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LOS ANGELES
I was the first person off the plane, and excited to be back on U.S. soil. I cleared customs without having to wait in a long line. The agent looked at my passport, and read my customs form, which listed all the countries I had just visited: Portugal, Spain, Germany, Sweden,
Malaysia and Taiwan. He asked me what I do for a living. When I told him, he begged me to inform foreigner visitors that they CANNOT get a refund on gifts they buy in the States. He said, "Please let them know it’s not like Europe, where you can get VAT (Value Added Tax)." So here’s that information, but it brings up a good point: Why doesn’t America offer VAT?!
L.A. CAR SERVICE
For a car service to and from LAX, I’ve been using a guy a friend turned me on to a few months ago. Ramez is a very nice Egyptian man who always picks me up on time in a clean new car (usually an Escalade), and charges me the same amount as a taxi ($20 to and from Manhattan Beach). When he can’t pick me up he sends another driver, for the same amount of money and equally great service. His number is 310-938-7240.
AROUND THE WORLD
The next morning I lay in bed wide awake at 5am, thinking about my trip. It was my first time going around the world, and I felt like I really accomplished something. I thought back 15 years ago, when I was growing up in Connecticut and refused to get on a plane. My asthma doctor prescribed too much medication, which gave me anxiety. I was not only terrified of flying, but at times afraid to leave my parents’ house. Believe me, I feel for people with these fears, because they’re terrible. But they’re curable, since they’re all in the mind. Fortunately, I went to an Indian homeopathic doctor who weaned me off some of the medicine, and gave me confidence (this is a whole other story). But what I realized from this trip is that the world really isn’t as big as I always imagined it. It was always a goal of mine to travel around the world, but it seemed unattainable. It’s amazing to think that a few hundred years ago it took people a couple of years to travel around the globe (and they did it by boat). Today you can do it in a couple of days if you wanted to -- though why would you?
I WONDER…
I also wondered: Because I did not travel west to reach Asia -- so I did not cross the International Date Line and lose a day as I normally do when traveling to Asia or the South Pacific) -- did I gain an extra day in my life? Seriously, think about it. I left Kuala Lumpur on a Wednesday at 9:40 a.m., and arrived in Los Angeles on that same Wednesday at 12:55 p.m. Where did the 17 hours of travel time go? I always understood before that I would lose a day going to
Asia,
Fiji,
Australia or
New Zealand, and coming home meant getting it back. But I went around – so does that mean I gained an extra day in my life? Even if I didn’t, I sure feel like I gained something. I now know that I have the confidence to travel anywhere in the world and that there’s so much more to explore. To see a 3-minute video of my round-the- world trip, please scroll down.
BUYING A ROUND THE WORLD TICKET
If you are interested in a round-the-world ticket, you can book one online. Airtreks (here's the link to my review) makes it simple. If you prefer a live person, call my personal travel agent, John Dekker, at 1-800-JohnnyJet. He specializes in cheap international business and first class fares.
For example, here's a special from AirTreks for $1,299 (plus taxes) that is from either San Francisco or Los Angeles to Beijing - Delhi - London - San Francisco or Los Angeles).
It expires January 31, 2007 and other departure cities or dates of travel are generally available for an additional charge.
Click here for more info.
VIDEO
Here’s a 3-minute Johnny Jet Video of my incredible
trip around the world.
It's on YouTube, as well so it only takes a
few seconds to load (though the quality is not as crisp). We also have all the Johnny Jet Videos ever made on their servers,
including all my videos from Malaysia.
NEXT WEEK
Next week we take to the skies again. This time we stay in the United States – but we go someplace nice and warm!
Happy Travels,
Johnny Jet
*PLEASE tell us what you think of this week's newsletter!
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