“There must be a better way than this!” Jane muttered as she shuffled forward with all the other budget airline passengers. “After all it’s only a two hour flight, so why not make it just that little bit more comfortable, and not treat us like cattle?” Jane knew that it was a hackneyed expression, but said it anyway. It amused her as she thought of different names, such as Moove-over airlines, for the not so discerning traveller, and, Stampede Express, for the tourist who gets caught up in the rush. Jane must have laughed out loud as several enquiring and accusing faces glowered back at her. She could see them looking and shaking their heads in disbelief as she snorted with laughter! “Piggy Airlines, oink, oink, no free grub here!”

By now she was in convulsions, and only managed to stop when an over watchful security guard walked by and stared at her. “Threat to security too am I? Didn’t know that no frills meant no giggles too, oink, oink!” But, discretion being the better part of valour she shut up for fear of being kicked off the flight. The plane finally took off forty minutes late, with the pilot cheerily telling everybody, they would make up the time en-route. “Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight.” Jane would have liked to have done so but found herself wedged in between two rather large people, who, as it turned out were travelling together. Jane thought. “Why on earth don’t they sit next to each other?” So she asked the lady if they would like to change places. “Oh no! We were on first, and this is where we stay, thank you very much. Besides Ronny has to have the aisle seat, as he always gets air sick!” Jane shuddered at the thought, and to try and take her mind off what might happen she began to read. But as soon as the seat belt sign went off, ‘Mrs Ron’ needed to use the toilet! It seemed to take ages for all three to get unwedged from their seats and in the scramble Jane’s book got trampled on, tearing its cover, and scattering several pages under the row in front.

Finally ‘Mrs Ron’ was free. But, just as she started down the aisle, the seat belt light went back on. The flight attendant, who looked about twelve, but with the authority of a sergeant major, commanded ‘Mrs Ron’ to return to her seat, ‘for her own safety, as we are about to come into some turbulence.’ Hastily ‘Mrs Ron’ did as she was told, but on her way back to her seat, managed to reduce the remainder of Jane’s book into a mass of unreadable waste paper. Jane gave a mirthless grin, and sighed, “at last, real pulp fiction!” as she closed her eyes to try to shut out her predicament. No chance there though! Just as she began to doze off, Jane got an elbow in her ribs. She woke with a start to see Mrs Ron delving into a large bag. Jane watched with interest as she rummaged deep into its seemingly bottomless interior, finally producing a foil pack that was literally bursting open with food. Mrs Ron leaned over Jane. “Pilchard and sweet corn sandwich first Ron?”

Jane groaned as Ron reached over, clammily grabbing the strong smelling sandwich, and devouring it in three big bites! “Mmmm, that was good,” he mumbled, “what’s next?” Mrs Ron passed him a large flaky sausage roll, which he proceeded to eat in the same fashion, that was until he inhaled a crumb, and began to cough violently, and in all directions at once! Jane got her share, and so did the man across the aisle, but as he was sleeping didn’t notice his newly decorated arm. Jane just sat there, unable to move, because Mrs Ron was leaning over her fussing around with tissues. “There, there, dear, shouldn’t bolt your food, that’ll teach you not to be so greedy.” Just then the pilot’s voice came over the intercom. “Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, we hope that you’re all enjoying the flight, you’ll be very pleased to know we’ve made up the forty minute delay, caused by congestion over Paris, and now we’re ahead of schedule, and should be landing in approximately thirty minutes. The weather in Barcelona is sunny and the temperature is 21�Celsius. If you look out of the windows you’ll see a lovely view of Southern France and the Alps, but please remain seated as there are some thunder storms ahead and we may experience slight turbulence, but there is nothing to worry about so please sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight” Jane groaned. “That’s about the last thing I can do, I just want to get off, things can’t get any worse than this, I hate it!”

But she spoke too soon. Ronny leaned over to his wife and announced he felt ill! He reached for the sick bag, just in time, and it was all Jane could do to stop herself from copying him. But she held her breath, and her resolve, until slowly the nausea passed. This didn’t stop ‘Mrs Ron’s’ panic as she proffered more tissues to her ailing husband. Luckily the flight attendant was on hand with a damp cloth, and a replacement bag. For the rest of the flight a very pale looking Ronny sat there, seemingly glued to his seat, with the sick bag and damp cloth clamped firmly to his face. When they finally touched down, Jane breathed a sigh of relief, but all to soon. because no sooner had the plane come to a standstill Mrs Ron was up and trying to clamber over her to help her husband. The damp cloth landed on Jane’s lap, and the sick bag dropped onto the floor under her feet. It was awful, her worst nightmare come true. But Jane’s inscrutability stayed constant. Only a few more minutes and they’d be out of her life forever, or so she thought!

Jane hadn’t realised that the airport was about 90km from Barcelona, at least another two hours journey. She’d planned to meet up with her friend Helen in time for lunch, and would have liked the chance for a shower beforehand, but by the time the bus was destined to arrive there it would be mid afternoon. “Nothing I can do about it anyway” Jane shrugged, as she bought her bus ticket. “I may as well sit out in the sun ’til its time to leave” She propped her shoulder bag against a tree, and, using it as a pillow, closed her eyes, breathed in the airport aroma of aviation fuel, tobacco, and coffee, and listened to the sounds of activity all around her. The constant gentle drone began to relax her and she started to regain her composure from the flight when she heard it! She sat up straight and looked. There they were, “The two Ronnies” pushing an overloaded baggage cart towards the bus. Jane watched as the driver, who had been sitting on a bench smoking and reading his paper, slowly get up to help them with their luggage. From his gaze Jane could already see his contempt for them building up as they neared him. He helped them to stow their cases and watched as they climbed up into the hot and stuffy bus. They collapsed into opposite seats and began fanning themselves with newspapers.

Presently the driver started the bus to get the air conditioning going, and slowly it began to fill up. But Jane, being a ‘super-cool’ independent traveller remained sitting in the sun until the last minute! The driver signalled to her that he was about to leave, and to get on board. Jane stamped her ticket and found a seat, well away from the two Ronnies. The driver began to check the tickets and as he made his way towards the back of the bus she heard a familiar voice. “Two tickets please.” She listened as the driver explained :”You must buy your tickets in the airport building but please hurry as we are going now!” The two Ronnies barged their way off the bus, making a lot of fuss and complaining loudly. Finally, just as the driver was about to remove their luggage, they returned looking rather hot and flustered. Jane began to feel sorry for them, as they seemed very dejected and forlorn. But, her sorrow was short lived as they plonked themselves down heavily in the only empty available seat, right behind her!

Eventually they arrived in Barcelona and Jane got to meet up with Helen. Over a drink at a pavement caf� she began to recount her journey, the crush to get on the flight, the cramped conditions, her neighbours eating habits, and finally the long bus ride to Barcelona. Helen stared at Jane in disbelief. “That must have been pretty uncomfortable Jane, but I’m surprised at you. We’ve been friends ever since junior school, and I always thought that you had an eye for a bargain!” Jane stared at her. “What do you mean? I got here for less then �70!” Helen laughed. “Plus your food, plus the bus fare, plus no choice of seat, plus the crush to get a decent place, plus the hassle of cramped claustrophobic conditions. I reckon you must have parted with at least �100 to get here. Need I say more?” Jane splutteringly tried to justify herself. “OK Helen, how did you get here then, by magic carpet?” Helen smiled sweetly back at her. “I booked my British Airways ticket on line, it cost me �90.00 all in, I got the seat that I wanted, and a snack on the flight. Plus they fly directly into Barcelona, and not some distant airport. By travelling my way I got here quicker and have more time to do everything I want to! Taking all your extra costs in to consideration I reckon I got the better deal don’t you?” Jane pondered for a moment, but had to reluctantly agree, and as she mockingly poked out her tongue she replied. “OK, smarty-pants, you’re right, I think I’ve learned my lesson. The cheapest deal isn’t always the best. Next time, before I press the ‘accept’ key on my computer, I’ll do some research and check out all of the options including Thomas Cook. Now, come on! Finish your drink, and lets get sight seeing. There’s so much I want to see. Besides, see those two people hovering at the entrance?”

We mention the Trip Advisor survey in the side bar, but we thought you may be interested in seeing some of their key findings from a recent survey of over 3,000 travellers.

• Power vacations — We’ve heard of speed dating, now there’s speed relaxing. Eighty-three percent of travellers surveyed unwind in less than two days of vacation and 94 percent in less than four days.
• “Germaphobia”? — Americans seem to be twice as “germaphobic” as travellers from other parts of the world, and 22 percent of all travellers won’t leave home without one of the following: linens, pillow, disinfectant/cleaning supplies or shower shoes. Fifty-eight percent of those surveyed travel with their own shampoo.
• Natural disasters — According to 85 percent of survey respondents, hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes are now a factor when choosing travel destinations. Sixty-five percent said natural disasters were not a consideration prior to the devastating disasters of the past year.
• Star struck — Celebrities do indeed influence travel planning. Sixty- five percent of travellers surveyed have been to a destination known to have celebrity guests. The number jumps to 70 percent for Americans.
• Leave your inhibitions at home — Forty-three percent of women, but only 28 percent of men, said they dress more daringly on vacation than they ever would at home.
• Real men go to spas — Visiting a luxury spa was the third most likely vacation activity in the next year, following sightseeing and shopping. What was most surprising is that men are almost as likely as women to pursue pampering.
• Rolling the dice? — Adventure activities topped gambling in popularity
• thirty-six percent of travellers are likely to participate in adventure activities, including heli-skiing, white water rafting and bungee jumping on their next vacation versus 33 percent who are likely to gamble.

TripAdvisor.com is leading global travel information and advice destination, with more than 2.9 million unbiased reviews and opinions and covering 200,000+ hotels and attractions. With more than 18 million unique monthly visitors worldwide (source see

The World’s Largest Islands

Soure: http://www.xist.org/charts/nat_island.php

China's mainland will become the world's biggest supplier of tourists by 2020, according to a recently released report by CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.

As many as 115 million Chinese mainland citizens are expected to travel overseas in 2010, higher than the World Tourism Organization's estimate of 100 million, the report said. Outbound travellers from the mainland surged 43 percent in 2004 to 29 million.

Rising personal incomes and the government's easing travel restrictions on individuals will contribute to the increase, according to the report.

In 2004, only 4 percent of China's urban population travelled overseas, leaving huge growth potential, the report said.

As 70 percent of mainland outbound travellers visit Macau or Hong Kong, their holiday spending will bolster stocks of Hong Kong retailers, European luxury goods firms and Macau gaming companies, the report said.

As many as 500 million people are expected to be allowed to travel individually to Hong Kong and Macau next year, up from 200 million this year, the report said.

Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying 'toxic dart' guns. Divers and surfers could be at risk from attack. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing.

Leo Sheridan, 72, a respected accident investigator who has worked for government and industry, said he had received intelligence from sources close to the US government's marine fisheries service confirming dolphins had escaped.

'My concern is that they have learnt to shoot at divers in wetsuits who have simulated terrorists in exercises. If divers or windsurfers are mistaken for a spy or suicide bomber and if equipped with special harnesses carrying toxic darts, they could fire,' he said. 'The darts are designed to put the target to sleep so they can be interrogated later, but what happens if the victim is not found for hours?'

Usually dolphins were controlled via signals transmitted through a neck harness. 'The question is, were these dolphins made secure before Katrina struck?' said Sheridan.

The mystery surfaced when a separate group of dolphins was washed from a commercial oceanarium on the Mississippi coast during Katrina. Eight were found with the navy's help, but the dolphins were not returned until US navy scientists had examined them.

Sheridan is convinced the scientists were keen to ensure the dolphins were not the navy's, understood to be kept in training ponds in a sound in Louisiana, close to Lake Pontchartrain, whose waters devastated New Orleans.

The navy launched the classified Cetacean Intelligence Mission in San Diego in 1989, where dolphins, fitted with harnesses and small electrodes planted under their skin, were taught to patrol and protect Trident submarines in harbour and stationary warships at sea.

Criticism from animal rights groups ensured the use of dolphins became more secretive. But the project gained impetus after the Yemen terror attack on the USS Cole in 2000. Dolphins have also been used to detect mines near an Iraqi port.

Meeting news from our branches.

The November meeting took place back at The Church of Scotland, now that most of the building work has been completed.

Our first speaker was Tom Fremantle who endeavoured to follow in the footsteps of Scottish explorer Mungo Park down the Niger river. Tom's excellent talk took in some of the sights of Senegal, Mali, Niger and Nigeria including amazing African markets complete with Fetish stalls selling monkey skulls. We also saw the mud mosque at Djenne, which unfortunately non muslims are no longer allowed to visit the inside of. Tom was there while the African Nations cup was taking place, in small villages he would find hundreds of people crowded around a TV set, often cheering not for a particular team, but just because a goal had been scored! From Niger he showed us the Arbredu Tenere, a tree in the middle of nowhere that was once shown on the Michelin map, it has been replaced by a metal one after a driver managed to hit it. Tom crossed into Nigeria with some trepidation as the country has a reputation for lawlessness, bribery and corruption. Few tourists visit Nigeria, when Tom had collected his visa from the Embassy, he was told he would be the only tourist in Nigeria! He probably was, despite having to give the odd “present” he had a great trip.

After the break it was Amar Grover who gave an interesting talk with great photos of the Minorities in China. Amar explained that there are around 60 recognised minority groups in China and he began with the one known best in the west, the Tibetans. We saw Lhasa with the wonderful Jokang Temple, to which Tibetans travel for hundreds of miles to visit. We also saw the Stupas and Potala Palace. Amar explained that the Chinese are trying to change the make up of the populations in minority areas with more chinese, giving them tax breaks and other incentives to move to these regions. We saw Kazakhs and Uigars who are certainly more central asian than chinese, not only in looks, dress and customs but also in religion. Many still live a nomadic existence using Yurts. Amar showed us Uigar markets at places like Kashgar where old customs prevail. China now recognises many of its minority peoples, but cynics will say it has more to do with the income they generate from western visitors.

By Padmassana

3rd December, Terry Richardson will be talking about “The St.Paul's Trail, following St.Paul's footsteps through Turkey's Taurus Mountains. Visit peaks, canyons, lakes and ancient sites linked by a newly way-marked 500km trail.

co-author of Lycian Way and St. Paul Trail guides and Rough Guide to Turkey. See : http://www.stpaultrail.com/StPaulContent/aboutthewalk.html

After the break, Jonny Bealby will be giving a talk about Northern Pakistan. See: http://www.wildfrontiers.co.uk

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

We used to have meetings in New York City and New Braunfels, Texas. Regrettably, after having done a superb job, neither organisers are able to give their time to Globetrotter meetings. If you are based in New York or New Braunfels and have the time to commit to pick up where our previous organisers left off, we'd love to hear from you – please see our FAQ or contact our the Branch Liaison Officer via our Website at Meeting FAQ. If you are based elsewhere and are interested in starting a branch of the Globetrotters, please feel free to contact us.

Ryanair has defended its policy on disabled passengers after it was criticised for ejecting nine blind and partially sighted passengers from one of its flights. The passengers, all from the UK were escorted from the aircraft minutes before take-off from London's Stansted Airport as the airline's safety rules limit the number of “disabled/mobility-impaired” passengers to four per flight. It was reported that some of the passengers, who were on their way to Italy had to wait for six hours for another flight, while others spent the night sleeping on the airport floor. One passenger said, “It was dreadful. You felt like a criminal. We were all devastated.”

Ryanair defended their decision as they say it is their policy to ensure that crew could attend to disabled passengers individually in the case of emergency evacuations. Ryanair also said that the nine passengers were asked to take a later flight because they did not, as required, notify Ryanair of their disability at the time of booking and there were already three disabled passengers on board. An official statement issued by Ryanair said, “It would have been unsafe to allow a total of 12 disabled/reduced-mobility passengers to travel on board the flight… Ryanair's number one priority at all times is the safety of its passengers and crew.” The passengers rejected Ryanair's argument saying that they could walk, had partially sighted or fully sighted guides and would be able to leave an aircraft in an emergency as quickly as anyone else.

As a result of the above case, Ryanair says it will change its policy on carrying blind and partially-sighted passengers. Any vision-impaired passenger accompanied by a sighted companion would now no longer be required to inform the airline in advance, the Irish carrier announced in what it called a “common sense change.” However, passengers travelling alone would remain part of its limit on four reduced-mobility passengers per flight.

And still on the theme of visually impaired passengers, the Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) says that Ryanair appears to be offering disabled passengers a lower standard of service when they book over its website. The RNIB is investigating a complaint that blind passengers are not entitled to the same low fares as others when they book online. The RNIB cited an example of a blind man who tried to book online. The website's booking process states:

“Passengers with special needs requirements must pre-book their requirement through Ryanair Direct on the same day as your original booking”. It lists the telephone numbers of reservation centres and warns: “Failure to advise Ryanair of your requirements on the day of booking will result in the service being unavailable on your arrival to the airport and you being refused carriage.” The man called the number to make a booking, only to learn that he would not qualify for the discounts or special offers available online. This is likely to amount to discrimination, says the RNIB, because Ryanair's online booking system may be subject to the Disability Discrimination Act.

For information on Ontario meetings, please contact Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.

Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.