International Air Transport Association (IATA) has named Dubai as the world's favorite airport in a new passenger survey. This is the second year in succession that it has been rated top in overall passenger satisfaction. Singapore's Changi airport was in second place. The world's busiest airports did not rate well with passengers. Atlanta Hartsfield. and Chicago O'Hare in the US; London Heathrow and Haneda in Tokyo all failed to make the leading group. Canada's Vancouver International scored best in North America while Copenhagen was the European leader.
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Cracks Found in Three Gorges Dam
Experts have found 80 hairline cracks in China's Three Gorges Dam, amid reports of poor workmanship on the world's largest water project, expected to take 17 years – completion expected in 2009. An estimated 250,000 workers are involved in the project and the reservoir will cover 632 square kilometres (395 square miles) of land. Government officials estimate that the dam will resettle 1.2 million people. Critics complain about substandard construction work, corruption and negligence in resettlement work. The project is expected to produce up to one-ninth of China's total output of electricity.
So You Think You’re Well Travelled?
Here’s a little Beetle quiz based on airport codes. See how many you get right! Go on, have a guess!
Which cities are served by airports with the following codes:
- MSY
- FCO
- MEL
- LXR
- CMB
For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.
Have you got a tale to tell?
If you have a travellers tale that your aching to tell. Then why not visit the “Travel Sized Bites” section of the Website and share it with the world. Travel Sized Bites
London Tube Tales
“Ladies and Gentlemen do you want the good news first or the bad news?
“The good news is that last Friday was my birthday and I hit the town and had a great time. I felt sadly let down by the fact that none of you sent me a card! I drive you to work and home each day and not even a card.”
“The bad news is that there is a points failure somewhere between Stratford and East Ham, which means that we probably won't reach our destination for a good ninety minutes yet. We may have to stop and return. I won't reverse back up the line – simply get out, walk up the platform and go back to where we started. In the meantime if you get bored you can simply talk to the man in front or beside you or opposite you.”
“Let me start you off: “Hi, my name's Gary how do you do?”
MEETING NEWS
Meeting news from our branches around the world.
Meeting News from London
Globetrotters meeting 3rd May by Acorn
Our first speaker, Windy Baboulene spoke to us for over 45 minutes, without slides or props, of his time as a youngster in the merchant navy and some of the outrageous escapades he got up to.
His first story concerned his favourite safari hat, and how one of his children had thrown it out of the car window whilst in a controlled safari park in the UK; was he brave enough to get it back? That would depend on whether his story of lone survival on the Serengeti Plains was The Truth or not. He went on to tell us the actual events behind his Kenyan safari so we could decide for ourselves. He and his fellow shipmates had been on safari, but had not taken it seriously. They had played “dares”, such as running away from the safety of the truck and dancing – on the plains in the Rift Valley – around an imaginary handbag, whilst the nearby wildlife watched on, amused. During Windy's turn at performing a dare, his 'friends' drove off and left him. Just for a laugh, you understand. Was he brave…?
Another one of Windy’s stories was about being caught out boasting about his skiing prowess and being taken by helicopter along with some new found friends to ski from impossibly sheer cliffs in the Rocky Mountains of Canada.
Windy's story telling was not just funny – it was interesting and engaging too. To know more, you’ll have to buy his book, The 'Hilarious and often Bizarre true story' (ABTA Travel) entitled 'Blue Road', available from Amazon – to take a look and to see more reviews, visit Windy Baboulene's Blue Road
Our second speaker, John Harrison spoke of his seven canoeing expeditions up the Amazon. His slides showed the beauty and also the dangers of being in such an inhospitable landscape. We saw how John and his travel companions occasionally suffered the ravages of tropical diseases, including malaria when they swigged quinine out a bottle – until they ran out – and Leishmaniasis, (a horrible parasitic disease transmitted by the bite of some species of sand flies) that causes huge sores. We also saw pictures of the Amazon, the river, its tributaries, undergrowth, enormous spiders and insects, of hidden tribes protected against explorers. John finished up by telling us of the trouble he got into with the French Guyanese authorities for having crossed over into French Guyana without a visa – they had after all travelled up the Amazon! The immigration officials in the capital, Cayenne gave him such a hard time, threatening all manner of penalties, including a spell in prison, until he realised that French speaking John was actually British, and being a part of the EU did not actually need a visa to travel into French Guyana!
Coming up in June
Saturday, 7th June
JACQUI TROTTER A Year travelling in South America
– Jacqui, a regular London “Globie” enjoys
a year travelling – sometimes with overland groups – and
sometimes “solo.”
SIMON MYERS China – Simon spent five years in China before riding a Chinese motorbike and sidecar back from Beijing to London. His first book “Adrift in China” has recently been published.
London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. There is no London meeting in August, but we will be back in September. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk
Write for the Globetrotters monthly e-newsletter
If you enjoy writing, enjoy travelling, why not write for the free monthly Globetrotters e-newsletter! The Beetle would love to hear from you: your travel stories, anecdotes, jokes, questions, hints and tips, or your hometown or somewhere of special interest to you. Over 7,500 people currently subscribe to the free Globetrotter e-news.
To see your story in cyber print, e-mail the Beetle with your travel experiences, hints and tips or questions up to 750 words, together with a couple of sentences about yourself and a contact e-mail address to Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk
London Tube Tales
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we apologise for the delay, but there is a security alert at Victoria Station, and we are stuck here for the foreseeable future, so let's take our minds off it and pass some time together. All together now…. Ten green bottles, hanging on a wall…..”
So You Think You.re Well Travelled?
Here’s a little Beetle quiz based on airport codes. How many did you get right! Go on, have a guess!
Which cities are served by airports with the following codes:
- PHX
- ATH
- ZNZ
- DPS
- EZE
For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.