks into both devices through Bluetooth and comes with a transposable case that also serves as an iPad holder for viewing while typing.

Because the battery life on my iPad will easily get me through the day, I choose to run with the weight of the Pad and the Zagg, which together burden my shoulders with the heaviness of a large grapefruit and fit neatly into my purse. The Zagg itself weighs about as much as an iPod and is as thick as a packed letter-sized envelope.

Keys on the top row handle such functions as:

• Home: takes you to the home screen
• Search: brings up the device search screen
• Slideshow: starts playing a slideshow of your photos
• Virtual keyboard toggle (iOS only)
• Cut, copy, paste, undo and redo buttons
• Media buttons: Previous track, play/pause, next track, mute, volume up and down
• Lock: makes the screen go dark and turn back on when pressed again (iOS only)

Starts working instantly. Pairs easily. Goes anywhere (trust me on that one!). Costs $79.99, but onsale online for $63.99 through Zagg.

1) Lights: a penlight will do in a pinch. But a LED light you can wear on your head will be a big help when you are trying to read in poorly lit places.

2) Plugs. Don’t skimp on plug sets. You will need all the options you can find, not only for those round plugs for round holes and tri-pronged horizontals (and what about thick round tri-prongs for South Africa?) but you will need connectors to connectors for the oddly shaped sunken holes they are supposed to negotiate. Do bring a transformer. Africa is 220, US is 110 and meeting often causes power problems. Get a dual or tri-speed transformer so you can run your gadgets at the necessary 50 vs. 1500-watt speed. A surge protector cord will add to electronics peace of mind.

3) Snacks. You’ll be glad you did. Trail mix works well and you can usually find fresh fruit for a reasonably complete meal.

4) Internet stick with non-dedicated SIM space. You can often buy data SIMs that will allow you to run Internet into your computer. Also bring a cheap, unlocked tri- or quad-band phone with SIM slot in the event you will be somewhere for a while.

5) Hardcover walking shoes. The streets in many of these cities are as damaged as bombed out war zones.

6) Extra eye glasses or your eyeglass prescriptions – and any other prescriptions you may have to take. Needs no explanation.

7) iPod and headphones with some white noise sounds. When the feral dogs start their barking frenzy in the middle of the night you will be glad you have them. Audio books provide good company in tough times as well.

8) A “first class seat.” These are blow up pillows that can help you tolerate the long plane rides as well as bring lumbar comfort to backs braving cheap, flat, hard hotel mattresses.

9) Aspirin, cold pills and knockout pills. Use yours, not theirs.

10) Smart phone. Whatever brand you use you will be able to connect here and there via Wifi (never take the device off “airplane mode”) and keep up with your emails, order emergency guidebook apps, check your calculations with offline apps, make calls via Skype, and have multiple ways to record your experience.

2) Paarl is slightly north of Stellenbosch at the foot of what is the second largest granite outcropping in the world. Tourism offerings include exploring the foothills and vineyards on horseback or checking out the sites by hot air balloon. North of Paarl (an hour from Cape Town) is trendy Riebeek Kasteel with award-winning wine estates and a bounty of olive groves.

3) Overberg and the Cape Agulhas Wine Route. The road opened in 1958 as a way to access popular tourist destinations on the Whale Coast at the southernmost tip of Africa. The route runs through seaside villages and into the charming backcountry towns of Swellendam and Montagu.

4) Mossel Bay is considered the Eden of South Africa for its lush vegetation. Bungee enthusiasts will find the world’s highest here at some 708 feet up at the Bloukrans Bridge. Nearby Knysna is considered the capital of the Garden Route – a seaside town known for the yellowwood forest and freshwater oysters.

5) The Sunshine Coast from Plettenberg Bay through Oyster Bay and St. Francis Bay to Port Elizabeth. But a visit to Addo Elephant National Park just north of Port Elizabeth promises the largest concentration of elephants in the world, with big five wildlife preserves only a short drive away.

Good contact: www.capecountryroutes.com

 

2) Walking Safaris: Guides are abe to share a wealth of knowledge about the fauna and the local tribes while taking people slowly through these natural surroundings.  It is also much easier to understand issues facing people in their land when walking through the land as they do.

3) Guilt-free Travel: Traveling green means traveling without guilt, whether on a carbon traded trip or a local experience that leaves no footprints. Such can be seen in “zero-carbon” hotels.

4) Think globally, travel locally. Discover the secrets of the town you live in. Hike to a waterfall, ride to the next town.

5) Some added helpful tips from Eco Green Travel:

• Before leaving the house, turn off (or down/up) the thermostat, turn off the water, and unplug all the appliances.

• Pack light. Coordinated blacks and whites cuts the piles of clothes.

• If you’re driving as part of your holiday…Stop acting like a Racing car driver. Its safer and you save money by conserving gas.

• Refuse maid service while in your hotel. Refusing maid service will reduce the amount of resources, electricity, chemicals, and water used by the hotel.

• Carry a reusable water bottle with you. The benefits here are obvious, plastic bottles are the major cause of environmental problems across the globe. In fact plastic bottles take hundreds of years to breakdown. So stay clear of plastic bottles and grab an aluminum water bottle.

• Let hotel managers know that you chose their hotel because of they have green initiatives and are eco friendly. Choose green every time.

• While on vacation, dine at local restaurants and purchase souvenirs from local vendors, not chains. Explore and enjoy the area you stay in and support the community that helps you have a great holiday.

Experiences: Consumers in pursuit of the “E Factor” remains a primary driving force in travel, particularly among Baby Boomers. Experiences topping the list include culinary and culture, with interest noted in nature, adventure, photography and golf.

Mystery Trips: Within the budget travel category, “Mystery Trips” are projected to be one of the fastest growing trends for 2012. There are so few surprises left in life that travel suppliers are finding that consumers are increasingly interested in booking a trip to an “unknown destination” – provided that the destination is guaranteed to offer experiences that match their personal interests and travel budget.  That’s great news for suppliers who are now better able to move excess inventory without having to heavily discount rates.

Ancestry/Heritage Travel: Top luxury suppliers cite “tracing your roots” trips as popular in the luxury segment.

Tourism Dollars Matter: Across market segments, travel to destinations impacted by natural and political disasters, as well as destinations where cultural sites depend on tourism dollars for preservation, is on the rise. Travelers are becoming more educated about where their visitor dollars have the greatest impact.

Cruising and Island Getaways On The Rise: Cruising and island escapes can expect a resurge in popularity while amusement/theme park trips, lake trips and hiking tips are expected to decline in 2012.

A 12-hour layover at Inchon International Airport

For most of us, spending time in airports generates about as much anticipatory excitement as, maybe, cutting toenails. You have to do it. It’s not fun and often sloppy and uncomfortable, and after hour six you might feel like pulling out those nails instead of enduring another hour watching people shuffle and roll down a crowded industrial corridor.

On a recent set of flights that took me from Addis Ababa to Thailand and then to Los Angeles, I had a veritable layover extravaganza to enjoy: six hours at Dubai International Airport, 12 hours at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand and 12 hours at Inchon International Airport in Seoul, Korea.

Rather then have a meltdown and yell at the idiot travel agent in New York who booked this catastrophe, I leaned into the experience and decided have a good time. This is what I found.

Buy Buy Dubai

Flying from Addis Ababa, where I had spent weeks moving in hard hewn, dusty, difficult circles of broken streets and cracked communication, to Dubai was like waking from a warfront and find yourself on …Rodeo Drive. Unlike Addis, credit cards were accepted everywhere and if gold, diamonds, Godiva chocolates or beluga caviar wasn’t my thing I could always get a Starbuck’s or a Pinkberry, which I did – and paid by credit card.

The international airline terminal at Dubai International Airport (DBX) is a mile-long aisle of style end to end with such designer shops as Tiffany, D&G, Fendi, Nike and shops selling gold by the bullion or brick competing with, well, those standard duty-free juggernauts.

The airport offers a hotel, rentable by the hour for $50 during the day, $60 at night; or by the 24-hour period for $334. And with it comes Internet and use of a business center. And plugs.

I was surprised to see that in such a forward-focused country that sells bejeweled Vertu phones in casual airport kiosks, plugs for charging said phones are at a minimum and highly sought by today’s charge-hungry travelers.

What I did find were welcomed phalanxes of lounge-style chairs, occupied by restful travelers. I also found the Marhaba Lounge where, for no questions asked and $45, even the lowliest economy class traveler can enjoy a variety of sandwiches and fruit, PCs at the ready, comfortable loveseats and boosted Internet (the pubic Wifi is free but not powerful). You can wander through a fake woodsy park in the middle of the terminal or have your photo taken with you buddies at a pro photo stand. You can find Apple iPod accessories. And yes, you can have liquor. Authorities in Dubai tend to look away when it comes to hotels and airports.

Beating the Heat in Bangkok

Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) Airport opened in 2006. It’s a modern megalopolis, the pride of Thailand, with a name that means Golden Land. And was the scene in 2008 for yellow and red shirt “peoples” protests (rumored to have been paid for by the various political parties) that practically shut the airport and tourism industry down in a weeklong massive sit-in.

Today, that airport is hopping with all manor of shops, restaurants, and, thankfully, spas. I had 12 hours to kill so decided to pace myself through a day that included a lot of sleeping, some serious relaxing, some price roaming and some dutiful reading.

First check: Wifi. Free but you need to get a code from one of the many information kiosks scattered around the international terminal.

Second check: prices. I needed to buy a rollie carry-on and was not pleased with the prospect of doing this at an airport. I came across a variety of duty-free notion shops selling a range of rollies. One in particular caught my eye – a Kipling that was durable, attractive, and on sale – for $250. I examined every possible rollie option that day as I had plenty of time to do so and came up with an American Tourister with three-year U.S. warranty for $100.

When it came time for food, on my limited budget I passed up the delicious Thai restos offering pad thai specials for about $12 for the welcomed site of a Subway franchise and a satisfying turkey sub for $4.

My treat came in the form of an hour-long foot massage at one of four spas I found listed. The massage cost about $20 on a chair in a room with many such chairs. No lingering, though.

Finally, sleep. At various ends of the corridors were large rambling spaces filled with large chairs, comfortable couches (and wall plugs). People sprawled, children were kept quiet or played in a nearby kids’ zone, and all was well for a few hours in a comfortable setting where even the distant airline announcements really did not disturb.

At Suvarnabhumi, it is possible to bypass the airport experience and head into town by the rail link between the airport and Makkasan terminal in the city. Lockers at the airport can accommodate medium-sized bags and the 28.5 km trip into central Bangkok takes 15 minutes by express train and 30 minutes by commuter for just a dollar or two.

Easing Away the Hours at Inchon

Inchon gets the Oscar for great airport acts when it comes to wowing international passengers in shock by the news of a lengthy layover. Just as transit passengers are getting their walking legs back as they enter the international terminal a kiosk stands in bold lettering: Transit Tours Information.

For anyone with more than a few hours to kill, HanaTour runs an airport concession that takes these air passengers into Seoul and shows them a good time. As Seoul is some 50 miles from the airport, you really need at least 6 hours to be able to say you saw Seoul on your time between flights. There is a Best of Seoul tour that takes in the Changdeok Palace, the Jogyesaa Temple and hip ‘n happening Insadong for artful shopping. A Myeong-dong Tour heads to Gwanghwamun Palace, Cheonggyecheon Stream that flows through the downtown business district and Myeong-dong, the Fifth Avenue of Seoul.

Another tour takes you to the DMZ for a quick gander at North Korea, if shopping and temples are not your passion. Most tours cost between $20 and $50 per person, often with English-speaking guide, a VIP comfort bus and lunch. If you only have three hours you can go local and tour the area around Incheon. If you have four hours and $1,800 to spend you can have a full medical workover at Inha University Hospital. All tours have scheduled departure and return times.

As I had been to Korea a few times I chose to explore the airport instead, starting with a badly needed shower, which I got on the third floor for free, including towel. The midnight flight from Bangkok left me in total exhaustion, which I addressed on one of the four free massage chairs in a quiet space by the complimentary business center. The zero gravity loungers nearby were all taken.

Further down the hall were a library, a hotel (six hours for $56), a bar and café all quiet and barely populated as the level was one up from bustle of the airport’s duty-free malls. As I was flying Asiana I was aware of the airline’s policy to provide a free hotel room to passengers with layovers exceeding eight hours. But my ticket was not a round trip fare so did not qualify. Instead, my ticket did qualify me for a 30% discount at an airport lounge.

For $20 I was able to enter a stately lounge open to all passengers who want to pay the regular $35 entry. It also had a massage chair as well as a bank of computers, plenty of table space, couches, CNN, magazines and a fantastic selection of healthy food. After sleeping off the flight I was able to lunch on seaweed soup, fresh salad fixings, sandwiches, a variety of hot veggie and meaty Korean stews, and libations that included beer and wine. The five-hour lounge limit is really not imposed, although I was off to explore the spa across the hall and deliberated over getting a manicure for $20 or a shiatsu massage for $40.

Downstairs on the second level, the corridors were crowded with shoppers avidly hunting and actually finding bargains among the designer goods. But within the frenzy were pods of peace: places where one could paint and create. The airport offered special zones for passengers to try their skills at creating traditional Korean artworks with worktables, materials and local artists to explain it all. Several children joined the adults in learning how to mix stamp prints with watercolors. Elsewhere a violinist and cellist performed on a stage by an electronics shop. In a separate moment a procession of men and women intricate traditional garb launched into a small play.

Soon enough I heard the announcement for my flight. It took me nearly 48 hours to fly home from Bangkok but the getting there was, indeed, its own destination.