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10 Most Hated Jobs

At one time or another, we have all known at least one person who has hated his or her job. That person may have suffered silently or vented constantly, but at the end of the day there was no question this person was truly unhappy with where they spent at least 40 of his or her waking hours every week, for 51 weeks a year.

The reasons for job dissatisfaction vary. Low pay, irregular hours, and lack of a window seat are all assumed to be culprits, and to be sure they can all contribute to a bad attitude on the job. These are actually not the primary factors driving a worker to regard tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock sharp with dread and ill will, however, according to one resource.

CareerBliss is an online resource that bases job satisfaction on multiple factors, including workplace culture, coworkers, and the boss.

According a survey of hundreds of thousands of employees conducted in 2011, CareerBliss determined the 10 most hated jobs, rated on a scale of 1 to 10. In almost all cases, respondents reported that the factors causing the most job dissatisfaction were not lousy pay or a desk near the bathroom. CareerBliss found that limited growth opportunities and lack of reward drove the misery index up more than anything else.

Read about the 10 jobs with the highest levels of employee unhappiness. The results may surprise you.

1. Director of Information Technology
For all the press that teachers and nurses get for their long hours, low pay and thankless tasks, it may be surprising to see the most hated job was that of information technology director, according to CareerBliss. After all, the salary's pretty good and with information technology such a prevalent part of everyday business, an IT director can hold almost as much sway over the fate of some companies as a chief executive.

Still, IT directors reported the highest level of dissatisfaction with their jobs, far surpassing that of any waitress, janitor, or bellhop. Of those who responded to the survey, one simple, five-word response summed up the antipathy very well: "Nepotism, cronyism, disrespect for workers."

2. Director of Sales and Marketing
A director of sales and marketing plans implements efforts to promote companies and generate business. Responsibilities often include budget management, public relations, and employee training.

Sales and marketing directors reported the second-highest level of job dissatisfaction of all survey respondents. The majority who responded negatively cited a lack of direction from upper management and an absence of room for growth as the main sources of their ire.

3. Product Manager
"Product manager" is a wide-ranging job title that takes on many meanings, depending on the company and its sector. In some cases, the job requires simply evaluating what products are best suited to a company's business model, and in others marketing, resource management, and scheduling are involved.

The level of job dissatisfaction was very high for this position. One respondent complained that it restricted growth, saying that it was "very hard to grow up the ranks." Another was less polite and said "the work is boring and there's a lot of clerical work still at my level."

4. Senior Web Developer
Senior web developers design, maintain, and develop applications for the Internet. With every business expected to have some kind of Internet presence these days, developers are found working in every type of company, in a full-time, part-time, or freelance capacity.

A senior developer is expected to be fluent in client-side and server-side contexts, and know his or her way around Python, Ruby, or whatever other arcane technology requires taming. Senior developers reported a high degree of unhappiness in their jobs, attributable to a perception their employers are unable to communicate coherently, and lack an understanding of the technology.

5. Technical Specialist
A technical specialist "leads the analysis, definition, design, construction, testing, installation, and modification of medium to large infrastructures," according to CareerBliss. This means that if a company wants to design a project, the technical specialist evaluates it to see what's possible and what isn't.

The job is a lead position that requires intimate knowledge of engineering; familiarity with Linux helps, too. However, technical specialists reported that for all their expertise, they were treated with a palpable level of disrespect. They cited a "lack of communication from upper management" and felt their "input was not taken seriously."

6. Electronics Technician
Electronics technicians maintain, troubleshoot and collect monthly measurement data for electronic systems. They work in every sector and can be employed with the phone company, a chain of fast-food restaurants, or the U.S. Navy. Whatever the case, technicians work on-site and off-site, have constant contact with clients, and must have an ability to quickly solve complex technical problems under intense pressure.

Employee dissatisfaction in this job is attributable to several factors. One respondent complained of having "too little control," while another had a litany of complaints: "Work schedule, lack of accomplishment, no real opportunity for growth, peers have no motivation to work hard, no say in how things are done, hostility from peers towards other employees."

7. Law Clerk
Clerkships are among the most highly sought-after positions in the legal profession. A law clerk assists judges as they write opinions, and the ones who get the job are almost always near the top of their class at law school. Six justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, including Elena Kagan and current Chief Justice John Roberts, were all law clerks early in their careers.

The job clearly beefs up a resume. Yet law clerks still report high levels of dissatisfaction. The hours are long and grueling, and the clerk is subject to the whims of sometimes mercurial personalities. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reported the job brings in a median salary of $39,780 a year—not exactly striking it rich—and those looking for advancement within the position simply will not find it.

8. Technical Support Analyst
Technical support analysts help people with their computer issues. This typically amounts to calmly communicating technical advice to panicked individuals, often over the phone, and then going on site to find the client simply hadn't turned the printer on.

Technical support analysts often work in a variety of environments, and they may be required to travel at a moment's notice, sometimes on holidays or weekends. After all, there's no telling when a client's computer-whiz nephew might make a minor tweak to his machine, with disastrous results.

In the words of one of the respondents, "You can do better, really."

9. CNC Machinist
CNC machinists operate computer numerical control machines. For the uninitiated, this is a machine that operates a lathe or a mill. On the upside, it renders obsolete processes that used to be performed by hand, at a slow pace and with high risk to the operator's life and limb.

Now that the CNC operator has had most of the physical hazards of manufacturing replaced by a machine, there's not a lot to do but push buttons and perform equipment inspections to make sure the coolant is at a safe level. Since it's a specialized skill, the job offers no room for advancement, which caused respondents to report a high degree of dissatisfaction.

10. Marketing Manager
A marketing manager is responsible for overseeing advertising and promotion. This involves developing strategies to meet sales objectives, based on the study of such factors as customer surveys and market behavior.

According to CareerBliss, respondents in this position most often cited a lack of direction as the primary reason for job dissatisfaction. The most optimistic respondent described it as "tolerable," and gave it the faintest praise possible by saying, "It's a job." (In this labor market, that's not such a bad thing.)

5 Thoughts About Travel

When it comes to air travel, it seems to me that there are a few things that could stand improvement. Okay, probably more than a few things, but I’m only going to tackle five of them here.

1. Security: I took a flight less than two weeks after the 9/11 attacks, and it doesn’t seem to me that the experience for the passenger is significantly different now–ten years later–than it was then. The rules for how we’re screened and what we can bring into the gate area have changed, mind you, but the experience of getting in line, crowding up to the x-ray scanner for our stuff and the metal detectors (or x-ray scanners) for our bodies is no less chaotic or frustrating. Shouldn’t this have gotten easier somehow? Don’t get me wrong: it’s not a terrible experience, but it’s pretty… inelegant. Maybe it’s just me, but the worst part is the process of taking off our shoes, putting all our stuff on the conveyor belt, walking through whatever device we’ve been asked to walk through, picking up our stuff on the other side, and putting our shoes back on. It always feels to me like there should be more physical space for us to do this or that there should be plenty of seating that we could use when we’re putting our shoes back on. As things stand now at most airports, things still feel very ad hoc to me.

2. Self serve kiosks: Dear airlines, it’s great that many of you have provided these for passengers to use when checking in. They’re easy to use, and they can really speed the process. However, it would be nice if some of you spaced these out a little more: too often, a couple or a family will all cluster around a kiosk, blocking access to the unused kiosk right next to them. We’d all be on our way much faster if there was more room. Also, make up your mind as to whether you want us to use a kiosk to check ourselves in or whether you’re going to provide a staff member to do it for us. If I’ve started the process on the kiosk, for example, I’d prefer not to be interrupted by someone asking me if I need any help. I appreciate the sentiment, but all that happens as a result is that it takes longer for me to be finished. If I need help, I’ll ask. Thanks.

3. Boarding passes: Why are they shaped and sized the way they are? They don’t fit easily in a pocket or a wallet. They don’t feel “natural” in the palm of your hand. The perforated line is too easy to break, separating the two pieces that need to stay together until you board the plane. Why not make them the size of a business card or a 3″ by 5″ card? Why do they need to be split into two pieces at all? Better yet, would it be possible for all airlines–not just some of them–to give us the option of receiving a digital boarding pass on our smartphone or other mobile device? These are great, and they’re just as easily scanned electronically as a paper version. I’m not sure how compatible they are with the security procedures used by the TSA, however.

4. Power sources: Most of us are traveling with devices that need to be charged at some point in our travels, and some airports (like GSP or SJC) do a great job of providing places for us to get our electricity fix. In other airports–I’m looking at you, IAH–passengers squat awkwardly to access power outlets next to trash cans or just sit on the floor in the hallways, which can make getting from one gate to another a little more difficult than it needs to be for the rest of us. Providing easily accessed, well-designed charging stations (and plenty of them!) would be a significant improvement for many airports.

5. Reading materials: Outside of a library, an airport or airplane is where you’re likely to see the highest concentration of people reading, whether they’re using a print or electronic interface. How about a movement to put libraries into airports? Check out a book in Atlanta, return it in Seattle (or when you return to Atlanta). Or maybe someone could create a business that rents Kindles or other ebook devices in much the same way that airport vendors rent out DVD players and DVDs? What if the screen embedded in the airplane seat in front of you gave you the option of reading the digital edition of a newspaper or magazine in addition to the choices of tv shows, movies, and video games? As screen technologies continue to improve, we get closer to this being a viable option.

Air travel is, or course, an amazing facet of modern life, and I hope I don’t give the impression of being a crank about these things. Also, I’m aware that this is probably a fairly idiosyncratic list. How about you? Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the experience of air travel? If so, please share them in the comments!

Last minute Savings

At some point in our lives, last minute travel is often a reality. A family or friend's health emergency, a death or an unforeseen business-related event are just a few of the reasons we might find ourselves in the air at the last minute. Most of the time, booking an airline ticket at the last minute is an expensive endeavor, but in a world where airlines can't afford to have empty seats, finding a last minute travel deal is sometimes possible. (For more money saving tips for your vacation, check out 10 Tips For A Cheaper, Better Vacation.)

How "Last" is Last Minute?

If today's events have caused you to make travel arrangements for today, you will probably be at the mercy of the airlines. If you're even a little flexible with your travel plans, you may be able to find a deal that doesn't break the bank.

Twitter

You can never plan for an emergency, but if you are in a career where last minute travel happens often, a little bit of preparedness is well advised. One place to start is your Twitter feed. Accounts like @Airfarewatchdogs and @farecomparedeals are just two of the many that should be in one of your feeds if you're watching for last-minute deals. In addition, popular travel sites and even some airlines have e-mail lists that send daily, weekly or monthly specials.

The Obvious May Pay Off

Search the last minute travel sites. Lastminutetravel.com as well as Expedia, Orbit and Travelzoo are places to check. As the sites have become larger some are no longer the goldmine of travel deals that they used to be, but even if they aren't the cheapest, you can get an idea of what would be a normal price so you have a basis of comparison.

The one less obvious place to look are travel sites that cater to local areas. For example, Airtech.com offers last minute deals to Europe and Hawaii. Sites like this may be harder to find, but the best way to find these sites is sometimes through local connections.

Flexibility

According to the Washington Post, the cheapest travel day is Wednesday. Your best bet is to avoid weekend travel. Try to leave on a weekday and return on a weekday if possible. Also be flexible with your airport choice. For some travelers, there are multiple airports within a few hours from home. If you can travel to a larger airport where discount carriers have service, you may be able to save a substantial amount of money. Finally, leave late at night or early in the morning. Those less desirable travel times have more flexibility in their pricing. (For more saving ideas, read 6 Tips For Saving Money At The Airport.)

Travel Alone

If you have to travel as a group or family, you are at the mercy of the airlines. Because airlines have reduced their total number of flights in order to keep all planes full, finding a good price for a group is difficult. Flying alone allows you to take advantage of a single last-minute seat that may have come available due to a cancellation or an unsold ticket.

Forget Courier Travel

Want to fly to Europe for $100? How about Mexico for free? In the past you could do this by becoming a courier. A courier used their cargo allowance to ship important documents or small parcel to a certain destination on a commercial airline. The courier was often hired on a temporary basis and once they delivered the items, they were free to explore the destination. It was perfectly legal and a great way to go on a short-term, last-minute adventure for very little or no money out of pocket.

Those days are over. Enhanced security regulations as well as new airline regulations no longer make this a good value for courier companies. In addition, although some airlines still advertise courier rates, they are no longer the deals they once were. In fact, courier rates are often the same or even slightly higher than normal airfare.

Don't Forget Travel Agents

It's true that travel agents will charge a premium to book your travel for you, but they often have access to discount travel deals that aren't published online. This doesn't just include airline tickets; hotels and rental cars are worth discussing with an agent.

Hotels and Cars

Sites where you can name a price you're willing to pay for a hotel, airline ticket or rental car sometimes net consumers fantastic rates at the last minute. Make sure you shop around before bidding so you don't end up bidding higher than another site's regular price.

The Bottom Line

It won't work every time - sometimes you have to take a financial hit. Depending on your reason for traveling at the last minute, price may be secondary to getting to your destination quickly. If you can travel in coach at all hours of the morning with multiple stops, on a weekend with only a carry-on and probably no pretzels or peanuts, great deals are out there for you. (For more on vacation destination, check out 4 Summer Vacation Ideas On A Shoestring Budget.)

Hotel Points

When people think about travel points, the first programs that come to mind are usually airline mile accounts. However, the number, variety and value of great hotel points programs have grown exponentially over the past few years, and consumers are starting to take notice. Thanks to their versatility, flexibility and elite perks, hotel points are some of the hottest commodities in travel points.
The bottom line is: Hotel points matter--even if it's free airline tickets you're after. Here are a few of the reasons why, and what you should be thinking about as you get started with them.

Higher Value: Unlike airline miles, which usually amount to a value of about 1-2 cents each, hotel loyalty points' value can be worth much, much more. The combination of rising airfares, reduced flight capacities and scarcer award seat availability can make finding ideal award tickets challenging. On the other hand, although hotel rates have also risen dramatically over the past decade, capacity keeps on growing as well (or at least remains fixed since you can't switch buildings if you don't sell out your hotel, whereas you can switch out aircraft) as hotel chains expand and keep on adding brands. That means that more rooms--and more expensive rooms--are up for grabs to loyalty point program members. Enough stays at an Embassy Suites can translate to overnights at a Waldorf Astoria. The 20,000 Starwood points you earn staying at a Sheraton can get you a night at the St. Regis Rome.

Exchange Rates: Airfares were high this summer thanks to a number of factors including the skyrocketing cost of gas, but Americans have been feeling even more of a pinch thanks to the weak US dollar. That holds true for hotel rates as well, especially in Europe, where the Euro is pummeling the greenback. A hotel room that would cost $200 in Los Angeles could go for the equivalent of $600 in Paris. That makes using your hotel points wisely more important than ever. Plus, the Starwood Preferred Guest program has a "Cash & Points" option that gets you hotel rooms for both fewer points and less money than using one method of payment or the other. For example, a Category 4 (out of 7) Starwood property like the Westin Grand Berlin, would cost you 4,000 Starpoints and $60 USD using the "Cash & Points" option versus paying over 250 euros (around $360 at the moment).

More Options: Though hotel points are generally only redeemable within a single hotel group (like Marriott or Hilton), most of these chains have created, incorporated or bought other brands to put under their umbrella and usually you can both earn points on stays at any of the brands within the chain, as well as using points earned at any of the brands within the chain for stays at any of the other brands. Just to give you a quick rundown of some of the biggest:
-IHG Priority Club: This is the biggest group, with over 4,000 properties worldwide, and brands like InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn.
-Hilton HHonors: Another huge hotel group of over 3,600 hotels worldwide with familiar names like Hilton, Waldorf Astoria, DoubleTree, Embassy Suites and Hilton Garden Inn.
-Marriott Rewards: The next largest chain, with over 3,400 properties in the Marriott, JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Edition and Residence Inn brands.
-Starwood Preferred Guest: This group has over 1,000 properties across several great brands including Westin, St. Regis, W Hotels, Sheraton, Element and Aloft.
-Hyatt Gold Passport: One of the best hotel programs out there (which I'll talk about in a future post) even though they only have just over 400 properties across brands like Hyatt, Park Hyatt, Andaz and Hyatt Place.

Airline Transfers: Just because you pick a hotel loyalty program and start accruing points in it doesn't mean you can't still use them for airfare. In fact, most hotel programs allow you to transfer points to several different airline mileage accounts. For instance, right now, Starwood Preferred Guest members can transfer their points to 31 different mileage programs including those of American Airlines, British Airways, Delta, Air France, United, US Airways and Virgin Atlantic (see the list here), and SPG will give you a bonus of 5,000 points for every 20,000 that you transfer. (What does that tell you about the value of hotel points versus airline miles?). Hilton HHonors members can already transfer points to 40 airline partners (see the list here). In general, however, hotel points are more valuable when used on hotel stays rather than on flights.

Constant Promotions: Whereas airlines are much more targeted and seemingly random with promotions, hotels are known for offering constant promotions and deals to earn and use points, so staying on top of the news can be extremely beneficial. Right now, for example, Hyatt just announced a promotion where Gold Passport members earn 5,000 bonus points for every three nights they stay in a Hyatt property, up to a limit of 30,000 points. While this is a lower bonus level than some of Hyatt's previous promotions, it's still a good deal. Starwood has also recently announced that Starwood Preferred Guest members will earn triple points on every stay between September 6-December 18, 2011, on stays that include either a Thursday or a Sunday night. This is clearly aimed at non-business travelers, but could still be quite lucrative for members with flexible schedules, and SPG members will at least earn double points on all other stays for the same period. You just need to register here.

Elite Status: Like airlines, many hotel brands offer their most loyal customers elite status upon completion of a certain number of stays or amount of money earned within a set time period (usually a calendar year). Once earned, elite status confers upon members a host of great value-added perks like early check-in, late check-out, room upgrades which can be worth hundreds of dollars, and more. For example, higher-level Starwood elites get free internet access that routinely saves me somewhere around $15 a day when I stay in one of their properties, while one of my favorite perks as an InterContinental Priority Club Royal Ambassador lets me take anything I want from my minibar for free.
M&M's anyone?

Shopping Secrets in Downtown Miami

Flagler Street, is the well known 9.32-mile-long street in Miami. Flagler Street is named after industrialist Henry Flagler and serves as a major highway through central Miami, with a mixture of residential neighborhoods (featuring apartment complexes) and strip malls, the majority of strip malls are right here with us in downtown Miami.

Historically, Flagler Street has been Downtown's major shopping street dating back to the 1800s. Today, it is still Downtown's major shopping street, with Florida's flagship Macy's (formerly Burdines) on Flagler Street and Miami Avenue, as well as Miami's own department store, La Epoca on Flagler Street and Second Avenue. Much focus has been placed on revitalizing Flagler Street to its former grandeur. In recent years, a renewed investment interest has been placed on Flagler Street, and many new restaurants and stores have opened up, new landscaping and pavers have been placed, as well as enforced security and tourist guides.

Lincoln Road Mall offers you one of the finest open-air shopping experiences to be found. Breezing from haute boutiques to top fashion stores, while dining at cozy sidewalk cafes, makes Lincoln Road the place in Miami Beach you won't want to miss.

In 1947, Life Magazine's twelve page feature article on Miami Beach summed it up like this: "Each winter it becomes the Mecca for stage stars, songwriters, playboys, labor leaders, big-money executives and big-money gamblers." Between 1925 and the early 60's Miami Beach was the winter playground for the world's elite. And in the center of it all was a street known as the "Fifth Avenue of the South," Lincoln Road.

At one time Lincoln Road was Miami Beach's top commercial area, with shops, nightclubs, bars, and department stores lining both sides of the street from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to Biscayne Bay. Saks Fifth Avenue, Harry Winston Jewelers, and Bonwit-Teller all were there for wealthy resort hotel guests to visit. 

Less touristy and more of a hip community, the Road is now blossoming into South Beach's creative district with artists and media production companies gravitating to the area at a steady pace.

So, will Lincoln Road recapture its glory days of the past, when movie stars and high rollers dressed in tropical white outfits strolled its sidewalks? Well, it turns out that shopping at Saks has given way to pumping iron with the hard bodies at Idol's Gym, but other than that, things are basically the same as they were in the 1930's; beautiful weather, beautiful surroundings, and beautiful people. Recapture the glory days? Absolutely. Except, forget the part about "strolling in a white outfit." These days it's roller-blades and skin-tights. Just ask one of the hard-bodies skating by. They should know.

Located in the heart of downtown Brickell, Mary Brickell Village offers an upscale setting that motivates many lifestyles. We strive to create unique events that help stimulate the community, by way of regularly partnering with non- profit organizations, all while giving back to our local community.

You can always find exciting events happening at Mary Brickell Village on our weekly event calendar or our Facebook Fan Page.

As the holiday’s quickly approach you can always trust Mary Brickell Village will have fun and safe events for the whole family. Brings your kids and pets to trick or treat around our property. Spend your Thanksgiving weekend shopping and enjoying our family oriented shops. And take home a special picture of you and Santa in front of our beautifully decorated Christmas tree during every Saturdays and Sundays from November 27^th – December 19^th.

As a reminder, don’t forget to join us at our weekly Sunday Market from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. where you can find lots of fresh baked goods, locally grown plants, jewelry, arts crafts and even treats for your pets.

Best Travel Books

Whether you're looking for a birthday gift for your favorite traveler or a great read for your next trans-Atlantic flight, we've got you covered! The staff of IndependentTraveler.com has gathered 10 of our favorite travel titles -- including both timeless classics and fresh new releases -- that are sure to please any traveler who loves to escape into the pages of a great book.

Miss New York Has Everything
By Lori Jakiela
A small-town girl wants to get out and leave the suburbs of Pittsburgh, and her family, behind. What's a girl to do? Lori Jakiela became a flight attendant and got ready to see the world. The trouble is, short layovers, even if they are in Paris, do not a world traveler make. Instead of the glamorous life she imagined in New York, she finds herself broke and living in a decidedly unglamorous neighborhood in Queens filled with roommates and roaches. As we follow Ms. Jakiela through her stumbles and struggles, we begin to understand just how strong the ties that bind her to her small-town life are -- particularly to her father, with whom she has a complicated but deeply loving relationship.

This memoir is a sometimes humorous and sometimes painful look back at one young woman's struggle to create a new life and to escape the people and the places that define her -- until she realizes that back in suburban Pittsburgh is exactly where she belongs.

Excerpt:Not only was I not glamorous. I was also not a German speaker.

This is what I told Sheldon in Scheduling, when he called, for the third time in one month, to give me another twenty-four-hour layover in the industrial wasteland of Frankfurt, Germany.
Lost and Found
By Carolyn Parkhurst
"You've lost the game, but what have you found?" That's the question posed by the host of a ficticious "Amazing Race"-type reality show that serves as the backdrop for this new novel, in which teams are eliminated from a worldwide scavenger hunt. Chapters are devoted to individual players and even the show's host as we learn their secrets -- what's behind the mother/daughter team with the strained relationship? What's with the newly married couple who, until just recently, were both leading lives as homosexuals? Why are the two former child actors really on the show?

Fans of "The Amazing Race" will love the moments when we get a glimpse of the show's production team trying to "out" a participant or the contestants' struggle to complete the tasks needed to get ahead. However, the book is much less about the contest than it is about the people who are playing the game -- and in the end, they are all able to answer the question, "What have you found?"

Excerpt:"I'm just going to the bathroom," I say to him. "You can stay with Abby."

"Sorry," [the cameraman] says. "I've gotten instructions to follow you."

I was going to go around the far side of the column, out of Abby's sight, but I change course and head towards the public restrooms near the steps of the terrace. I hope Ken will follow; I don't know how I am going to manage a private conversation with him, but he clearly has something to say to me, and I can't have him following me and Abby.

Robert and I reach the door of the men's room, and I step inside alone. ... After a moment, Ken walks in. It embarrasses me to look at him directly. I turn on the water and hold my hands under the cold spray. Ken walks over and stands at the sink next to mine.

"Hi there," he says. "Romantic little spot you've chosen."
Traveling While Married
By Mary-Lou Weisman
Though not necessarily a how-to guide on traveling better with your spouse, "Traveling While Married" does provide insights, many of them hilarious, into what it is like to travel with your husband or wife. It's largely an account of the travels of Mary-Lou Weisman and her husband Larry, but any married couple will see themselves in the pages of this book. Weisman touches on topics like traveling with other couples, doing things you hate because the one you love wants to, and "fantasy real estate" -- the compulsion to own property in every wonderful place you visit.

For couples who love each other and love to travel, this is a touching and insightful read. We can all relate to the opening page of the book when the author professes, "I, Mary-Lou, take you Larry, to be my constant traveling companion, to Hong and to Kong, in Cyclades and in Delft, for deck class or deluxe, so long as we both can move."

Excerpt:Travel can put an extra strain on a marriage. Being the same old couple in a new and different place is a disorienting experience. All too often, when people don't know where they are, have jet lag, don't speak the language and can't figure out the money or maintain intestinal regularity, they get hostile. And since they don't know anyone else in Kyoto to take it out on, they take it out on each other.

Some marriages are saved by going on vacation. While the marriage is at home, the partners may be contemplating divorce, but send the marriage on vacation and they're on a second honeymoon. On the other hand, a marriage that gets along swimmingly at home can be a fish out of water on vacation.

The Singular Pilgrim: Travels on Sacred Ground
By Rosemary Mahoney
Trudging on weary feet along Spain's road to Santiago de Compostela, visiting the holy shrine at Lourdes and rowing down the waters of the Ganges, Rosemary Mahoney is a modern-day pilgrim, traveling to some of the world's holiest sites in search of answers to her own spiritual questions. As a self-described rational person who is predisposed to doubt rather than to believe, she views the passion of true believers with mingled fascination, envy and bemusement. Can she find her own faith by following in the footsteps of the faithful before her?

I was drawn in immediately by Mahoney's compelling, ruminative account of her own pilgrim's path. She describes each stop on her journey with insight and compassion, but the chapter that lingered in my mind was the one about her stay in Varanasi, India. There she meets Jaga, a remarkable 16-year-old boy who is not only her guide to the city but also a kindred spirit: "His faith, I knew, was similar in nature to mine -- faded, worn, resentful, and stubbornly evasive. And yet it was there." By the book's end, Mahoney's faith is not drastically changed; there are no easy answers to the difficult questions she poses here. But her journey leaves both her -- and the reader -- with a measure of peace.

Excerpt:
I was only halfway to Santiago. I folded the map up and threw it across the room so that I couldn't touch it. I fumed a while longer, then went quiet, because I knew that what was really upsetting me was that love was failing in my life. At its core, love, like faith, was not a product of reason. ... Real love required a risk, an act of daring. In my relationship there was not enough trust and too little daring. Walking to Santiago I had tried not to think too much about it, but it was the most important thing in my life at that time, and it kept cropping up in front of me and blocking my path.
Honeymoon with My Brother
By Franz Wisner
What happens when the worst thing that's ever happened to you turns into the best thing? Franz Wisner learns the hard way when his fiancee, whom he'd loved for the better part of a decade, breaks up with him only five days before their wedding. Devastated and confused, he decides to go on his honeymoon anyway -- with his younger brother. The two-week honeymoon proves only a taste of what was to come. Soon after they return home, the brothers do what many of us have only dreamt of: quit their jobs, sell their houses and take a much longer honeymoon, this time around the world.

In this memoir, Wisner captures their two-year, four-continent journey with a keen eye and an appreciation for the little ironies they encounter in their travels -- like the time they show up at a restaurant recommended in their guidebook and find "ten tables, Anglo faces at each one ... Mass at the Church of the Lonely Planet." (It's then that they decide to ditch the guidebooks and rely on the kindness and wisdom of locals, a decision they never regret.) The brothers gradually fall into the rhythm of the road, leaving their past lives and loves behind and developing a deep friendship with each other. Wisner's straightforward, concise writing style isn't always effective; I found myself wanting more detail in some parts of the book and grimacing at a few cute but clunky rhymes ("the tired, hired, and mired trying to replace the fired"). But for the most part I found "Honeymoon with My Brother" a moving, funny account of the best kind of travel: the kind that not only takes you around the world but also changes your life.

Excerpt:
Vietnam today is the young Buddhist monk, draped in orange robes, taking pains to prune a bonsai tree on the grounds of an ancient and decaying temple. ... It's the women in their pencil tip bamboo hats, crouched on the sidewalks, hawking delicious noodle soups piled high with bean sprouts and fresh basil. ... It's the dragon face long boats on brown rivers that shuttle tourists during the day and sleep families of ten at night. It's warm Cokes and bad karaoke (is that redundant?), a new house for every thousand old steel-roof shanties, bicycle rickshaws carrying dead cows, and bootleg everything. It's fishing nets, war trinkets, and warm baguettes.
The Poisonwood Bible
By Barbara Kingsolver
The setting is the Belgian Congo in the 1950's. Fresh off the plane is a fundamentalist Christian preacher from the American South named Nathan Price, who has brought his wife and four daughters with him to spread the Word to what he considers a godless continent. But as Reverend Price aggressively pursues his missionary agenda in the face of increasingly fierce local resistance, it is his family who must suffer the consequences.

"The Poisonwood Bible" is a haunting novel about what happens when cultures collide -- specifically, when an outsider blunders up against the customs and beliefs of a society he doesn't even try to understand. Kingsolver effectively captures that prickly feeling of being outside one's comfort zone, one many will recognize from their own travels. She also writes beautifully about the landscape of Africa, its colors and smells and sounds, in the voices of four very different young women attempting to adapt to their alien surroundings. The novel builds steadily to a devastating climax, but then inexplicably continues for another several hundred pages -- making the last quarter of the book feel a bit directionless. But that's a forgivable flaw in a novel as lush and powerful as this one.

Excerpt:
Imagine a ruin so strange it must never have happened. First, picture the forest. I want you to be its conscience, the eyes in the trees. The trees are columns of slick, brindled bark like muscular animals overgrown beyond all reason. Every space is filled with life: delicate, poisonous frogs war-painted like skeletons, clutched in copulation, secreting their precious eggs onto dripping vines. Vines strangling their own kin in the everlasting wrestle for sunlight. The breathing of monkeys. A glide of snake belly on branch. A single-file army of ants biting a mammoth tree into uniform grains and hauling it down to the dark for their ravenous queen. And, in reply, a choir of seedlings arching their necks out of rotted tree stumps, sucking life out of death. This forest eats itself and lives forever.
Dave Barry Does Japan
By Dave Barry
If you've read too many deep, nuanced, "I went around the world and found myself" travel books, here's your remedy: "Dave Barry Does Japan." The syndicated columnist known for his sophisticated sense of humor (booger jokes, anyone?) hits the road with his wife and 10-year-old son, leaving political correctness and cultural sensitivity back in the U.S. The family spends three weeks bumbling around "in a disoriented, uncomprehending manner" in search of their next train, their next meal (preferably food that isn't still alive) and the secrets of Japanese success in the auto industry (hint: robots). Along the way Barry presents indispensable travel tips such as how to eat with chopsticks: raise them in the air to call your waiter and ask him for a fork.

I found myself laughing helplessly throughout the book, but my favorite part was Barry's description of the Kabuki play he went to see in Tokyo. Here's part of the plot as he understands it: "Everybody is upset and whining. Meanwhile some assassins are lurking around." If you're looking for an in-depth analysis of Japanese culture, look elsewhere. Aside from a chapter on Hiroshima, which not even Barry can joke about, this book unapologetically aims no further than drawing a few laughs -- and he succeeds, effectively skewering not only Japanese culture but also our own.

Excerpt:
One night in Tokyo we watched two Japanese businessmen saying good-night to each other after what had clearly been a long night of drinking, a major participant sport in Japan. These men were totally snockered, having reached the stage of inebriation wherein every air molecule that struck caused them to wobble slightly, but they still managed to behave more formally than Americans do at funerals. They faced each other and bowed deeply, which caused both of them to momentarily lose their balance and start to pitch face-first to the sidewalk. Trying to recover their balance, they both stepped forward, almost banging heads. They managed to get themselves upright again and, with great dignity, weaved off in opposite directions.

"Around the World in 80 Days": A Companion to the BBC Mini-Series of the Same Name
By Michael Palin
In 1989, Michael Palin succeeded in getting someone to cover the necessary expenses to travel around the world. His premise involved following the route -- as precisely as possible -- taken by Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days." Palin would restrict himself to the means of travel available to Fogg -- so boats, trains, horse-drawn coaches, children and camels would all be allowed.

In an effort to squeeze every penny out of Palin, the BBC decided to publish the journals he kept during his trip. And although the book was intended as a companion to the 1989 BBC mini-series of the same name, the journals really do stand alone. The feel of the book is fully informed by a man who took every occasion to dress up in women's clothes for a laugh (stirring conclusion to "The Meaning of Life" for instance). He doesn't take himself very seriously, and yet his intelligence and self-awareness allow him to convey the ridiculous circumstances in which he finds himself. At the Pyramids, a camel renter insists that the camel is named "Michael" and that Palin don a traditional Arab headdress. He dines on salted squid innards -- a dish his guide tells him is literally unpalatable to Europeans -- in Tokyo, before giving a rousing rendition of "You are My Sunshine" at a local karaoke bar. Aboard an L.A.-bound container ship, he takes part in a bizarre ritual involving copious amounts of fake blood (ketchup), break-dancing and King Neptune's blessing as he crosses the International Date Line. But you don't have to take my word for it. Read it yourself.

Excerpt:
I venture into the streets of Bombay in search of someone to remove eight days' growth of beard ... Sandwiched in between a professional letter writer and a man who organizes mongoose and snake fights, I find a barber who shaves me then and there on the grubby pavement with a cut-throat razor. Not something I shall tell my mother about, especially as I'm convinced from the way his fingers rather than his eyes seek out my face that he is blind. By the time he's finished shaving me, a crowd has gathered that would not disgrace a third division football club.
The Monk and the Philosopher: A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life
By Jean-Francois Revel and Matthieu Ricard
Instead of detailing an actual road trip, "The Monk and the Philosopher" is a book about the "spiritual journey." Jean-Francois Revel, a prominent French intellectual entrenched in Western science and thought, meets his son Matthieu Ricard, a Buddhist monk, in Katmandu to discuss both why Ricard decided for a clean break from the West and the difference between Eastern and Western thought in general. Ricard was once a promising young scientist in France, but after successfully defending his doctoral thesis, he shocked his family and friends by moving to Bhutan and becoming a monk. What drew him to the East? What are the points of contention between father and son? How have the ways each has chosen to live affected their relationship? These concerns drive the dialogue.

The book begins with a conversation about how Ricard has evolved from aspiring scientist to ordained Buddhist monk. But after clarifying how and when Ricard abandoned his research career, the men begin to engage in a dialogue informed by pride, bitterness and sincerity. Much of the book is an elucidation of the Buddhist approach to life, and Ricard's insistence that Buddhism is not unflinching dogma, but a living, breathing framework, from which one can arrive at a spiritual destination. Revel seems incapable or unwilling of understanding this key point, and this tension speaks volumes about the differences between East and West, father and son. Even for a Buddhist monk, the very embodiment of serenity, Ricard's patience is repeatedly tried. Both are trying to come to some understanding of what the other holds dear, while also resolutely defending their methods for tackling philosophy's primary quests -- eliminating the fear of death, while living the "good life." Their unique experiences traveling through life are certainly food for thought -- perhaps inspiring enough to start the reader on his or her own quest.

Excerpt:
No dialogue, however enlightening it might be, could ever be a substitute for the silence of personal experience, so indispensable for an understanding of how things really are. Experience, indeed, is the path. And as the Buddha often said, "it is up to you to follow it," so that one day the messenger might become the message.
Travels with Charley in Search of America
By John Steinbeck
As one of the great American authors, Steinbeck has little to prove in terms of writing. But there came a time in his life where he began to get the sense that the America he had written of in his seminal works had morphed into something wholly unfamiliar. To reacquaint himself with a clearer picture of his motherland, he decided to set out on a three-month journey with his friend Charley the standard poodle. The natural beauty he encounters along the way in places like Montana and the redwood forests of California are juxtaposed against the ugly bigotry and closed-mindedness of many Americans he meets. This hatred is certainly very painful for Steinbeck, and the sad realization that his ideal vision of America -- an America where the loss of innocence may open the door for positive growth -- may never materialize makes for a melancholy experience.

Steinbeck is a natural reporter, able to convey scenes, such as his route through the changing New England foliage, with great accuracy. But he also injects his writing with experience and passion, and this is what makes "Travels with Charley" so engaging.

Excerpt:
For many years I have traveled in many parts of the world. In America, I live in New York, or dip into Chicago or San Francisco. But New York is no more America than Paris is France or London is England. Thus, I discovered I did not know my own country.

Marriott's Website Named Fastest in Industry by USA Today Study

Top-Ten Consumer Website Ranked #1 in Performance.

When booking a hotel room online, marriott.com users are experiencing the best the Internet has to offer.  According to a recent USA Today-commissioned study, Marriott International (NYSE: MAR) beat all others as the fastest and best performing lodging website.

By winning the top spot, marriott.com (http://www.marriott.com) earned the Gold Award for “Best of the Web.”  This designation came from USA Today’s partner in the study, Compuware.  The study’s metrics included speed, navigation and room details.  Extensive testing found that marriott.com loads quicker than two seconds.  Other hotel websites were sluggish, some taking up to eight seconds to load. 

FULL USA TODAY ARTICLE: http://travel.usatoday.com/news/story/2011/06/Which-travel-websites-are-the-fastest/47916944/1