Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, India - The City of Temples

My wife and I, along with my mother and brother, recently made a trip to India to take care of some final rituals related to my dad's passing last fall.  His home village is close to the larger town of Kumbakonam, a city with a rich history dating back at least 2,000 years.  We had a couple of hours to spare before heading back to Chennai, so we took a quick tour of the town, not knowing when we'd be back.

Flying to India - Qatar Airways Houston to Chennai

I'm a little short on time for a post this week, and I was also in the mood to try a little something new, so I decided to debut a new type of post - the well worn (on other travel websites, anyway) flight review.  My wife and I, along with my mom and brother, had to make a brief run to India right after the first of the year to finish off the last of our duties related to my dad's passing last fall.  My mom and brother booked tickets on Emirates, and since I had a poor experience with them last summer, I decided we would try Qatar Airways on the way over instead (I had never flown Qatar, but figured it couldn't be worse than anyone else, and you can get American Airlines frequent flyer miles).  Read more about our experience, along with my first visit to Doha, after the jump

Choosing the Right Coach Class Airplane Seat

It's been awhile since I've done a travel advice article, so now seemed the right time after my recent experience going to India and back.  I had the (mis)fortune of having to do this trip in coach, as without the benefit of an expense account, dropping 10 grand on a pair of airplane tickets isn't exactly practical.  As you can see from the photo above, flying in steerage, as many frequent fliers derisively refer to the back of the plane, isn't the most comfortable experience.  However, you can make the experience a little more tolerable with some advance planning.  Check out my tips after the jump.

Sightseeing at 35,000 Feet - DFW to LAX

My wife and I took a trip out to SoCal in early November to visit her parents; you might recall my restaurant review of The Proud Bird at LAX airport that I posted previously.  That flight happened to coincide with the removal of the restrictions on electronics use onboard airplanes, including digital cameras, just a few days prior, and so this was the first trip that I could (legally) take photos from start to finish.  The weather was perfect from Dallas all the way out to the west coast on that fine Saturday, which made for a great day of picture taking!  Enjoy the virtual cross-country tour after the break.