Bang Sue to Bangkok, State Railway Thailand (SRT) Second Class Scheduled Departure: 16:35 Scheduled Arrival: 17:00 25 minutes Total distance: 7 km (5 miles) After 1,500 km (900 miles) of train travel from Kuala Lumpur, I rode the last section from Bang Sue, Railway Junction, in the northern suburbs into Bangkok, the Capital of Thailand. Bang Sue, is one of the Bangkok’s fifty khets (districts), home to 125,000 people. Currently, the suburb is a construction zone as SouthEast Asia’s biggest railway station is being built with an anticipated open date of 2019. With 26 platforms, the station will be 171,000 square metres in…
UK to follow USA with laptop ban
I asked a question this morning, in relation to the ban on electronic equipment in cabin on flights from ten cities in eight countries: “How long before we see a worldwide ban on travelling with laptops?” The BBC have just announced that the UK will ban some electronic devices from the cabin for flights originating in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey. Under the new arrangements passengers will not be allowed to take into the cabin mobile phones, laptops, e-readers and tablets which are larger than: length: 16.0cm width: 9.3cm depth: 1.5cm Unlike…
US Electronics Ban -what to do if You are a Passenger
As I blogged about earlier today, The United States has announced today that any electronic item larger than a phone will be banned from cabins on all flights from ten airports in eight Middle Eastern countries. Check if you are flying from or through any of the ten affected airports to the USA. It is important to note it only applies at this stage to flights to the USA. So if you are flying New York to Dubai for example, the rules do not apply to you. If you feel uncomfortable or concerned with flying…
US Electronics Ban on MidEast originating flights
– This morning US time, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) issued an emergency security directive banning on certain electronic gadgets being taken brought into cabins on some flights to the USA. Of course, we knew about the ban already, because Royal Jordanian tweeted about it yesterday! Where they got the information from and why they announced it is a mystery. They also were in error suggesting that the ban applied to US originating flights. There has been a suggestion they inadvertently published information from a TSA circular that was…
Photos en route- showing respect
Picture this (particularly parents) Your 15 yo is sitting at the bus stop outside the corner shop 150metres from the school gates. She is sitting talking to her best friend. Probably gossiping. Probably not talking about homework! The location is a transport hub. Behind the shops is the ferry wharf and about 600 metres (650 yards) away is the train station. From the train station comes a foreign tourist in his late 20s/early 30s and his girlfriend. You can tell he is a tourist. Talking loudly in a foreign language, dressed in holiday clothes and…
All About New Low Cost Carrier “Level”, the new IAG airline
A new airline is always interesting. When it is backed up and owned by IAG, International Airlines Group which also owns Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling, this is even more interesting. IAG announced last year they would be starting a Long Haul Low Cost Carrier. This week, the name was revealed. It will be called “LEVEL” and will start flying in June this year. LEVEL (I am not sure about the name personally) will join other low-cost carriers like AirAsiaX, Jetstar, Norwegian and Scoot by offering long haul flights. Most Low-Cost Carriers are…
Quarter Million dollar mouse stops aeroplane
The poor old mouse has had a rough time through history but always seems to make it out on top. I was fascinated/bemused by the announcement that a mouse probably ended up costing British Airways 290,000 Euro last week. Flight BA285, was due to leave London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 at 10:40am on 1st March for San Franciso. Just before push back, a mouse was found on board. Because mice can gnaw through the wiring on aeroplanes, a wide-ranging check had to done before the plane could take off. There are thousands of cables on a…
Snug & Comfy Thai Sleeper train Surat Thani to HuaHin
Last month, I travelled by train, the 1,500 km (900 miles) km from Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia to Bangkok, the Capital of Thailand. Stopping off along the way, the six train trips took 25 hours 35 minutes and it cost me $US72. The longest section (by time) was from Surat Thani, the jumping off place for beautiful Koh Samui up to the lovely resort town of Hua Hin. I chose to ride this section in a brand new Chinese-built First Class sleeping car. Scheduled Departure: 23:57 Arrival: 06:26 – 6 hour 29 min ride Total distance: 300 miles / 1,671…
Protect yourself: Robbers tell how they snatch
A new video produced by Thong Lor police in Thailand graphically illustrates how easy it is for thieves to snatch phones, bags and valuables. It is useful viewing for tourists irrespective of where your destination is. Based on confessions by real suspects with advice from the police, the video explains how you can reduce the chances of being a victim. It is well worth the first two minutes 22 seconds which are subtitled in English, of the three and a half minute video. There are three things that make a crime possible, according to Thai Police:…
Trust and travel
Trust is a commodity that is breaking down or under attack. I see posts that describe people who don’t agree with us as traitors. I had someone comment on one of my posts telling me that I am a ” liberal snowflake” whatever that means. (I don’t think the term translates into Australian)! Someone else on the same blog told me that my “right wing bias” was showing. I must have hit the right note! We currently spend time telling kids to be who they want to be and we trust them in their choices.…
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