The MC Hammer Pants Say It All: My American Express Platinum Priority Pass to the rescue!

I started to pick a stock photo image from Google of an exhausted traveler because admittedly this isn't very flattering, but I stopped myself because I realized the actual image conveyed the emotional value of the Priority Pass benefit on my personal American Express Platinum card in a raw way. 

(Side note: If you go to Nepal, please use this image as reason enough NOT purchase the MC Hammer pants)

Let me paint the picture of where I was at mentally when this photo was snapped by my sneaky boyfriend: 

I was 20 days into the 10.5 hour time zone difference jet lag. There had been civil protests across the country due to a controversial Citizenship bill that led to local police enacting curfews. After a few days, access to the internet was blocked & admittedly a scary level of military presence could be seen & felt.

Traffic was unlike anything I'd ever seen. New Delhi & the surrounding area is known for challenging congestion, but it was even more intense during my visit because of the police blockades in the roads, checkpoints, & poor visibility being caused by the colder-than-normal temperatures with the smog. To give you an idea of what this meant for travel? It took over 6 hours to go 40 miles one day! 

To top it off, I was nursing a nasty sinus infection due to my body's reaction to the air pollution levels. I was severely dehydrated from the many flights & often-times challenging access to bottled water. 

I don't share this to complain; I know it's all part of the adventure of international travel experience! I mention this simply to convey where I was at mentally & physically. This feeling of utter exhaustion & "I just want peace & quiet" is never more appreciated than when I travel which brings me to my actual point of this post: The Priority Pass benefit from my personal American Express Platinum card.

After the 3 hour twisty, curvy, & outright dangerous drive down the winding mountains from Mussoorie to the Dehradun airport, I was very nauseous from the motion sickness & had a pounding headache from the car horn experience that you can only fathom if you've visited the area. So, since it was New Year's Eve our concierge at the JW Mussoorie advised us to leave early in anticipation of extra traffic from the holiday festivities. To the credit of our expert driver who had obviously made the trip hundreds of times because he knew every side street cut-through in the area, we eventually arrived at the airport 3 hours early. Admittedly the check-in & security process was not what you're accustom to back home so It only took a couple of minutes to check-in. Looking around at the sea of people, we realized other folks must've had the same 'get there early' mentality as us or knew that airlines in the region were notorious for not arriving at the designated time because the seating area in the terminal was already at capacity with nowhere to sit in sight. I shuddered at the thought of this being only the first leg of our journey back home.

Luckily that when we pulled up the Priority Pass app to see if there was any hope of finding some peace & quiet. I was so thankful when we realized there was a private Priority Pass lounge upstairs that we hadn't noticed when we entered.

Downstairs was chocked full of crying babies & power outlets at full capacity, but the Shaurya Executive Lounge was so nice & quiet. The receptionist swiped my Priority Pass card & we both entered at no extra cost. There wasn't a single soul inside aside from the employees blowing balloons & stringing streamers in anticipation of ringing in the New Year. There wasn't a dollar figure I could've put on how much I valued this respite from the chaos after a long journey. We both enjoyed an adult beverage, charged our power banks , & I smiled as I slid my Priority Pass card back into the beautiful new pink wallet I'd purchased at the market in Jaipur.

My holiday travels had me thanking the cosmos for my American Express Platinum card & truly brought to life the slogan, "Don't Do Life Without It!"