Traveller Letters: Unfair fee pushed cost of my Australian passport over $500

I’m with Lee Tulloch (Traveller, March 23). There is no better way to feel at home in a new location than finding a good cake shop. A few years ago, being a lover of cream, I discovered princess cake in Sweden. I had so many pieces of this creamy delight that I could feel my arteries hardening.
Genevieve Milton, Dulwich Hill, NSW

Takes the cake

I had the best orange and chocolate madeira cake from Cafe 7, a local workers’ cafe in a back street of Porto, Portugal. The home-made cake in the window drew me in, pointing to my choice, given I did not speak Portuguese, and they had little English; it was delicious. Like Lee Tulloch, when in a new city, I too seek out local cakes and pastries as I explore. In Istanbul last year, each afternoon I enjoyed a different shaped baklava made with various nuts and spices from the local pastanesi, eating it while I watched the ever-changing activity on the street.
Philip Smith, Waterloo, NSW

Smalls world

Watching the various hints for drying smalls during travels (Traveller Letters, March 23) reminded me of a tip handed on by a fellow traveller from New Zealand during a tour of Russia – after wringing your smalls tightly in a towel, place them on the top of your room fridge, and even better, if it has a shelf above, slot the laundry between. This was certainly more acceptable than those on our tour who flaunted hotel rules and persisted in hanging theirs on makeshift lines from hotel windows.
Penelope Davies, Junortoun, Vic

Bitter pill

I nearly choked when Sheriden Rhodes wrote “and, just in case, a prescribed antibiotic” when packing for a river cruise (Traveller, March 16). First, no-one should ever have unused antibiotics lying around. Every antibiotic course prescribed must be taken until there are no doses left. Second, there are different antibiotics for different types of infections, and someone should never take an antibiotic not prescribed for the specific infection they actually have. Finally, this kind of casual attitude to antibiotics is dangerous. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria is becoming a serious problem due to society’s overuse. If antibiotics ever cease to work in the future due to this, we’ll be back to the 1940s, where simple infections often became fatal.
Brendan Jones, Annandale, NSW
EDITOR’S NOTE: Our reader is correct that antibiotics should be treated with care, but the operative word in the article in question was “prescribed”. It’s up to a GP whether to prescribe such medication to a patient and to advise them accordingly, particularly with the expiry date.

All that jazz

Noel and Rosemarie Stonehouse evoked fond memories of their visit to Napier (Traveller Letters, March 23). My own visit, on a cruise liner, was also delightful. I did not book a town tour in a vintage car, being content enough just to bop around the CBD and take in the sights. On reboarding the ship, returning passengers were given a spirited farewell thanks to a small jazz combo, men sporting boaters and the women wearing boas. Some attempted a Charleston, while the megaphone man endlessly sang, “get on board, get on board!” Priceless.
Mike Fogarty, Weston, ACT

Affronted by waterfront

My partner and I have just returned from a wonderful 14-day Sydney to Auckland cruise, with recommendations in Traveller (November 4) proving useful, particularly the suggestion of a day trip to Waiheke Island for lunch at the Mudbrick Winery. The recommendation to stay at the central Movenpick Hotel was also much appreciated for its position near the waterfront. Sadly, however, visitors to the waterfront area are now confronted by many homeless people sleeping rough. It’s disappointing that a modern, first world city like Auckland cannot assist these people. One can only hope the government authority can address this issue.
Peter Harrington, Caringbah South, NSW

Chart topper

Your article on favouring paper maps over apps (Traveller, March 19), reminds me of the most enjoyable paper maps of all, the large-scale UK Ordnance Survey Explorer maps, all 607 of them, which show each stunning footpath crossing the UK, each stile and copse, each hill and tiny village. As the most detailed maps of the UK, they also show contour lines and every pub and wood, farm and house, stream, river and barn. For a walker they are indispensable. Don’t want paper? The OS maps are also available in digital format.
Judy Hungerford, Kew, Vic

No grain, no gain

Sand? I love sand! (Traveller Letters, March 23). Whether it’s Esperance’s Cape Le Grand or Tasmania’s Bay of Fires, sand colours the water, provides a contrast to the brilliant blue and can be so fine it remains steady in breaking waves. Sand provides a soft support to relax ourselves after a swim and a frame to beautiful scenery. Sand allows bare feet to roam the beach safely, to play and tumble without fear. Sand? I love sand.
Stephen Yeates, Dee Why, NSW

Tip of the week: Old versus new

The bouchon restaurants typical of Lyon are interesting, as Ben Groundwater notes (Traveller, April 4) but they vary widely in quality and choosing one can be hit and miss. The old Bouchon des Lyonnais below the steep hill to the basilica was nice for a light lunch during our visit but the place we kept returning to was Les Assembleurs Prefecture over on the rue Mazenod on the east side of the Rhone, near Pont Wilson. They make their own wine and have about 15 on tap and offer well-priced set menus in a more modern style. It was also 100 metres from our hotel, a block from the tram line to the main station and had friendly and obliging staff. We did breakfasts, lunches and dinners there.
Tony Sullivan, Adamstown Heights, NSW

Spot the differences

Lord Howe island isn’t the only place to see Galapagos sharks (Traveller Letters, March 30) as they can also be viewed in the equally lovely Norfolk Island. I have been to both Lord Howe and Norfolk with the difference between the two being that there are not many cars in Lord Howe compared to Norfolk. While both don’t have much street lighting, both are relaxing, especially as, at least when I was there, you couldn’t use your mobile on either island. There are ways to ring home, though I didn’t worry about it as I think that’s actually a good thing.
Jenelle Marshall, Mooroolbark, VIC

Zero risk

I am nearing the end of a two-week stay in Egypt and am happy to report that the war in Gaza has had zero impact on my tours in Cairo and Luxor. Security in Egypt, as always, is tight but nothing has changed from my most recent tours in 2023 and 2022. Hotels, domestic flights and the popular ancient sites have all been busy while I’ve been in the country. I have never felt at risk during this trip, and cannot wait to return in 2025.
Anne-Marie Pope, Fadden, ACT

Mass appeal

People should visit the exquisite Lake Bled (Traveller, March 24) but don’t expect a castle on the small island, it is a church. The castle is up a steep path on the Lake Bled shoreline.
Mike Copland, Wodonga, Vic

Good points

Always book early. I recently flew from Melbourne to Sydney with Qantas for a points-plus-pay flight which was reasonable. I booked the flight eight days before travelling. A family member considered trying to come on the same flight, but because they left it until a few days before the flight, the fares had increased dramatically. I found this quite strange, since there were plenty of empty seats.
Ken Grose, Woy Woy, NSW

Rate rise

In response to the letter by Ross McPherson (March 30), I go to Hong Kong three to four times a year and can only agree that there are fewer tourists, and not only from Australia, these days. However much of that has to do with the fact that the hotels are uniformly 30 per cent more a night than their pre-pandemic rates, turning an already expensive place in Asia for a bed into an unaffordable one.
Nick Inatey, Singapore

Give it a miss

Your reader Ross MacPherson (Traveller Letters, March 30) answers his own question about Hong Kong. China’s brutal crackdown on dissent is more than enough reason for me, and I suspect many others, to give Hong Kong a miss. Some people try to travel with a conscience.
Tom McGinness, Randwick, NSW

Mind your language

In the first paragraph of the article on the Americas (Traveller, March 24) about Zion National Park in Utah, it is stated that the Mormon pioneers gave it the ancient Hebrew name for “sanctuary”. Zion is the name given in the Bible to Jerusalem and the Land of Israel. Sanctuary is an entirely different word in Hebrew.
Ariella Brosan, Bondi Junction, 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