A UK couple were forced to cancel their North Korea trip after that isolated nation closed its borders to the virus. One would assume that getting the money back from the North Korean tour company, the Chinese airlines and hotels would be a nightmare. The Time of London reports that every penny of the £2,860 (approx $US3,700) they had given to the companies in China and North Korea was refunded -within days. They were reportedly delighted. Less delightful was their experienced with UK hotel operator Premier Inns. They had booked a non refundable night for…
Weird or Wonderful
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Happy New 2020
Here’s to a safe and special year for you. Travel well and take care of yourself, others and our planet. Wherever the year takes you… Related Posts Eighty Times around the World Romantic Hoi An Living with the Tourists And Russia makes 77 Alice Springs Surrounds- a Central Australia Journey
Eighty Times around the World
Jules Verne’s character Phileas Fogg traveled by steamer, train, elephant and horse around the world to demonstrate it was possible to do so. It took eighty days. Today, I completed my 80th navigation of the globe. This is a touch over two million miles (3.2 million kilometres), a feat which has taken me just over half a century of flying. This is what it looks like: I have flown to 62 of the 80 countries, I have visited. The rest I have reached by bus, train, car and in one case foot. Importantly, my travels…
Air NZ becomes Air AllBlacks in brilliant new safety video
I have been a huge fan of Air New Zealand safety videos and have run out of superlatives for their amazing productions over the years (with one exception). But lets face it, the Qantas safety video brings a tear to my eye and the Oman ones are cool too so I may just be a softie for a good air safety video presentation. Their newest one, launched this week and which apparently took nine months to make will be hard for Aussies, South Africans and French people to sit through as it hammers home the…
Air Asia rapped over knuckles for “sex trade” ad
AirAsia began a new direct flight route between Brisbane, Australia and Bangkok, Thailand in February this year. To announce the route, the airline placed the full size bus advertisements pictured above on the government bus fleet in Brisbane. Melinda Liszewski of Collective Shout, a campaign movement against the objectification of women and girls says the ad was “promoting sex tourism” in Thailand noting that at least 250,000 men travel to Thailand for sexual services annually. We know that for every two female tourists that travels to Thailand, statistically, there are three men. The number of…
Air India calls for nationalistic onboard announcements
As the current Indian-Pakistan tension heats up and with an election looming, India’s national airline has told its crew to conclude every in-flight announcement with the patriotic phrase, “Jai Hind” (Hail the motherland). This does not inspire me to fly Air India. I am sorry I don’t want to hear “God bless America”, or “Aussie Aussie Aussie oi oi oi”, or “Rule Britannia or, “Isten, áldd meg a magyart! (“God bless the Hungarians!”) or “Vive la France”, or “Chi Chi Chi!, Le Le Le! Go Chile!” or any other nationalistic sentiment when I fly. It…
Air NZ Worst safety ad -pulled. What went wrong?
I have not met anyone who has disliked the highly creative Air New Zealand safety briefings until now. After hree months of criticism from NZ Politicians, celebrities, and the public, the airline has pulled their latest $2.5m safety ad: The video took American hip hop ground Run DMC’s 1987 hit “It’s tricky” and replaced “tricky” with “Kiwi”. The jingle was “It’s Kiwi to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that’s safe and fly,” It starred Kiwi actor Julian Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Deadpool2), local musicians Kings, Theia and Randa and talent from 30…
The Phenomenon of Begpackers: Backpackers, do not beg
As I turned the corner toward Ben Thanh Market, the Central Market in Saigon, Vietnam last Friday, I was stunned to see two European backpackers sitting by the side of the road with a sign written on cardboard. One was singing a song while the other was playing a small set of drums. The sign invited people to give them money to finance their further travel. They call these people beg packers and I have now seen them in Auckland, New Zealand; Berlin, Germany; Brisbane and Melbourne, Australia; Bangkok, Thailand; Pnom Penh and Siam Reap…
Areomexico DNA ad trolls
Aeromexico has produced a very cheeky ad. The ad shows interviews with white Texans explaining the reasons they don’t like Mexico. Then they gave those same people a DNA test to show how much Mexican blood they have in them. The airline next offers them a discount based on that percentage! Hilarious- and thought provoking.
HiFly moves to Eliminate Single Use Plastics
Hi Fly is aiming to have a single use plastic-free policy on all its flights by the end of 2019. This is welcome news for me. I cringe at how much plastic I see get disposed of on planes. And I am mortified at how much I have contributed to. On 26th December 2018, HiFly operated the world’s first plastic-free flight from Lisbon to Brazil. The carrier replaced plastic cutlery and containers with bamboo and compostable alternatives made from recycled material. They are going to test the process on three other flights: I just need…
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