Horse racing season has begun in the United Arab Emirates, home to some of the world’s best racing and training facilities, and the wealthiest owners.
If you’ve been to the races elsewhere in the world, you’ll feel at home at the racetracks in Abu Dhabi and Dubai (Meydan and Jebel Ali), where events are run to international rules. But some expats will notice that two key ingredients are missing (or difficult to find): alcoholic beverages and ontrack betting.
Are people becoming afraid of having fun?
A accident that killed four people on a ride at Dreamworld on Australia’s Gold Coast has reportedly led to a decline in the number of theme park visitors.
The best travel advice for any destination often comes from the people who live there.
I qualified that statement with “often” because there is one thing that locals aren’t good at — but I will come to that later.
While credit and debit cards have made things a lot easier, there’s always a need for travellers to have cash — and getting the right amount can be a nightmare.
For starters, changing money is always fraught. You can be assured that you’re going to lose on the deal. Even those exchange booths that promise “no commission” are paying their way (and then some) somehow, and that’s by charging you an unfavourable rate.
14 November
The hobby of “brown signing” is being celebrated in Britain via the annual calendar of the Dull Men’s Club.
The 2017 calendar, the first to feature women, includes a picture of Amanda Hone, 36, who has an obsession with the brown signs that point the way to points of interest to tourists.
Ms Hone said: “Soon after leaving university I quit my job, saved up some money and spent a year travelling around Britain following brown signs.”
She runs a website that lists all the brown signs in the United Kingdom.
Many people will be aware of this video made by American actor Johnny Depp and his now-ex-wife Amber Heard about Australia’s strict quarantine laws.
The video was made as part of a deal when the couple faced charges for brining their dogs, Pistol and Boo, into Australia illegally. Their awakwardness is probably explained by the deteriorating relationship between the couple, but it also may indicate a lack of commitment to the words they are speaking.
The French are arrogant, the English are miserable, Scots are tight with their money, Australians are boorish drunks, Italians are dangerously passionate, Americans are loud know-it-alls …
If you agree with any of these statements, then you’re guilty of buying into stereotypes. While it’s true that stereotypes develop from a grain of truth or experience, they too often get exaggerated and disguise a very important fact about humanity.
After their hotel stays, many guests receive an online survey asking them to rate the service and facilities.
I have a problem with these surveys — they are often too detailed, too long and too time-consuming; they often demand answers to questions that are irrelevant to the respondent; and they require some of us to think in ways we may not normally think.
Update: The closure of GoMA, as addressed in this blog post, was the topic of a spot on radio station 612 ABC Brisbane. Hear Brett Debritz talk to Spencer Howson here.
When I was a child growing up in Brisbane, the Brisbane River was the big divide. If you were born on the north side, as I was, you rarely travelled south of the river. If you born on the south, you never went north.
The emergence of the Cultural Precinct in South Brisbane changed all that. By building a new theatre complex (the Queensland Performing Arts Centre) and relocating the State Library, Art Gallery and Museum to the southside — along with setting World Expo 88 in the grounds that are now known as Southbank Parklands, the state government created a reason for northerners to venture south and southsiders to feel a little smug.
The first thing that struck me on arrival at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel, near the busy Siam central shopping district, was the security.
The taxi boot was checked and I had to go through a airport-style scanner before entry to the foyer.
Given the recent death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, I was expecting the mood in Bangkok to be more sombre than on my past visits.
Indeed, many people are wearing black and dark colours, and many of the billboards on the road from the airport were black, with pictures of the King and plainly written, heartfelt, tributes from companies and government bodies.
However, Thai hospitality persists, and both the taxi driver — who, regrettably tried the old “meter broken” trick (which I handled by offering him the fare I knew was correct) — and the hotel staff were friendly.
I stayed near Siam, at the Marriott Courtyard (more about that in another post) in Ratchadamri near Central World, which is well located for the BTS (Sky Train) and taxis (although the roads are impossibly clogged most of the day and night).
On October 28, I’ll be heading off to my home town of Brisbane, Australia, travelling via Bangkok. I’ll be flying business class on Oman Air, Emirates and Qantas, and I’ll be staying at properties managed by Accor and Marriott.
I’ll be blogging the highlights — including flight, airport lounge and hotel reviews — here, and I’ll be active on Twitter (@debritz), Instagram and Facebook. And, of course, as often as possible, I’ll be updating the Travel and Tourism News on this site.
Two news stories caught my attention within hours of each other yesterday. One was about a woman who had been ordered to pay the costs of an airline that was forced to divert due to her onboard behaviour.
The other was what, certainly at first glance, appeared to be celebration of a British man who got so drunk on holiday in Ibiza that he became part of a “hen do” (the female equivalent of a bachelor’s / stag / buck’s party).
Yes, it’s a cliche, but like most cliches, it has a basis in truth. Amazing coincidences occur when you travel.
I’ve run into friends from home on the other side of the world and met people who know people I know, but this is probably the weirdest thing that has happened.
Take a look at this picture:
I love a good impromptu holiday. On many occasions, I’ve travelled within hours of buying my ticket. Sometimes, I’ve simply arrived at an airport, alone or in company, and booked a flight on the spot.
But you’ve got to have your wits about you. A friend was recently lamenting the fact that he’d bought plane tickets on the internet for a flight a few days hence and hadn’t realised that he needed both a visa and a vaccination before he would be allowed to visit his intended destination.
You’re bound to have heard a story about people who meet while on holiday, exchange addresses and phone numbers, and hope like hell that they never hear from each other again.
Then, there are those cliched holiday romances — none more romantic than those forged on a sea voyage — that always end in tears (although not always due to an iceberg).
Updated: October 12 and October 21, 2018
A few years ago, a dog defecated in front of me. Not a big deal you might think – except that I was on a cruise ship, in the buffet restaurant.
The dog was an “emotional support animal” for a woman who, admittedly, was deeply embarrassed. But the fact remains that a dog did its business in a place where people eat, creating a health and safety hazard.
Continue reading Support animals on planes: a discussion we have to have
Last night I was in an Abu Dhabi taxi whose driver behaved in what you might think is an extraordinary manner. He drove right up to a vehicle that was stopped in front of us, edging ever closer to it, then suddenly braking to avoid contact. He flashed his lights at the car, muttered some curse words and shook his fist at the other driver.
Why? Because the car in front had stopped at a pedestrian crossing to allow some people, including a woman pushing a pram, to cross the road.
Thousands of choices and yet nothing to watch … that’s the experience I often have with the onboard entertainment system when I fly.
There may be a wide choice in terms of the number of shows, but there will only be one, or maybe three, episodes of a programme that I really like.
