“England and America are two countries separated by the same language” George Bernard Shaw As an Australian who speaks yet another form of English, it is a constant source of bemusement at how the English speaking world can pronounce and spell words so differently! On top of that, we sometimes name the same object very differently. Grammar Check have put this guide together for 63 words on the differences between “proper English” (as my 3rd grade teacher used to say) and American English. A good marketing tool for the company! There are some additional ones…
Challenges on the Malaysia/Thai Border- A Rail Journey through Asia Part #2
Padang Besar to Hat Yai, State Railway Thailand (SRT) Third Class Scheduled Departure: 18:00 Scheduled Arrival: 18:10 1 hour 10 min (time change at border) Total distance: 35 miles / 60 km There is now just one State Railways of Thailand train that crosses the Thai/Malay border. All previous trains no longer operate. This may change again, of course. In an ideal world, the Malaysian Railways electrified line that goes to Padang Besar should be extended all the way to Hat Yai, allowing the Express Train Service to run between Kuala Lumpur and Hat Yai. Immigration and border procedures should be conducted on…
A place for everything-Pack to Remember
When packing, have the same place for everything. Each time, put everything back in the same place. Having passport, money, in the same place makes things easier. It speeds up packing. It reduces searching and rummaging. If your bag is tampered with, then you will know if anything has been taken -and what it will be. Related Posts 113 of my free Travel Tips! Forgetting stuff Reducing Lost Luggage Problems Great Luggage App– compare luggage between airlines Travel Tip: Don’t Check in baggage
Unveiled! Now, counting down for 787-10 first flight
Despite being in commercial service for almost six years, it was only in the last six months that I finally got to fly on a 787. Now I have flown five flights with four airlines on both the 787-8 and 797-9. There are now 326 of the 787-8 and 186 of the 787-9 flying, an extraordinary delivery schedule since the first delivery. The company is now delivering 12 a month. Boeing has outsourced production of the Dreamliner to speed up the process. Parts of the plane are produced across the globe and assembled in the Everett or South Carolina.…
Aeroflot tops Most Powerful Airline Brands
I have never flown Aeroflot (or its Russian rival S7 for that matter). Concerns about safety and service have always put me off and I have never flown to Russia. This week, Brand Finance announced that Aeroflot is the most powerful airline brand in the world with a AAA Brand rating. Brand Finance believe that dominance in the Russian domestic market (the collapse of competitor Transaero in 2015 would have been a fillip for Aeroflot. Combined with a new marketing investment, a renewed fleet and Russia’s growing status as a global hub have all contributed to…
Valentines Day Singing on Board by Finnair
A heartwarming story from Finnair in the midst of the doom and gloom of the daily news. Ten of the crew on a recent AY005, Finnair’s Helsinki to New York flight were members of the Finnair Singers Club. They surprised passengers on the flight with a series of serenades and lullabies for Valentine’s Day. The Finnair Singers Club has been operating singing through the skies since 1949. This choir have performed all around the globe: Australia, Canada, India, Sweden and the USA. The singers performed a Christmas flash mob for Christmas 2015 at Helsinki Airport Gate…
Asia Rail Experience: Journey #1 – Kuala Lumpur to the Malay/Thai Border
KUL: Kuala Lumpur to Padang Besar (border of Thailand) KTMB ETS Class 93 Platinum Scheduled Departure: 10:42 Scheduled Arrival: 15:57 5 hour 15 min Total distance: 260 miles / 417 km The first part of my 1,500km 900 mile journey from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok was on Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (Malaysian Railway system) ETS “Electric Train Service“. The journey took me from the heart of the Malaysian capital to Padang Besar, on the border with Thailand. There are now only two rail services that originate in Malaysia that cross the Thai border. One is the ultra-luxury Eastern and Oriental Service and the other starts at…
Bucket List Check: 900mi By Train from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok
Bucket list… check! A journey I have been wanting to do for over a decade! Over the last week, I travelled by rail from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) in Malaysia to Bangkok (BKK) in Thailand. I have previously ridden a sleeper train from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur (before Singapore closed its main train station). Six trains took me over 1,500 km (900 miles). Travel time was 25 hours 35 minutes (including delays and wait times). It cost me $US72 for a mix of travel in First, Second and Third class. If you went for the cheapest option (which…
Check the local holidays
One of the most spectacular breakdowns by a tourist I have ever seen, was on the steps of the Mont St Michel. A woman on the “Trip of a lifetime” clung to the stairs wailing hysterically upon finding out that the Abbey was closed for the Labour day holiday. The only day of her visit coincided with one of the three days through the year when the Abbey is firmly fermé. Screaming curses down on her husband, the French and presumably God she demanded that people open up the monastery. I was fortunate enough to…
Sampling Singapore’s New Capital Express -from Canberra to the heart of Asia
CBR: Canberra, Australia to SIN, Singapore SQ292 Boeing 777-200 Scheduled Departure: 12:35 Arrival: 05:40 8 hour 5 min flight Total distance: 6,205 km/ 3,856 miles /3,351 nautical miles Canberra, the capital of Australia must be one of the few national capitals in the world to not have an network of international routes connecting it to the outside world. This means that every flight overseas from Canberra necessitates a change in Sydney (awful place to transit) or Melbourne (better) Last September, Singapore airlines added service to Wellington and Singapore four times a week dubbing it the “Capital Express”. Qatar will start service to Doha…
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