Based on a tip from a reader this week, I found this interesting map. Stuart Laycock, a British Historian has identified that 90% of the world’s countries were at some point invaded by the British in his book: All the Countries We’ve Ever Invaded: And the Few We Never Got Round To. Not all were captured and not all became part of the Empire. It makes a fascinating image. The nations in pink were invaded or taken over in some way at some point Related Posts Going Metric – A Startling View
Ten Busiest Airports of the World
Great video counting down the top ten busiest airports in the world. I have been to all but two of them. How many have you been to?! Related Posts 2012 Airport Top Twenty Some anomalies at Skytrax Best Airports Best and Worst Airports of 2010
Going Metric – A Startling View
This is a startling map of the reality of metric system. This system originated in France in 1799 after the French Revolution and now rules the world…except for the USA, Liberia and Burma.
Tracking the 787
If you want to know where a Boeing 787 is at any moment, Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner Flight Tracker follows every 787 that is in the skies at any point of time. The tool uses Flight Aware to display information on a Google Earth background. If you have not used Google earth before, you will have to download some software, the first time. It is a fascinating distraction. Now I want one for Airbus 380s and 747s! Related Posts Where you will find the 787 787 takes to the sky -Who, Where and Why
LATAM V Argentina
Chile’s LAN has long been my favourite Latin American airline. One year ago, they merged with Brazil’s TAM to become easily the continent’s largest carrier. The second largest carrier in the region, is Avianca/Taca then Brazil’s GOL and Brazil’s Azul (started) by Jet Blue’s founder. Aerolíneas Argentinas , one of my least favourite carriers probably sits at fifth place in the Latin market, by destination and fleet size -but not by service, quality or profitability. Rated as a three star carrier by Skytrax, its customers rate it a 2.0 out of ten. Some of my favourite customer quotes from the…
Visiting Penang, Malaysia
Whenever I said I was going to Penang, some people looked at me in confusion. Where was Penang? Was it in Indonesia? Thailand? Many had heard of it but could not quite place it. Those who have been there were universally excited by their visit. I have to admit I had one of the best holidays of my life! As always, with the places I visit, I rated Penang on six key factors. Aesthetics: 7.5/10 Penang is known as “The Pearl of the Orient” lies on the north-western coast of the Malaysian Peninsular. The state…
Sniffer Dogs Marry
When we were kids, we enlisted all sorts of people into play weddings: the cat, teddy bears, dolls etc. Now someone has done it for real. This week, 2000 invitees and 20 police dogs attended a wedding ceremony for nine pairs of dogs, in the town of Kandy, Sri Lanka. German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Labradors and Doberman took part in the wedding ceremony. The ceremony was intended to promote a programme to breed more sniffer dogs. This initiative was introduced with a aim to save foreign exchange of around Rs20 million [$US150 000] on importing high pedigree dogs from…
Trip Report: Air Asia -four times!
I have not had a good run with Air Asia and have placed them in my bottom ten airlines for the last three years. I was challenged last year by a number of Air Asia supporters so I have been determined to give them a good testing. This month, I flew two flights with Air Asia and two flights with Air Asia X, their international arm. Booking: 7 out of 10 Air Asia has an attractive website that is easy to navigate. The site even has a clear guide on how to book online.…
Considering Carry On
I was standing at the check in counter for Lufthansa at Frankfurt. The check in agent asked the passenger next to me to present his carry on bag so she could weigh it. “why? It’s just carry on” “yes sir. I need to weigh it. Sir it weighs 12kilograms. You must check it. ” “the last airline let me carry it on” “You have to remove items or check it in sir” “this has nothing to do with safety. You just want to make money. Get me your supervisor” The customer then berated the supervisor.…
No kids On Board!
We are getting used to paying for more leg room. Now Scoot (the Singapore based discount off shoot of Singapore Airlines) are offering more leg room with no children. For an extra fee, you can choose one of 41 seats in a special “Scoot in silence” cabin that bans children under 12. The cabin is located behind Business Class. Scoot started flying in 2012. They have five Boeing 777s which fly to eleven destinations through Asia and Australia. They are going to receive 20 Boeing 787s which were ordered by Singapore airlines. Skytrax have not rated Scoot yet but…
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