golfkat Travel Blog

From Alex Halverson of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Commuting or traveling, it doesn’t matter. Both involve surrounding yourself with strangers and their breaches of unwritten social conduct.
But sometimes people are just unaware. Whether it’s the man who took his shoes off on the plane or the woman who leaned up against a bus pole in a crowded bus, sometimes people travel in their own little bubble.

So Genfare released a survey with the top annoyances for air travel, public transportation and ride sharing all ranked based off percentages of responses. There were some duplicates throughout the three lists like loud and talkative strangers, but each list had a different winner.

The survey also broke down some preferences for air travel. The percentage of people who were fine with no shoes on a flight? Sixty-four percent. But that number plummeted when it came to no socks — just a 20 percent approval rating. (I once saw a guy clip his toenails on a Jetblue flight!)

It wasn’t just annoyances on a plane that the survey broke down. Respondents were asked about their sleep habits on a plane. Seventy-five percent of those asked said they were able to sleep on a plane, while 34 percent said they needed a pill or drink to fall asleep. That would be me.
A minority also struck down the option of reclining. Thirty-six percent said that reclining seats should be banned.
A majority of those surveyed preferred to be left alone on a flight. Fifty-seven percent said they don’t like talking to a seatmate, and the most popular remedy for a talkative neighbor was to put on headphones. I need to recline since I have chronic neck pain.

And yes, the survey did inquire about mile-high club membership. Twelve percent said they’ve been “intimate” on a plane. I have yet to experience this!

For my two cents, I do recline my seat when I can. Why? I have an old neck injury from a bad workstation back in the 90s. So, it feels considerably better to recline a little.

And I only take my shoes off on longer flights, and when a pair of socks or slippers are provided by the airlines. But I do have a pet peeve: you flip flop travelers! What would you do in the case of a fire in the cabin? Or traverse across multiple runways and into the scrub brush and trash in between runways?

In my earlier days of travel, I always talked at least a little. Lately, not so much. Why? I realize I need the time to relax, maybe read a little, watch a movie, or just veg out. I hate the loud talkers, and those who move around constantly during even the shortest of flights. Did I just mention travelers from China? YES!!!

I also do not like flight attendants or passengers who slam the overhead compartments. It hurts my ears!!!! Please learn how to close them quietly.

Toe tappers are another problem. They bother almost everyone around them, front, back, and sides. Perhaps they have on headphones? Their music is often loud enough to hear.

And don’t even get me started on loud phone talkers. Both business people and tourists are equally guilty. Why would you want someone to hear about your top secret billion dollar business deal? Or the mess your dog made on your brand new leather couch?
Curiously, this does not seem to happen on trains, except for one occurrence on the way to Machu Picchu. Amtrak seems to be great for peaceful travel, perhaps with an older demographic? Or maybe we self-select, knowing that the journey will be more relaxing, and peaceful.
Speaking of odoriferous smells, people who bring fast food onto planes should be banned! That sickening smell of a Big Mac or Whopper is enough to make me puke! Puke? That’s a funny word (remember Steinfield and Kenny Banya?). I read recently about an airliner that had a bunch of durian in the cargo hold. There is a good reason the durian is banned from hotels, public transportation, and places of business. Passengers on a Sriwijaya Air flight headed to Jakarta staged a protest, insisting that a large shipment of the foul-smelling fruit durian be removed from the plane.

But all of this pales in comparison to the relatively new mainland Chinese traveler. They seem to lack any understanding of your personal space or well being. Perhaps they live in a densely inhabited area? Or maybe they just behave like they do back home. Even my Geography book for my class at Clovis Community makes a comment about obnoxious Chinese tourists!!

I encountered so many loud and obnoxious Chinese tourists on my recent trip to SE Asia. The seat belt sign means nothing to them. Likewise, any admonishments from the flight staff. And a total disregard for anyone else, either standing in line, boarding, an deplaning. They remind me of the old Green Bay Packer sweep, running over anybody in their way!!
Whatever you do, wherever you go, please don’t be THAT person!!!!

Just be thankful you were not on this flight:

From George Steer of TIME magazine:  Passengers aboard Air France Flight AF116 to Shanghai were left stranded in Siberia for three days after their plane was forced to make an emergency landing and a replacement plane suffered a technical issue.

“The crew of AF116 on a Boeing 777 from Paris to Shanghai decided to divert to Irkutsk in Russia after an acrid smell and light smoke appeared on board,” the French carrier told wire service Agence France-Presse. The plane landed safely, with no one on board hurt.

When engineers realized the plane could not be fixed quickly enough, a second Boeing was dispatched by Air France from Paris to pick up the stranded passengers.

It arrived the next day without a hitch – the passengers having spent a night in a nearby hotel – but the new plane was unable to take off, prolonging the frustrations of the travelers.

Without Russian visas, they were unable to access their luggage, and had to be accompanied by local police wherever they went, the Moscow Times reports. Temperatures in the region can plunge to nearly -4 degrees Fahrenheit.

Two freezing days later, a third plane finally arrived, departing for Shanghai with no trouble.

What should have been an 11-hour flight ended up taking close to four days.

Air France apologized to the affected passengers in a statement, blaming the chaos on an “exceptional situation.”

The New York Times reported:

The episode prompted plenty of jokes from Russians on social media, partly because the story echoed the plot of a popular 1970s Soviet comedy called “The Incredible Adventures of Italians in Russia.”

Many also pilloried officials in Irkutsk for not letting the foreigners look around — Lake Baikal, one of the wonders of Siberia, was only about an hour’s drive away. Others offered to show passengers the sights if they returned under more pleasant circumstances.

I have a few things to say about this, of course.  Irkutsk is the gateway city to one of Russia and Siberia’s greatest attractions, Lake Baikal.  I stopped there back in 2014, and spent several days in both Baikal and Irkutsk.

But I agree that four days is too long to spend in Irkutsk itself.  Perhaps they were allowed a day trip to Lake Baikal, several hours away by car.  Baikal is an amazing place, and the world’s largest freshwater lake.  And it freezes over in the winter!!!

My thoughts would be the Russians would encourage the stranded travelers to spend money in their city.  For one, there cannot be too much tourism this time of year.  And two, what could possibly create a problem if they ran around the city for a few days?  Bottom line, they certainly needed clean bottoms!  Yes, some clean clothes, food, and exercise, at a minimum.  Would this be covered by the Geneva Convention??

To prove my point (from the BY Times):

“We are dirty, we smell, it is now over 30 hours that we are under house arrest, without a suitcase or passport,” Eleanor Joulie, one of those stranded, wrote on Twitter on Monday, after the ordeal was barely half over.

Though I only spent one night in Irkutsk,  it reminded me of a typical mid-sized city, trying hard to be relevant.  Even in good weather, there were not many tourists.  I was the only one in their big city marketplace, with fruit and vegetables imported from Turkey and Greece.  And the only one at dinner in a nearby Japanese restaurant and sushi bar.

But I did leave out one little detail.  When a Russian visa is issued to a foreigner, your itinerary must accompany your visa application.  Why?  The Russians actually track you throughout your stay.  Your passport is taken upon arrival at a hotel, and returned to you when you check out.  Failure to do so will either result in an unwelcome call or visit from the Russian police, or worse yet, the inability to check into your next hotel or mode of transport!!!

While this did not happen to me, it did happen to one of my travel companions on the Trans Siberian Railway.  The hotel ‘forgot” to check him out of his hotel.  So, when he reached his next destination, they were unable to register him into the hotel!!!

Looking on the brighter side of things, a “free” four day stay in Russia may have been a welcome addition to some of the passengers.  On the other hand, they may have been quite intimidated by being “guided” around Irkutsk by the Russian police!

Next time you are stuck or stranded, just appreciate you are not in Siberia!!!

This was the longest bus ride I have taken. Somehow, it made the list of the world’s most beautiful bus rides. Was it? It was certainly long, 12.5 hours, from Ushuaia, Argentina to Punta Arenas, Chile. This article in Lonely Planet mentions taking the bus ride the opposite direction:
Argentina: Rio Gallegos to Ushuaia
Distance: 360 miles (580km)
Estimated duration: 11 hours
It’s a trip to the end of the world; that’s the civic motto of Ushuaia, the world’s southernmost city, and this poetic title sets the tone of this grand journey that’ll have passengers feeling like pioneering explorers as they cross land, sea and international borders on a meandering voyage along the toe of Argentina.
Starting in the busy port town of Rio Gallegos, this bus route crosses the Chilean border, before boarding a ferry to cross the tempestuous Strait of Magellan, where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet. While watching the hulking glacial landscapes glide past from the ship’s deck, it’s easy to envisage yourself as a modern Magellan, the strait’s Portuguese namesake, who passed through in 1520. After making port in Patagonia, hop back on the bus to cross the romantically-named Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire), a windswept archipelago that’s home to storied shipwrecks and snow-scuffed mountain ranges, before arriving in Ushuaia, where the adventures continue with skiing, scuba diving and trips to Antarctica.
Why did Mike and I do this? First, how did we end up in Ushuaia? Our original goal was to drive the country of Chile form top to bottom. We did the top part, some by auto, some by plane, some by walking. When we got back to Santiago, we decided to take a side trip to Mendoza (Argentina) for some wine tasting. Once there, we decided it would be nice to visit Buenos Aires, since Mike had been there numerous times, as a departure point to the Argentine countryside to go dove hunting.

And from Buenos Aires, we though we would fly down to the southernmost point, Ushuaia, and drive up the spine of Chile, and the Andes. So, after a few days in Ushuaia, we discovered 1) the only flights were back to Buenos Aires, or 2) take a 12.5 hour bus ride back to Chile.

Ushuaia sidebar: Ushuaia takes full advantage of its end-of-the-world status, and an increasing number of Antarctica-bound vessels call into its port. The town’s mercantile hustle knows no irony: there’s a souvenir shop named for Jimmy Button (a Fuegian native taken for show in England) and the ski center is named for the destructive invasive castor (beaver). That said, with a pint of the world’s southernmost microbrew in hand, you can happily plot the outdoor options: hiking, sailing, skiing, kayaking and even scuba diving.

A car rental was out of the question, and we wondered why? The ferry across Magellan does not operate during the season we were there!!! Besides that, it is a 30 hour ferry, with no stops, and no amenities. So, instead of going back to Buenos Aires, and missing most of southern Chile, we opted for the bus. Problem solved? NO!!!

The bus leaves only on even numbered days, and it had already departed (6am). We had to wait another two days to catch the next bus out of Ushuaia. However, we were able to take a boat out to the Beagle Channel, and froze our butts off in the straits and waters made famous by Chuckie Darwin.

The first thing I noticed was the COLD temperature outside, and subsequently, inside the bus. We were handed a cup of tea, and a cheese sandwich, along with a very heavy horse blanket. At least, it felt like a horse blanket. But it certainly was welcome. I was able to nap a few times through the Argentine pampas. I had two seats to myself, Mr. Mike sat across from me in his two seats. Fortunately, the bus was only half full!!!!!

The ONLY stop along the way was the border crossing. First, on the Argentine side, then a few yards further, the Chilean side. The process probably took 2 hours, but we soon realized it was a welcome stop. We walked around, went to a regular toilet, and pretended to speak some Spanish to the locals.

Was it the longest 12 hours in my life? Probably not, since I pulled 12 hour shifts when I was interning. Was it the most boring 12 hours in my life? Most likely. I was unable to not read, there was no internet, and I drank too much bad coffee! But we made our ultimate goal: a few days later, we made it to Torres del Paine!!