Far and Distant Lands - A Travel Blog

2008-03-24T13:40:00.004+00:00

Mostly about LHR T5

2008-03-21T13:20:00.003+00:00

Mobile Phone use to be allowed on Emirates planes

Heathrow Terminal 5 airline move schedule (1 page pdf)

Terminal 5 youtube videos

Thursday March 20 Posts

2008-03-20T16:24:00.004+00:00

Some Tips to reduce Jet-Lag

The NY Times 53 Places to See in 2008

Mount Everest Closed

Airbus A380 Singapore-London Business Class Review

New Format for My Posts

2008-03-20T16:21:00.002+00:00

I have decided to provide links to the titles to the most interesting articles of the day, rather than reproducing some/all of the text of same ... It will allow me to add more items and keep the blog updated more frequently ...

Great Gear: Combination Laptop Case / Ladies Handbag

2008-03-08T09:40:00.012+00:00

March 07, 2008 by Wendy Perrin, The Perrin Post

Perrin Post Article

Attention, women who are trying to figure out how to get three carry-on items onboard the plane (wheelie, laptop case, and pocketbook) when we're allowed only two: Some nifty combination laptop case/pocketbooks have crossed my desk lately.

As a mom who must travel with tech gear on one arm and tots on the other, I'll never give up my LowePro Factor Tote (pictured at top), a lightweight bag -- with perfect-length, nonslip straps -- into which I can fit my MacBook, digital camera, Palm Treo, other tech paraphernalia, newspaper, T.S.A.-friendly zip-top bag holding my liquids and gels in three-ounce containers, and everything else from my purse.

But my tote now has some pretty stiff competition: bags that are similar in design -- they each have an interior zippered laptop compartment in the center, with more interior compartments on either side -- but are far more stylish.

Since two of these "business totes" have been eliciting oohs and aahs from my female coworkers who've spotted me comparing bags in my office and have stopped in to add their two cents (note the SOLO Signature Portfolio, for instance, pictured left), I figure I ought to share my findings with all you female business travelers out there (or your husbands who are seeking the right gift for your birthday):

Tumi's Voyageur Lightweight Derby Business Tote (pictured at left) has two great features that the LowePro doesn't:
(1) It has an interior zippered pocket in addition to the zippered laptop compartment. (2) You can attach the bag to your carry-on wheelie by sliding it over the wheelie's extended handles. The laptop compartment is not nearly as well padded as the LowePro's, however, and the two large interior pockets on either side of the laptop compartment do not zip closed. This means that if your bag overturns -- say, on the conveyor belt as you're going through security, or in the underseat space beneath the airplane seat in front of you -- the contents could spill out. Also, the interior fabric is black, which looks handsome but makes it hard to quickly locate any dark-colored objects inside (such as your wallet or glasses case or whatever). And it's $395, whereas the LowePro is only $70. But it sure looks good and smells nice.

The SOLO Signature Portfolio (pictured below) is slightly heavier and bulkier than the Tumi and the LowePro, but it's also roomier -- it's more briefcase-sized than pocketbook-sized -- and holds a larger computer than the LowePro (15.4 inches, as opposed to 14 inches).

The tubular straps are supposedly slip-resistant, but I find that my LowePro's flat straps are less likely to slide off, as are the Tumi's. Also, maybe it's just my arm length (which is long), but I find it far easier to swing the LowePro or Tumi bag onto my shoulder using only one hand than to get the SOLO bag onto my shoulder one-handedly. But the SOLO has a zippered inside pocket, and its interior fabric is a chic soft rose pink that enables you to locate your wallet, glasses case, etc., very quickly. The interior is much prettier than my LowePro's orange interior. The SOLO doesn't zip closed, but it has a magnetic over-the-top flap to keep contents from spilling out. The price? $110, which seems like a good value.

Still, neither the SOLO nor the Tumi can be thrown in the washing machine like my LowePro! Which means that, even though I'm seriously considering buying one of them for those business trips where I need to show up at meetings looking fashionable, you can bet that when I hit the road with my young sons I'll be sticking with the LowePro.

What is going through the minds of these weirdos??!!

2008-03-06T09:17:00.003+00:00

From MSNBC :-

Man accused of saying he was a terrorist after drinking, becoming unruly

BANGOR, Maine - A man is in custody on federal charges alleging he threatened to blow up an airliner that was en route to Ireland.

A detention hearing is set for Wednesday for Aiden Simon Mackle, 44, of Portadown, Northern Ireland.

Mackle is accused of telling a Delta Air Lines employee that he was a terrorist after drinking and becoming unruly on Flight 146 from Atlanta. The flight was diverted to Bangor International Airport early Saturday.

Mackle faces federal charges of assault and interfering with a flight crew.

According to an FBI affidavit, he smoked a cigarette in a restroom on the aircraft, then became verbally abusive when he was confronted and told a flight attendant he was associated with Osama bin Laden and was going to hijack the plane.

He later responded to an off-duty pilot who told him that the flight might have to make an emergency landing by saying "OK, I'm a terrorist. Go ahead and land the plane," and punching an off-duty flight attendant, the affidavit said.

The plane with its 184 remaining passengers left Bangor after about two hours, said airport manager Rebecca Hupp.

Tip of Lufthansa jet grazes runway before pilot gets it back in the air

2008-03-03T16:09:00.003+00:00

Pilot hailed for response to stormy conditions

March 3, 2008

HAMBURG, Germany - A Lufthansa jet was caught by gusting wind as it tried to land during a weekend storm, causing the tip of the aircraft's wing to graze the runway before the pilot got the plane back off the ground, the airline said Monday.

The incident happened on Saturday afternoon as the Airbus A320, with 131 passengers on board, approached Hamburg airport on a flight from Munich.

Airline spokesman Wolfgang Weber said the plane was rocked by wind clocked at some 250 kph as it tried to land.

The left wing grazed the runway for a moment, but Weber said the pilot was able to stabilize the aircraft and take off again.

The plane landed safely shortly afterward on its second attempt.

The plane went back into service Sunday after repairs, Weber said.

Where the hell is Matt?

2008-02-29T09:45:00.003+00:00

I have recently come across these videos of the author "Matt" dancing in various well-known locations around the world. Very inspirational music and pictures, and I would challenge anyone to view the videos and not be inspired to pick up the phone and buy a ticket to somewhere (anywhere) !!

Where the hell is Matt?

Where the hell was Matt?

The full story behind this fun project can be seen on

www.wherethehellismatt.com

Two Ways to Keep Track of Your Travel Plans

2008-02-28T19:02:00.003+00:00

Yesterday, Katherine Boehret of the Wall Street Journal took a "test-drive" of 2 website-based trip planning aids - Tripit and Groopvine. These sites attempt to make your reservations more accessible and useful.

Tripit acts as a virtual assistant to generate schedules using your reservations; and Groopvine brings social networking to group travel plans.
Both travel sites became available in September, although Groopvine has been released only in its beta format at the moment.

Click the link below for access to the article:-

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120407311019995113.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal

2008 Plans

2008-02-28T08:56:00.005+00:00

So let's see - here are my leisure travel plans so far this year:-

March - Day-trip through London Heathrow to experience the new Terminal 5, just shortly after it opens. I'm planning to visit on Sat 29th March, and meet up with a friend there, to experience the BA Lounges (and champagnes :-D )

April - Probably a trip or two to the UK - London and maybe Manchester to the footie

July - Tentative plans to take a long weekend to Marbella in mid-July.

late August / early September - 40th Birthday treat to myself. A week-long trip to some new destinations for me, flying in Business Class ! Cork-Heathrow-Madras(Chennai)-Sri Lanka-Singapore-Sydney-Bangkok-London-Cork (Whew!)

November - Probably head to NYC for Thanksgiving as usual. Shopping and getting in the mood for Christmas !

Time to dust off this blog and shine it up again ...

2008-02-28T08:37:00.003+00:00

OK, so I will get myself motivated and kick-start this travel blog again. I suppose that it would help if I was travelling ;-), and so to ensure a steady supply of material I will also add some more references from my friends on Flyertalk and associated blogs.

Soooo .... where do I start .....

Irish Rail Cork-Dublin-Cork in Std Class

2007-01-18T16:46:00.002+00:00

So this is the first week of the new hourly Cork-Dublin-Cork train service, and I decided to try it out! This increased frequency has been enabled by the recent addition of some new train carriages, and has (apparently) increased the capacity by 80% on the route!!

The morning started rather frenetically, as I don't normally travel at this time, or into Cork city in this direction; the traffic was much heavier than I anticipated... I ended up parking the car and half-running, half jogging to the terminal. I quickly retrieved my pre-booked tickets from the machine at the entrance to the station and again rushed towards the platform for the train. As I sped past one rail worker, he said to me "there's no rush - you have plenty of time". It turned out that he was the train driver, so we were going nowhere without him :-)
I made it with 1 minute to spare and flopped down in the seat - finally able to relax!

The load on the train certainly seemed lighter than many of the previous journeys that I had taken, with about 40% of the seats taken. As you would expect from a new train, everything was clean, tidy, ..... and worked !! It was an extremely pleasant experience travelling in such comfort, with lots of space around me. I didn't make my way to the dining car, but bought a (slightly) overpriced coffee from the trolley that passed twice on its way up & dow the carriage.

We arrived into Heuston Station, Dublin a little later than scheduled due to the (usual) slow approach from a few miles out.

All-in-all a very acceptable trip, and one I would not hesitate to do again.

My journey back was similar - I actually was booked on the 5pm train, but finished work early, and took the 3pm, without any query. Actually, there are a couple of carriages for pre-booked seats (which I had on the 5pm), but all others are free seating, so no issue with changing train times....

So a highly recommended experience - it remains to be seen how the service will settle down e.g. if delays become an issue due to the tight schedule slots etc ....

Interesting Travel-related websites / blogs

2006-12-21T22:52:00.000+00:00

For your enjoyment ..... I will add some descriptions to the links soon, but most should be fairly self-explanatory.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/hotelhotsheet/

http://www.starwoodlobby.com/

http://www.nakedsky.org/

http://nymag.com/

http://www.mrandmrssmith.com/

Conrad Hotel, Brussels

2006-12-21T21:33:00.000+00:00

It is a little while since I have stayed at this fine hotel, but I came across a few pictures of it while cleaning up my hard-drive, so said that I would share my opinions with you ....

The hotel is situated set back from a cross-roads, and close to lots of great shops, pubs and restaurants. Actually, there is a very high-end selection of shops located in a little boutique mall around the hotel, including one spectacular toy shop, and another yummy delicatessen!

The Conrad appears to be popular with the well-off of Brussels, as I lost count of the number of Porches, Ferraris, Bentleys etc. etc. that were parked there during my stay!

The lobby is very plush, and does give a very good impression of the hotel as a whole; and the check-in is an efficient and pleasant experience.

On entering, the room certainly proved no disappointment ! A large (comfortable) King-sized bed, bedecked in opulent finery ....

And lots of room to stretch out and relax on the setee or lounge chair too !

The bathroom didn't disappoint either, with Bath, separate shower, and marble everywhere ....

Views out over the rooftops of Brussels were also nice, and this set my wife and I up for a wonderful stay ....

Oh, and before I forget, the breakfast in the morning was delicious, with an extensive selection of furits, breads, cereals and cooked options. Enough food to feed a hungry farmer, as we say in this part of Ireland !!

I would compare the experience at the Conrad Brussels to that of the Conrad Dublin - both keep very high (and consistent) standards, and I would have no hesitation in returning to either!

Berkeley Court Hotel, Dublin

2006-12-04T15:51:00.000+00:00

The Berkeley Court is a 5 star Dublin hotel set in its own grounds in the heart of Dublin's embassy belt. It is a member of the Jurys Doyle Group and is within fairly easy reach of the city centre - a longish 20-25 minute walk, or short taxi ride. Unfortunately the land on which this hotel and Jurys Hotel & Towers (next door) has been sold to a developer, and these hotels will be closed and knocked-down next year to make way for a multi-multi million Euro apartment / condo development.

I wasn't too sure what to expect from this hotel - I had got a good rate of 119 Euros on the company website, and was curious on what the experience would yield ...

A very nice lobby and check-in area was staffed by some polite & friendly Europeans who quickly checked me in and I was on my way to my room. This was on the 3rd floor and seemed to have been fairly recently renovated, with both the room and the bathroom being a decent size, and well-equipped with all the expected amenities ...

The bed was a queen-sized one and just right in terms of firmness / comfort. A nice lounge chair made for a pleasant TV experience. Free newspapers in the lobby were also availed of :-)

Breakfast the following morning was a very elegant and pleasurable experience, so I was well fortified for my trip home.

I would definitely consider the Berkeley Court for a return stay if I had more business in the area, particualrly before this Grand Dame of Dublin hotels is "put to sleep" next year !

Hilton Tower Bridge, London

2006-11-11T12:43:00.000+00:00

I arrived at this brand new Hilton near Tower Bridge on a Friday afternoon around 3pm. Took the Heathrow Express to Paddington, then underground to Waterloo, and finally a taxi. This was a bit of a roundabout route, but I wanted to check how long the taxi ride would take due to another train ride later ....

Actually, the Tower Bridge Underground station is only about 3 mins walk from the hotel, so that would be the best option to get there, without lots of luggage.

In any case, I was checked-in by an efficient, if slightly hassled, agent who told me that "everyone is checking in at the same time" !! He then grabbed me a corner room on the 9th floor, making sure that I know that he had given me a special room !

The room indeed was nice - much larger than the typical London hotel room, and everything was new (and working perfectly!). Flat panel TV, but with only 7-8 channels; WiFi, and modern furniture & decorations.

Staff were very pleasant, and concierge helpful. Executive Lounge was well-appointed with just enough room for the number of people that wanted to use it.... I was allowed access as a Hilton Diamond member, even though there has been some variability recently in access to the lounge for those not on paid Executive Floor rates. In any case, this wasn't an issue for me :-).

Two internet-enabled PCs in the lounge also made my visit productive, even if the speed of the connection was less than what one would expect from DSL.

All in all, a very good stay at this property. I would certainly return if I needed to be in the area again. Rates were a reasonable (for London!) £100 ish including VAT.

Radisson SAS Style Hotel, Vienna

2006-11-09T12:18:00.000+00:00

Only because my usual Hilton / Starwood properties were all priced well over €200 per night did I look at the Radisson SAS Style – and I am glad I did!

Centrally located in Herrengasse, within walking distance of many good restaurants, wine bars, and the obligatory Irish pubs, “The Style” certainly lived up to its name….

Right from my arrival in a very “mod” lobby, this hotel exudes a modern, relaxed atmosphere. The staff is bilingual English / German, and friendly, and the rooms (of which there are only 70 or so) are a good size, and well-appointed. Free WiFi and a free (small) Mini-bar complete the package at this hotel.

I did not use the Fitness room in the basement, although I visited it on my arrival, and intended to do so the following morning – the extra 30 mins sleep won hands down though! The basement contained about 6 or 7 pieces of new-ish equipment and the sauna area was also attached to the gym.

About a €10 and 10 min taxi-ride from the CAT (City-Air-Train) station, this hotel comes highly recommended from me, for a business or a leisure stay in Vienna!

http://www.radissonsas.com/

Tyler Brule, Financial Times Weekender

2006-11-09T12:12:00.000+00:00

A little “off the wall”, but this guy really brightens up my weekend – people either love him or hate him, and I am one of the former …..

What does Tyler do? Well, he writes a column in the Weekend Travel section of the Financial Times on a Saturday. Not just any old column though – he pontificates about the global travel experience, high-end brands and consumerism, Sweden, and Japan!

His love for all things Swedish, Japanese or generally high-end and “minimalist” is well-documented, and he gives his weekly sermon from the “pulpit” of his FT column. I look forward to it every week, as I am generally transported to a faraway place through his musings – check him out on www.ft.com/brule

Veselka Ukranian Diner, New York

2006-11-03T17:08:00.001+00:00

It's quite a while since I have eaten at one of my favourite little gems in the East Village, but on my recent trip to NYC, I walked right by Veselka, so let me tell you about it ...

Zagat, Time Out and New York Magazine all rate this 24 hour cafe very highly - "Borscht, whether hot or cold, is hot these days, as a culinary glasnost, heralded by Pravda and promises of the revamped Russian Tea Room, has overtaken the city. But the best borscht happens to be found at an old standby, the 24-hour Ukrainian cafe where chef Malgorzata Sibilska gets the balance of sweet and sour just right. For 43 years, owner Tom Birchard insists, Veselka’s three renditions of the electric-magenta fare have been made from scratch, even when the going rate for good beets skyrockets and others use bottled ones. A hot, “Ukrainian borscht,” Eastern Europe’s answer to minestrone is a menu staple. Traditional Eastern European “Christmas borscht,” with mushroom dumplings, and a cold vegetarian version that “looks tike paint,” with cucumber, sour cream, and optional sliced egg, are served seasonally."

I personally love a weekend lunchtime at Veselka - the atmosphere is "buzzy" and I love the Pierogi - Ukranian dumplings stuffed with meat and/or vegetables and then boiled or fried, are just scrumtious ! Desserts aren't half bad too ! Be ready to wait when things are busy, but believe me, it's worth it !

Fishy Fishy Cafe, Kinsale, Co. Cork, Ireland

2006-10-31T22:14:00.000+00:00

My first recommendation is neither far nor distant from me, but I wanted to be sure that my favourite restaurant in Ireland was in prime position on this blog! Well, it's actually restaurant(s), but more on that later .....

Fishy Fishy - so good they named it twice - is one of those places that you love and admire big time. Whats to love? The freshest fish cooked with true culinary acumen, the most lipsmacking shellfish and the best salads and desserts. All their fish is caught locally, from lobster, crab, crayfish to cod, monkfish, john dory and haddock.

They don't do meat: they don't need to. This restaurant is so radical, you can't book a table.

Opening hours

March - November: 7 days a week 12-4pm - later hours in summer, until 5ish

Rest of year: 6 days a week (Mon-Sat) 9am-6pm

STOP PRESS: Fishy Fishy 2 has recently opened in the former Kent Gallery, near the Marina in Kinsale - to cope with exponential demand, Martin & Marie have opened another location in Kinsale, with the same excellent service and ingredients ..... And it's now almost as busy as the original ! Stop by (early) on a sunny day to take some of the outdoor seats under the canopy, and have a long, lazy lunch of delicious cuisine, superb wines and a relaxed ambiance - ohhhh, the world is such a wonderful place .....

The First Post !

2006-10-30T12:00:00.000+00:00

Well, it's Monday morning here in Ireland, and our Bank Holiday weekend, so I'm on holiday. I've been meaning to start a travel blog for some time now, so here goes !

The purpose of this blog will be to create a diary of my travels, together with some hints & tips that I have picked up along the way ..... I will also dive back into my own photo and memory archives to publish some interesting bits about destinations that I particularly enjoy, together with the best ways to get there.

I must admit that I have been spoiled by travelling in Business (and even First!) class longhaul on occasions, so I desire a champagne lifestyle, with unfortunately a beer budget ;-). My hotel and resort experiences generally are good mid-range 4-star properties and I do enjoy finding particularly good value in such properties across the globe.

Anyway, enough of my rambling - let's get this blog on the road (or on the web!), and I will begin adding to it over the next few days.

Methinks that this will be a bit like golf - once you start, it may become very addictive!

Welcome to my world!

John P