• An image of a bag labelled bomb to Brisbane
    Don't Do This,  Travel Better

    Bomb to Brisbane

    Venkata Lakshmi, a grandmother who speaks very little English, was excited and nervous at the same time. She was excited to travel to Brisbane to visit her daughter. They were planning a special celebration for her 65th birthday. But she was also nervous to take the long flight from Mumbai, India. With a connection in Singapore, she was particularly concerned that her bag might go missing. After giving it some thought, Lakshmi came up with a solution… She decided it would be a good idea to label the bag with both the departing and arriving airports. She began to spell out Bombay” (the old colonial name for Mumbai), but she…

  • An image of a wallet with an old driver's license and expired cards
    Don't Do This,  Travel Better

    How Not to Get on an Airplane

    There’s something that bothers me about my husband – his wallet. It’s literally bursting at the seams, because he carries around pretty much every card he has ever received. There’s a Club Sobeys card in there even though there is no longer a club. (Sobeys discontinued that program 4 years ago.) His expired Club Sobeys card has travelled the world. He took it to Iceland – even though there are no Sobeys stores there. It’s also been to Greenland, Mexico, Cuba and Belize. And that card didn’t get any special treatment. There are other useless cards in there too including a driver’s license from 1979 with a picture of him…

  • Don't Do This,  Travel Better

    Late Night Run

    Oh the glamorous life of a travel writer who isn’t me… Here’s a little rant from a trip I took to the Florida Keys. It involved an unplanned late night run. Getting to the Hotel -Arrived at Miami airport at 10:30 pm last night after two flight delays. Can’t find driver anywhere. Call PR guy (Jerry). After brief delay, am on my way to Florida Keys resort – driver says it will take a little over 2 hours. -Get text from husband. Informs me I am leading the family March Madness Pool. Know nothing about US college basketball – Yay me! -Fall asleep in back of vehicle – snoring may…