itravelnet.com Travel Blog

The Boxing Day test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is an institution on the Australian sporting calendar. The first Boxing Day test was in 1950, and it has been played every year since 1980.

Boxing Day Test

Labels: australia, cricket, india, melbourne

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

The New Kangaroo Route - London to Sydney with Low Cost Airlines

Low cost airlines have now covered just about every short haul route possible and are now looking at inter-continental long haul flights. It will soon be possible to fly from the UK to Australia one stop, just like the traditional scheduled airlines.

Of course you don't have to fly to Australia in one stop. There are so many low cost carriers along the way that it is possible to break to trip up into multi stops like you would on a round the world ticket.

Flying like this though won't necessarily mean that your flight will be cheaper. And because most low cost airlines aren't in the booking systems of travel agents or online booking engines you have to do all the flight segment research yourself. For someone like me though that is half the fun.

If you are trying to fly straight through it's advisable to leave enough time between connecting flights. If one flight is late and you miss the next you will not just be able to get on the next flight like on a scheduled service. If you are trying to go straight through then one or two stops would be the most managable. Anything over that and you are better off enjoying the city you have flown to.

Here is a list of some route options to fly from London to Australia I have put together using only low cost airlines. Some stop over cities arrive in one city and depart from another city close by (eg Sharjah - Dubai and Hong Kong - Macau). Overland options (eg fly into Mumbai, out of Chennai) aren't included as there are so many possibilities.

One Stop

London (LGW) (Ferry to Macau) Macau (MFM)

to to

Hong Kong (HKG) Sydney (SYD)

Oasis Hong Kong (no longer operatiing) Viva Macau

These options for Macau are planned for 2008:

Macau (MFM)

to

Melbourne (AVV)

Viva Macau

These options for Kuala Lumpur are planned for 2008:

London (STN) Kuala Lumpur (KUL)

to to

Kuala Lumpur (KUL) Melbourne (AVV)

AirAsia X AirAsia X

Two Stops

London (STN) Dusseldorf (DUS) Bangkok (BKK)	to to to	Dusseldorf Weeze (NRN) Bangkok (BKK) Melbourne (MEL)	Ryanair Air Berlin Jetstar
London (STN) Dusseldorf (DUS) Phuket (HKT)	to to to	Dusseldorf (DUS) Phuket (HKT) Sydney (SYD)	Air Berlin LTU Jetstar
London (STN) Munich (MUC) Bangkok (BKK)	to to to	Munich (MUC) Bangkok (BKK) Melbourne (MEL)	Air Berlin LTU Jetstar

Three Stops

London Luton (LTN) Larnaca (LCA) Dubai (DXB) Kuala Lumpur (KUL)

to to to to

Larnaca (LCA) Dubai (DXB) Kuala Lumpur (KUL) Sydney (SYD)

Thomsonfly Jazeera Airways Air-India Express Jetstar

Four Stops

London (LTN) Istanbul (SAW) Dubai (DXB) Kochi (COK) Singapore (SIN)	to to to to to	Istanbul (SAW) Sharjah (SAH) Kochi (COK) Singapore (SIN) Perth (PER)	easyJet Air Arabia Jazeera Airways Tiger Airways Tiger Airways
London Stansted (STN) Larnaca (LCA) Kuwait (KWI) Mumbai (BOM) Kuala Lumpur (KUL)	to to to to to	Larnaca (LCA) Kuwait (KWI) Mumbai (BOM) Kuala Lumpur (KUL) Gold Coast (OOL)	Thomsonfly Jazeera Airways Jazeera Airways Air India Express AirAsia
London (LGW) Prague (PRG) Dubai (DXB) Mumbai (BOM) Bangkok (BKK)	to to to to to	Prague (PRG) Dubai (DXB) Mumbai (BOM) Bangkok (BKK) Melbourne (MEL)	easyJet Smartwings Jazeera Airways Air India Express Jetstar

I have only covered the kangaroo Route for the list, but it is possible to fly around the world using low cost airlines. If you have you flown from the UK to Australia or around the world on low cost airlines, or have made up some other possible itineraries, leave a comment.

Labels: airlines, australia, kangaroo route, london, low cost airlines, round the world, uk

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Aircraft entering Australia are sprayed with pesticide as part of quarantine arrangements.

Labels: air spray, airlines, australia

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Flight: Viva Macau ZG 9501 Date: 8 Dec 2007

Viva Macau is a low cost airline based in Macau. They currently fly 3 times a week to Sydney.

Viva Macau offer a no frills long haul service so you need to come prepared before you fly, as you will not be fed and entertained like you would on a full service airline.

What they do offer is one of the cheapest flights you will find from Sydney to East Asia. I picked up a sale seat for $199 (one-way) plus taxes, bringing the total to $320 Australian Dollars. I bought this online about one month before flying.

Aircraft

Viva Macau use a Boeing 767 for this route. The seating arrangement is 2-3-2 across.

Entertainment

Viva Macau show movies on a projector screen. There are no personal screens. They show an English and Hong Kong film during the flight. Bring your own headphones, otherwise you will need to purchase one.

Food and Drink

There is no inflight meal service so make sure you have a big meal at the airport or bring enough food. The only hot meal available to purchase was pot noodles. Drinks have to be bought as well.

Currencies accepted include Macau Pataca, Hong Kong, US and Austalian Dollars.

Here is a list of items available for purchase onboard, in Hong Kong Dollars

Blanket 40 HKD
Neck Pillow 20 HKD
Headphones 20 HKD

Coffee 10 HKD
Coke (can) 20 HKD
Heineken (can) 30 HKD
Pot Noodles 30 HKD

Labels: airlines, china, macau, sydney, viva macau

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Macau has become the biggest gambling centre in the world, recently overtaking Las Vegas in terms of gaming revenues. Mind you there is not as many entertainment options in Macau compared to Las Vegas (like the shows and theme parks), and I can't see Macau becoming Rat Pack cool like Vegas anytime soon.

The thing with Macau though is it has only just begun. Much of the place is a construction site, and as the only place in China where casinos are legal it is only going to get bigger.

Grand Lisboa

The Grand Lisboa is close to the Macau Old Town and at 258 metres it is the dominant landmark on the Macau skyline. It seems to look down upon you wherever you go.



Wynn Casino

Wynn, a big name of Las Vegas has opened a casino in Macau.



The Venetian

From the people that brought you The Venetian Las Vegas, now there is The Venetian Macau, the world's largest casino.

The front entrance is dominated by replicas of the Ponte di Rialto, Campanile and Palazzo Ducale, but without all the pigeons.



Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf is the first theme park of Macao. Like much of Macau it looks like they are still building onto it. It's a shopping and entertainment centre with casinos (of course). It has sections representing different seaports of the world like Amsterdam and Venice. And It's very cheesy.

Labels: casino, china, las vegas, macau

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

A street vendor in Macau serving breakfast.

Labels: china, food, macau

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Labels: chicken, china, food, macau

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

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.



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.

Labels: china, good idea, hong kong, macau, mobile phones

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Macau was a Portuguese colony that was handed over to China in 1999. Like Hong Kong it is now a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.

Macau is only one hour ferry ride from Hong Kong so it makes for a popular day trip if you are doing a stop-over in Hong Kong. There are ferries up to every half an hour during the day.



I was only in Macau last year and I did not think I would be back here so soon. I thought I might like to come back in 20 years and see how many casinos have sprouted.

I am back so soon because Viva Macau fly from here to Sydney. The combined cost of flying Oasis Hong Kong from london to Hong Kong then Macau to Sydney was about half the price of a ticket on offer with any other scheduled airline.

Labels: china, hong kong, macau

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Usually these Avenue of Stars that are modelled off Hollywood come off looking cheesy. Hong Kong has one of the biggest film industries in the world though so they at least have enough local stars to fill their walk.

Labels: china, film, hong kong

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

The booming Chinese economy is having a visible effect on the Hong Kong skyline, and it's not just the skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island. Air pollution is becoming an ever present part of the view in Hong Kong.

The number of days that Air pollution has decreased visibility has increased in the last decade. While it might take some time for the government to show some political will in cleaning the skies, some photographers have taken matters into their own hands.

There are photographers at Victoria Peak and on the Kowloon side of Victoria Harbour that are offering digitally enhanced photos. They have laptops setup ready to photoshop a perfectly clear picture of the background you just had your picture taken in front of. They even have day and night options, even if you weren't there at night.



I don't know how I feel about this. On the one hand it is disappointing to get to the top of Victoria Peak then not be able to see the Harbour through all the smog. On the other hand if they can just make a picture like this then do you need to go at all. Where do you draw the line with photoshopped photos?

Labels: china, hong kong, photography, pollution

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

The Peak Tram of Hong Kong Island is one of the most famous tramways in the world. The tram runs from Central district to Victoria Peak with some stops along the way. Its steep ascent to the Peak offers great views of the Harbour.





At the top the tram terminates at the Peak Tower, an observation deck/shopping centre/tourist trap, which you have to pay extra to enter. You can walk around the paths at the peak and see the same view for free.

Labels: china, hong kong, tram, victoria peak

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

If you are booking Hong Kong budget accommodation online you will notice a number of "Mansions" listed in the results. These mansions are great apartment blocks on Nathan Rd, the main road in Kowloon, Hong Kong.



If you are staying at one of these mansions (Chunking Mansion or Mirador Mansion) you might be taken aback by its outside appearance. The blocks are old and shabby, with air-con units and washing lines hanging from just about every window. The blocks are a mix of residential apartments, small businesses and guest houses.




The quality of your budget accommodation guest house will vary widely once you are inside though as there as so many of them. I have stayed in guest houses in both mansions and they have been clean and presentable, but as space is at a premium my rooms have only been slightly larger than the bed itself.

Labels: china, hong kong, hotels, kowloon

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Double decker trams still operate on Hong Kong Island. Hongkong Tramways run the largest fleet of double-deck tramcars in the world.



Hong Kong Tram video: Hong Kong Tram

Labels: china, hong kong, public transport, tram

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Boiling Offal Pots

Eating in Hong Kong is hard work if you don't eat meat. I'm not a vegetarian but I'm not a fan of offal, which is what alot of the street food in Hong Kong seems to be.



For a city that was once a jewel of the British Empire it is surprising how little English is spoken on the the street. This makes for ordering food a challenge.

I found a place serving some sort of meat product skewered on a stick, which was most tasty. I then moved on to the next tray, and pointed to these frying balls of something. The lady said "spicy"! I nodded. She said again "spicy"!! I said "OK, I like spicy", then she repeated again "SPICY"!!!
"OK OK give me spicy".

She gave me a container with 10 of them. They were excruciatingly spicy, and I like spicy. I forced the third one down before surrendering and running off to the nearest 7/11 to put out the fire.



Know where your food comes from

Eating in Asia you get a better sense of where your food comes from. In the west we only have to see our meat as prime cuts neatly packaged in a styrofoam container at the supermarket. You can walk around markets and see live chickens waiting to be slaughtered and live fish carved up before your eyes, still gasping for breath.



Live crabs can be bought in shops on the street as well. These crabs aren't in a water tank though. They are bound with bamboo and stacked neatly on top of each other as if they were boxes.



Eating Vegetarian

Eating for vegetarians can be hard going here, even if you go to a "vegetarian restaurant". I looked at some menus of vegetarian restaurants and found that every item had meat in it.



Sometimes vegetarian options at restaurants include prawns and bits of pork.

The safest option for a vegetarian is to go to an Indian restaurant. If they say it is vegetarian you know that it will be. When in Hong Kong I like to visit Branto on Lock Road, which my vegetarian sister put me onto.

There are plenty of other vegetarian restaurants in Hong Kong as well.




Sweet Things

The Hong Kong egg tart is a cheap and tasty snack that can be found all over Hong Kong.



Also on Lock Road I frequent this juice bar daily. They have a variety of fresh juices, as well as a sweet mango or coconut drink with tapioca balls, which I struggle to limit myself to two a day.

Labels: china, food, hong kong

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Oasis Hong Kong is a long-haul low-cost airline based in Hong Kong. They currently fly to London and Vancouver and are expanding to other destinations in 2008.



I had not considered flying a low-cost airline long-haul due to the perceived lack of services, but the price difference was enough for me to consider again.

Price

This was what got me through the door. The cheapest advertised price was £99, with an asterisk of course.

Fare Breakdown:
Air Fare GBP 99
Fuel Surcharge GBP 29.96
UK Air Passenger Duty Economy GBP 40.00
UK passenger Service Charge GBP 7.90

Total: GBP 176.86

This is for a one way fare from London to Hong Kong. This was booked about one month before travel, and was about half the price of the next best fare found on expedia/opodo with regular airlines. Booking as a one way flight might have made a difference to the fares with other airlines.

Low-cost and Long-Haul?

The low cost model works well for short haul flights as a cooked meal and entertainment isn't necessary on a 2 hour flight. For inter-continental flights though these extras are required to make the long flight bearable.

My perception was that you would have to pay for your meals and your entertainment. Some long-haul low cost airlines are following this route but Oasis haven't.

Meals

Yes, meals are free. There is a dinner service shortly after take off, then a breakfast service before arrival. You can order other meals any time during the flight for a cost.



The meals are your standard inflight fare you would find on a BA/Cathay flight, and you get two choices.

Drinks

Juice and soft drinks are free but you have to pay for alcohol.

Entertainment

Another low cost misconception busted. There is inflight entertainment onboard. Each seat has its own tv screen and has 16 channels plus the usual where are we now Air Show.



Oasis Hong Kong have their own inflight magazine and a selection of newspapars and magazines are provided free as you board.



Remarks

Overall the flight was as comfortable as any flight I have taken in enonomy long haul. The winning difference is in the price difference, though if I found a flight with a comparable price with a traditional alliance airline I would have taken that, if only for the frequent flyer points. The large price difference in this case made gaining points irrelevant.

oasishongkong.com

Labels: airlines, gatwick, hong kong, london, oasis hong kong

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Novel Idea book vending machine at a departure gate at London Gatwick, and none of them by Grisham or Brown.

Labels: airport, books, england, gatwick, london

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Outside the Tate Modern is the giant spider "Maman" by Louise Bourgeois. It is on display until 20 January 2008.

Labels: art, england, london

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

It used to be said to eat well in england, eat breakfast 3 times a day. Things have changed from those days though as there as so many migrants here, and with them they brought restaurants from all over the world.

The English Breakfast is a classic meal and you can have here for dinner and no one will bat an eyelid.

Labels: england, food

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Westminster City Council, (which covers London's Oxford Street, the West End, and the Houses of Parliament), has created a toilet-finding service for mobile phone users.

Labels: england, london, public toilet

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email

Here is a refreshingly different take on the usually dry airline safety video from Virgin America.



Virgin America Safety Video

Labels: airlines, virgin america

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
 Subscribe in a Reader or Subscribe by Email