Traveller Letters: We won’t be returning to this stopover destination

Letter of the week: Arabian blights

My wife and I recently visited Saudi Arabia independently as a stopover on the way back from Europe. Although the people are mostly friendly, and it’s an interesting country, this is one of the few places we wouldn’t revisit.

One reader will not be returning to Saudi Arabia.Credit: Getty Images

We found that many tourist attractions in the capital, Riyadh, were not open during the day, despite information to the contrary. Optus didn’t offer any mobile coverage, even though I provided my pre-trip itinerary to them before changing my phone plan, meaning there was no Google Maps to navigate a homogenous cityscape. No alcohol anywhere, though a quenching beverage would have taken the edge off the day. Our Jeddah hotel would not call us a taxi, insisting on us paying $80 for their hotel car for a 10-minute journey. Hailing taxis on the street is a mug’s game, so our planned dinner reservation was replaced by a local Indian meal after a futile 20 minutes’ trying. Understandably, most places are shut during the day due to the heat, which is fine if you can chill in your hotel bar or by the pool, but do be aware of the “women only” pool times.
Chris Roylance, Paddington, Qld

Tablets hard to swallow

If your child is going to watch entertainment on a tablet, give them headphones.Credit: iStock

It’s time that airlines started to enforce better manners. After two recent international trips (the UK and the US), young children were set up with tablets for entertainment by their mothers with the sound on. One of them had the gall to do it just as everyone was settling down for a sleep. Each time, passengers had to ask the flight attendants to request that the parents pop headphones on their offspring. An aeroplane is not a private lounge room, and other passengers cannot escape the noise. As some parents are too rude, ignorant and entitled, airlines need to step up and insist on good behaviour.
Cate Ellis, Carlton North, Vic

Bucharest is history

There is no excuse for leaving something on a plane, but some carriers try to minimise the pain. Others? Not so much. My Lufthansa flight arrived in Munich about 5.40am on a Friday, much too early for staff to be around. Shuffling out of the air bridge and up the stairs, I realised my iPad was sitting on the seat arm and not in my carry-on bag. No one to tell, no way to get back to retrieve it. I headed to the Lufthansa lounge to ask if someone could grab it for me, only to be told that the plane was not being cleaned and, despite a four-hour layover, nobody could check.

I was also berated by the extremely officious and unsympathetic lounge attendant when I noted that if I didn’t get it back it would be lost forever, as couriers will not accept any item with a rechargeable battery. Her view was to write to Lufthansa. Ultimately, my iPad was retrieved, but not by me. Rather, by 7.30am on Saturday it was in Romania. Fortunately for me, it was a brick by then.
Andrew Baume, Paddington, NSW

Tickets to ride

For anyone experiencing difficulties booking train tickets in the UK, you need only one app. Trainline books trains across the various providers, sending multiple e-tickets to your phone when required to give you the best price. I used Trainline last year for trips from London to Leeds and into Yorkshire, Sheffield and Derbyshire, a day trip to Cambridge and Ely, and elsewhere. Generally, I booked only the day before, and provided I was flexible on departure time – typically mid-morning to early afternoon – there was availability at a reasonable price.
Neil Wyatt, Hawthorn, Vic

West not so best

One reader was unimpressed with Westjet.Credit: Alamy

If you want excitement when travelling through Canada, fly Westjet. After a wonderful wedding in Calgary, of the nine Calgary-to-Vancouver flights on the day we were to leave, three were cancelled, three were delayed and three were on time. This was normal. This meant that five family members who had connecting flights to Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Edinburgh ended up rerouting through Osaka, Melbourne, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and, weirdly, Hamburg. Only the Sydney flights were changed without additional charges, after much arguing with Qantas. My flight to Perth cost an additional $1250 and many hours wandering around airports. My nephew didn’t get home for three days.
Greg Irvine-Brown, Fremantle, WA

Appy days

We recently visited Japan for two weeks and downloaded the Suica app. It was a godsend for using the transport system around the country (not just Tokyo). Easy to top up in small amounts and then use on the ticket machines in the stations, which almost always had an English translation button. So, strike out with the Suica card and translation app on your phone and leave behind your fear of having to decipher Katakana, Hiragana and Kanji characters.
Graham Willis, Wollstonecraft, NSW

The Suica app makes navigating Japan’s public transport and ticketing system easier.Credit: iStock

Tip of the week: Don’t fall for it

Unless regulations have changed in recent years, some words of advice for those intending to walk across the Victoria Falls Bridge from Zimbabwe to Livingstone on the Zambia side. My family and I were given a smiling welcome by Zambian border officials on entry, but those smiles were absent on our return when the officials asked if we were in possession of any foreign currency. Foreign currency was the only cash we were carrying. Told that as we had not declared such money on arrival two hours earlier, this money was to be confiscated. As there was no sign demanding such an entry requirement nor any verbal advice offered, this was evidently a money grab by local officials, accompanied by threats of arrest if not compliant. A robust discussion ensued, and when my wife and I presented “official” rather than standard passports, the result was a “leniency warning” to obey the rules in future. Others may not be so fortunate.
John Murray, Fadden, ACT

Euro vision

After travelling to Vienna, Oslo, Bergen, Helsinki and Budapest recently, we have been struck by the ease, comfort and amenity of many European airports. This is in stark contrast to our departure experience at Melbourne’s increasingly outdated and unwelcoming Tullamarine Airport. Norway’s Bergen Airport is an outstanding example of what a modern airport should be – spacious, uncluttered, efficient, and, by airport standards, quiet. Security clearance was a breeze and made considerably easier by the friendly and helpful staff who actually smiled and spoke politely – none of the usual grunting and dismissive finger-waving we so often experience. Melbourne Airport owners should take themselves on a trip to Bergen and experience first-hand what an international airport should look like and how it should function.
David Fox, Beaumaris, Vic

See it. Say it. Ignore it

I empathise with Colleen Sweeney’s experience trying to report suspicious items (Traveller Letters, December 28). At Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport, I also once experienced a complete lack of interest in and/or ability of anyone to do anything about an unattended bag that I noticed under a seat at the departure gate. And at a theatre in London last year, an usher was simply unconcerned about a small backpack a person, who had been sitting alone in my row, left behind at interval. Fortunately, that person returned for the second act. But so much, I thought, for those incessant, “See it. Say it. Sorted” public announcements on the Tube.
Ross Duncan, Potts Point, NSW

The Letter of the Week writer wins three Hardie Grant travel books. See hardiegrant.com

The Tip of the Week writer wins a set of three Lonely Planet travel books. See shop.lonelyplanet.com