Happy New Years from…..a plane!

 

Fireworks over the Charles' Bridge in Prague!

Where did you welcome in 2011? Well me? Me? Well in Vermont of course! That was an experience that consisted of two Americans, a Brit, a Canadian and a Bermudian walking into a pub……

No it’s not a joke, but it turned into one! It turned into one sick sea bass and three destroyed Kobe steaks……my story will all become clearer in my post another day.

For today it’s all about Robyn’s second Wanderer, Nicola Arnold. Where did this world ranger spend her New Year’s Eve? On a plane of course! Here is Nicola’s New Year’s post:

 

Nicola on her camel in India! (a previous trip of course!)

Greetings from Heathrow Airport in England, and a Happy 2011 to one & all!

My New Year’s Eve was spent on a jumbo jet, flying from Johannesburg to London, and to tell the truth – I quite enjoyed it! The last few years, New Year’s Eve parties have been a bit hit-or-miss, and I don’t mind spending NYE with friends and toasting with a glass of bubbly… hold the orange juice!

On the flight, we enjoyed a flute of champagne on our 10 hour flight (we meaning my parents and myself). The stewardess brought some at midnight (South African time), for those brave souls who resisted sleep and pulled all-nighters watching movies. I pride myself on being one of those movie-watchers on flights, even if I pay for it the next day. I indulged in a few children’s movies, such as Despicable Me (but I have to admit I fell asleep halfway through and had to re-watch the ending) … plus one of my old favourites, Monsters. Inc.

[On the subject of movies, I watched my first 3D movie in South Africa on a night at the movies with my cousins… TRON: Legacy. I know, I know, a guy’s movie, and I was with 4 male family members… but hey, I enjoyed the graphics and animation! Plus we watched the original 1982 version beforehand so we saw the leaps & bounds that technology has made in the movie-making world.]

So onward the journeys go! Right now, we’re ready to hop on another flight to Amsterdam to wander the canals, check out Anne Frank’s old digs and perhaps take photos in a mammoth-sized-Dutch-clog (I know one exists in the city, I just do not remember where). Then the last leg of the journey brings us back to England for a few days.

Next time I write, it will be from Bermuda – home sweet home!

Heathrow is sorry for sewage-covered-bags

Flying over the Glaciers of Patagonia, Chile.

You know that when you go on a trip, if you’re not a miniature business passenger or an incredibly resourceful vacationer, you are usually checking a bag.

In the good old days, i.e. about five years ago, this meant whatever you wanted. I remember when I moved myself from Rome to London on the discount airline Ryan Air. What did that mean?

It meant at least 50 kilos of clothes, books, and other “necessary” items. Now? Well now if I have over 10 kilos in a check-in I am turning into the marshmallow woman. Check-in bags? That will cost an extra $50 on top of my ticket.

And they’re not alone. Now Air Canada wants to charge you to check-in a second bag. American Airlines has.

And British Airways already did.

So you’d think with all these added fees someone might actually pay attention?

Well they didn’t at Heathrow’s Terminal One. Most Bermudians fly through Gatwick (our only way with British Airways), but here’s a warning if you transfer.

Just this week, not only did 240 people have to probably pay for these bags to go under the plane, they also had the added a free covering of raw sewage!!

Yes I wrote that. Raw Sewage!

“I’m sorry mam, why does my backpack smell like a toilet? Oh right because you dumped one on it!”

Now BAA, which runs Heathrow, is going to pay passengers $1,600 toward the bags – all of which could not be salvaged. The total bill? $384,000.

To be honest….not enough. Oh and sorry they did say they were sorry! That will save my favourite sweater. Sarcasm is free on this website.

But that won’t save the other bags that have been set on fire or simply lost!

Have you flown through Philadelphia lately? Have you still got your bags? You’re the lucky one. Four baggage handlers were arrested this week for “multiple counts of criminal conspiracy, theft, unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, and attempted theft”.

These, hopefully former, employees of American Airlines will not be going to court! Check out the reports in Philadelphia.

Ok so I have to check a bag over a certain weight and now it’s just going to get stolen! Well for one thing I am definitely not leaving anything important in there again and neither should you!

This should give you heart for the weekend! Enjoy watching how your recently send Christmas packaged might be sent and give thanks that not everything has to go by plane!

Five traveling Files for Friday

Yes, I am trying to drive a communist car. It’s not easy. Especially when it is stuck in a communist museum. Where? Just outside of Budapest. How traveling has changed…..from minis that were only allowed to travel within their country to airlines that move travelers at the drop of the hat to airlines who don’t want to fly you anywhere unless you have a million dollars.

It’s airway robbery! We’ve all heard the lament before. “There’s never any food!” “We have to pay for blankets now?!?” “Why do I have to be charged for a bag? How exactly am I supposed to go to Miami without clothes?”

Yeah airlines have not made many friends lately, which is why travel file one this Friday is that airlines have found a HEART! Yes…who knew? Hurricane Earl is making life tricky for those trying to fly off the East Coast of the United States. Delta, Jet Blue and AirTran Airways are all canceling or reducing the change fees on their flights! Awww…they must still be recovering from the mayhem that was the Iceland Volcano.

Singapore's Symbol: Lion Mermaid

Not only are airlines changing their business plans so are airports. Wifi is free, bars are loaded and shops are in malls. Not so bad if you’re going to be stuck there because of Earl. So what are you going to do if you’re stuck in Singapore’s airport? How about slide down water?!?!

Singapore does nothing mediocre.

40 feet tall, and reaching speeds of around 19 miles per hour the slid sounds amazing and scary! Think I will stick to their butterfly sanctuary that is also contained in the Changi Airport.

Which is what I did when I was traveling solo around the world. I did it by plane. What if you want to do it by boat? Well you’re in luck. The Norwegian Epic has introduced Solo Sailing! Previously singles, like myself, had to book both beds….kinda a waste. Now studios are available at a substantially normal rate. Check out the Epic’s studios. But don’t worry, you won’t be alone for long. With entertainment such as the Blue Man Group and the Bliss Lounge forget finding a travel buddy! In Bermuda CTravel can help book your Norwegian Epic Cruise.

A cruise with a unique perspective. What about a hotel with the same intrigue? Yeah we can all go to Expedia.com or Hotwire.com, but these usually have deals with big name brands. What about finding deals on boutique hotels? Somewhere to stay with some grit? Well that’s where Tablet Hotels comes in. Finding great deals on beautiful and inspiring hotels around the world they are the site for the discerning traveler.

Helping a Turkish Lady get home safely

I wish I could say I have volunteered abroad….but I haven’t. I do try and help just like we did picking-up this Turkish Lady when the rain was pelting down and giving her a lift home. So what do you do if you want to volunteer? Well one of the problems in the past has been the amount of time it takes to become trained and the time they want devoted to the task.

No longer! The US Parks Service is now happy for a day or two from their volunteers. They advertise opportunities on Facebook. Check out more information about volunteering on vacation and other traveling trends on Time Magazine’s website.

And happy Friday!

It’s a small world in Iceland

Shirley Lui a Canadian and, until two weeks ago, a Bermudian resident, is now circling the globe trying to decide where to land with her fiance. Before she departed our 21-square-mile shores, however, Shirley spent a little time in another, Northern island – Iceland. And while it may be bigger than Bermuda she found familiar faces on the journey. Here is here travel log:

Iceland.  Why Iceland?  There are many countries on my list of places I want to visit in Europe, but Iceland never occurred to me until I received a Save the Date for a friend’s wedding almost a year and a half ago.  She was going to have a destination wedding in Iceland in June 2010.  What better opportunity to go visit this island?

We booked a self drive 9 night /10 day tour of the country after the wedding weekend in Budir, 2 hours northwest of Reykjavik.  Not being familiar with Iceland and how easy it would be to find accommodation outside the capital city, I booked the tour with Icelandic Farm Holidays (http://www.farmholidays.is/) which is an association of approx. 150 farmhouses around the country.

A little tired from the 4 hour red-eye flight from Toronto, my first impression of the island upon landing was that it was purple…everywhere….there are lupines all over the country.  Even some mountains were purple.

The bus ride to Budir was scenic, ocean on the left and mountains on the right.  We arrived at the quaint Hotel Budir shortly after 2pm and started exploring the property.  Budir, situated on the snaefellsnes peninsula, was stunning – we were surrounded by lava fields and yellow beaches.    Our first night was spent meeting the other guests that have flown in from all over and getting used to the midnight sun…the sun sets around midnight and rises around 3am…but it never gets dark!  Some even went for a middle of the night hike to nearby waterfalls.

The wedding ceremony was held outdoors in the lava fields and was absolutely beautiful.   Everyone had a blast and celebrated all night long under the midnight sun.  Check out the photos at: http://100layercake.com/blog/archives/7436 and http://kylehale.net/blog/2010/07/19/christina-mark-budir-iceland/

Once we returned to Reykjavik, we picked up rental car and began our 10 day roadtrip.  A week before we arrived in Iceland, we found out that a friend of ours from Vancouver just happened to be vacationing in Reykjavik for a month; naturally, the more the merrier on a road trip, so he joined us for first few days of the trip.

Gullfoss, part of the Golden Circle (the other 2 sites making up theGolden Circle are Thingvellir and Geysir)

We toured the island following the Ring Road heading in a counter-clockwise direction.  The landscape and climate in each part of the country was so distinct that driving was never boring.   In the course of one day, we’d see a rift valley (Thingvellir), geysirs, and waterfalls and still have time for late night hike through Smoke Valley (Reykdalur) to bathe in steaming rivers.

Geothermal ponds at Geysir

Icelandic people love their nature baths, they are everywhere around the island and perfect after a day of hiking and exploring or something to do on a rainy day.   Although Iceland is a much larger island than Bermuda, some things still the same; on a couple of occasions we ran into travellers we met at guesthouses at some point earlier in the trip in the opposite side of the island or at the airport.

New Bermuda Airport Designs

Looking East from Coney Island

Not in the pipeline anytime soon, this is the proposed design for a new Bermuda airport! It’s needed. Apparently the current facility dates from the 1940s in some areas!

And the new designs show places for boats and ferries to pick up arriving passengers as well as producing plenty of window on the world and a green building.

From the Causeway

Aaron Adderley, the Operations Manager of the L.F. Wade Bermuda International Airport, met with me last week and shred with me these designs. The development, however, of the project could take years.

Bermuda’s Premier and Minister of Tourism and Transport Ewart Brown stressed to me that there was no way the Government would move forward with this possible $300 to $400 million project in the current financial climate.

Plus, Bermuda has other needs like the new King Edward VII Memorial Hospital! For the full story check-out my article in today’s paper.

CORRECTION: The company involved in creating the designs and the airport’s master plan is HNTB not HNBP as was reported in The Royal Gazette’s article.