Bjorn's Travel Blog

First Fall of the Year

Bjorn — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 00:06:44 +0000

Landed 11.30pm last into Incheon Airport, Seoul Korea. Might as well have been Tokyo as the drive took nearly 3 hours…….longer than the flight.

Woke this morning to the sight of light dustings of the white powder…..not bad ….one day before Winter officially starts….

Weddings Parties & Lazarus

Bjorn — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 12:08:46 +0000

Yes….they’re back from the dead and what a great night it was. WPA returned for a warm-up show at the Northcote Community Centre (read: High St Pub).

Great night……supported by the Remains and only wish I could have stayed till the end rather than rush out for SQ228…..not all bad news…..got upgraded on the MEL-SIN leg which was good but still had to fly Sahara from SIN-DEL.

VFM Golf

Bjorn — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 03:31:25 +0000

Managed to squeeze in a round at Riverside Oaks during the Australian visit……played terribly – and yes it was the clubs fault (rentals) not mine…. how is anyone expected to play with a set of rented clubs

VFM Golf = Value for Money ……..or better put…..too many shots to even consider getting under 100 for 18 holes.

Golf is one of those interesting games that you actually try and get less for your money.

Midday

Bjorn — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 07:06:52 +0000

Some traditions dont die….just like the Midday Gun in Hong Kong.

Every day at noon the bell is rung (probably to warn you) and then a single (blank) round is fired across the harbour to signal its lunchtime

Monkeying Around

Bjorn — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 06:35:46 +0000

Seem’s like there are some in Singapore who are not caught up in the rat race and are just sitting back taking it easy……

These guys were just watching the traffic go ……obviously on “Upper Thomson Road” in the middle of Singapore…

Wotif They Cared?

Bjorn — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 09:19:44 +0000

More to come on this but yet another example that online doesnt mean good service…..it might be cheap and handy but at the end of the day good old fashioned customer service still wins out.

In case you are in doubt I am talking about WOTIF the hotel booking service who left me high & dry in Paris ….well sitting on a plastic seat at crappy Charles De Gaulle Terminal 1 for 12 hours.

As I said ….more to come when the battery is recharged

Hollywood in Angouleme

Bjorn — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 09:10:23 +0000

Well you may just ask where is Angouleme. It’s about 2 hours by TGV South West of Paris and about 100km North of Bordeaux. So why are they filming one of the local action series there…..good question but that didnt stop many of the town folk taking time out from their usual “busy” Mondays to watch the action as one of the cast scaled the side of a building (fully strapped in of course). The most excitement for years it seems.

When Are Planes Going to Fly Backwards??

Bjorn — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 20:58:35 +0000

There must be a disconnect between check-in staff and the pilots………on three occasions I have asked and had confirmation of a forward aisle seat and on each occasion the closed I’ve come to the front is when I get on the plane.

Today’s experience was with Lufthansa. At check-in at San Francisco I repeated my request and was given two tickets, both with Aisle Seats, 32H to Munich and 24C from Munich Paris. The SFO-CDG leg was acceptable…somewhere in the middle…..but……….24C on Lufthansa from Munich to Paris means down the back….the very, very back. Indeed the last row……..go figure.

When finally Boeing or Airbus are able to fly backwards (by design) then I’m set. Until then…..I will continue to wait for the day I can fly with One World again.

Star Alliance must be the most disjointed ‘alliance’ I have had to deal with. They don’t have a concept for profiles for travelers - even for premium frequent flyers, nor do they have any understanding of simplifying the travel process. Take a look at One World……..it works and makes traveling more enjoyable.

I hope that the (not so) good people from Star Alliance read this……….even better they may one day return emails to their customer service teams.

Blowing of Steam in San Francisco

Bjorn — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 08:02:41 +0000

T.G.I.F !! One more day of work and then the weekend travelling again. Dont you just love getting an energy burst at midnight when all you really want to do is sleep but your body is somewhere across the Pacific Ocean time-zones.

Great place, especially at midnight and you always find people out and about.

Hopefully some photo’s tomorrow from Presidio Golf Course.

6AM Tourist

Bjorn — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 20:53:36 +0000

Seems like the only time to get out and see the sights is either late at night or early morning. Couldn’t sleep last night to rode the Cable Car from Powell to Fisherman’s wharf and back. This morning I was determined to see the Golden Gate first-hand.

Even came across my little friend in this picture. He (or she) wouldn’t move and continued to show for the Camera for at least 15 minutes…..either that or he had frozen to death overnight and was listing in the breeze.

From Crissy Field (bottom of GG) headed up Divisidero to “Postcard Row” where the Victorian houses line most of the streets. This picture must have been used by every tour guide, brochure and advertisement for San Francisco. Riding up Divisidero makes to feel like you are in a Clint Eastwood movie car chase……its up and down , up and down , up and down…

That was probably the best hours of sightseeing I have done for a long-time.