Royal Brunei Airlines’ advertising campaign asks “how far will you go”. When launched, one wonders if their advertising agency realised how far the country of Brunei would go to create their own vision of moral purity? Brunei, a tiny nation which abuts Malaysia. this week quietly unveiled a law designed to wipe homosexuals from the country. In a world where many countries are better supporting the human rights of all of their citizens, Brunei is taking a proud step backwards ignoring scientific knowledge, UN conventions and international human rights laws. From 3rd of April, 2019,…
My Musings (Sundays)
Category Archives for My Musings (Sundays).
A gorgeous walk in Stunning Auckland
Auckland gets its natural beauty from its stunning harbour. A short ferry ride from down town are the communities of Devonport and Cheltenham. Blessed with tranquility, beautiful views, lovely beaches and proximity to Auckland, these communities have been exempted from the significant developments appearing across the rest of the city. I walked a six kilometre (four mile loop) around the town. The walk took me from the ferry terminal along Devenport Beach and up to Maungauika/North Head part of the Hauraki Gulf marine reserve. A short walk down to Cheltenham Beach followed. From there, it…
China to ground 737MAX fleet
China’s Civil Aviation Administration, has reportedly asked its airlines to temporarily ground Boeing 737 Max aeroplanes following the Ethiopian Airlines crash. Many airlines, Canjing reports had already switched 737MAX flights, replacing the plane with the older (and reliable) 737-800 I think a grounding is a sensible precaution following the two similar crashes of the model in clear weather; Ethiopian yesterday and Lion back in October 2018. Two fatal crashes in five months of a brand new aircraft is too great. Such a grounding is significant. China is also one of the biggest travel markets on…
My 2019 Travel Plans -What are yours?
What are your travel plans for 2019? At this stage I plan to visit 15 countries across the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Pacific. . I plan to visit two new countries this year- probably the two will be in Eastern Europe. In Asia, I have plans to go to Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.There will be at least two diversions to Europe, one of which will involve Christmas markets! The Pacific will see me travel around Australia and New Zealand and across to the Americas. I have now flown 105 airlines. I…
Making Merit – New Year in Thailand
On January 1st, Thais in every part of the country offer food to monks at temples or public places to give themselves a good start for the year. These New-Year ceremonies pay homage to Buddha. The tradition is that the New Year is seen as a time to establish a new chapter in one’s “karma ledger“. We rose early on New Year’s Day and joined a local community’s ritual in the Northern suburbs of Bangkok. Tables were set up along the street and the offerings placed on them. There were also balloons for luck available…
Drones, Drones, Drones – How can we protect airports & skies after Gatwick?
As the world knows, Gatwick airport (the second busiest in the UK) was closed for about 36 hours on 19th and 20th December because of repeated drone sightings near the airfield. The Police said they received 115 reports of sightings with 93 confirmed as “credible” with a pilot, airport staff and police officers amongst the reporters. The risk of collision and damage with an aircraft is a nightmare scenario. The airport has a one kilometre exclusion zone around it, in which it is illegal to fly any unauthorised drones. In addition, drones must be kept…
A few of my Faves: My Top Five Global Fun Runs
I am a runner and one of the most fun things I like doing whilst traveling is running in different cities. I have run as far south as Dunedin, New Zealand and as far north as Reykjavik, Iceland. Even more than just running in a city is participating in a Fun Run in a city, I am visiting. As I staggered up a hill in Sydney, Australia during a “fun” run, I reflected on the runs I have most enjoyed participating in. I managed to work out my six favourites (two tie for third place):…
One Million Kilometres with Qantas
This week, a beautiful Melbourne, Australia to Singapore A380 flight tipped me over one million kilometres flown with Qantas. This is about a third of my total flying. No other airline comes close to the volume of business that I have given Qantas. Qantas have taken me on 421 flights around Australia and the world from as far south as Queenstown at the bottom of New Zealand to their most northern port of London. New York, Southern Africa, Dubai and Hong Kong all feature in there. Altogether I have spent almost fifty seven days inside…
Upgrading my Qantas experience-How I get Top Elite status in three round trips (almost)
I was sitting down to lunch a few years, with the family when my airline called to tell me my flight to Auckland was cancelled and I would miss my connection to Samoa. As a result, I would get to my holiday 24 hours later than planned. The good news was if I could get to the airport within the hour they could get me into the earlier flight. My brother in law drove me very quickly through Sydney streets to ensure I made this flight. Not only did Air New Zealand book me onto…
When the change fees cost more than a new ticket
On two occasions, this month, I have had the need to make future changes to flight bookings. On one booking, travel was 75 days away. Each time, the option of changing a one way flight would have cost me more than a new roundtrip ticket ! Nearly all airlines across the globe, charge a customer who wants to change the date of their flight. Usually the cheapest tickets come with a clause specifying no name or date change at all. In other words, if you want to change the date, you need to buy a…
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