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May 2006
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This is Kaleel Sakakeeny with your XM Go Travel Update

It’s a nightmare.

We drag our luggage through security and customs.

And break our backs jamming them in the overhead bins.

Then there’s the very real possibility of never seeing your bags again.

You can’t leave them behind, much as you’d love to… but you can have them picked up, security wrapped and delivered to your destination for about a buck or two a pound.


Then you can have all your dirty clothes shipped back and get notified by email or phone when your bags are home

But how’s this different from DHL or Fed Ex ?

Jeff Boyd, president of luggagefree says there’s no comparison.

Please download the audio to hear Jeff Boyd’s comments

All luggage is insured, at no cost to the traveler.

And that’s a valium free vacation

Visit Luggagefree: www.luggagefree.com

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This is Kaleel Sakakeeny with your XM Go Travel Update

Patrick Smith has come out with a wise, funny book called, Ask the Pilot. It’s a small read but it answers in a big way all the questions you ever wanted to know about flying but were afraid to ask.

Ever wondered how a plane stays in the air or whether turbulence can bring a plane down?

And what the heck are all those dings about?

But as an airline pilot and exceptional writer, Smith doesn’t believe we’re doing such a great job in airline security

Please download the audio to hear Patrick Smith’s comments on flying.

There’s a lot going on in Smith’s book. And no, it’s not at all technical. Much of it’s funny, informative, politically astute…and at the end of the day reasurring

Ask the Pilot, by Patrick Smith, Riverhead Books, New York

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This is Kaleel Sakakeeny with your XM Go Travel Update

We hear the desire to have sex on an airplane is so great that some airlines have begun to offer special arrangements for couples willing to pay for sky high sex.

Apparently the urge to do it in the air is so strong, that for those not gutsy enough to couple in the lavatory, the new Mile High Club provide the chance to climb aboard a aircraft custom-outfitted for a couple’s pleasure.

One web article (University of California at Santa Barbara) reports that certain airlines will allow passengers to join its Mile-High Club on new "super jumbos," boasting private cabins with a sofa, washing facilities, and a double bed.

We couldn’t get any airline to confirm it, but one CEO allegedly said that since you can do it on cruise ships and you can do it at home, why shouldn't you be able to do it on planes?"

But will the ease of sex in planes take the thrill out of the act?

It seems desire and fear are so closely related that the possibility of being caught “doing it” can actually be a turn-on.

So if no one can watch, is it still as much fun?

As I personally recall … well, never mind. The travelers’ tales on www.milehighclub.com are far better than any I can recall … or come up with!

We have to think about that one.

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This is Kaleel Sakakeeny with your XM Go Audio Postcard

Jamaica gets under your skin (steel drum band)

The culture is much more than Red Stripe beer and steel drum bands, although they’re pretty good, I have to say.

The island is also vibrant markets where bright fruits and vegetables make our supermarket produce look anemic. (market place sounds)

It’s rousing revival meetings under tents. (preacher)

It’s zipping high above the trees in the forest on a canopy tour (people yelling from the tour)

Or nights spent at places like Royal Plantation in Jamaica’s Ocho Rios. (coqui sounds)

The adults only elegant sea-side resort is all Georgian architecture, sweeping staircases, flower covered plazas and graceful fountains.

But it’s also a place to experience Jamaican culture.

Guests learn how to make cigars from the fragrant Jamaican tobacco and take a lesson or two in Caribbean cooking…

And local artists teach water color classes.

Royal Plantation is a bit of a fantasy world but grounded in the rich culture of the island.

•Website: www.royalplantation.com

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 Kaleel Sakakeeny was the family travel editor at Travel Weekly and a contributor to the award-winning Boston Parents Paper, e-Turbo News and Family Travel Forum.com. Additionally, he was also travel editor at Metro/Boston, on-air travel correspondent for Business Radio 1060, and has advised family viewers of “American Baby” at WCVB, Boston; WBZ-TV, Boston and WFX-TV, New England.

When Kaleel filed stories for National Public Radio, Christian Science Monitor or the Associated Press, he would often walk the streets of the Middle East, North Africa or Europe with an open microphone. He recorded the sounds of street life in those vibrant countries, and turned them into sound-rich Audio Postcards ® ™. They were broadcast internationally, and can be heard (and purchased) on our site under Audio Postcards ® ™.

As a writer/producer for the Travel Channel, he was part of the award-winning show "Designs on Travel," and has himself been honored with national awards from both the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and the Public Broadcasting System (PBS).

While Director of Marketing and Sales at PowerProse.com, Mr. Sakakeeny helped international clients define, promote and brand their organizations through on and off line strategies. He frequently conducts world-wide marketing presentations for the travel industry identifying market trends and consumer travel preferences.

He hopes that his XM Go Travel Updates will provide XM listeners with exciting, timely and compelling travel information.  XM, he thinks, is the sound of the future.