This April I will be adding my 67th and 68th countries to my “portfolio”! First will be Laos. To get there, I will be taking a train ride into Laos from Thailand. When complete, I will have then travelled by rail all the way from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok to Vientiane . Well to be fair, almost to Vientiane as the rail line finishes 9km from the city currently! Then will come the 1200th flight of my life which will be with Lao Airlines, a new airline for me. AirlineRatings assures me they have a six-star…
The Top 20 April Fools Day 2017 Travel Pranks
April 1 brought a range of gags around the world. Some subtle, some blatantly ridiculous and others funny. In a year of “fake news”, some were wary of participating in the April 1st tradition, however with Ingvar Näslund, editor-in-chief at Västerbottens-Kuriren summing the situation up: “Historically, we’ve had super successful April Fools jokes. But because of debates and discussions about the media’s credibility being connected to fake news, we didn’t want to do it this year” The Montreal Gazette announced that April Fools’ Day has been cancelled, starting today. Here are top 2o travel gags from…
Mid East Airlines to offer laptops & tablets for loan & free wifi
As we continue to “live” with the “laptop ban” which disallows all equipment larger than a laptop (including noise cancelling headphones I understand) from cabins on selected routes to the USA and UK, airlines are offering the following options: Emirates- offers a free “handling service” for US flights. Customers hand laptops etc to security personnel at the gate who will box all laptops ready to be handed back to customers on arrival. Free Wi-Fi is also available to all customers. The airline notes only six percent of customers connect their laptops to wifi Etihad –…
Tough Week this Week for all too many
One of the advantages of travel is that it can make you feel more connected to the planet. In times when others in the world are suffering, it can really impact you, however. This weekend has reminded me of the fragility of human life. My thoughts and prayers go to the victims of landslide in Mocoa, Colombia. It has also been a tough week in Australia has tens of thousands have been impacted by unbelievable flooding resulting from the landfall of Cyclone Debbie. And one cannot stop thinking of all those trapped in Mosul, suffering in…
Emirates ups the ante with Triple Decker [updated at Midday]
Recently, Tim Clark, the CEO of Emirates hinted at changes to the Emirates fleet (as well as his own position). The airline runs a fleet that is made up of 777s and A380s only. In fact, they are the largest owner of the 380 with 93 flying currently and 42 on order. Today, Emirates announced the launch of the world’s first triple decker. The airline which was the first to have showers on board will be the first with a pool on board. Emirates showers are currently available only to passengers in the 14-berth…
Would you fly with this guy?
Just found these funny videos featuring Sebb Stratta, stunt pilot at Take Flight Aviation in the United Kingdom. He takes his friends up in the air and performs aerobatics with them in small planes. By this, I mean he likes to fly upside down. Amazingly his friends stay friends with him! The pilot almost seems to have a sadistic streak! Enjoy! Here is Sebb’s 2015 video Here is his 2016 video: His friend’s reactions are hilarious. Watch the guy who likes to sing when he is nervous! I wonder if they become more confident about flying…
Weird anomalies of the Weird Laptop Ban
There are a few things that are confusing about the laptop ban. The first is why have the UK and USA chosen almost completely different set of countries: UK: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia and Turkey USA: Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates. Secondly are the routing anomalies. For example, if I fly Dubai in the UAE to New York JFK direct, I now cannot carry electronics on board. However if, I fly from Dubai to London and then change on another flight from London to JFK, then I…
Crowd funding Plane and Food for Somalia- The Love Army for Somalia
What do these people and Turkish Airlines have in common? Left to right: Casey Neistat, You Tuber Ben Stiller, actor Colin Kaepernick, American football quarterback Juanpa Zarita, YouTuber Jerome Jarre, entrepreneur and Social Media Star You may have heard about the fascinating campaign they have all participated in which has raised two million dollars for food for Somalia and organised a plane to get the food there. Somalia has had a civil war running for 26 years. With a per capita GDP sitting at $274, it is one of the poorest and most tragic of failed states. This year the African…
Asian Rail Voyage Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok: Arrival
Bang Sue to Bangkok, State Railway Thailand (SRT) Second Class Scheduled Departure: 16:35 Scheduled Arrival: 17:00 25 minutes Total distance: 7 km (5 miles) After 1,500 km (900 miles) of train travel from Kuala Lumpur, I rode the last section from Bang Sue, Railway Junction, in the northern suburbs into Bangkok, the Capital of Thailand. Bang Sue, is one of the Bangkok’s fifty khets (districts), home to 125,000 people. Currently, the suburb is a construction zone as SouthEast Asia’s biggest railway station is being built with an anticipated open date of 2019. With 26 platforms, the station will be 171,000 square metres in…
UK to follow USA with laptop ban
I asked a question this morning, in relation to the ban on electronic equipment in cabin on flights from ten cities in eight countries: “How long before we see a worldwide ban on travelling with laptops?” The BBC have just announced that the UK will ban some electronic devices from the cabin for flights originating in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey. Under the new arrangements passengers will not be allowed to take into the cabin mobile phones, laptops, e-readers and tablets which are larger than: length: 16.0cm width: 9.3cm depth: 1.5cm Unlike…
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