Plane Sailing : Page 2 of 30 : Brett Debritz's travel blog

Preparing for an invasion of tourists …

Burning off along Mae Rhampung beach in Rayong, Thailand.

One advantage of being a traveller who decides to live in the same place for more than a matter of days or weeks, is that you get to witness local rituals.

I’ve spent a lot of time in Thailand, on and off, over the past few years, and for the past few months I’ve been staying in a condo on the beach in Ban Phe, south of Bangkok. That has allowed me to see Thai people, and expatriate residents, come and go about their business and, in particular, gear up for the peak tourist season, which is nearly upon us.

A ‘bad guy’ goes to Pattaya

Updated October 12 (see footnote)

“Come on in. You will not regret it.” That was the greeting I got from Grace (pictured), the waitress at Kings Cafe not far along along Pattaya’s infamous Walking Street.

I didn’t. The pork ribs were delicious, and the beer was very refreshing.

You could be forgiven if you thought that story was going somewhere else, given the reputation of Pattaya, the former fishing village now mega beach resort about 90 minutes’ drive south of Bangkok.

Price discrimination: a challenge for travellers

In much of the world, discrimination is illegal. And rightly so.

But if you are a traveller, you’ve probably been the serial victim of one form of discrimination that is generally legal and extremely common — before you’ve even left home.

Are ‘not hot to visit’ lists accurate and fair?

Hot or not? Angkor Wat. (angkorenterprise.gov.kh)

I’ve written before that people have to make up their own minds about whether, for ethical or other reasons, they are prepared to visit certain destinations.

And I note that some governments have acted responsibly to close off areas to tourists to allow rehabilitation. Maya Bay in Thailand, famous location of the film The Beach, is one such spot. Boracay in the Philippines, is another.

But what about a a travel company issuing a “not hot list” that steers people away from certain sites and countries?

Clouds over Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Updated: October 8

A well-travelled friend once told me that the most blatant form of corruption he had ever seen was at an airport in India.

An immigration official simply put his hand out and refused to let my friend, who had all the necessary documents, through until a bribe was proffered.

How ‘incidents’ actually improve air safety

As I write this, news is coming in about a United Airlines pilot who issued a “mayday” call and had to make an emergency landing at Sydney Airport.

These sorts of headlines might concern those with a fear of flying, but in fact this incident, and others like it, should be cause for comfort.

Are Aussies giving the Middle East the miss?

Friendly crew are part of the Emirates experience. (Emirates.com)

Some bad news for Australians hoping to experience flying in an Airbus A380: Emirates, the biggest operator of these planes, is scaling back its services from Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, replacing the superjumbos with Boeing 777 aircraft.

As reported by Australian Business Traveller, this will effect people at the pointy end (or, in the case of the A380, the top deck) who won’t get the latest first-class seating or the use of a bar.

Take care when you travel, the world can be ugly

US State Department advisory map (static version, follow link for current map).

While I generally like to accentuate the positive, it has to be conceded that travel is not without its dangers.

I was reminded of this by a bizarre and frightening story from Mexico, about people in a popular resort town being beaten, stripped naked and tied to lamposts.

Where the action is: hotels with Hollywood connections

I once stayed at the Hyatt (now Andaz) hotel on Sunset in West Hollywood where, apart from seeing Axl Rose in the foyer, I visited the rooftop pool that featured in the cult film This is Spinal Tap. The so-called “riot hotel” was also the scene of many real band-behaving-badly moments back in the day.

I didn’t seek out this rock’n’roll experience (it came as part of a deal secured by a friend), but there are plenty of people who do want to stay in hotels with connections to the rich and famous.

What to do when your airline goes bust

Apart from the obvious fear-of-flying-related scenarios, what’s the worst thing that can happen to an airline passenger?

That would be the collapse of the airline, leaving you stranded and out of pocket. And, at the time of writing, that’s what has just happened with the Scandinavian budget carrier Primera.

Be prepared to have your digital devices searched

A surprise may await you on arrival at your destination next time you travel.

All travellers know, or ought to know, that they must abide by the laws of the country they are in, or are about to enter.

But laws keep on changing and it’s hard to keep up. So you may not know that some countries now can require you to take what is inelegantly described as a “digital strip search”.

Sydney first, but don’t forget the rest of Australasia

Former Australian prime minister Paul Keating once famously said: “If you don’t live in Sydney, you’re just camping out.” It would seem that many agree with him.

The New South Wales capital was named “Australasia’s leading destination” at the 25th Annual World Travel Awards held in September 2018.

Queensland cruises into the future

Artist’s impression of the new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal. (portbris.com.au)

In common with keen tourists from around the world, Australians are taking to cruising like ducks to water.

The cruise industry is the fastest-growing segment of travel and tourism — and Queensland, my home state, is jumping on the bandwagon big time.

Mixing business with pleasure

Fancy taking a photography class on the beach?

Walking along a beach in Thailand, I stumbled along what I took to be a photography class being conducted with a dozen or so very eager students and two models.

And it got me thinking about holidays that involve the opportunity to learn a new skill.

Why travel when you can fake it?

I’ve been bombarded lately with advertisements for a product that can save me all the expense and inconvenience associated with travel.

Sadly, it’s not a golden ticket valid for lifetime first-class journeys by plane, train, automobile and cruise ship, but a piece of software that promises to edit my digital photos allowing me to insert myself into any scene I like.

Bangkok and Dubai: a tale of two top tourist cities

Bangkok has topped the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index for the highest number of visitors — but it’s Dubai where the cashed-up tourists are going.

According to MasterCard, visitors stayed in Bangkok an average of 4.7 nights and spend US$173 per day during calendar 2017. The capital of Thailand attracts an average of 20 million overnight visitors in the year.

How influential are the travel ‘influencers’?

We can’t all afford the champagne lifestyles enjoyed by influencers.

Updated: October 19 (see footnote)

The world is being taken over by “influencers”. It’s especially true in the world of travel, where it seems every second person is desperate to be one.

It seems we’ve all got “influenza”, but exactly how influential are these people, and are some of them taking us — and the travel industry — for a ride?

Plane Sailing