Traveller Letters: Qantas’ new frequent flyer scheme just another disappointment
Each week Traveller publishes a selection of rants, raves and travel tips from our readers. See below on how you can contribute.
Minus for Plus
For years I could grab business class reward flights on Qantas or Velocity frequent flyer points by carefully checking early every morning 353 days ahead of my planned trips. I never failed to get a good deal. But now, tell me where I can find any business class international reward flights from Sydney to Europe or the Americas? And Qantas’ new Classic Plus offering is just an excuse to triple the reward requirements. Another disappointing rip-off by our airlines.
Michele Sharp, Queens Park, NSW
Letter of the week: Bright idea
Some years ago, halfway through my climb up the Inca Trail, my guide, Ruli, advised that often Machu Picchu is hidden in fog at sunrise, as Ben Groundwater noted in his guide (Traveller, April 20).
Machu Picchu, the city of the Inca Empire hidden in the Andean mountains.Credit: iStock
Ruli suggested that because the last two days are relatively short easy walks and that the last day’s walk would be in the dark to get to the Sun Gate by sunrise, we could combine the last two days into one. I agreed. We arrived at the Sun Gate mid-afternoon with Machu Picchu bathed in glorious golden sunshine, with most of the tourists having returned to Cusco. The next morning mist rolled in and no one saw the sunrise at Machu Picchu until later in the day.
Peter Wotton, Pyrmont, NSW
Hidden gem
I hope Russell Robinson (Traveller Letters, April 20) also visited the Sir John Monash Centre at the Australian War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery. Hard to find, it’s hidden discreetly behind the Australian National Memorial (tower). Funded by Australian taxpayers, it provides moving and interpretive insights from soldiers’ correspondence and records. Download the app and take your earphones for immersion in the Australians’ experiences. Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains military Australian graveyards in Europe, kept in impeccable condition by French and Belgian staff. Use Peronne as a base and visit the many sites in the Somme, moving north to Ypres. If you see any workers, thank them, unless emotion chokes the words in your throat. Every politician and military officer should visit the Somme and learn of the futility of conflict.
Lindsay May, Lane Cove, NSW
Power of a flower
I can only concur with the letter from Russell Robinson about the wonderful memorial at Villers-Bretonneux. Some years ago I travelled from Amiens to the Adelaide Cemetery, which is on the road to Villers-Bretonneux and is where my great uncle Robert Earnest Andrews is interred. It is a most gorgeous place for the fallen. While there, workers were gardening and laying turf, and stupidly I had not brought anything with me to leave at his grave. One of the gardeners came up and presented me with a rose cutting and assured me he would look after the grave. To this day I am the only member of my family to have been there. The War Graves Commission does a mighty job.
Craig Willis, Boorolite, Vic
Boeing, boeing …
Your columnist Michael Gebicki (Traveller, May 3) makes some broad statements about the Boeing 737 and the 737 Max 8 and 9, as if they are basically the same plane when in fact they are critically different. The relative safety of flying in the original 737 can’t be compared with the current Max models. Boeing’s essentially money-saving decision to avoid designing and engineering a completely new model plane from the ground up to replace the 737, has created major issues and led to two major crashes with Lion and Ethiopian Airlines. Passenger hesitancy to fly on 737 Max planes seems totally justified. If Boeing whistleblower Sam Salehpour is to be believed, the 787 Dreamliner and 777 may also need thorough scrutiny.
Mark Berg, Caringbah South, NSW
Hard to swallow
Your reader, Margie Joyce (Traveller Letters, April 20) states she had to see a German doctor for her prescribed antibiotic which was probably a different antibiotic to the one that would have been prescribed if she had a bad chest infection and different again to the one I received for my recent bout of swimmer’s ear. You have to get a prescription from a doctor for an antibiotic to treat an infection. Given issues with over-prescribed antibiotics leading to infection resistance, doctors will not issue a script just in case you fall ill. This should remind travellers that they need to get a doctor’s letter listing the medications they are currently using (including non-prescribed ones) and keep all medicines in their original packaging.
Ian Rosel, Wantirna, Vic
Desert deluge
After a family holiday in Dubai we were due to take a return flight to Sydney on April 16, the day of the massive storm. We left our accommodation at 4.30pm, some two hours before you would need to due to the extreme rain. Ten minutes into our journey we were on Sheikh Zayed Road toward the airport and realised we were not going to be able to get to the airport in time to check in.
Vehicles drive through floodwater caused by heavy rain in Dubai last month.Credit: AP
We eventually got through to Emirates and explained we were in gridlock and would be late, at the same time being polite and respectful to the operator. The advice was that the flight was on schedule and it was up to us to get there on time. We turned around and later received emails that the flight was delayed to 23.30 and then 01.30. When we woke up the next morning, we learnt our flight EK416 had, in fact, been cancelled.
Ray Phillips, Armidale, NSW
Gate not temple
The photo marked number four in Brian Johnston’s otherwise excellent “Seven Wonders Within” piece on Ephesus, Turkey (Traveller, April 13), is not of the Temple of Hadrian but is Hadrian’s Gate in the old Roman wall in Antalya. In this view, one is looking east out from the old section, Kaleici, to the newer areas of Antalya. Hadrian’s Temple is about two-thirds of the way down Curetes Way (the main road down the ruins of the Roman town area) on the right-hand side, almost opposite the roofed-enclosure of the Terraced Houses.
Roger Cameron, Marrickville, NSW
EDITOR’S NOTE Thanks to our reader pointing out this error. The online version of the story has since been corrected.
Tip of the week: Bangkok for your bucks
Further to your “Jet lag? What jet lag?” cover story special (Traveller, April 19). Our favourite close-to-home place is Thailand. It was our first post-pandemic trip and we enjoyed the short-(ish) day flight with Thai Airways. We stayed at the magnificent Banyan Tree hotel in Bangkok and celebrated New Year’s Eve high up in the sky at the Vertigo Restaurant.
Thai pavilion in Khao Tao reservoir, Hua Hin, Thailand. Credit: Getty Images
After a wonderful four days we travelled by taxi to the Hyatt Resort in nearby Hua Hin and enjoyed a relaxing week there. We have visited Thailand four times since our honeymoon in 1990. A special country with special people.
Rhoda Silber, Manly, NSW
Nothing like a Dame
You won’t get to see inside Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City (Traveller, April 19). It is closed with its grounds fenced off and covered in scaffolding (just like the one in Paris). When we visited In March the weather was not “balmy” but 37 degrees and humid with the locals saying they have two seasons, wet or hot.
Judith English, Hornsby Heights, NSW
EDITOR’S NOTE To confirm, Ho Chi Minh City’s Notre Dame Cathedral has been undergoing renovations since 2017 with work expected to be completed in 2027.
It’s not all white
I’m applying for a visa to visit my son in China. I have two issues. No matter how hard I try I am unable to get the background to my passport photo to the required level of whiteness. Secondly, my work status is “retired” (for 10 years) so I have no work experience over the last five years. There are mandatory fields requiring employer name and phone number which I cannot fill, thus voiding the application. Could any of your readers help with this process?
Mark Murphy, Mornington, Vic
Cable car guy
The only way to go … cable car, La Paz, Bolivia.Credit: Getty Images
One other quirky transport option overseas (Traveller, April 14), which I used this year is the Mi Teleferico cable car system in La Paz, Bolivia. La Paz’s urban area spreads from the bottom of a canyon at 3650 metres up the steep sides to 4000 metres. The system was constructed by Doppelmayr who are well-known for their cable cars at ski resorts. There are 11 lines with a total length of more than 30 kilometres.
Daren Fawkes, Forest Hill, Vic
EDITOR’S NOTE Thanks to our reader for the tip. We’d love to hear from others regarding their own unusual public transports of delight experiences from around the world. Write to us at the address elsewhere on this page.
Stress test
Your reader, R. Kesey, asked the Tripologist (Traveller, April 26) about travel from Bari, Italy, to Dubrovnik, Croatia. We did a ferry trip in 2022 and found that the ticket office from where we had to collect our tickets, which had been booked online, was actually one or two kilometres down the road from the actual Bari-Dubrovnik ferry terminal. Many people, like us, found themselves stressed, doing a last-minute dash from the ferry terminal to the distant ticket office in order to pick up tickets and return to the terminal in time to board the ferry.
Gaye McDermott, Kew, Vic
Vive la France
Nearly 20 years after last visiting France the change in both the willingness to embrace tourists and friendliness of hospitality employees could not be more evident to this traveller. My wife and I are currently in France and enjoying the hospitality of the French people who, with the exception of one sole individual, could not be more helpful and willing to assist. The level of English spoken by the French has been a revelation, especially when a few introductory phrases in French explaining our lack of French vocabulary seem to pave the way to a willingness to engage in friendly assistance both on the street and in those once confronting cafes and restaurants. If, like me, you were a victim of the French dismissiveness of the past, think again about travelling to this beautiful country.
Kevin Askie, Cooks Hill, NSW
Totally down pat
The ad about golfing on Norfolk Island (Traveller print edition, April 21) brought back fond memories. When I first visited in December 1970, the golf course was very much a farm where cattle roamed freely. Local rules applied if your ball landed in something hot and steamy. You were allowed to pick-up, most definitely clean, and then take a preferred lie. The greens, such as they were, were fenced off to stop the cattle intruding. You had to play through the post and wire fence and then open the gate to access the green. How times have changed.
Nicolas Harrison, Evans Head, NSW
The Letter of the Week writer wins three Hardie Grant travel books. See hardiegrant.com
The Tip of the Week writer wins a set of three Lonely Planet travel books. See shop.lonelyplanet.com
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