The ire of Delta Skymiles members continues to grow stronger and more vocal.

To summarize, many loyal Delta passengers are miffed at the recent poor value of the airline's frequent flyer miles, or Skymiles. It's true that on the surface the airline claims to offer mileage redemptions for the same price as their competitors -- but when one actually goes to search for available tickets, those cheap seats are almost nowhere to be found.

The Cranky Flier sums up the problems pretty well over at his blog, where he simply states:

One thing I've found... is that Delta SkyMiles are really not easy to burn and when you do, they end up costing a lot more than on other airlines in terms of miles and dollars. As a loyalty program, SkyMiles is hard for me to love as a non-elite.

One can see from the rocking comment section beneath the post that there is unanimous agreement from the ranks. Want more insight? Head over to the Delta thread on Flyertalk where frustrated passengers have been venting for months.

For Delta's part they acknowledge the difficulties with their award calendar but don't seem really interested in finding immediate solutions. Blaming IT integration issues, they hope to have things ironed out by summer.

And until then? Diversify your mileage portfolio.

RELATED: Where did all the bargain fares to Europe go?

If you've been recently suffering from the aforementioned high airfares that George highlighted this morning, this should provide some solace. American Airlines is giving away free 10% off coupon codes at Century in the Making.

By voting on four of the best football moments in the last century, each visitor to the site (with a unique email address) earns a code with which they can discount future travel. Votes can be cast four times over the duration of the promo, once per each category (High School, College, Special, Professional.)

Not a fan of football? Simply pick four random choices and press vote -- the 10% code will still be sent to your email address.

The discount may be used for ticket purchases made between March 1, 2010, and May 31, 2010, for travel between March 1, 2010, and May 31, 2010.

The other shoe has finally dropped. Continental Airlines, the one domestic airline still proudly boasting free meals in coach just announced that they'll be eliminating the perk come fall 2010. They'll be joining the ranks of all other domestic carriers that currently charge for food, a move that they estimate will earn them $35M per year.

Eventually, we all knew that this had to happen. With each carrier gradually moving towards an a la carte model of pricing, extra services from baggage to leg room to food now comes with a price -- that's partially what has kept airline prices so low for the last decade. So in order to remain competitive, Continental had to adapt.

More than anything, Continental's changes are symbolic of an industry changing. Like our parents bemoan the days of black tie air travel, I see myself one day telling my grandkids about how they "used to serve food for free on airplanes!" Perhaps we should just all be happy that we're still getting from point A to point B.

You have to hand it to Climber Sterling, a Danish low cost carrier. When they found out that their competitor, Norwegian Air Shuttle was launching a massive fare sale, instead of letting consumers go out and buy the dirt cheap tickets they scooped them all up. Using a series of fake names and a lot of keyboard stokes, the airline was able to purchase over 650 seats, successfully preventing hundreds of travelers from getting in on the deal and in all probability, sending some business back to Sterling.

It's a clever trick, but highly noncompetitive and kind of low, and the airline's CEO officially apologized to its competitor, saying that the employees acted independent of the company's knowledge. It's worth noting that two of the airline's board members were also in on the operation, so one wonders how sincere that apology was.

Think that this has ever happened in US?

More than any other city in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong is a city of contrasts. Traditional Cantonese culture pushes hard against the raging, modern scene, strong scents of the recent British rule are encroached upon by the dominant, Chinese presence, people eat dim sum, seafood, sushi, Mexican, Burger King.

In no place is this contrast more obvious than in the gastronomic scene. Cracking open the Superfuture guide to the city is like opening a Pandora's box of food delight, with rooftop bars, five star restaurants and haute cuisine leaping forth from every page of the document. Restaurants like The Pawn Shop dish up a dizzying array of delicious western and local food in a setting that's worth the visit alone, while bars like Wooloomooloo offer a solid steak to accompany a heart-stopping view over Hong Kong Island.

Flip to the other side of the coin and one can find the same spectrum of food in a gritty, salacious setting. Steps from the night markets near Nathan Road, a tented, corner hovel houses two dozen tables circled by a smattering of dirty, uneven chairs. The bathroom, a hole behind a curtain in the back room, is separated from the kitchen by a grease covered piece of corrugated sheet metal and as you pull at the legs on your fresh pepper crab the cockroaches scurry under the corroded circuit breakers next to your table.

The last of the votes have been counted, punch cards have been verified and the international monitors have signed off on the tallies, ladies and gentlemen. We have an official winner.

Last month Gadling and lebua had the pleasure of launching the largest contest that we've ever hosted on this blog: the chance to win a journey across the Pacific Ocean to spend several nights at Bangkok's finest hotel. Complete with free dinner, drinks, airport transfer, beautiful views across the capitol of Thailand and memories to last a lifetime, it was the sort of prize that could convince any blogger to rig the ballot box. But ultimately we stuck to our trusty randomizer robot and picked out one lucky name: Barracuda Ron.

Ron, we wish you the best of luck and excitement on your trip to the other side of the planet. Having visited lebua ourselves not 6 months ago we can testify that you're staying at a gorgeous hotel with top notch food selections, service and amenities. Congratulations and send us some pictures from the road!

Make sure to follow Gadling and lebua for more exciting prizes in the future.

Planning on beating the crowds to Brazil before the 2016 Olympics? If you've put a shred of research into visiting the beautiful South American country, you probably now know two things: a) its far and b) visas are expensive.

With over $100 in visa fees, a trip to the consulate and a long flight to the southern hemisphere involved, many American travelers are often deterred from visiting the country of Brazil, opting for the less expensive Argentina or more accessible Central America instead.

But several changes this year could help alleviate some pressure. To begin with, ten new flights from the US to Brazil will start operating, spurring demand, capacity and hopefully lower prices.

Brazil is also taking the positive step in reducing some restrictions on tourist visas. Soon, applicants wont need to travel within 90 days of acquiring their visas, and after it's purchased, the document is good for ten whole years. This means that one can go the first time to scout out rental vacations this winter, again to crash for the Olympics in 20106 and again in 2019 for Carnivale -- all on the same visa.

Sure, the $150 visa fee is still a pain in the ass, but at least the investment stays sound for 10 years.

Need some inspiration? Check out Gadling's 24 hour in Rio guides for a snapshot of beautiful coastal city. Hint: it's amazing.

It's no secret that Hong Kong has some of the best public transportation in the planet. Land, sea, or air, you can bet that it's going to be clean, new, inexpensive and well maintained, from the recent airport on Lantau island to the fast and furious MTR slithering like tentacles through the islands. Better, most of it is tied together by the solid Octopus RFID system, letting travelers on ferries, buses, trams alike use the same versatile card to pay for any fare, or even a snack at the local 7-11.

Routes and times are listed in both Chinese and English, passage is frequent and one leaves the train station with a sense of efficiency and accomplishment rather than shaken with the din of a recent assault on the senses.

Another facet of the Hong Kong public transportation system, the tram, offers a unique immersion into Hong Kong culture. Run on a similar rail-and-wire system to San Francisco's, Hong Kong's trams are a skinnier, taller version of their western counterparts with dark, varnished wood interiors, large glass windows and awe inspiring views around the perimeter.

Hong Kong is one of those few places in the world that just never gets old. A city rapidly expanding upward and outward, it's one of the largest cities in southeast Asia, with a thriving cultural scene, solid infrastructure, robust public transportation system and top notch eats. One can spend days in the halls of the Chungking Mansions, stalls in night markets or back alleys of Nathan Road and still not absorb a sliver of culture.

And that's why we love it. Each time we come back to Hong Kong there's another facet of history or culture to explore, from the raucous horse racing mob in Happy Valley to the ultimate frisbee community in Tai Hang Tung to the Dragon's Back day hike a stone's throw away from the city. It's like visiting a new, amazing destination every single time.

So as part of this year's Chinese New Year celebrations, we went back. No, this wasn't part of a press trip, a marketing bonanza or a sponsored event -- Hong Kong has that sort of personality that automatically draws visitors back, like a good home cooked meal or a soft, down-filled comforter. Its memories stay with you in a way like no other place, growing stronger and finer with time, pulling you back, deeper into its bosom.

Over the course of this week we'll be telling a few stories from our time in the Pearl of the Orient, from an ode to their public transportation to a look inside of the tradition of Chinese New Year. We hope that you stick around and enjoy the journey.

Feel free to follow along here or check back every day for updates.

Kung Hei Fat Choy!

If you've ever been irritated by the whole process of taking your shoes off in the airport security line, this news may give you some solace. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently announced that they would be purchasing new technology to scan shoes while passengers wear them. Depending on the technology, machines could use electromagnetic fields, chemical detectors or spurts of air to search for explosives or weapons in the shoes, and would be able to do so without removal.

Could this save time at the airport? Potentially. Without the need to remove and x-ray shoes the lines may move faster, but passengers will also have to queue for the shoe scan as well, right?

My big qualm with the whole shoe scanning exercise is in the uneven enforcement. At many airports around the world, shoe removal, unlike metal detection, is optional. It seems silly that we need complicated shoe scanning technology here in the states when someone could easily forgo the test in Hong Kong, fly across the ocean and still cause problems.

I suppose until an optimal solution is found we've always got Velcro.