I am filling in my globe with all of the countries, territories and regions I have visited. With the addition of Russia this week, I have made it to 77 countries. I only count a country if I have left the airport. So while, I have transited through Doha and Johannesburg airports, I do not include Qatar and South South Africa in my tally. I have been to about two thirds of the countries in both Asia and Europe and exactly half of all the nations in the Oceania region of the planet. African exploration…
United Kingdom
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Best 2016 April Fools Day Travel Gags
There were some great travel related gigs, tricks and prinks this year. Virgin Australia launched Kid Class. I actually think it was a mighty fine idea -without the bubbles The London Eye announced it would convert two of its capsules into luxury studio penthouses, which would rotate 48 times a day, giving people a view of the English capital along with Champagne on request and a personal pillow fluffer. The North Yorkshire Moors Railway has created the “Pawfect” Car dedicated just to dogs. Citipark UK launched left-handed ticket barriers. Google made a mess of their mic…
All about Visas
Just had yet another discussion with an international traveller who was amazed that they needed to get a visa in advance for several of the countries they are planning to visit. “I have a passport“, they said. A passport is a document issued by your home country that identifies you as a citizen of that country. A visa is essentially a permission note from the country you are visiting indicating you can enter and stay there temporally. There are many types of visa including: a tourist visa (the most common type of visa) a work visa (this means…
Lindisfarne – The Holy Island
One of my fascinations is tidal islands-islands that are cut off for part of the day. I am not sure how many there are in the world but I have now visited three: Mont St Muchel in France Mount st Michael in Cornwall Most recently Lindisfarne off the North East Coast of England I was so excited to travel 1.6km (1 mile) from the British mainland to the island via a causeway that goes under water twice a day when the North Sea sweeps in and cuts Lindisfarne off from England. We went past warning…
Don’t do Jetlag
In 2012, I flew so many times that I used to joke that I was so permanently jetlagged, I no longer felt it! (That year I flew 300 000km (200 000mi) to 15 countries on five continents with 22 airlines). That experience of flying so much for work required me to use my jet lag lessons! Jet lag is the fatigue and sleepless caused by raidly travelling across different time zones, usually by aeroplane. There is no cure but as mentioned, there are things I do to try and minimise it: Try and fly westwards.…
Neglected Newcastle on Tyne
I am not suggesting that Newcastle looks or feel neglected, it is just a place overlooked by tourists and unfairly critiqued by UK citizens. Yet this ancient settlement at the North of England has a lot going for it. It is well worth a day or three to visit. In Roman times, the city was a fort on Hadrian’s wall known as Pons Aelius. William the Conqueror in 1080 commanded his son to construct a “New Castle” on the site of the old Roman fort. For many years, a grim industrial city, the loss of UK manufacturing has transformed the…
I Hike Hadrians Wall across England
There are many crazy things I like to do in life. One is walking long distances! I have walked several long distance tracks in Australia, the UK and New Zealand now including the famed NZ Milford track. One of my goals was to walk the width of England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea following the path of Hadrian’s wall. 84 miles (140km) long. And I did it! It took seven days walking West to East. To back track, Hadrian’s Wall was built in the 2nd Century AD by the order of the Roman Emperor…
MH 17 Revised Passenger List
Malaysia Airlines has revised its passengers list after verifying a further 21 of the 41 passengers whose nationality could not initially be verified. These passengers were previously unidentified as they were in transit, and had not entered passport control in Amsterdam. The new breakdown on passengers is: Australia: 27 Belgium: 4 Canada: 1 Germany: 4 Indonesia: 12 Malaysia: 44 Netherlands: 173 New Zealand: 1 Philippines: 3 United Kingdom: 9 Related Posts Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 [updated] Malaysia Airlines Passengers by Nationality
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