One of the absolute delights of my time in the fascinating city of Dili in East Timor was discovering these beachside coconut stands. Approach a seller with his or her cart. Pick out your coconut or let the seller choose. The seller wields a formidable machete and whack whack, off comes the coconut’s top; in goes a straw and one refreshing drink is ready! I was kicking myself that I had left my metal straw at the hotel. I hate adding to disposal culture. When the fresh coconut milk is finished, one goes back to…
Bemused at Lounge Stone Stealing
I am used to people sampling toiletries, extra tea bags or chocolate from airport business lounges but today’s weird activity was most bemusing. I was sitting next door to the indoor garden display at a Melbourne airport business class lounge. A passenger walked past, picked up a stone and started to slip it into her handbag. Then she saw me watching. She then tapped the stone against the wall and threw it back. So many questions: Do people really steal such things? Why? It’s a not a significant or special stone nor a special place?
Chaos and Sublime with Air Calin Long Haul Business
Aircalin flight took me on a largely delightful trip from Singapore to Noumea but there were some chaotic glitches. Société Aircalin, also known as Air Calédonie International, is the flag carrier of the French collectivity of New Caledonia, with its headquarters in Nouméa. This small regional airline operates flights to various destinations across the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and French Polynesia. Air Calin operates a fleet of modern Airbus aircraft, including the A330-900neo and A320neo. The beautiful A330-900neo is the flagship aircraft of Air Calin’s fleet, and it accommodates 292 passengers with…
Singapore’s Beautiful Rail Corridor Trail
This is Walking in Singapore! Not what you’d expect from a city-state which measures just 733 square km (283 sq mi)??? The country has an area that is just 1/8th the size of Rhode Island or one-third the size of London yet manages to squeeze over five million people in! Green spaces are vital to the country and there are some stunning spaces across Singapore. The newest one which opened in 2021 is Rail Corridor SG which runs for 24km (13 mi) from Tanjong Pagar railway station in downtown Singapore northwards to Kranji, near the…
Tails in the Desert- Grounded Planes in Aussie Outback
Alice Springs Airport ASP) is an Australian regional airport 13km (8 mi) south of the outback town of Alice Springs which has a population of just 33,000 people. It is is the only town and service centre in a neighbourhood as big as the US state of Texas! The city is 2,771.32 km (1,722.02 mi) from Sydney and Alice Springs was referred to as Stuart until 1933 and is informally known as ‘The Alice’ or simply ‘Alice’. The airport has two runways. The longer runway can accommodate the landing of empty Airbus A380, Boeing 747…
Stepping off my 1500th flight!
I am thrilled/stunned/amused/shocked to find that following my most recent flight from Manila to Melbourne, I have now flown 1,500 times!!!! This milestone feels like a significant achievement! 86 times, almost 87 times around this earth and nine times the distance to the moon! In 1968 I stepped onto my first plane and I was hooked! When I was a kid, I had flown so often that I begged my parents to take us by train from Nigeria to Australia instead of flying!! I have decided that for me, there are so many highlights of…
Running My Way through 2022
Last year, I ran and walked 3,879.3 km, about 2,410 miles. This is the equivalent of walking/running from: Madrid to Paris to Istanbul Sydney Circular Quay to Wollongong to Canberra to Adelaide’s Henley Beach to Perth’s City Beach Singapore to Bangkok to Hanoi to Yulan I walked and ran across cities, parks, beaches, forests and mountains. With friends. With family. With strangers. And alone. In 17 countries. Thanks to my walking and running companions. No wonder, I feel tired at the start of 2023!! I had hoped to get to 4,044 km but I fell…
I have now travelled to 84 countries!
In 2020 and 2021, I added no new countries to my “collection”. In 2022, I did a little catching up, visiting Timor Leste, Morocco, Qatar and Gibraltar! I had previously been to Doha Airport, but never gp off the plane. Check this link for a comprehensive look at the places I have visited. My overall goal is 99 countries, and I had hoped to add two new places each year until I get there. This means that goal is about nine years away! Between my flights and boat trips I have looped the earth around…
Best Flight Of 2022 With World’s Best Airline
Three years ago, my best flight of 2019 was with my favourite airline: Qatar Airways. In 2020, like most people, I ventured not far from home and in 2021 I only travelled within Thailand. Last year, saw me carefully resuming international travel. Of the 68 flights I had through 2022, the best flight of 2022 was again with Qatar Airways. Booking One of my hobbies is trawling the net for the best flight deals I can find. Sometimes I pinch myself at my successes! I picked up a very affordable Cathay Pacific flight from Doha…
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