Photos and notes from around the world.
I'm a web designer, travel marketer and long term wanderer, on the road since 2003. Check out my
about page for more information.
In Chengdu I noticed that bicycles have umbrella holders attached to them. I debated with myself over whether this should be tagged as a good idea. At first I thought it was more whimsical than good, but on the other hand the world needs more whimsy, so I am classiflying it as a good idea.
Also, once it started raining here the umbrellas came out and it seemed to be practical. Perhaps the rain falls gently in Chengdu. Probably not a good idea if you are in a region where the rain lashes down.
An air-conditioned bear suit on the streets of Nanjing, China. In Australia you see charity collectors on the street wearing non air-conditioned koala suits, and I am told that are an absolute sauna in the summer.
The commuter transit system that serves Boston has free wi-fi on their trains. I tried the system out when I got the train from Boston to Providence (RI). The signal dropped out a few times along the way, but I was able to load up enough pages to read for the duration of the trip.
Adelaide is the only other Australian city with a public transport system that uses trams (the other being Melbourne).
The tram runs from the city to the seaside suburb of Glenelg. If you want to use the tram in the city the tram is free.
Free tram travel
AirAsiaX has inter-seat chat available on some of its flights. The service is free, even if you don’t buy the entertainment service.
To get started select the chat option, then select the seat of the person you want to chat with.
Chat seat selection
You then get a message box where you type via the touch screen.
Write message
When you send the message the recipient will get a message like this.
You have a chat message
I guess it would be handy if you have a friend sitting in another row, but I wonder how it goes with talking to strangers?
I was flying solo so I had no one to try it out on. I don’t know what the inter-seat chat etiquette is with sending a message to a stranger. Do you walk up and down the isles first checking out anyone you fancy and note down their seat number?
Have you used this service before on AirAsia, or any other airline? Share your experience in the comments.
I have always thought that the daily changing of sheets at hotels was unnecessarily wasteful. So I was happy to see this good idea when I checked into my room at Tune Hotels in Kuala Lumpur.
Optional Linen Change
Tune Hotels is a “low cost hotel”, brought to you by the man behind Air Asia, Tony Fernandes. Like a low cost airline, this hotel chain employ an a la Carte pricing method to your hotel bill. So you pay for your room, then choose any extra’s such as internet and air-conditioning (fan rooms come as standard).
Reducing their laundry bill is another way they are reducing costs, but I like how they remind you that it is the environmentally friendly thing to do.
There are so many cool little guesthouses in Ubud you either need to get a recommendation of which ones are good, or spend a half a day walking around reconnoitering. One street I would like to come back to is Jalan Kajeng.
Jalan Kajeng - Ubud, Bali
As you can see from the paving stones they have come up with a novel way of raising money to repave the street. You can buy a stone for the street, which will then have a message or illustration carved on for you. As well as the usual “James was here 2009″ type messages there were a few advertising websites.
Friends of Jalan Kajeng
Motorbikes with surfboard racks are everywhere in Bali.
Motorbike and surfboard
Motorbike and surfboard rack
This is a great idea from a phone company in Macau. They are offering one sim card with two phone numbers (A Hong Kong and a Macau number). I don’t know if it is a fair tariff but the idea is good as it would save carrying two phones or doing the sim card change every time you cross the border.
[Smartone one sim two numbers]
Hong Kong and Macau used to be two separate countries before they became Special Administrative Regions of China, but they still have their own country codes.
I hope that the phone companies in Europe introduce something like this. With the open borders with the EU people have become so much more mobile between countries but you are charged exorbitant rates when you leave the country your phone plan is from.
There are thousands of beautiful old churches across Europe, but many of them lack the funds and worshippers to maintain them, and they end up decaying beyond repair. So I thought this bookshop in Maastricht makes for a good compromise.
[Dominicanenkerk]
The Selexys bookstore chain has converted this old Dominican church into a bookstore. They have English language books in store and it is a pleasing environment to browse books in.
Related link: Bookstore Guide
[Selexyz Dominicanen]
[Selexyz Dominicanen Church Windows]
We have a huge range of hotels in Egypt, from cheap hotels to 5 star luxury to choose from. |
