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.
Continue reading Price discrimination: a challenge for travellers
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.
Continue reading Thailand visitors told: don’t ‘tip’ Immigration officers
It’s an issue that ruffles a lot of feathers: how well should you dress when you fly?
Long gone are the days when everybody wears their Sunday best when they step on an aeroplane, but surely there must be some standards.
Continue reading Should you suit up before you take flight?
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?
Continue reading When in Rome, should we speak Italian?
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.
Continue reading Top travel tip: Don’t get put in prison abroad!
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.
Continue reading Is it even possible to name a favourite travel experience?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.
Yes, I know. You did read that correctly.
Continue reading Some people like the middle seat, but I’m not buying it
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?
Continue reading Your holiday pictures don’t have to be perfect
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.
Continue reading Why tourists are not always welcome
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:
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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.
Continue reading Travel is a pleasure for all senses
After a little hesitation, I think it’s time for me to address one of the hottest topics in travel: reclining seats on aircraft (and buses).
Some people judge a seat’s comfort by the amount of recline it allows. Other people have been taking devices on to planes to ensure that the person in front of them can’t recline at all.
Who’s right, and who’s wrong? Or is there no single correct answer to that question?
Continue reading When you recline, are you stealing somebody’s space?Thailand is one of the world’s most popular holiday destinations, and it’s one of my favourite places.
Regardless of your interest — be it exploring temples, fine dining, water sports, jungle trekking or bar-hopping — you are more than likely to have a good time. But there are a few things you should know before you set out.
Continue reading Five things first-time visitors should know about Thailand
If you rely on medicine or medical equipment — be it blood-pressure tablets, asthma treatment or EpiPens for allergies — don’t simply assume that it will be available everywhere you travel.
You will certainly find that some prescription-only drugs are available over the counter in other countries, but you may find that something you really need is unavailable, overpriced, often faked or even illegal.
Continue reading Make sure you have the right medicine when you travel
Recently, I became an airline’s dream customer — the person who booked and paid for a flight but didn’t turn up at the airport.
In all likelihood, the airline was able to sell my seat again and make a small but tidy extra profit.
Continue reading How I became a budget airline’s dream passenger
“Once again, you forgot to mention the Imodium.” That was the Twitter comment about one of my posts that made me realise it’s time to go back to basics.
So, forgive me if you’ve read this before, but here are the five indispensable things to take on your travels.
Continue reading Five things you really can’t leave home without
Even though I love to travel, I’m the first to admit that it’s not without its pitfalls.
Recently, I’ve been reminded about some cases where travellers or expatriatess — usually Westerners — have got themselves into big trouble because they didn’t know what they were doing was illegal.
Continue reading Five things that can get you arrested when you travel
This might seem like a strange thing to read on a travel blog, but you shouldn’t believe everything you read, or hear, about travel.
It’s a big, bad world out there, and not everybody is being entirely honest in their posts, newspaper and magazine articles, podcasts, vodcasts, tweets, instas, Facebook Live broadcasts and so on.
Continue reading Five reasons not to believe all that travel advice
Imagine a world where we all thought the same way and did the same things. Pretty bland, eh?
And yet so many of us*, when we travel, don’t embrace the differences of the places we visit. Worse still, are those who rail against places and people they know nothing about.
It’s a mystery to most of us why airfare prices fluctuate so wildly. In this video, CNN’s Richard Quest (yes, I know, some people do find him irritating) explains why that is, and describes a newish way that you can score an upgrade.
