If Qantas is going to use these seats on ultra-long hauls, count me out

Discomfort of strangers

I recently flew on a Qantas Dreamliner from Santiago to Sydney. The economy seat was comfortable, with a useful shelf for a tablet or a phone, plenty of storage and good space between the seats. From such a promising start, the flight was one of the most uncomfortable I have ever experienced. For the most part, the person in front of me had their seat fully reclined. This rendered the shelf unusable, the tray table only just usable and the storage inaccessible.

One Traveller reader was unhappy with the recline in Qantas’ economy class on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

While I could have reclined my seat, I didn’t want to inflict the same discomfort on the person behind me. I don’t wish to enter into the “recline or not recline” debate, but if Qantas is going to use the same seats on their planned 22-hour non-stop flights from Sydney to London, I will be flying with someone else.
Michael Thomas, Cheltenham, NSW

Screen time

I’m with Lee Tulloch in facing a long-haul flight in economy (Traveller, May 13). I recently flew Qantas to and from Japan. I always an aisle seat as I get up every two hours to combat the possibility of deep-vein thrombosis. Also, if I get 30 minutes of sleep I consider myself lucky. I got through several seasons of TV shows I had missed.
Marie Nash, Balwyn, Vic

Letter of the week: Group love

Before the flood...Credit: iStock

The virtue of booking an escorted journey came home to me when on a land/cruise tour from Johannesburg with Cruise Express into Kruger National Park (Traveller, May 10). My wife and I arrived a few days earlier than the main group to explore Johannesburg. It coincided with massive floods in the Kruger region that resulted in many lodges being washed away, including the one where we were meant to stay. When tour director Hardy Schneider and the rest of the group arrived, his team in Sydney were already working on alternative arrangements which included a stay at one of Richard Branson’s luxury lodges. I could not imagine what would have happened if we were travelling independently.
Roger Summerill, Shell Cove, NSW

Got your back

My husband and I were looking for a hiking trip in a group that gave us the option of not having to hike long distances in a day with a heavy pack. Then I read a story in Traveller written by Andrew Bain (in 2013) where he hiked in Abruzzo in Italy with Hedonistic Hiking. We did that same trip and were hooked. The small operation is run by Jackie and Mick Parsons and takes a maximum of 16 people and because these two have been doing this for many years, they are treated like family in the villages we visit. We are just about to do our fifth walk with them in Sardinia in September. They also do some lovely walks in Victoria in the off season.
Jenny McMurray, West Pymble NSW

Slip stich

Last year, halfway through a trip to the Galapagos, the first of four back-to-back Intrepid South American tours, I fell on wet stairs and badly lacerated my forearm. The boat was diverted to an island with a hospital; a car was waiting to take a female crew member and me to the hospital. Back on board I was well looked after by crew and fellow passengers. The Galapagos’ leader then contacted the Colombian guide on my next tour about care of the wound (it had 40 stitches). Once in Colombia, every other day, I was taken to a medical clinic. Alas the wound got infected, and I opted to come home. Intrepid then organised my flights home and refunded parts of the tour that fell into their guidelines.
Cate Ryan, Balmain East, NSW

Bring it home

I hope home stays are better than 10 years ago (Traveller, May 22). We did a home stay in Vietnam as part of our Halong Bay tour and I came home with lice.
Michele Sharp, Bondi, NSW

Fair prices

One week I’m paying $180 a night to stay in an ideally located, five-star Bangkok hotel with all the trimmings including king-size bed, sumptuous breakfast, large swimming pool, gym and room service; the next I’m shelling out $140 to stay overnight in a tiny room with a single bed in a nondescript NSW country motel, a couple of kilometres out of town. I know it’s less expensive to travel in many other countries, but the price of accommodation in our fair nation often strikes me as being simply extortionate.
Ross Duncan, Potts Point, NSW

Tip of the week: Alternative island

Lake Toba – a break from Bali.Credit: iStock

I recently returned from Sumatra featuring a stay at Lake Toba. An extinct caldera, the lake is 600 metres deep and stretches for 60 kilometres. Because it is at elevation, the nights are cool and day-time temperatures are about 25 degrees. The Batak people who live there, have been compared to the Balinese for friendliness. So if you are tired of the three Ts (traffic, touts and tourists), Lake Toba is a true alternative. The Indonesian government is building an international airport and a four-lane highway close to it, so you’ll need to be quick before it’s overrun.
Geoff Maloney, Altona Meadows, Victoria

Fits ….

I’m sure you will receive many letters from travellers more satisfied with their new, tailored-in-Vietnam clothes than M. O’Brien of Cremorne (Traveller Letters, May 17). We went to Yaly Couture in Hoi An (yalycouture.com/en) on the advice of friends and were delighted with the kit we had tailored: a top copied from an old design I took with me, a lightweight summer shirt my husband wore to our daughter’s wedding and an ao dai which fits me perfectly. All are beautifully tailored and a delight to wear.
Jennifer Berryman, Drummoyne, NSW

… and misses

I had a similar bad tailoring experience in Singapore when I had some shirts made that didn’t fit. I could barely get my hand through to the end of one of the sleeves. In shades of Are you Being Served I was advised it would stretch and fit better with wear. It’s not a Singapore issue, just bad luck with a rogue tailor.
Anthony Arrigo, Mandurah, WA

Pack light

We never travel without a rechargeable motion sensor under-the-cabinet light. I originally just used it for extra light in the aircraft seat, but it really came into its own during the recent power outage in Barcelona. It’s also very useful for night-time toilet visits in an unfamiliar hotel, preventing falls or tripping over your bags.
Warwick Harty, Maroubra, NSW

Thai food fix

We generally follow Ben Groundwater’s advice (Traveller, May 2) when selecting restaurants overseas. And like Ben we occasionally crave an Asian meal in Europe. When we do, we opt for Thai. These restaurants are usually in the backstreets, often they are small and away from the key tourist strips. A little research of reviews and checking how busy they are gives us the confidence to try them. We have had great Thai food in Copenhagen (Baan Thai-Isarn), Athens (Tuk Tuk Thai Street Food) and Sliema, Malta (Jungle Joy Bar).
Philip Smith, Waterloo, NSW

Rest stop

In Italy there are few public toilets and when you find one invariably it smells awful, you have to provide your own toilet paper and you have to pay. France is no better. Toilets in Japan, meanwhile, are well-signposted, plentiful, impeccably clean and free to use.
C. Jones, Canterbury, Vic

Cancelled culture

I recently booked accommodation in London with booking.com which was cancelled the night before our stay. We received the message “We ....can no longer accommodate you due to closure of the accommodation (temporarily or permanently).” The property was still advertising on the booking.com website and taking bookings for June. At this late stage, there was nothing available through the site in the area that we wanted. Fortunately, we were able to organise an alternative but at twice the cost. Sudden cancellations should be part of the ratings process.
Eva Pragier, McKinnon, Vic

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