Stepping off my Malaysia airlines flight yesterday at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, I discovered that I have hit a milestone. I have flown just over 4,000 hours in my life. According to Flightmemory, this is five and a half months I have sat inside tubes of metal. To be extra nerdy, I have flown the equivalent of 71 times around the earth or seven times the distance to the moon. Coincidentally, in the next month, I will celebrate a half century of flying. My first flight was, as a very young child from Kirkwall, Orkney…
My Musings (Sundays)
Category Archives for My Musings (Sundays).
Living with Social Media -Ten Commandments
I like Social Media (I am a blogger after all and am connected to Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!). It seems to me that there are lots of positives about Social Media connecting within friends,sharing ideas with many instantly etc etc. There are also four major negatives associated with Social Media for us users: 1. It is HIGHLY ADDICTIVE- social media companies have a financial incentive to create services that create compulsive behavior among their users. (Noting that I gain some income from the pages you visit on my blog) 2. It is…
British Airways BA1484 All Women Flight for IWD 2018
To mark International Women’s Day, British Airways brought together 61 women from across the airline for the UK’s biggest ever all-female flight. BA1484 from London to Glasgow included women working as baggage handlers, pilots and cabin crew, loaders and push back teams, air traffic control security and airport teams. I would like to see an aviation world where this is not such an unusual occurrence. Have you flown with an female crew with any airline?
China was the 75th Country I have visited!
After just over half a century of travelling, I have visited my 75th country. An average of 1.5 countries per year through my life. I think this puts me in the top 1 percent of travellers vis a vis countries visited! 27 of those countries are in Asia with 24 countries in Europe, 11 in Central and North America, seven in the Pacific region, four in Africa and just two in South America. Apparently, the average Australian has visited six countries. This is lower than the average Brit (10 countries), but higher than the average…
100,000+ miles to 9 countries-Overview of My 2017 Travel Year
I remarked recently to a friend that this had been a very quiet year for me for flying. “A quiet year?”, he repeated with a wry smile noting this year I visited nine countries- mostly in Asia. Four were very familiar: Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and five were new for me: China, Finland, Japan, Lao and The Philippines. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them but would be less likely to return to Lao than the others. I flew 50 times this year -around once a week. This is lower than my average 88 flights per year…
My New Year’s Eve 2017 Sorted!
Each year choosing a destination to ring in the new year usually comes down to where we can find the best deal and/or where I can cash in some Frequent Flyer points. I have now celebrated NY Eve in 15 different cities including Sydney, Australia, Dallas, Texas and Cebu, Philippines. Thanks to some excess Delta points, I was never going to use, we are off to Shanghai, China for the Western New Year 2017/2018. This will be the first time I have actually set foot in China (as opposed to traveling through). China will be the …
Measuring Star, Skyteam, One World – Which is the “BEST” airline alliance?
Every airline passenger will have seen the name and logos of the three big airline alliances carrying almost two out of three of the world’s airline passengers. The names adorn planes, airline marketing materials, boarding passes, in flight magazines and airport signs. All three of the big US airlines (American, Delta and United) are linked to one of the alliances. In Europe, it is the same with the three major airline groups. There are also three smaller and newer alliances: U fly, Vanilla, Value. I list of all the members of the alliances at the…
Las Vegas Shock
Like most of the world, I am in a state of shock over Las Vegas. The numbers are boggling. At least 50 people who were enjoying themselves have had their lives snuffed out. Over 400 have gone to hospitals. Accusations and recriminations won’t bring back the dead. Reflection and wisdom will prevent future actions like this. Thoughts and prayers to all those affected and impacted.
I have joined Instragram
I have finally joined Instagram! Who else is an Instagrammer? Please do follow me: https://www.instagram.com/martinjcowling10/
3 September 1967: Sweden switches Road sides
I have been having an on-going debate with a US friend about which is the best side of the road to drive on. I have lived most of my life in left hand driving countries. Most of the world, however, drives on the right. Fifty years ago today, Sweden switched the side of the road they drove on from left side to the right side. This fascinating video explains that “fateful day”: These images show the impact on streets: Stockholm’s tram system was shut down as a result of the change. It was resurrected in…
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