Plane Sailing : Page 3 of 30 : Brett Debritz's travel blog

When in Rome, should we speak Italian?

The Flavian Ampitheatre (Colosseum) in Rome.

Before I took my first European trip, I invested in a phrase book, and I taught myself how to order a coffee and a beer in four languages. As it turned out, it wasn’t necessary, although my tortured pronunciation did provide some light relief for the locals.

As a native English speaker, I have a big advantage everywhere I travel: I talk the language much of the world already knows or is keen to learn. But is it simply lazy, or even disrespectful, to try to get by with English when you travel?

Is your favourite museum on this list?

The Rosetta Stone is one of the British Museum’s many drawards.

TripAdvisor has issued a new list. Now, I take both TripAdvisor and lists with a grain of salt, but I’m prepared to have a look and have my say.

This one offers up the world’s Top 25 museums. It’s a big call, but it’s interesting to me both because it mentions a few I know nothing about, and excludes (or gives low rankings to) some of my favourites.

Titanic auction is a sign of an ongoing fascination

More than 100 years after the “unsinkable” RMS Titanic sank, a collection of over 5,500 items salvaged from its wreckage is about to go under the hammer.

That there are many bidders, private and public, for the collection speaks a lot about our fascination with grand ocean liners in general and the Titanic in particular.

You can stop the music: one airline just did

We all know that flying isn’t what it used to be. Under pressure from increased competition, especially from budget carriers, all airlines are making cuts.

We’ve all got used to narrower seats, paying for meals, drinks and luggage, and generally being made to feel less special when we fly. But has enough finally become enough?

Spelling mistake or high-flying PR stunt?

Updated

It’s a wise airline that knows its own name. Or is it?

I’m probably not the first, or only, person to suspect that Cathay Pacific orchestrated the error in spelling on the side of one of its aircraft that got great play on social media.

What expats say, and what they really mean

I’ve spent most of the past decade, and a few scattered years before then, as an expatriate or itinerant traveller.

And anyone who’s been in my shoes knows that, for the most part, the experience is wonderful. But for some people, especially those on low wages or in retirement, living abroad can be a matter of making the best of a not-ideal situation.

Top travel tip: Don’t get put in prison abroad!

(Probably not) Socrates’ prison cell in Athens.

We all like to let our hair down (in my case, figuratively) when we are on holidays. But sometimes a bit of harmless fun can go very wrong.

The latest case involves two young British women who spent three days in a Greek prison cell after what they claimed was a harmless prank. Such stories are not uncommon.

Is it even possible to name a favourite travel experience?

Petra: one of the world’s may great destinations.

I recently got asked on Quora.com: Where did your favourite cruise take you?

I gave my answer and I stand by it — but, on reflection, I realise that it’s almost impossible to name a favourite cruise, or a favourite travel experience of any kind, because they are all so different. And that’s what makes travel fun and compelling.

How to travel like an adult

When you reach a certain age, you really should travel in style.

It’s come to my attention that a serious newspaper is doing a series of feature articles about backpacking.

Now, I happen to know that young people don’t read newspapers, so I can only assume that the editors of this publication have either made a gross misjudgment about its audience or they actually expect adults to participate in primitive travel behaviour.

Some people like the middle seat, but I’m not buying it

Social media drew my attention to this story on Nerdwallet about why some passengers actually prefer to sit in the dreaded middle seat on an aircraft.

Things ain’t what they used to be. when it comes to airline seating.
(Copyright holder unknown. Source: worksthatwork.com)

Yes, I know. You did read that correctly.

What to do when your server is self-serving

A while ago I used to review bars for a newspaper — somebody had to do it — and I still remember one venue where I got particularly annoyed about the standard of customer service.

Actually, it wasn’t the customer service, it was the self-serving attitude of the bar staff that got to me.

An older colleague and I went to this Brisbane city pub for lunch. There were only two other customers — two men who seemed to be in their 70s, who were watching horse-racing on the television.

A behaviour checklist for tourists in Thailand

(This is an edited version of an answer I gave on quora.com.)

Be respectful when you visit religious sites and you’ll be OK.

Thinking of travelling to Thailand? Here are a few things you should know about the law.

Should ‘woke’ tourists boycott some destinations?

Not so long ago, some people were calling for a tourist boycott of Myanmar because it was a military dictatorship that subjugated its people. We should, many argued, deprive them of tourist income until political change occurs.

Well, political change did come, and the country now ostensibly has a civilian government. But the military is still all-powerful, and Myanmar still has a huge human rights problem. So, what to do?

Your holiday pictures don’t have to be perfect

One of the first investments many travellers make is a good camera. That makes sense, because we all want to share and take home some great memories.

But is it really necessary to sweat about getting the “right” picture? Isn’t it sometimes better to just enjoy the moment?

Why tourists are not always welcome

No sex please, we’re German. The Hofbrauhaus is at the centre of Munich’s festivities.

The tourism industry is a big contributor to the economies of many countries. But that comes at a price.

When you welcome a large number of tourists, you risk spoiling your own natural surroundings and sacrificing some of your cultural heritage.

Five things to consider before you book your next holiday

Is this the kind of vacation experience you want?

Travel is cheaper than it used to be, so most of us can afford to take some kind of holiday. But no matter how flush you are with cash, or how time-rich you are, you can still make a costly mistake.

Here are a few things to consider before you commit:

Imagine you’re on a plane and you’re in the zone for a 17-hour nonstop flight from Perth, Australia to London, England.

And then after just over an hour into the flight, somebody on board (allegedly) behaves so badly that the plane has to turn around and take you to back to your departure point. You’d be pretty annoyed, right?

Well, that’s what happened on Qantas Flight 9, the much-touted fast way to the UK from Western Australia.

When I’m flying, I like to get to the airport early. Apparently, according to online reports sparked by a tweet, this is a “dad” thing.

And that’s supposedly not good. But I beg to differ.

The hearty, warming food and drink add to the Russian experience.

When we travel, we usually talk about seeing new places. But the reality is that it involves just more than one sense.

I was reminded of this in a mundane way when a woman pointed at a stall on the side of a road in Ban Phe, near where I am currently staying in Thailand, and asked me if I knew what fruit was being sold.

On the (baht) buses …

My continuing adventures in Thailand’s Rayong province, where I am staying until November …

Note to self: the yellow ones goes to Klaeng.

Today I went to Klaeng. I didn’t mean to go to Klaeng, but I did.I caught the “baht bus” from Mae Ramphung Beach to Sukhumvit, where I crossed to road and hailed another baht bus heading in the right direction. I said to the driver, “Ban Phe?”, my intended destination, but didn’t get any reaction. That’s OK, I thought. I probably said it incorrectly.

Plane Sailing