To those who remain sedentary in their office cubicals the idea of business travel conjures up visions of glorious customer dinners in distant lands, exotic hotels, and peculiar and captivating cultures. It’s no wonder that the strongly rooted occasionally ask me why I don’t fervently relish* these travels.
Mike D’s top travel travesties
#1. Industrial facilities vary little between Boise and Bogota
#2. The shortest of trips still dramatically disrupts your week
#3. The time dependency of the labor limits visits to local attractions
#4. Waiting in lines gets old fast
Sound familiar? It should! Business travel is a lot like an extended stay at your local Department of Motor Vehicles with the added bonus of checked baggage. Yay!
Now, just like those times when the plate lady lets you choose between the available license plates, business travel occasionally redeems itself. Especially when you can take some vacation on either end of a trip to experience the local culture – a luxury better enjoyed in London than Cleveland.
I’m banking on that personal time for a potential China trip looming in mid-December. This particular plan puts Beijing on the menu. I was last in Beijing in 2006, so if this trip does go down I hope I’ll have a chance to check out the birdcage and other 2008 Olympic buildings.
First things first, I’ll have to make sure my passport and visas are up to date. Thankfully, this doesn’t require a trip to the DMV.
*relish as in ‘enthusiastically and vigorously enjoy’ not as in ‘delicious pickled condiment.’
Just saw the movie Up In The Air last night. It reminded me of you and your boring work travels. I really liked it, although I found it to be really depressing. Hopefully your life is not like the life of George Clooney’s character!
Interesting! I haven’t seen it yet. Perhaps I’ll have to add it to my list.
UPDATE: no news yet on the pending China trip.