itravelnet.com Travel Blog

Shanghai was once known as the Paris of the East. Today it is referred to as the Pearl of the Orient. Along the Shanghai river front is where you can see the best of Shanghai's past and future in one spot.



Shanghai old and new. A colonial bank building with the modern Bund Center looming overhead.

Labels: china, shanghai

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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The Bathroom DiariesTM is the world's largest database of restroom locations. It rates over 12,000 public bathrooms in more than 120 countries. Handy for finding public toilet locations when you are on the road.

thebathroomdiaries.com

Labels: featured-travel-site-2008

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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National Express, the biggest coach company in Britain, is offering 40,000 fares at £3, one way. Getting around Britain can be expensive at the best of times so this is great value if you are planning UK travel in November. There are a range of available city pairs, including travel as far as from London to Aberdeen.

Book by: 29 November 2008
Travel Period: to 30 November 2008

National Express

Labels: travel-deals

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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ComeBackAlive.com, by Robert Young Pelton, is a website where professionals, adventurers, travelers and those who work and travel in high-risk areas can keep abreast of the latest information and safety tips.

comebackalive.com

Labels: featured-travel-site-2008

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Qantas has launched its first service using the Airbus A380, flying from Melbourne to Los Angeles.



QF93 left Melbourne just after 11.15am on 20 October 2008. The MEL - LAX route is the longest non-stop flight on the Qantas network. The flight takes around 15 hours, which makes it one of the Longest flights in the world.

The new aircraft has been named Nancy-Bird Walton, after the Australian Pioneer Aviatrix.



Launch Ceremony

A small ceremony was held in the departure lounge to farewall the inaugural flight. The Hon Martin Ferguson MP and Qantas Chief Executive Officer Geoff Dixon gave speeches before the passengers boarded.

While Melbourne got a politician and a CEO to attend proceedings, at the other end in LA the flight will be greeted by Qantas "ambassador" John Travolta and Aussie singer Olivia Newton-John.





New Qantas Logo

The famous Flying Kangaroo logo and Qantas font was updated in 2007 in preparation for delivery of the A380. To the non plane spotters eye it might look the same, but the new kangaroo paw is elongated and points forward rather than down, so it can fit on the A380 tail.



A380 Onlookers

The A380 had its share of admirers on the day, from flying fans in commemorative T-shirts, passengers on other flights and airport staff were all gathered to have a look.



Old and New

The A380 at Gate 9 and a 747 in the background.


New Airport Terminals

Airports terminals around the world are being modified to fit the A380. In Melbourne Airports case the runway had to be widened and and new air bridges installed. Note the two air bridges here, one for each deck of the A380.



Take Off



Video: Qantas A380 Take Off

Resources

Airbus A380

Qantas A380

Labels: a380, airport, australia, melbourne, qantas

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Halloween is not the most appropriate holiday of European origin to celebrate in Australia, seeing we are half way though spring by then. If you are a European or North American though and find yourself Down Under on Halloween then why not celebrate with a cheap train ride.

Travel anywhere on the CountryLink network on the 31st October 2008 for only $31.00 economy or $41 first class each way. Bookings are available from Friday 10th October through to Friday 31st October.

Some ticket options include:

- Sydney to/from Melbourne $31
- Brisbane to/from Sydney $31

Fare applies to economy or first class seats only. Not available for sleeping berths. Journey must commence on 31 October 2008 and can be completed the next day on the same service.

countrylink.info

Labels: train, travel-deals

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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A project which aims to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location.

www.confluence.org

Labels: featured-travel-site-2008

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Seen on the streets of Melbourne is this wind powered tram. No it's not a tram with sails, but it is using power bought from a wind farm. The tram is currently running on Route 96 from St Kilda Beach to East Brunswick.

Wind Powered Tram

Labels: australia, melbourne, tram

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Ryanair sales just keep getting better, and you can't get better than free seats!



Booking Period: Tue 07th Oct 08 - Thu 09th Oct 08
Travel Period: Thu 23rd Oct 08 - Tue 16th Dec 08

This free seat sale means the only way Ryanair can outdo themselves in their next sale is to pay you to fly.

ryanair.com

Labels: ryanair, travel-deals

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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NationMaster is a huge database of world statistics. The site displays country comparisons using graphs and maps. All sorts of country statistics, maps, flags, graphs and pie charts. Check the top of each page for a different factoid, such as #92: "More than a third of the world's airports are in the United States of America."

www.nationmaster.com

Labels: featured-travel-site-2008

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Smart car dealerships around the world use this eye catching method to display the funky little micocars.


The building in the background is the Eureka Tower, which is the world's tallest residential tower (when measured to its highest floor).

Labels: australia, melbourne, smart-car

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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Lastminute.com is celebrating its 10th Birthday with a £10 hotel room sale for hotels across the UK.



The sale starts from 10am GMT on Friday 3rd of October and there are 1010 rooms on offer. You can't find a hostel bed for 10 quid these days so these rooms will sell out quick.

Lastminute.com

Labels: hotels, travel-deals

Posted by James Clark - editor of itravelnet.com
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