We just added a small page on Venice to the site and it reminded me of something I saw while visiting this great city.
Most of us are accustomed to the local youngsters with the suped-up car, or should I say, piece of crap. You know the type; mags, lowered suspension, flash tyres, stylish lights, custom steering wheel,tinted windows, exhaust make-louder pipe and of course a sound system that is worth more than the car.
Well in Venice, it’s slightly different. Instead of a car, it’s a boat. For real! It’ll have a great new paint job, a great outboard engine, padded seats, tinted visor, chrome mooring hooks and unbelievably, a ridiculously loud and expensive sound system.
When I saw this kid in his purple, show-off boat, I couldn’t resist pointing him out to my then girlfriend, and now wife, and bursting out in laughter.
It just goes to show that no matter what the conditions or location, the obnoxious kid will always be present for you to yell: “Hey you, you’re not cool and nobody cares, turn that shit off!”
July 21st, 2006
It’s a dangerous world out there. Yesterday, bombs blew up in Mumbai during the rush hour craze to get home. Too many people lost their lives and too many families are feeling the agony of having lost loved ones. Today, here in Cape Town, where we now live, there was a gun fight at a Taxi rank wounding several and killing others. The worst part of it is not that innocent people lose their lives and that others become afraid of venturing into the general public, it’s that it is utterly senseless.
I might be slightly reclusive at times, often for short periods, I step away from it all and hide away in the safety of my own home to do this and that. Personally, I think we should all do it at least occassionally. Why buy a great home and then jump at the opportunity of leaving it so we can go buy some junk at the shops? It’s important to have one’s space, privacy and independence.
The whole point of this little write up is that if we become overly reclusive, stay home, not travel, avoid this and that spot out of fear, then we let these people win. It’s our world, it’s our safety we need to enforce, it’s our job to let these stupid people know that we aren’t scared of them and that most importantly, we are sick and tired of their crap and are going to take them out one by one until our world is safe.
We have to keep doing what we want to do. Keep traveling, keep going out, take pulic transport and just enjoy ourselves.
I ain’t scared of you Mr. Bad Guy, come and get some!
July 12th, 2006
Loyalty schemes rewarding customers, vouchers, cash back and air miles are all something that we are familiar with. And lets face it, loyalty is worth it when you get bucks in your hand and /or a rebate on your travel. The principle is simple – the more you spend the more you get in return – or not – as in the case with some airlines who make it so difficult for you to redeem your air miles by spending endless hours on the phone or simply not updating their records with recent miles that you have earned.
While it is tempting to wash your hand of the irritation and forget the whole thing, don’t give up just yet. If it is on offer then you should jump at the idea of a freebie especially those of you who are frequent fliers. Some tips to assist you include remembering to keep your boarding pass and to hand deliver it to the customer service counter.
Any other bright ideas you might have are welcome, send us your comments, we want them!
June 19th, 2006
I might be sick right now but it would still be fantastic to be in Germany right now taking part in the biggest sports event in the world, the World Cup.
The only problem I can see with being there right now is having to share the event with English Louts and Yobos and a whole bunch of Germans, 80 odd million to be exact. But let’s not make too many generalisations. 🙂
The parties, the love, the excitement, the games and the beer. Should be a great time, no matter who takes the trophy home. The games last night were pretty cool. Germany and Costa Rica had a goal fest and Ecuador surprised Poland with a left uppercut.
Here’s to a great tournament and may the best French Team win. 🙂
June 10th, 2006
A recent event in my family life has reminded me of how important it could one day be to have travel insurance.
Going on holiday is always very exciting. Plane tickets, preparing the car, getting the train pass, whichever it may be, we always are looking forward to the good times ahead.
But how many times, out of forgetfulness or downright cheapness do we say “Travel Insurance? What for? I won’t need it, I’ll be fine.” Well, that’s definetely not always the case. Luckily for us, the loved one in question did have travel insurance and only got sick on their return home and not abroad, that could have been a nightmare.
The person is getting better now but it didn’t start off that way, we ended up going to the ICU to visit and keep them company along with the rest of the family. In the ICU there was a couple who were on vacation here and the man had royally screwed himself up paragliding or something like that while on holiday. He lay there, in the ICU, all day, bored solid, waiting for visiting hours so that his girlfriend could come see him. He’s better now but you also get my drift.
So, don’t forget, don’t be cheap, save yourself the colossal hospital bill and get yourself the Travel Insurance, I don’t want to see you in the ICU next time. Please be careful.
May 20th, 2006
We all know someone who has too much baggage, but not that kind, the kind they bring along on holiday.
The amount of baggage brought on holiday can affect you in several ways. One being a drag on you and a pain in the neck to carry around.
The other being too much to fit in the car you’ve rented. Think about it, how many compact cars do think have enough space to fit 3 or 4 big bags in them, forget it. So what now?
Well think about it for a minute. If you are going for a quick weekend getaway and are taking just a bit of luggage, then rent yourself a small car, unless you’re rich of course, then you have to rent yourself the flashest automobile on the lot!
If you’re going camping for 2 weeks on the Mediterranean and have to pack a tent, sleeping bags and all the rest of the junk you take along on a camping trip, then think about the size of the car you’ll need carefully and be sure to include all the kit those coming with you will have.
Diving is another one of those holiday things that can take up a lot of space. Fins, mask, wet suit, tanks, weights, mask etc…
Right, so consider about how much stuff you’re taking with you and then decide how big a car you’ll need for it. You’ll save yourself time on arrival and be glad the car you have is suitable for your needs.
Enjoy and don’t forget your driver’s licence!
May 8th, 2006
Lots of us have to take multiple flights to get to our final destination. Sometimes the wait between flights will be long, others, short. We all want to get to our spot pronto but it’s important to remember that it doesn’t take 5 minutes to disembark our plane and get to our next flight.
It’s really important to do some time estimates before you choose and purchase a connection flight. Bear these and any others you can think of in mind:
- Your first flight could be late
- It can take up to an hour to get off a 747
- Your next departure gate could be quite a trek
- Your next departure gate could be in a different terminal
- Your departure airport may be different than the one you land in
- You might have to clear customs before continuing with the rest of your journey
- You might have to collect your luggage as not all carriers have agreements together or specfic country customs laws require this
- The ever present “miscellaneous” reason should always be given some time as well
That said, enjoy your flight and holiday!
April 23rd, 2006
It’s always important to know what time it is. Opening times, meal times, check-in times, departure time, commuting times and of course beer time! Carry a good watch while running around to make sure you don’t miss out on anything important.
There’s a few resources on the web that’ll will help you find out the time difference for your destination with your home time. Links to some of these are listed below.
World Time Zone
The World Clock
World Time Server
Enjoy and make sure you are on time!
April 9th, 2006
There’s often a day of the week where admission to museums and other cultural venues are free in cities popular as tourist destinations. In some, it’s even all week. Knowing this, it’s a good idea to plan your stay so that you go to the free venues on the free days. Save the museums and the like for the free day and take advantage of knowing this by visiting the other attractions or areas of interest.
Check your destinations’ tourism or cultural association to find out what days are good.
This way you’ll save yourself a lot money to spend on accommodation or even drinks! 🙂
March 19th, 2006
Most avid travellers will have a tip or two up their sleeves on how to pack travel gear earned through experience.
If you’re going on a road trip the main principles are simple: the heavy items and non-essentials go at the bottom of the trunk and the perishables should be kept in a cooler making sure those snacks for the road are nice and easy to reach . If your trip is an epic journey across no mans land – remember too that in your mission to achieve perfect space optimisation – keep the air gauge and compressor for your tires and gerry can (preferably full) within quick and easy reach.
When it comes to air travel remember that including gas bottles and batteries in your checked luggage is a sure way to have your baggage left behind for inspection. On the other hand any sharp instruments including pocket knives, tweezers and nail clippers should be checked to avoid confiscation at the security points.
Unless you are travelling alone, it’s also a good idea to split your gear between two or more bags. That way if one bag arrives without the other, you’ll be kitted out for a day or two while you wait for the telephone call from lost luggage. If you’re in this unlucky position, remember that if you’ve booked your tickets on your credit card some financial institutions will reimburse at a prescribed rate for each day your bag is held up.
March 5th, 2006
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