Travelling & Holidays - What are we seeking?

 In my life I have travelled to;- 

• The Americas - USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Belize & Peru
• The UK - England, Scotland & Wales
  
• Scandinavia - Norway
• Europe - Spain, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Sicily, Romania, The Czech Republic, Greece & Turkey, the Balearics & Canary Islands
  
• North Africa - Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt
• Sub Saharan Africa - Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya
• Middle East - Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Israel, Palestine
• Asia - India, China, Nepal

In some countries I visited several different places at different times. That's a lot of travelling for one person. Most of it will have necessitated flying, sometimes very long haul. 

Because we are so aware of the Climate Emergency I now reflect on why I did it & whether it was worth it. Was the benefit I gained from seeing so many different cultures & the possible cross cultural benefit to other nationalities from meeting me worth the damage tourism does? Were my tourist dollars worth the cost? What was my motivation in going? Was it simply tourism - a holiday away from my normal routine? Was I really seeking enlightenment & knowledge?

I'm not objective enough to know. I would say that there is a difference between travelling & holidaying. In the case of Malawi & Nepal I went there to work for charities. But visiting the other places it was mostly cultural, wanting to see the landscape, archaeology & arts & meet the people to understand that there are different, valid, ways to live. Although I have never been a beach holiday person, there were also times I went away to relax, often on walking holidays getting out into the landscape.

The thing I now realise is that although we think that holidays are a right, they are, in fact, selfish. More so now that we do know the harms that tourism does. I know people who are like birdwatching "Twitchers" who have lists of places that they basically simply want to "tick off". They are seeking diversion, distraction, new experiences away from their normal lives. Some people are seeking to leave their daily problems behind, not realising that most problems stay within us. 

 

I'm sure that not everyone is like that. Many travel for knowledge & to broaden their horizons. But I wonder whether we can justify that any more. There are positive & negative effects.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impacts_of_tourism

In 1950 there were 25 million international tourist arrivals. By 2030, 1.8 billion tourist arrivals are projected. Negative environmental impacts of tourism are substantial including;- 

• The depletion of local natural resources 
• Pollution and waste problems.  
• Pressure on natural resources through over-consumption, often in places where resources are already scarce. 
• Enormous stress on local land use, which can lead to soil erosion, increased pollution, natural habitat loss, and more pressure on endangered species. 
• These effects can gradually destroy the environmental resources on which tourism itself depends.

We need to re-think our attitude to travel. Not just tourism travel, but all travel. By 2030, a 25% increase in CO2-emissions from tourism compared to 2016 is expected. From 1,597 million tons to 1,998 million tons.

https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/consumption/transport-and-tourism/negative-environmental-impacts-of-tourism

 

 

 

Consumerism, Christmas & Conflict

I don't need a Christmas card from friends & family to know that they wish me well. I gave everyone a year's warning when I was going to stop sending Christmas cards, but give the money saved to charities. I am now considering being even more radical about Christmas than that. I need to make my mind up soon whether to go ahead.

This year it isn't just all the unhappy Christmases of my childhood, teenage & early marriage, when all the grandparents were alive, that makes me not enjoy Christmas. It's more that I look at our world & it just seems so wrong to be celebrating in the way we do, whilst listening to the news about war, famine, population migrations, with climate change hovering over everything. Here at home we have unaccelptable levels of poverty & homelessness.

I do think that it's good to be with & remember friends & family. I do understand that all the Faiths have a celebration in mid winter for very good reasons. I just think that our over consumption & overspending has lost sight of what really matters & how unbalanced the world is between the "haves" & "have nots". Listening to "Today" this morning just made me really sad & caused real heartache.

I know I can't right the wrongs, but I'm beginning to feel that I really don't want to participate in it all. If I don't withdraw, I'm in danger of really saying what I think at Christmas "Do's". I don't want to do that because it would embarrass everyone & spoil their festivities. Everyone has the right to decide what they want to do. But there is a lot of pressure to go along with Christmas & all it entails in the UK. I have spent Christmas in Malta & in Libya. Not everyone celebrates in the consumerist way that we do.

This conflict within me has been going on for years, but it's worse now because of the dire situation we face at home & in the world. I'm trying not to be too negative, but when I think of the huge numbers of people in the world who have little or nothing I find it hard to believe that this is acceptable. 

https://www.finder.com/uk/christmas-shopping-statistics

 

Selfish Economics

Selfish - "a person, action, or motive lacking consideration for other people; concerned chiefly with personal profit or pleasure. Having no regard for how behavior impacts others. Consistently acting in ones own self-interest instead of meeting the needs of others. Having no empathy for the suffering of other people. Showing no remorse when others are hurt".

My dilemma is that it seems to me that many human actions are revealed to be selfish in the face of the Climate Emergency & the impact our actions have had & are having on the world we inhabit & everything in it. So things I did in my life, without thinking about the impact they had, have now adversely affected everything. I spent years after early retirement travelling all over the world several times a year. My husband & I were a two car family & commuted long distances to work. We had 3 wood burning stoves in one of our houses. We ate red meat & food imported from all over the world. We both had far more clothes than either of our parents. We took all of that & more as quite reasonable & normal.

Economics is the study of how consumers, firms and governments make decisions that together determine how resources are allocated. The study of scarcity and its implications for the use of resources, production of goods and services, growth of production and welfare over time, and a great variety of other complex issues of vital concern to society. There are 3 Economic Theories: Neoclassical, Keynesian, and Marxian. There are 5 concepts of economics - Scarcity, Supply & Demand, Incentives, Trade Off & Opportunity Cost, Economic Systems.  At this point I glaze over. So if you want to know more, then research for yourselves.

The real difficulty I have is reconciling the fact that countries have to generate income to support their populations. Some countries have more natural resources than others. Some have a more highly skilled workforce. Some have a larger young working population as opposed to a more ageing demographic. But all countries need growth & income to raise the standard of living of their people. In order to do that unsustainable companies, which pollute the earth or use finite resources or decimate the landscape & habitats are tolerated.

To take just one simple point. I now feel that any air travel for leisure purposes is unacceptable because of the impact it has on climate change. (I can hear you saying, that's fine, "you have travelled the world". Very true). The thing is there are benefits in seeing other cultures & lives. Not least if rich Westerners are forced to really face up to true poverty. Holiday makers contribute a lot to the wealth of the countries they visit. (Unless they stay in all inclusive ghettos or 5* hotels, where very little of the money goes to the local population).  The fact remains that if all leisure air travel ceased the economic repercussions would be enormous. 

But ultimately can humanity continue to take leisure travel as a right? Has the imbalance between benefit & harm reached a tipping point? I feel it has. Whatever we do, something has to change pretty soon. Is it so bad to be forced to holiday in your own country or somewhere you can travel to on land? 

https://www.narasolar.com/en/the-most-and-least-polluting-means-of-transport/

None of this is simple. We have very difficult choices. But those choices have to be taken by everyone. Or our grandchildren will live with the consequences.

Divorce, Death, Disagreements, Drunkenness & Desperation = Christmas

My lovely estate agent said that there is always an upturn in the property market after Christmas because so many people decide to Divorce. They realise that they just can't stand to be together, so they have to sell up.

In the 2017 to 2018 winter period, there were an estimated 50,100 excess winter Deaths in England and Wales. The excess winter deaths were the highest recorded since winter 1975 to 1976. Above average mortality is routinely seen between December & March. Most people die between 3 - 4 am.

We are holed up at home, with people we don't normally spend huge amounts of time with, & with no work exit. A week or two, with high expectations and sometimes frustrated hopes, can lead to things can coming to a head & Disagreements ensue.

We drink to be jolly & to cope with all of this. The average Briton consumed an average of 26 units per day last Christmas, with the nation collectively  drinking almost six billion units of alcohol between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day in 2018. Men in the UK have roughly one and a half more drinks than women on Christmas day, according to new research.(The women are too busy getting the Christmas lunch on the table!) There is huge pressure to drink far more than normal, with the usual resulting hangovers & worse. Apparently Champagne & Port make you drunk quicker. Drunkenness is not a pretty sight.

What is the point of it all? Why do we repeat the same behaviour patterns annually? For many people, Christmas is not a time of "good cheer". It is a time of lonliness & Desperation. A time when the pressure to spend what you don't have is enormous. The expectation of presents that will surprise & delight, the expectation of plentiful food & drink, the expectation of fun & enjoyment with friends & relatives - How can it fulfill all of this for everyone? 

It can't, it simply isn't possible.

Travels in Romania

I just got back from 10 days in Romania, a country I knew little or nothing about, apart from the notorious rule of Nicolae Ceausescu's communist regime from 1965 to 1989.
https://rolandia.eu/en/blog/history-of-romania/romania-under-nicolae-ceausescu-s-communist-regime

That made an impact because of what we discovered after his overthrow. Particularly the abhorrent conditions for thousands of children in state orphanages. Overall, it is estimated that about 500,000 children were raised in orphanages & some still exist today, but the children are much better cared for.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_orphans

I know a lot more now! Romania is a wonderful country to visit, with much to interest tourists. The varied & stunningly beautiful landscapes, the very different regional vernacular architecture, the beautiful churches & monasteries, wildlife, traditional food, costumes, music & dancing....

Romania is right in the middle of major migration routes & is surrounded on all sides, by Ukraine to the north, Hungary & Serbia to the West, Bulgaria to the South & Moldova & the Black Sea to the East. So it has been the centre of skirmishes & wars causing border & name changes over the years. Some places have names in 3 different languages. There are still tensions about who actually has a rightful claim to various parts of Romania today. To be honest the history is so complex you would be bored to tears if I attempted to give you a flavour. If you want to know read the Rough Guide to Romania.

There are Stone Age remains in the Carpathian Mountains dating back 35,000 years. Todays Romanians are descendants of Roman settlers from 106AD & local Dacians from 82BC. They are very proud of their culture & heritage & welcome tourists.

Sadly all that most tourists have heard of is Vlad the Impaler & Count Dracula, who are in fact one & the same person. (Dracul means Devil & Vlad was certainly that!)

 

https://allthatsinteresting.com/vlad-the-impaler

But there is so much more to Romania than Vlad/Dracul.

There are 6 regions & the country is huge. I only visited Wallachia, Transylvania & Moldavia & still covered approximately 2,000 miles in a really exhausting trip. But it was a trip of delights. I really recommend you to go.

Tourism - The Benefits?

In the interests of balance I decided to write this although I'm not the BBC so I'm allowed to be biased!

The main benefits of tourism I can see are the increase in GDP for the destination country & the increase in jobs for local people.

The economic & general benefits of income from tourism could be:-

• Generating foreign exchange.
• Creating new employment opportunities & growing the service sector.
• Stimulating trade and entrepreneurship – especially in small business sectors.
• Developing infrastructure and services e.g. new roads and airports.
• Increasing regional development – particularly in isolated areas.
• Generating greater collection of taxes and revenues.
• Investing income in developing education, health, clean water, sanitation & recreational facilities.
• Protecting natural attractions & local culture.
• Providing opportunities for recreation.
• Encouraging better international relations & cultural exchange. 

The trick is to ensure that income from tourism provides these benefits without the destructive downside in my last Blog. This requires properly elected, democratic, Governments with the best interests of their people at heart to utilise the income properly. Sadly in my experience in Africa, the Middle East & Asia those Governments are thin on the ground. Corruption is rife. The people benefit relatively little from the influx of hoards of tourists & their cash. Most tourists are pitifully unaware of the best way to ensure that their sterling & dollars get into the hands of the people who need it.

So, when you get down to it, we, the relatively wealthy tourists, need to make sure we are better informed. We need to make the effort to support small local businesses directly. For example, instead of staying in your huge "all inclusive" hotel, stay in a small local one. There's nothing wrong with 3*. Don't stay ghettoised eating every meal in 4 or 5*  internaltional restaurants. Be brave, leave your big hotel & eat in the delightful local restaurant where you will get fresh, proper, local food,. which is also usually very cheap.

You watch all the travel documentaries - So put what you learn into practice.

The Price of Tourism - A Burden or a Benefit?

I have travelled a lot, but I find myself questioning the validity of Tourism more & more.  Almost all human actions have good & bad repercussions, often things we haven't anticipated. Holidays are important in our busy lives, but I do think we need to be aware of the possible consequences of our actions. I can see it when I go into Oxford, which is literally swamped with tourists & I can see it when I travel abroad.

Tourism puts huge stress on land use & environment leading to:-

• Soil erosion & damage to landscape
• Increased pollution, litter & vandalism
• Increased water use resulting in lowering of the water table
• Habitat loss & impact on endangered species
• Fires
• Traffic congestion  & air quality

There are also a financial issues:-

• Local goods can become expensive because tourists will pay more
• Tipping becomes expected & disproportionately high in comparison to wages
• Changes in the local population's relationship to material goods
• Higher living costs
• Loss of local businesses
• A high proportion of tourism wealth does not filter down to local communities, but goes to big multinational companies.

 Sociological changes:-

• Erosion of local culture 
• Acceptance of "Western" mores which may not be appropriate
• Conflict due to the above

Our desire for more authentic and challenging experiences results in our ever increasing desire to go to more remote destinations, to the few remaining pristine and natural environments left on the planet. Our actions & presence can destroy the things which made tourism develop & flourish in the first place.

Eventually tourism constructs a huge superstructure & infastructure to meet it's needs - hotels, restaurants, shops, roads, water & power supply. The destination develops, more tourists arrive. Their impacts increase accordingly.

There is a huge demand for water. Rivers can be altered, excessively extracted, and polluted by the demands of tourists. Noise & light pollution increase, disturbing wildlife and altering behavior.  Generators provide power & increase noise & pollution. An increase in food and drink consumption creates waste, much of which is not biodegradable.Waste disposal is an issue in places which do not have the sophisticated methods that we are used to in the West.

Tourists can be toxic to both people & places.

 

 https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/05/tourism-four-times-worse-planet-previously-believed

 

Family Holidays

I have just returned from a wonderful holiday with my family - 5 days on Safari in a Masai Mara Conservancy & 6 days on a beach in Galu Beach in Kenya. Hopefully it will leave us all with some lovely memories. It was a very different holiday than any I have done before for all sorts of reasons.  Hitherto I didn't really "do" holidays, I was more of a "traveller".

I don't think I have ever spent as long with my daughter, son in law & 2 grandsons before. In fact we have rarely been on holiday together - I think this is the 3rd time. I am not used to more or less continuous company now after 9 years of widowhood. So I was a little concerned that there might be tensions. Although we are family, there are marked differences in age, attitude, personality & perspective. Fortunately I don't think it was a problem - but that's just my perspective!

It was a very active holiday for the Safari & very laid back for the Beach. I was concerned about the physical effect on me for the first & wondered whether I would be able to tolerate the inactivity of the second.

The Safari was a constant source or pleasure for me, not just the wildlife, but the ever changing landscape & the people & culture. I have always used distraction technique for pain & it worked. I was totally engaged in what we were seeing & doing despite the unbelievably bumpy 4WD travelling over dirt roads & even no roads. It exceeded all expectations - the wildlife in particular was really amazing. The only thing we didn't see was Rhino. Having a pride of lions of all ages playing round your Toyota Land Cruiser & seeing a lion kill is much more than I could have imagined.

The beach was a surprise too. I probably needed the relaxation of not having to get up very early & spend hours travelling over rough terrain - I was very tired. I did have a really good book & I did enjoy meeting new people, eating good food, & generally doing none of the things I do at home.

The local people we met both in the Safari Camp & the Beach Resort were all wonderful. It is good to realise that poverty in the developed world is not the same as poverty in Africa & other developing nations. The mere fact that I could afford to take my family on this holiday makes me wealthy beyond the imagining of most people we met - apart from the other tourists of course.

I always return from travelling in less fortunate places aware of the accident of birth that made me so lucky to be well fed & cared for, with a well built home, a free health care & education system & no serious worries. Then there is our relatively uncorrupt, democratic government. How to bridge that huge gap is something which I don't know the answer to.

All everyone that I met who looked after us  really wanted was a better life, education & health care & enough food for their children. Half of humanity does not have clean water. It's not a lot to ask. It doesn't seem that we are getting any closer to achieving it for a huge number of people less fortunate than we are.

Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day. More than 80 percent of the world's population lives in countries where income differentials are widening.
http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats

Travelling - The Hebrides.

I've just returned from a trip to the Hebrides. Generally speaking I don't much like organised tours, but my independent trip with friends got postponed, so this was the alternative.

There is something that reaches deep into the soul about wilderness areas. Vast expanses of land, sea & sky with hardly any human habitation, or indeed humans, to mar the wonder of natures creation makes one very reflective.

The contrast with a coachload of people, mostly elderly, being moved around like a parcel with a running commentary is obvious. The practicalities of getting a big group of people, with varying degrees of mobility, on & off coaches, ferries & small boats & in & out of hotels & cafes are also obvious.

My preference would always be to chose my own itinerary, to go at my own pace, to stop where the spirit moved me for as long as I wanted. Or to move on. You can't do that if you are travelling with more than one person. Or if you have to book a place on a ferry or a B&B in advance. I also like to chose whether to make conversation or not & with whom. I'm not good at listening to other peoples trivia - (I know that sounds pompous). Possibly the best way to see the islands is with a camper van & there were certainly quite a lot of those.

I wouldn't have missed the Hebrides, both Inner & Outer, for worlds. I simply hadn't realised the huge variation there is in character & landscape. It is really interesting to experience how different life on a remote island can be - (especially when the tourist season is over I imagine). Humans have a great capacity to adapt to very different circumstances. In areas like this you must live close to the natural world all the time - you can see the weather coming & much of it is very challenging. Your perspectives are completely different in every sense of the word.

The Islanders have something very precious which we in cities have lost.
 

Seville in the Sunshine

I've just had 4 days in Seville with M. Everything worked really smoothly - even the M25. When I think back to how difficult it used to be arranging independent holidays with my husband, doing it all on the internet is amazingly simple & reliable. Gone are the days of dire hotels, no one dares to lie or exaggerate now we have Trip Advisor. No hanging around in queues to check in, not only can you book your flight, now you can get your return boarding passes too. We didn't even have to show our passports until the boarding lounges - except when we came back into the UK where the queues were huge for UKPA. They did move quickly through the biometric scanners though.

I think M & I are very lucky. We have a city mini break every year & never have any problems deciding what to do because we know we both enjoy the same things. It is lovely to be able to share the experience with someone you get on really well with. Fortunately we both do take quite a while looking at arts & crafts, architecture & gardens & talking about what we are seeing over a nice meal & a glass or two of wine. Finding someone compatable to travel with is great, especially if it is your daughter. There is little worse than going on holiday with someone you think you know well & discovering you don't get on.

Seville is a lovely city - very walkable - although I am getting to the point when my spirit far outstrips my flesh & ambling requires determination & is definitely more challenging. We particularly liked the Real Alcazar, Casa Pilatos, Barrios Triana & Santa Cruz & the Plaza De Espania. M had been told about Las Setas (the mushrooms) which opened in 2011 - 6 giant, interlinked parasols forming an aerial walkway with wonderful views over the whole of Seville.

My only problem with Spain is their brand of Catholicism - I don't think the Catholic church has fully grasped the idea of giving to the poor. The unbelieveble, in your face, wealth displayed in the churches, (e.g the silver & gold Reredos) offends my sense of fairness  & seems to have nothing to do with God, Jesus or Christianity. But I'm probably too much of a heathen.

A Cross Passenger on Cross Country Trains

I caught the 14.14 from Birmingham International to Oxford on 23rd Sept. It was a very short train & was completely packed when it arrived. People were standing throughout the train. I am 71 & have a disabled railcard. Standing on a moving train is quite difficult. Someone did kindly give up their seat for me at Banbury. This is not the first time this has happened to me. 

If I pay for a ticket I expect to get a seat, especially as I rarely travel in peak times. Train companies appear to treat paying passengers no better than cattle & should be ashamed.  I met a middle aged lady who had had to stand from Scotland.

The refreshment trolley was unable to operate because of all the people & luggage in the aisles. The shelves above the seats are too shallow for a lot of cases & elderly people or women cannot lift heavy cases that high. The luggage racks by the doors are totally inadequate for the number of people travelling. 

Surely companies have a pretty good idea how many tickets have been sold & how many are likely to sell on the day. It is their job to provide adequate trains to meet the demand. This just seemed like total incompetence to me, which at the least causes people huge discomfort & at worst is a H&S risk. 

I sent a complaint to Cross Country Trains. The following are their responses.

"I am sorry for how busy the service was, our franchise does not have the resources to acquire longer or more trains, but we do understand that crowded trains are a daily problem that we face.Unfortunately we have only been allocated a set amount of coaches which is set out in our franchise agreement.

Please be assured that we are looking at ways that we can alleviate the pressure on our busiest trains, by altering the workings of our higher capacity trains to more closely match demand.  We also encourage those that are flexible with their travel plans to travel on quieter trains. Whilst I'm sure you will appreciate the challenges we face to try and provide enough seats for all of those passengers travelling, it does not take away the fact that your journeys with us have not been as you would hope to expect and so I would again like to apologise for any discomfort caused.

For future journeys I would recommend you reserve a seat, you can do this at your point of purchase, by calling 03447369123, at any ticket office or by using our Ten Minute reservation service via the following link https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/tickets/ten-minute-reservations

I responded:-

• "Our franchise does not have the resources to acquire longer or more trains" - Why not? If you don't have the capacity to meet demand & don't have sufficient carriages or finances to increase provision then you should not be the operator, especially as you admit that "Crowded trains are a daily problem that we face".
• "We also encourage those that are flexible with their travel plans to travel on quieter trains" - That is no help to many people who have no options.
• "I would recommend you reserve a seat" - I did on the outward journey, but had no way of knowing which return train I would be able to catch.

Nothing encourages me to be confident that "should you choose to travel with us again that you have a much better experience". Basically Cross Country Trains know there is a serious problem, but have no plans to make the experience any better in the future. That is really not acceptable. I don't have to stand if I book a seat on a plane, why should trains be any different? I wonder what the company would have done had I had a heart attack through standing.

You have not addressed the issue of the lack of accessible luggage space at all.

Cross Country responded:-

"Our franchise, like all others operating in the UK, is set by the Department for Transport (DfT) who prescribe the services we must provide and the frequency of trains to deliver this. This specification was set by the DfT in 2007 at the start of our franchise and we procured all available trains to deliver this. Since then the railways have seen unprecedented numbers of people seeking to use rail as their preferred form of travel and our trains, like those of other operators, are seeing instances of crowding throughout the day on many services. We have recently extended our franchise for a further 3 years and we have been provided some additional coaches to provide further seating for our passengers however access to new coaches is limited. There are currently no trains suitable for us to lease in the UK, this situation is unlikely to change for many years.

As we are limited to the number of coaches we have, we try to encourage passengers to travel on quieter services by offering cheap advance fares. This does help passengers who cannot choose to travel on quieter services as if we didn’t do it the services during peak times would be much busier than they currently are.

As mentioned in my previous email, we provide a number of options for passengers looking to reserve seating for their journey. If you were unsure of the train you were travelling on you still can reserve a seat up to 10 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time by using our ten minute reservation service via the following link https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/tickets/ten-minute-reservations

I can fully appreciate your concern about the number of passengers travelling on our trains. However, unlike bus and air travel, there is no legal limit for the number of passengers on a train. This is because trains are deemed safe no matter how many people are on board. Under the Health & Safety at Work Act (1974) train operators must manage risks from overcrowding ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’. They may be liable for problems arising in hot weather but given that trains are walk-on services, it is not feasible to limit passengers to the number of seats."

I responded:- 
 

It would appear that much of the responsibility for passenger discomfort & annoyance with train services lies with the DfT. In particular the fact that the spec's they set for franchises are not reviewed & updated frequently enough. This would appear to make it impossible for franchises to respond quickly to the demands of increased passenger numbers. It has long baffled me why successive governments have never produced an integrated transport policy for the UK.

I had no idea of the option to reserve a seat 10 mins prior to departure time & will use this in future if I don't know what time I am returning  home. So thank you for the information.

I have to say I am amazed that there is no H&S requirement for any limit to numbers travelling on trains. While I can understand that it is a walk on service & passengers would be unhappy if they were refused access to a train, that does happen with buses, which have advertised maximum numbers standing & seated. I cannot see any reason why a similar rule should not apply to trains. 

The information you have given me confirms my view that train passengers often get a pretty rough & expensive deal. What does surprise me is that train operators do not make more fuss about this situation. It would seem to be in the companies interest to publicise this information widely & encourage passengers to become involved in order to make our train service at least comparable to the service standards on continental Europe.

I didn't expect to be sympathetic to Cross Country Trains, but I am. The whole set up seems ridiculously incompetent to me & the root of the problem appears to be the Department for Transport. The least important people in the equation are the passengers. 

Surely passenger needs & safety should be at the heart of Government policy. I can't help feeling that a transport system which is privatised & driven by shareholder profit rather than excellent service values is never going to achieve customer satisfaction under the current system. 

Anyone who travels on trains in Europe knows it can be done. Why not here?

Roaming Round Rome.

Just got back - 4 full, packed, days bookended by 2 days travelling. Spirit willing, but flesh weak.

Air travel has lost it's allure - it's just boring - interminable queues & delays - & tiring, although you aren't really doing much. Land travel isn't much better, but more of that later.

Nice hotel apart from the first night when I slept in a room which reverberated with the air con machinery. "Sleeping" with a pillow over your head on a hot night isn't enjoyable. Once I'd persuaded them to move me it was fine, although I'm mystified as to why an Italian hotel couldn't produce a decent cup of coffee with the excellent buffet breakfast.

Fortunately we had booked tickets for all the important sites beforehand, so we skipped the queues in theory. In practice you still have to queue for ages for security, which is full airport type scanning. Rome is definitely the busiest city I have visited apart from possibly Istanbul. Everyone wants to see the Pope, (although he is so far away you can't see much), (tick), the Vatican (tick), the Sistine Chapel (tick), & St Peters (tick). The Vatican Museum is possibly the busiest, worst signed & most difficult to navigate tourist destination I have ever visited.

Hop on Hop off buses take you round the whole city. Our company was supposed to have buses every 10 - 15 minutes - They lied. They only had 4 buses & one of those was broken down. The others weren't far off  the scrap yard either. Standing in a queue, in the blazing sun, for well over half an hour isn't my idea of fun.

We did all the main things - Trevi Fountain - big / Spanish Steps - closed for some event / Piazza Navona - nice / Borghese Museum - long walk through lovely park / Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine, Circus Maximus - not as impressive as other ancient sites I have seen in other countries, many now sadly bombed / Trastavere district - interesting / Via Appia Antica + Catacombes of San Sebastian + tomb of Cecilia Metella - lovely rural escape from the city.

Coming home I got a cross country train from Birmingham airport to Oxford. It was packed when it arrived with people standing in all the carriages & lobby areas. It was a very short train from Manchester to Bournemouth. Surely the train companies know how many tickets they have sold & how many people are likely to travel on given days at given times? I would have had to stand all the way except that a very kind woman gave me her seat at Banbury. I spoke to one woman, a similar age to me, who had stood all the way from Scotland! I think this is appalling. I buy a ticket expecting to have a seat. It should be part of the contract. I don't have to stand on a plane.

Glad to be home, even if it isn't exciting. There's a lot to be said for places & people you know, boring routine & UK TV.

Travel

Travel - To go, move, journey from one place to another.

I've lost count of all the places I've travelled to in my life, both in the UK & the World. I've had wonderful experiences & met wonderful people. I've also had dreadful experiences & met dreadful people. I have been very priveleged to have the money to travel for enjoyment & have learned a great deal about different cultures & places.

Now I'm in my 70's I'm beginning to question whether I want to keep travelling. All that research & preparation beforehand, which I used to really enjoy, seems more onerous & takes a lot of time. I've always wanted to know a lot about places I'm going to so I see the important things. Now I'm beginning to think that I ought to just go & see what happens, who I meet.

Conversely I now wonder whether travelling, especially going on holiday, which is different, is a sustainable & justifiable thing. It's another "issue" that is full of grey areas. We need to know about other people, their beliefs & the way they live. In travelling to do that we are using finite resources, polluting the world & giving large amounts of money to multinational corporations, but very little to the local people who are often less well off than we are.

We are a culture who takes holidays as a right. Many people don't really think about the impact, often very adverse, they have on the places they go to - think about the Southern coast of Spain for example.

One of the less desirable aspects of our ability to travel is people who literally tick off a list of the places they have been, much like Birders do with different species. Then there is the tendency to brag about where they have been & what they have seen. I've done it too - so I can't take the moral high ground.

I've got two holidays in the pipeline - Rome & The Hebrides. The latter because I love the sea & landscapes. I also feel it's important to support our UK economy & see my own heritage. Rome because of the art & architecture.

It would be very easy not to travel any more. The thing that concerns me about doing that is I would get more stuck in the rut of comfortable routine - people & places that I know. I do think you have to deliberately remove yourself from your own comfort zone or you vegitate rather than stimulate. You deny yourself new experiences.

Just not sure I've got the energy anymore.

Warner Hotel Mini Breaks - Ageism, Snobbishness & Intolerance.

I just got back from my second Warner Hotel mini break. (See the Blog about the first one - 9.5 2015 in Holidays). Obviously they do their thing well or I wouldn't have gone back. This time was different because I knew exactly what to expect - The formula doesn't vary at all.

I did find myself reflecting more, both on the clientele & my own attitudes. I realise that I don't "do" old people well. I'm not patient & tolerant even though I am now officially old. I don't feel part of the group. I am irritated by ditherers, repetitive conversations & people who want to tell me everything about their own lives without being interested in mine. Old people are not necessarily nice. They can be very self absorbed & rude. So my conclusion must be that I am ageist.

I also realise that I'm not a "joiner in". I don't do communal waving of arms to tunes for example or forced hilarity. I really don't like being told what my response to something should be. There is something about the coach party mentality that I really don't get.  Conclusion - I've become a Southern snob.

On the other hand you have to admire people who obviously enjoy themselves. Who are prepared to get up in front of a big audience & dance for instance. I loved dancing when I was younger & was good at it. Years with a non dancing husband & now a body that won't do what I want have made me less confident. I simply couldn't get up on a dance floor, although I was asked, because I know it will cause me pain & embarrassment.

I think the problem is all mine. If I dance I want to enjoy it as I did when I was young. I want that enjoyment to show in my facial expression & how my body moves in time to the music. I want the inner me, who hasn't changed, to show. So I find the mostly stilted, mechanical, unsmiling dancers with little rhythm a sad shadow of what they probably used to be.

I'm sure I'm the one who is wrong. Warners has a very good U S P which meets the needs of an every increasing, enormous number of people & gives them great pleasure. Their staff are really good at their jobs, often multi-tasking.

Oldies Rule! - & Warners know that & cater for it.

Living on the Edge - Chaos Theory

I've just got back from a 3 night mini break in Berlin with my daughter. Everything went quite smoothly until the bus journey back to Tegel airport - although the very efficient, but complicated, integrated transport system did take some getting used to.

We checked out of the hotel, got the S Bahn (metro) to the TXL airport bus stop on the outskirts & just missed a bus. Couldn't get across the road! Within minutes the traffic on the road got very congested. We were the first people in the queue for the bus but as time went on people poured out of the metro station continuously & blocked the entrance & the pavement. It was pouring with rain & very cold. No buses came, but more & more taxis, full of people, passed by. Normally the TXL buses come very regularly. After about half an hour it became obvious that there was something very wrong. We assumed a traffic accident. Police cars somehow screamed their way through the traffic.

We tried flagging down taxis, but all were full. Eventually one stopped, but it had been ordered by a young man. He very kindly offered to share with us & a young woman. About this time we learnt that there was a bomb scare at Tegel & all roads in had been closed. The backed up traffic wasn't moving. The taxi driver had tried to take a fare to Tegel but had to turn round & come back. It was obvious we would just sit in the taxi at a standstill so we got out at an Aldi a little way along the road.

By this time the enormity of our predicament was obvious. We were soaking wet & shivering with cold. Neither of us could find out anything on our phones. BA & the airport phones were jammed. The young man & woman were hugely helpful. I dread to think what we would have done had we not met them. My German is OK, but I don't have the vocabulary for a situation like that.

We decided that all we could do was to walk back to the metro station & go back to the hotel & hope that we could get a room & some help sorting out what to do. By this time we were very worried indeed. I think it was a combination of factors. We had no control of the situation. We couldn't communicate or get enough information. We didn't have a base & were in a strange country. We felt very isolated. The knock on effect of not getting home would require a lot of sorting out.

As we got back to the station we saw that there were several TXL buses arriving. So we changed our plan & got on one, hoping. The traffic was very busy, but it was moving. The airport had re-opened. The bomb scare was apparently a bag of rubbish. We arrived & we caught our flight which was delayed by an hour.

The thing is that we were so completely unprepared for the situation. It all happened very quickly & could so easily have been dire. Actually we were extremely lucky in many ways, not least of which that it wasn't actually a bomb or terrorist attack.

In future I will have emergency phone numbers for the carrier, the airport & the hotel in my phone. I will also have websites where possible. I will duplicate all information in a notebook. Information & communication is key, but is one of the first things to be inaccessible. Ditto transportation. Goodness knows what people did before mobile phones, but there are so many the phone is actually useless in a foreign country where you don't have any contacts. Chaos is literally just round the corner.

It makes you seriously consider whether any non essential travel is actually a good idea nowadays. The world is so interconnected. An incident, real or not, can happen anywhere & at any time. When you are involved it shows you just how vulnerable you are & how little control you actually have.

We were very pleased & very lucky to get back to the UK in one piece.

Travelling

For some reason I can't fathom I am going away quite a lot this year. Unfortunately several trips come very close together - a school reunion in Birmingham in March, a mini break in Berlin in April, a mini break near Chester in May followed hotly by a tour of the Hebrides in May / June. Then finally a decent period at home before Rome in September. All have been at the instigation of friends apart from Berlin which I'm doing with my daughter.

My first reaction is how lucky I am to have people who actually want to spend time with me in such close & prolonged proximity. Holidays, as I have discovered to my cost, can easily break friendships. We think we know people well, friends or family. Being together 24 / 7 sometimes reveals that we do not. What was a slight irritation can become a major nuisance or a real bar to getting on.

Travelling is, at times, bound to be stressful. We take ourselves out of our comfort zone & doing it not knowing how well we can rely on our companions can be risky. Are we compatible in our likes & dislikes, our understanding of other cultures, our ethics? Do we want to be joined at the hip or are we self reliant & independent?

This years holidays aren't intrepid - been there, done that, got the Tshirt, (literally). That sort of travel has broadened my mind more than any other life experience. Many of the places I have been are now war zones - not my fault I hasten to add. My daughter once said that she wished she had parents who just went on holiday to places where people weren't likely to shoot you! (It wasn't really that dangerous except possibly Yemen or Libya).

Life itself is a journey along an individual path. You can make of it what you will. You decide what you will or won't do with your life. There are constraints & they increase as you age, but you choose whether you will let those constraints inhibit you. So, I am trying not to let inertia stop me. I'm trying to ignore the small voice in my head which says - do you really want all the effort or organising & packing, then returning & catching up? Is it really all worth it when you could be comfortably at home in your own routine?

I think I do & it is worth it. When I really can't do it any more I will have a huge store of memory & experience. Unless Dementia gets me of course.

Trip Advisor - Independent holidays

I've just spent days booking hotels for two independent holidays - one in the Inner Hebredes & one in Rome. I use a combination of Trip Advisor & the hotel's own websites if available. When planning an itinerary I cheat & look at the itineraries of tour operators. That gives you a basic idea of the important places to visit.

There is always a tension between doing a trip independently and being completely free to go where you want to & stay as long as you like & doing it with a group tour. I've travelled a lot & done both. I've also booked a cheap holiday with an operator & used the cheap flight & accommodation as a base to do my own thing hiring a car.

On balance I prefer independent travel. I like the freedom & you interact far more with people in the countries you visit. Groups develop a herd mentality & are delivered like a parcel from place to place. You don't have the hassle, but there are constraints & you have to put up with the people in the group come what may. I've also found a huge variation in the quality & price of what tour operators provide. I think I've now reached the age where I do like comfort, both in transport & accommodation.

On the other hand booking 6 different B&B's in the Hebrides took a huge amount of my time, despite modern communications. However organised you are you don't know until you get there whether you will arrive safely & someone will be expecting you.

I've been a member of Trip Advisor for years & think it is a very helpful website. There is a possible issue about the veracity of some reviews, but I think it is often possible to tell if reviews are genuine. The websites tools are helpful. The main problem is sifting through the huge choice.

How fortunate we are to be able to travel the world relatively cheaply and safely. Travel is vital to help us understand different cultures. Seeing places on TV or reading travel books is no substitute. If we are ever to achieve a world where peace reigns & diversity is really valued we need to experience a range of attitudes, beliefs & ways of doing things. There is no short cut.

Holidays or Travel?

I spent yesterday sorting out "stuff" to pack for my holiday at the end of the week. I will cram clothes & all sorts of things which I feel are essential to 2 weeks away from home into a suitcase. Thus prepared I will leave my "normal" life & travel to places both known & unknown.

As I age I'm less and less sure why I do this. It's a hassle from start to finish. It takes an inordinate amount of time, before, during & after. The chances are I will become unwell at some point - hopefully not seriously. The chances are also that things will go wrong - hopefully not too badly. I know all this from a lifetime of experience.

In the face of this knowledge it seems perverse to continue to do it.

But I also know I will meet new & possibly interesting people. I will learn more about people, places & cultures. I may also learn more about myself. In short I will widen my horizons & take myself out of my insular comfort zone.

Is it worth it? Well it always has been up to now. I have a lifetime of memories, good and bad. I have experience which broadened my horizons & made me a different person. Travel has made me more tolerant & understanding. Human beings learn by doing. Yes, I could watch a documentary or read a book, that has it's place, but it isn't the same as actually experiencing.

A holday isn't the same thing as travel. To travel is to go somewhere with purpose. A holiday is an oddly sedentary thing. The friend I am travelling with is very excited at the prospect. I'm not. But I am hopeful that it will be worth the effort.

Christmas in Malta - Poinsettia Heaven.

I think I have overdosed on Poinsettias! They must grow them in Malta & they were arranged in serried ranks in our very nice hotel & every church & most shops too. I had no idea that they have traditional relgious associations. Red - Blood - Obvious really, except that Christmas is the birth not the death. It all started in 16th C Mexico apparently. I don't think I'll be able to have one in my house ever again now!

The Maltese are big on Crib scenes too & have ginormous ones in churches, shops & seemingly almost every household's window. Actually it was quite nice to be in a country which takes the real meaning of Christmas seriously. Children dressed as angels and shepherds processed a crib with a baby Jesus through the streets round our hotel on Christmas Eve. It was lovely, but I can't see it happening in the UK really.

The sun shone every day but one. There is an impressive back story of history & pre-history going back to 3,500 - 5,000 BC. The buildings are beautiful. Many are in dire need of restoration - I was tempted, but installing a new kitchen in the UK has put me off somewhat!

The bus & ferry service is amazing and extremely cheap. You can get anywhere including the outer islands. What's not to like about that? We have a lot to learn about an integrated transport policy - Oh yes, but we haven't got one have we?

Our hotel was great. Seafront room with balcony & glorious views over the harbour to Valletta. The similarity to Venice was striking. They drive on the right & speak English, which is just as well because I just couldn't get the hang of Malti.

Possibly one of the best non Christmases I've ever had.

A few days in Paris

I spent 4 days in Paris with my daughter last week. I hadn't been there since I was in my 20s & took a coach load of Primary children on a school trip. We had a wonderful, if exhausting, time. I'm really lucky that my daughter & I enjoy doing the same things.

We overdosed on art galleries - everything from the Musee du Moyen Age / Cluny with its wonderful tapestries, "La Dame a la Licorne", housed in a 16th C Renaissance mansion, to the Impressionists. The Orangerie, built to protect the Tuileries orange trees, houses eight of Monet's stunning giant waterlily paintings. The Pompidou Centre has the largest collection of modern art in Europe in a stunning modern building. The views as you ascend the escalators on the outside of the building are wonderful, as are the views form the restaurant on the top. However the price of a cup of watery tea is outrageous & the service by the sleek & sophisticated waiters leaves a lot to be desired. The Musee d'Orsay has a wonderful collection of Impressionists & Post Impressionists in what was a railway station.The restaurant here also had good views, which were very original from behind the huge clock faces of the station.

We also did the tourist thing visiting the Notre Dame on the Ile de la Cite & the Sacre Coeur in Montmartre with it's wonderful views over Paris. We took the easy route ascending via the funicular. Then we came down via the place de L'Abbesses which has an Art Nouveau metro station & some interesting little shops on the way back to the Gare du Nord.

Paris is a wonderful city. I saw none of the supposed aloofness of the Parisians. They were unfailingly helpful and pleasant, especially those in our lovely hotel Lindbergh Saint Germain des Pres. The shops remind me what we have lost. Lots of small independant, interesting shops. We didn't go shopping in the big stores, apart from Le Bon Marche which is the worlds oldest department store. The luxurious Grande Epicerie is amazing and sells every food you can imagine. Probably even better than Harrods.

Speaking of eating we loved the Cojean chain selling really good home made food for lunch, particularly the soups. Our best meals were undoubtedly in La Petit Chaise, founded in 1680 & the oldest restaurant in Paris.

I didn't take a single photo. I just looked & absorbed everything. We didn't rush to tick things off  a list, we ambled, allowed ourselves to be distracted & enjoyed. As I age I realise that it is memories & enjoying the moment which are important. The joy of travelling independently is that although there may be an overall structure & plan it is the unexpected which is the real bonus. Like the organ playing & the woman singing in the church of St Jean de Montmartre in the Place des Abbesses. Pure heaven & totally unexpected.