The Passionate Traveler

Haggis with mash and whiskey source I had some really good food in Scotland. The traditional dish is haggis, which is basically various organs (heart, lung and liver of a sheep, mixed with oatmeal and suet and stuffed into a stomach of the sheep. Yes I know, it does not sound so good and it took quite a bit of courage to take my first bite! I arrived in Scotland a day before the rest of the group. I was walking around in Edinburgh and started to get a bit hungry. Walked passed a pub where people were eating what looked like really good muscles. There was a special on where I get a starter (mussels) and a main. After much humming and haring, I decided that as I am in Scotland, I need to try the haggis. I pride myself on always trying the local food and haggis is certainly local! It arrived! A little ball of something on a bed of mash with a whiskey sauce. I prepared myself for the first mouthful! Much to my surprise, it was really very tasty. Tasted a bit like cooked liver and had...

Breakfast in Business Class The single most important travel tip I can give you, if you are not a once in a life-timer traveller, is to stick to one airline (or group of airlines) and join their frequent flier program. The benefits can be substantial. Some airlines really look after their frequent fliers! Emirates in one such airline. Doing a bit of work in the Emirates Lounge in Glasgow. There are various frequent flier programs which you can join. The two most common are "Star Alliance" and "One World". There are various airlines which fall into either of these groups so you are not limited to one airline. However, as I try to do most of my long haul flights on Emirates, I am a member of the Emirates Skywards program. If you fly quite often (about twice a year), and you live in a country (like South Africa) where your first flight will always be a long flight, it does not take too long to get to the next tire in the Skywards program. Some of the main...

Waiting to take off on another trip. No matter how often you travel, there is a certain excitement in the planning of a trip. I am a "list" person so I tend to make lists for everything. I do my travel planning check list on an excel spread sheet and I like checking off the tasks once they are done. I will be going on a trip to South America (Ecuador and Colombia) soon, so I am pretty much into the travel preparation mode at this time. The first and most important decision to make is the destination. This always depends on if the trip is for work or pleasure. If it is a work trip, then you pretty much need to go where you are sent. If it is a pleasure trip, the world is your oyster! For pleasure, I think the best destination is the East, to countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines or  VietNam (still on my Wish List). A trip to Iceland is also still very high on my leisure travel wish list. Anyway - back to reality and planning a trip. Step 1 - after you ...

Whiskey at Glengoyne distillery. Someone once asked me "What is the difference between rain in Scotland and rain in England?" The answer is simple. The rain in Scotland eventually becomes whiskey! I was never a person who enjoyed a whiskey even though my late dad used to love a glass of whiskey after work. On my first upgrade on Emirates, while looking at the business class menu, I noticed that they had a 21 year old Chivas regal on the menu. I thought that my step son (Hardy) would "kill me" if I told him I could have tasted a 21 year old whiskey and did not, so I tried it. Thereafter started my love affair with whiskey! I can, by no stretch of the imagination, call myself an expert on whiskey, but I know what I like, and I like heavily peated single malt whishey! Whiskey tasting at the world of whiskey in Edinburgh During my recent trip to Scotland I made the most of the opportunity to find out more about this very special drink of the Scots. The very be...

Just some unrelated travel photos - Duran fruit in Singapore. Travel agent or no travel agent - that is the question! In this age of technology, just about every airline, or at least those you would want to fly on, have a web site where you can book your flights. Hotel bookings are also not much of a challenge these days. There are any number of web sites where you find and book hotel rooms at very competitive prices. So the question is, do you still need to make use of a travel agent or not. This all depends very much on the level of service you get from your travel agent. I must say, I have had some pretty horrendous service from travel agents in the past and  I never used the same travel agent twice. Then I met my long standing travel agent,  Jessica Cameron (jessica.cameron@travelcounsellors.co.za). She used to work for Flight Centre, but now works for Travel Counsellors. She is a star! She has been my travel agent for many years now. Young coconut water - a delight...

Nothing like looking at Pintrest when the real thing is just in front of you! So, after the excitement of the "Elephants of Mabula" (Post number 4, - just adding a few more photos from Mabula in this post), lets get back to travel tips and what to pack! I always pack a few large plastic bags (like black garbage bags) to keep my dirty clothes in and separate from the clean clothes in the suitcase. Also helps you when you are looking for clean clothes in your suitcase. Talking about clean clothes, it is always a good idea to try and keep a set of clean clothes for the flight home. This is sometimes difficult, but it is really nice to start a long trip home with a clean set of clothes! Another handy thing I normally take with me is a few cable ties. These can come in quite handy when the baggage handlers at the airports manage to break the zips or the zip levers (what do you call the little thing you pull to open a zip?) on your case. Just a few more photos from my r...

My main reason for starting this blog was to not only share with you various travel trips which I find makes it a lot easier for me to travel, but also to share some of the exciting adventures (and photos) with you. Travel need not always mean flying off to some strange exotic land. We, in South Africa live in a very strange land and there are some amazing places. South Africa is also a land that abounds with wildlife. My latest adventure was a family trip to Mabula Private Game Reserve (www.mabulatimeshare.co.za). I have a time share unit there and I try to go every year. This year, my lovely wife, sister, step son and his lovely partner also joined me. It was the partner's first experience of the African bush and she just wanted to see elephants. Boy did we see elephants! First was the beautiful towel elephant in the room! In the past, the camps were not fenced, and I had some wonderful and interesting encounters with the elephants. About 4 years ago, they put up an elep...

Although there are still a few more things I take for granted as a frequent flier (see post No 2), I have decided to discuss the very tricky point of what to pack and what not to pack. This will probably also be in a few posts! Packing will be very different for a man and a woman, and in most cases, woman will need much more stuff. Having said this, I recently travelled to scientific conferences in Singapore and Scotland with a few of my female post graduate students. I was very surprised and most impressed with the small suitcases that most of them had with them. Very impressed ladies! When packing, there are a few basic rules which will go a long way to help with the packing and making a pleasant trip. 1) Weight limits . All airlines have weight limits for both checked luggage and cabin luggage. Stick to these weight limits! Make sure that you know the weight limits on all of the flights you are doing, including internal flights. Most carriers have a 20kg weight limit. This is pr...

My nephew is taking his young family on a wonderful trip in a few days time to experience a White Christmas (one of the things still on my bucket list) and to do skiing in Austria. While sitting discussing his upcoming trip over a quiet G and T, I realised that some of the things which I take for granted as obvious, might not be quite so obvious to others who do not travel as often as I do. So let me discuss a few of them in this 2nd post. Always plan for the worst and hope it never happens! How many of you remember important c el phone numbers ? I must admit, I do not even know my wife's phone number. When I want to phone her, I just go to my "favourites" on my phone (yes - she is on my favourites list and is, in fact, on the very top of list)  and press on her photo on the phone. The phone "knows" her number - so why should I remember her number? So what will happen if my trusty phone gets lost, stolen or I drop it over the side of a boat when overseas? How...

Travel ! One of the joys of life. Travel can be a once in a life-time event for some, or a person can be a "frequent flier". Whichever group you fall into, there are many important aspects which need to be in place before you embark on your trip. I fall into the "frequent flier" group and need to travel often for work. I greatly enjoy the opportunity to travel, hence  the title of this B log ( The Passionate Traveller ). I still enjoy the excitement of climbing onto a plane and taking off on a new journey. I enjoy the excitement of climbing off the plane in the distant land and getting settled in. I love immersing myself in the culture and different foods in the country or region I am visiting. Normally I try to make the most of the opportunities I get to travel and try to always at least take a few days off to experience the country or area that I am visiting. In this Blog I will be sharing some of the important steps to take when travelling. I will give you som...