It is a bit of a grim world right now, so I thought I would share a positive, beautiful, and delicious 1000-mile journey through one of my favourite countries in Sakura (Cherry blossom). Despite it being insanely busy, I enjoyed the landscapes, food, museums, shopping, temples, parks, and, of course, for this train nerd: railways! Tomorrow I will give some tips on travelling in busy Japan, and I have also included some general Japan tips garnered over multiple trips to the country. In the meantime, some adventures… Started in Yokohama, one of Japan’s most underrated…
My Musings (Sundays)
Category Archives for My Musings (Sundays).
Gulf Aviation After the Ceasefire: What Travellers Need to Know Now
A two-week ceasefire for Iran was announced on 7th April. On 9th April, several Gulf governments reported a full day without any new missiles or drones. The UAE’s defence ministry said the country was “free of any air threats” that day, after weeks of intercepting ballistic and cruise missiles and thousands of drones. Talks between US and Iranian officials are due to continue in Islamabad this weekend, and the durability of the ceasefire will depend heavily on what is agreed there. Parts of the region’s airspace are slowly reopening under very tight controls. In March,…
Crystal Balling the Gulf Crisis: How This War Could Reshape Air Travel
I should have learnt from 2020. In that year, I booked airfares in advance and, of course, could not use them. Some were refunded in cash, some were given to me as credits and some I never saw again. I was feeling very pleased with myself in 2026 because, thanks to my global schedule, I locked in excellent airfares until February 2027. Who would have predicted that March 2026 would change the world as much as March 2020?? The United States and Israel are carrying out major airstrikes on Iran, and Iran has responded with…
A Moomin Pilgrimage Through 80 Years of Finnish Magic
I just spent two amazing weeks in Finland, which remains one of my favourite countries in the world. This trip: Helsinki, Rovaniemi, and Turku. I’m still processing everything I experienced. The timber architecture of Rovaniemi, the frozen Baltic where ships should be, and now this: my Moomin pilgrimage across 80 years of Finnish magic. All my friends know I’m a huge Moomin fan. The Moomins are a family of warm‑hearted troll‑like creatures created by Finnish artist and writer Tove Jansson (1914–2001). Across novels, picture books, comics and murals, she uses Moominvalley to explore friendship, freedom…
Walking on Water! The Surreal Magic of standing where Ships Should Be: Helsinki in Winter
My Strava doesn’t lie. It shows me walking 300 metres across the water from Helsinki’s shoreline, just near Kaivopuisto in southern Helsinki, to the island of Harakka. I walked over water that is six or seven metres deep! In winter, Helsinki can spend weeks below zero Celsius, which means vast areas of the sea freeze into thick ice. The water I walked over was covered by about 1.5 metres of solid sea ice. Ice that is strong enough for people to walk, ski, and even cycle across. A whole harbour below me! Surreal and exciting.…
Seventeen Mega Groups: How Airline Consolidation could rewire the World
In my last post, I showed how the airline industry has consolidated significantly, with most European and US airlines falling into just three mega-groups that control a significant share of the world’s seats. But the consolidation appears nowhere near over. The airline industry is genuinely hard to forecast. Hub airports, widebody fleets, equity stakes, and airline alliances play out over 10 to 20-year lifespans. The economic forecasts they are built on are inherently uncertain, however. Demand, fuel prices, regulation, geopolitics, industrial issues, climate policy, or air accidents can derail what looked like a sure path…
Grounded for Good: The Airlines That Didn’t Survive 2025
For over a decade, I’ve been keeping note of which airlines go out of business each year. Do you recognise any of these? Air BelgiumBelgium. Founded: 2016. Commenced: 2018. Passenger operations ceased: 2024 (bankruptcy). Passenger flying had already stopped following the 2024 insolvency. After that, it was limited to wet‑lease and cargo work. In 2025, it finally vanished. Aerolínea Lanhsa Honduras. Founded: 2009. Commenced: 2010. Ceased: 7 April 2025. Aimed to connect the Hondouran capital, Tegucigalpa, with coastal and island destinations such as Roatán and La Ceiba using three turboprops. On 17 March 2025, Flight…
Come on lets do better! Watching terrible passenger behaviour
Some things drive me quietly mad. In 2025, I’ve watched travellers with the fascination usually reserved for wildlife documentaries. This includes territorial battles, questionable public grooming and aggression. Travel is back in business, but it feels like basic manners clearly missed the memo. Passenger behaviour is objectively worse than pre‑pandemic, and slightly worse than 2022, but there is also more enforcement and more media shining a light on it. IATA’s own data shows that unruly incidents have jumped in a very short period, from about one incident every 835 flights in 2021 to roughly one…
“Where are you?” Ten Amazing and Two Terrible Travel Moments of 2025
Once the travel bug bites, there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life Michael Palin I know I have a reputation when people message me and ask not “how are you?” but “where are you?” This year’s answer included going to 27 countries around the globe: from Brazil and South Africa in the south, to Finland and Norway in the north, Japan in the east, and Colombia in the west. This wasn’t an easy year, but what a journey it has been. Ranked…
After 300 Airports, Here Are the Best and Worst
After many decades of flying, I’ve now passed through 300 airports. It’s a slightly ridiculous milestone, but it does give me a bit of authority when I say what makes a great airport and what makes a terrible one. There are seven things that win me over with airports: 1. Effortless passenger movement I have a visceral reaction to moving through Terminal 3 at Heathrow. Hell, for me, would be walking its long, narrow corridors, passing under its yellow signs and climbing the same stairs to security again and again. The whole terminal makes me…
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