I have ridden the rails in Africa, the Americas,Asia, Australia and Europe in steam trains to TGVs! Today’s report talks about a train ride in Myanmar (Burma) from Mandalay (the country’s second biggest city located in the centre of the map) to Bagan (the tourist and spiritual heart of the country located southwest of Mandalay). This ride has to be simultaneously one of the best, worst and funniest rail journeys I have ever done! Some websites warn tourists that trains in Myanmar are expensive compared to buses, slow, uncomfortable, dirty, noisy and smelly. True. Others extol…
Protecting Data & Identity On the Road
When I first travelled, I carried a moneybelt into which I put my passport and money. I knew having my money or documents stolen put me at risk. I no longer wear a money belt having developed other strategies (but still keep my stuff safe). Today there are a group of thieves that aren’t interested in pickpocketing but instead want your bank account details and computer passwords. Travellers can be very vulnerable. We need strategies to avoid these targets. Here are some. 1. Choose Passwords wisely According to password management company SplashData, the top…
Visiting Myanmar Reflections and Advice
“This is Burma, and it will be quite unlike any land you know about.” Rudyard Kipling, 1889 My 59th country was the mysterious land of Myanmar (Burma). This country has been cut off from the world for most of it’s existence, more lately by an inward focussed military regime. Sadly that regime has seen one of the richest countries in Asia slide into poverty. Average GDP per person is a mere $1000 per annum with a massive gap between people at the top and the bottom of the tree. Yet Burma was rich. The temples…
MH 370 – THE report – Key Findings
A preliminary report on MH370, submitted to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has been made public. There is not a lot of new information in the main report. In the accompanying materials there is some new content. A press conference was held earlier today. Malaysian time, with Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein outlining the information released and the next steps. Released with the preliminary report were audio recordings of conversations between air traffic controllers and the pilots of the 777. There are no indications of concern in the voices of the pilots. A document was…
Road to Mandalay
“For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say: ‘Come you back, you British soldier; come you back to Mandalay!’” Despite writing this very famous poem, Rudyard Kipling never stepped foot in Mandalay. This city 716 km (445 miles) north of Yangon (previously known as Rangoon) was the capital of Myanmar (Burma) from 1857 to 1885. At that time, the British annexed the country , exiled the royal family, made the country part of India and moved the capital to Rangoon. As per usual, with every city I visit I rate the city in comparison…
Southwest Airlines Attendant grabs safety attention
Southwest Airlines does it again! The airline is renowned for entertaining passengers with their staff commentary, attention and care. They now have a few examples of creative ways of keeping passenger attention during safety demonstration. This one “brings the house down” with her patter! The big question for me is will the passengers remember what she said if they need the instructions in an emergency? Related Posts Air NZ Bears it Fly Hobbits Fly Back to the 80s with Air NZ’s newest safety video Funny Safety Briefings Five Fun Safety Briefings …
Flight 1000 utter mix up!!
I kind of hoped for more from my 1000th flight… Check in After disembarking from a magnificent Emirates flight from Kuala Lumpur, I wheeled my small case into the Qantas lounge at Melbourne airport. The International and Qantas domestic terminals are right next door to each other making it one of the easiest airports in the world to connect! Much better than Sydney connections). I had already checked in on-line but wanted to see if I could get a bulkhead seat. After glancing at my frequent flyer card and tapping at his keyboard, the…
What to do with left over foreign coins?
One of the annoyances of travelling international is the amount of “small change” that can accumulate. In some countries, coins are used instead of small notes so at the end of a trip, you can have a surprisingly large amount of money tied up in coinage. There is a limit as to how many of these coins one wants to collect for souvenir purposes and these coins are “virtually” worthless on return as most money changers and banks only accept notes in foreign exchange transactions. Options- Spend, Save, Give Learn the coinage of the country…
My 999th Flight
Just flew my 999th flight from Kuala Lumpur back to Australia with the magnificent Emirates. In many cultures 999 is a lucky number. Tomorrow I will fly for the 1000th time. That flight will also be my 291st flight with Qantas airways. I celebrate a half century this year, so on average, I have flown 20 times per year – about twice a month! I was three when I first flew and there were some years when I flew 100+ times and other years when my feet did not leave the ground. I have flown with 89 airlines since…
Virgin Australia: No Hijack
From the Virgin Australia website: “Reports that Virgin Australia flight VA41 was hijacked en route from Brisbane to Denpasar are completely incorrect. The Boeing 737-800 aircraft landed safely at Denpasar airport at 15.16 local and all 137 passengers and 7 crew have since disembarked. At no point was the safety of the aircraft in question. “There was a disruptive passenger on board and the pilot notified authorities in advance of landing, as per standard operating procedures. The passenger was unarmed and is now in the custody of the Indonesian authorities.” Related Posts Ethiopian Hijacker arrested- Airport closed-All…
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