I’ve written quite a lot about the importance of showing respect for your destination and its people when you travel. But, of course, it’s a two-way street.
Your hosts should also respect you. And that means that they probably shouldn’t poke fun of you on national television.
Continue reading Tourists deserve a little respect, too
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Thailand, and that I’d urge anybody who hasn’t visited to seriously consider doing so. However, as with every travel destination, there are risks that you should keep in mind.
Maybe I’m not wired like everybody else, but I sometimes have difficulty following maps, whether they be old-fashioned printed ones or on websites and apps.
Take this map posted on Twitter by New Scientist magazine to demonstrate some early form of tourism — the evolution and movement of different hominids who existed before modern humans.
Continue reading How maps sometimes make travel more difficult
It seems like a case of damned if they do, damned if they don’t. Here’s a news story about a cruise line that’s under fire because it ruined a family’s holiday when it refused to allow two sick children to board.
And yet the same web site — and many others — regularly runs stories (such as this and this) about large numbers of passengers whose holidays are ruined because they got norovirus (“gastro” in Australian headline-writing parlance) on cruise ships.
Continue reading Spreading it around: why cruise lines ban sick people
With the launch next year of a new contender for the title of world’s biggest cruise ship, the question arises: just how big can a passenger vessel be?
Royal Caribbean, which already has more megaships than any other company, is gearing up to launch Symphony of the Seas, and its vital statistics are incredible.
The United Kingdom has changed its travel advice for Oman, and it’s worth knowing about even if you’re not British.
The new advice focuses on laws in the Arabian Gulf nation regarding personal morality.
Airlines and the environment have an uneasy relationship. Despite economies and advances in fuel technologies, there are fewer bigger polluters than jet airplanes.
It sometimes rings a little hollow when airlines boast about their environmental credentials, so it’s nice to hear any news of a “green” initiative.
News that the search for Malaysian airlines Flight MH370, which went missing on March 8, 2014, has been suspended must be heratbreaking for the families of the passengers and crew.
It also means that some important questions about airline safety may be left unanswered.
Ever since commercial air travel became a reality, we have been teased by the promise of faster and faster flight times.
In the 1970s, it became a reality with supersonic flight on Concorde. But only two airlines ever offered the service, it wasn’t commercially viable and, after a big accident, it was discontinued.
So in a world where we expect everything to be better, what is next?
All ttavellers know that not all passports are equal. Some people have free access to foreign countries via via-on-arrival agreements, while others have to go to a lot of trouble and expense to organise visas in advance.
Every year, Arton Capital releases its Passport Index, which ranks the useful of national passport on the basis of the number of countries they can get you into. This year’s figures has just been released, and you may be surprised which documents are the most powerful.
There are all sorts of tours for all sorts of interests. Many of them have culinary themes, and others — like ghost tours — can be quite morbid.
I’m not quite sure how this one fits in: an open-top double decker bus tour of London street meat eateries.
Although airline incidents are rare, and flying is statistically much safer than driving, we all sometimes have concerns when we fly.
I know a few people who refuse to fly with certain airlines because of a past incident or a belief that there is a greater risk of an accident.
So lists like that of the world’s safest airlines are eagerly read.
We’ve been hearing a lot lately about driverless cars: how they are being trialled by big names like Google and Uber in the United States, in Singapore and Dubai, and how their wide acceptance is just around the corner.
However, one car manufacturer says fully driver-free vehicles are a long way down the track — for one simple reason.
Despite the fact that more and more people remain, or become, single well into their adult years, most travel deals are still offered on a per-person, twin-share basis.
Quite often, that fact is buried deep into the fine print on the brochure or website, and many people have begun the booking process to find that that bargain journey is only going to be a bargain if they can find a friend.
Marine life conservation will be a priority at the new SeaWorld on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, which is scheduled to open in 2022.
The park, a joint venture between the American company and the UAE’s Miral Asset Management, will join a growing number of attractions on the island, which is already home to a Formula 1 race track, concert arena, water theme park and an attraction devoted to Ferrari vehicles.
Mohamed Al Zaabi, chief executive of Miral, said there would be a strong emphasis on rescue and rehabilitation of marine life.
Let’s hear it for the travel agents, including the giant Thomas Cook chain, for putting the welfare of animals ahead of profit opportunities.
Thomas Cook has recently reaffirmed its commitment to the Global Welfare Guidance for Animals in Tourism from ABTA, the UK travel association.
Are people becoming afraid of having fun?
A accident that killed four people on a ride at Dreamworld on Australia’s Gold Coast has reportedly led to a decline in the number of theme park visitors.
16 November
The world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean’s Harmony of the Seas, has been officially named in Miami, Florida.
In an update of an age-old “christening” ceremony, Brittany Affolter, a 23-year-old teacher who is the ship’s godmother, pushed a button that led to a champagne bottle being broken over the ship.
15 November
Winners have been announced in the 2016 edition of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.
14 November
The hobby of “brown signing” is being celebrated in Britain via the annual calendar of the Dull Men’s Club.
The 2017 calendar, the first to feature women, includes a picture of Amanda Hone, 36, who has an obsession with the brown signs that point the way to points of interest to tourists.
Ms Hone said: “Soon after leaving university I quit my job, saved up some money and spent a year travelling around Britain following brown signs.”
She runs a website that lists all the brown signs in the United Kingdom.
