I wrote a few weeks ago that I have been to 212 unique airports in 48 countries. Each of these airports, like most airports across the world has a three letter code which appears at ticketing, on documents and in airline routing procedures. Some codes are obvious eg SYD for Sydney or SFO for San Francisco and some of these codes can be quite obscure. eg EZE is Buenos Aires or IAD is Washington Dulles or ORD is Chicago O’Hare. If I am ever unsure of an airport code, there are two places I turn:…
Travel Tips (Monday)
Category Archives for Travel Tips (Monday).
Know your Emergency Response Numbers
As I was driving through New Zealand today, I observed a motor accident where a guy drove off the road. There were other New Zealand witnesses who immediately called the police and ambulances who responded very efficiently. It crossed my mind if a foreign tourist had been the witness, would they have known the numbers to call? It is 111 in New Zealand. I remember a news report about an Englishman who died in Australia. He had been alone when he had had a heart attack. The police found he had been repeatedly dialing 999, the UK…
Airline route maps in one spot
This may be worth bookmarking. Airfare watchdog has links to around 200 airline route maps. From Adria Airways to Yemenia It is mostly accurate! I tweeted them this week to let them know of a couple of out of date links. All the big ones are there (eg American Airlines, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Emirates, Etihad, Lufthansa, United Airlines) plus some smaller ones (eg Nature Air, Regional Express). There are a few missing carriers (Scoot, Air Malindo). Related Posts Mapping 10 Busiest Air Routes of 2012 Picturing Air Routes Navigating Airports – My favourite Apps
Navigating Airports – My favourite Apps
I blogged a couple of weeks ago about how I use airports as a place to walk for exercise, people watch and plane spot. I have spent a lot of time in airports and am keen to maximise my productivity. When travelling through airports, these are the apps I go to: Tripit has been my go to app for five years now and I must admit, I completely rely on it. By forwarding my flight and hotel confirmations to Tripit, the app organises them into complete itineraries that I can access via phone or laptop or even print paper…
Getting Exercise- A walking guide to world airports
I don’t like spending much time in airports. Every minute in an airport feels like a minute wasted! I mentioned last week, however, that I use spare time in airports to help build fitness whilst flying by using the experience to build toward my 7 to 10 thousand daily step goal. I even sacrifice riding in the airport shuttle trains to achieve this. As a train nut, this is a sacrifice! Walking also enables me to people watch and plane spot. Let’s face it, using the time to get exercise is probably better than being a couch…
Avoiding weight scale shock
I gazed at the line at a hotel buffet in Perth, Australia and observed that almost every person in the line was overweight. Some were clearly just a little bit over their weight and others were in a concerning level. We know that being overweight increases the risk of many health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers. I know that frequent travel increases the chance that weight will build up. Much time being sedentary, poor food choices at many airports and the temptation to enjoy exotic foods all contribute to weight gain risks. My…
100 Free Travel Tips
As a travel geek, I have gained a lot of learnings and experience from 60 countries, three war zones, 1064 flights, multiple long distance train, bus and boat journeys and 21 suitcases! One of my motivations for blogging is sharing what I have learnt so that travel is easier and safer for others. Here are 100 of my travel tips arranged in ten key categories: Planning Booking Travel Tools Accommodation Money Luggage En Route Attitude Safety and Security At Your Destination Any suggestions or requests welcomed. 1. Planning Stop Wishing and Do it- Life’s Bucket…
Five Charities for a better world
This might sound Pollyanna-esque but as a traveller, I want to see a better world. I travel to learn more about this world and further the lot of myself and others. I support the work of others in creating a better world. As I come to the start of the year, I wanted to share five international charities that travellers should consider supporting as part of our travel adventures. (I also encourage people to support the charitable group I work for but that is a different story!) The Railway Children First came across them in India. Linked to…
Taking Notes en Route
The older I get, the more I realise, I will not remember the name of the random person I met on the airport bus or the book they recommended or the walking tour guide’s name, or the artist whose sculpture I loved. I need to record it in some way on the spot. I used to write it down in my diary or travel journal but in this electronic age, there are my three favourite note programs. These are my top three: Evernote has been stable mate. It allows me to photograph things and imbed them…
Don’t choose hotels just on cost
Out of the 1000+ nights, I have spent in hotels, I have only been disappointed on nine occasions and of those six were chosen by my client! And I suspect their major motivating factor was cost! In our modern cost conscious world, hotel choices are often made on the basis of their cost alone. The number of accounts departments that enforce decisions about accommodation on this factor alone are numerous. Assuming the hotel itself is not a flea ridden unpleasant place, there are five factors I consider and argue for with my travel and that of my staff:…
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