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Traveller Tails
Disgruntled British travellers are being offered the chance to complain about their experiences at British airports and determine our worst performing airports.
In the same week that British Airways were revealed to be the least punctual of Europe's major airlines and Heathrow was called a national disgrace by business leaders, passengers have been encouraged to give "warts and all" accounts of their airport experiences and a record of how long they are kept waiting.
The new website, www.ukairportdelays.co.uk,compiles statistics sent in from customers which are then are used to provide league tables of average waiting times at check-in, security and immigration.
[Submitted by FlyHigh]
In the same week that British Airways were revealed to be the least punctual of Europe's major airlines and Heathrow was called a national disgrace by business leaders, passengers have been encouraged to give "warts and all" accounts of their airport experiences and a record of how long they are kept waiting.
The new website, www.ukairportdelays.co.uk,compiles statistics sent in from customers which are then are used to provide league tables of average waiting times at check-in, security and immigration.
[Submitted by FlyHigh]
Thursday 02 August 2007 - 21:54:46
National Geographic Adventure announces the top destinations in six environments for 2007 and beyond. Discover why these countries garnered our highest praise and then find out how to experience them for yourself.
Mountain: Morocco
Water: Puerto Rico
Forest: Brazil
Snow: Canada
Desert: South Africa
Road Trip: China
Top Destinations for 2007
[Submitted by WorldMan]
Mountain: Morocco
Water: Puerto Rico
Forest: Brazil
Snow: Canada
Desert: South Africa
Road Trip: China
Top Destinations for 2007
[Submitted by WorldMan]
Wednesday 01 August 2007 - 22:49:18
The Guardian has named the Cornish culture capital, St Ives, as its seaside town of the year, with the help of a star-studded panel of judges including Bill Bryson and Rick Stein.
Guardian Best seaside town 2007
[Submitted by WorldMan]
Guardian Best seaside town 2007
[Submitted by WorldMan]
Wednesday 01 August 2007 - 22:28:24
The guide book says the licensed taxi’s of Bangkok will try and charge tourist an exorbitant price to take them anywhere and will avoid using the meter. it suggests that you should insist on using the meter and gave rough prices on how much should be charged over certain distances.
Armed with that knowledge I hailed a cab from somewhere in Bangkok and asked to be taken to the wat phra kaew & grand palace. The taxi driver immediately quoted what was a totally exorbitant price, I was ready for a high price but not for the excessive price he quoted.
“No use meter”
I said, he dropped his price
“No, meter”
I said again, he looked concerned and was desperately trying to say something but there was a language barrier problem, I tried to make sense of what he was trying to say but couldn’t. He seemed to give up what he was trying to get across and dropped his price again.
“No”
I said, and was about to get out of the taxi, at this point the taxi driver dropped his price again and pointed at the meter. I was confused.
“You’re going to use the meter?”
He nodded, said his price again and started the meter. I didn’t get his intent but at least he was using the meter. So I sat back as the taxi started off. After about 30 minutes in the taxi with the meter running I was getting a little concerned. Then I realised I had no idea how far away this palace was and began to get the distinct feeling that I was being taken for a ride both financially and physically.
I wanted to tell the driver to stop but we were on the motorway and I also had no idea where in Bangkok we were. After about another half an hour we arrived at the palace it was bustling, the streets were filled with both locals and tourist. The meter in the taxi read almost exactly the last price the driver had quoted me. I had been taken for a ride, but that was what the meter said so I couldn’t argue, and after doing some quick currency conversion in my head the price was equivalent to 12 dollars; hardly bank busting for me.
I paid the driver and got out of the taxi. I made a mental note to myself, use the sky train and river taxi next time; their prices are set.
[Submitted by WorldMan]
Armed with that knowledge I hailed a cab from somewhere in Bangkok and asked to be taken to the wat phra kaew & grand palace. The taxi driver immediately quoted what was a totally exorbitant price, I was ready for a high price but not for the excessive price he quoted.
“No use meter”
I said, he dropped his price
“No, meter”
I said again, he looked concerned and was desperately trying to say something but there was a language barrier problem, I tried to make sense of what he was trying to say but couldn’t. He seemed to give up what he was trying to get across and dropped his price again.
“No”
I said, and was about to get out of the taxi, at this point the taxi driver dropped his price again and pointed at the meter. I was confused.
“You’re going to use the meter?”
He nodded, said his price again and started the meter. I didn’t get his intent but at least he was using the meter. So I sat back as the taxi started off. After about 30 minutes in the taxi with the meter running I was getting a little concerned. Then I realised I had no idea how far away this palace was and began to get the distinct feeling that I was being taken for a ride both financially and physically.
I wanted to tell the driver to stop but we were on the motorway and I also had no idea where in Bangkok we were. After about another half an hour we arrived at the palace it was bustling, the streets were filled with both locals and tourist. The meter in the taxi read almost exactly the last price the driver had quoted me. I had been taken for a ride, but that was what the meter said so I couldn’t argue, and after doing some quick currency conversion in my head the price was equivalent to 12 dollars; hardly bank busting for me.
I paid the driver and got out of the taxi. I made a mental note to myself, use the sky train and river taxi next time; their prices are set.
[Submitted by WorldMan]
Tuesday 31 July 2007 - 15:20:51
After a night out on the town in Chiang Mai Thailand me and my friend were both hung over, tired and neither of us had any luck with the girls. There was the language problem and unless you’re a fat ageing desperate divorcee with some money, most of the Thai girls aren’t interested. It was morning by the time we decided to call it a night, we caught a tuk tuk and slumped in the back seat whilst the driver weaved through the Chiang Mai traffic.
Tuk tuk’s are small, loud not very comfortable even when you have them all to yourself yet alone when your sharing it with a hung over mate. After a little while I decided that I couldn’t get any sleep on this thing and sat up to have a look around the streets of Chiang Mai. I was a little surprised to find that the Thai’s have no traffic laws at all, and that travelling on the streets in any vehicle means you do so at your own personal risk. Cars were going in all directions and weaving between them were tuk tuk’s like ours and weaving in all directions between tuk tuk’s and cars were little mopeds. The moped drivers were not wearing any safety equipment and were often carrying there entire families balanced on the back seat.
Looking about I noticed a moped driven by a Thai girl with her friend perched on the back seat carrying two small dogs, it was a little surreal. As they went by I just sat in my tuk tuk and stared, the tuk tuk driver noticed that I was paying the moped and girls a bit of interest and turned around and asked me.
“you like Thai girls?”
“er… yes I said they’re great”
It was more of an instinct reply than anything; just being polite to the locals. On hearing this, the tuk tuk driver pulled over to the side of the street and pulled out from no where a photo album. He started flicking through the pages all containing pictures of young Thai girls,
“choose girl and I take to you”
I paused for a while then it slowly began sinking in what he was proposing.
“Ho no, no I don’t mean that, I don’t want to pay for girls”
At this point my friend woke up, rubbed his eyes a bit and saw the photo album.
“Ho right, how much then”
He said.
“No forget it I shouted, just take us back to the hotel”
My friend laughed and leaned back in the tuk tuk in agreement. The driver a little dejected started driving off.
“Some other time then”
My friend said as we carried on down the street.
“Yeah maybe when I’m a desperate divorcee with more money”
I said back to him.
It didn’t take me long, I wasn’t a divorcee but I was disparate and in that situation paying for it didn’t seem that bad. But I never lived it down with my friend he still brings it up to this day.
[Submitted by WorldMan]
Tuk tuk’s are small, loud not very comfortable even when you have them all to yourself yet alone when your sharing it with a hung over mate. After a little while I decided that I couldn’t get any sleep on this thing and sat up to have a look around the streets of Chiang Mai. I was a little surprised to find that the Thai’s have no traffic laws at all, and that travelling on the streets in any vehicle means you do so at your own personal risk. Cars were going in all directions and weaving between them were tuk tuk’s like ours and weaving in all directions between tuk tuk’s and cars were little mopeds. The moped drivers were not wearing any safety equipment and were often carrying there entire families balanced on the back seat.
Looking about I noticed a moped driven by a Thai girl with her friend perched on the back seat carrying two small dogs, it was a little surreal. As they went by I just sat in my tuk tuk and stared, the tuk tuk driver noticed that I was paying the moped and girls a bit of interest and turned around and asked me.
“you like Thai girls?”
“er… yes I said they’re great”
It was more of an instinct reply than anything; just being polite to the locals. On hearing this, the tuk tuk driver pulled over to the side of the street and pulled out from no where a photo album. He started flicking through the pages all containing pictures of young Thai girls,
“choose girl and I take to you”
I paused for a while then it slowly began sinking in what he was proposing.
“Ho no, no I don’t mean that, I don’t want to pay for girls”
At this point my friend woke up, rubbed his eyes a bit and saw the photo album.
“Ho right, how much then”
He said.
“No forget it I shouted, just take us back to the hotel”
My friend laughed and leaned back in the tuk tuk in agreement. The driver a little dejected started driving off.
“Some other time then”
My friend said as we carried on down the street.
“Yeah maybe when I’m a desperate divorcee with more money”
I said back to him.
It didn’t take me long, I wasn’t a divorcee but I was disparate and in that situation paying for it didn’t seem that bad. But I never lived it down with my friend he still brings it up to this day.
[Submitted by WorldMan]
Tuesday 31 July 2007 - 02:26:16
