Traveller Letters: There’s one reason we still want to support Qantas

That’s the spirit

Our recent Qantas flight from Sydney to Broome was turned back to Sydney after two hours into the flight due to an electrical fault on the plane. A subsequent direct flight to Broome two hours later was cancelled, then the next flight scheduled was delayed by three hours via Perth with a flight the next day to Broome. I developed a tooth abscess during the first flight. Even armed with antibiotics I couldn’t continue our journey, so we returned to Sydney on the red-eye from Perth that night, cancelling our Kimberley Tour.

One reader was impressed with a Qantas crew’s handling of a difficult situation.Credit: Alamy

We couldn’t fault the Qantas crew on the ground and on the plane, who went out of their way to help with rescheduled flights; myriad questions, not just from us, but all done with a friendly smile and chat to cheer us up. Apart from the usual cancelled, delayed flights and the poor quality of food, the crew made us feel we did want to fly Qantas to support them.
Penelope Cuffe, Bowral, NSW

Letter of the week: Burmese days

Shwedagon Paya in Yangon, Myanmar.Credit: Getty Images

The article by Rob McFarland on solo backpacking around South-East Asia (Traveller, August 10) at age 50 brought back to me my solo backpacking from Hong Kong across Asia, Europe and North America for four months when I was 39. It was 1977, the golden year when no-one around the world was fighting, not even in the Middle East, and the only country I flew over was Pakistan when Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq seized power in a coup that year. Lonely Planet’s South-East Asia on a Shoestring guide was just great, advising readers to buy a bottle of whisky and a carton of cigarettes in Bangkok to sell on arrival in Rangoon (now Yangon) in Burma (now Myanmar) for enough money to last a week. I always felt safe. Of course, no mobile phones then, just the grapevine.
Ainslie Morris, South Durras, NSW

Caught in the middle

Qatar Airways got some sympathy from Australian travellers when it was refused extra flights into Australia. I can’t share that sentiment. Qatar advertises that online check-in is available 48 hours before departure. And we were able to take advantage of this facility (only available through a phone app, not via the web) on our journey to Ireland in July. We changed the totally unsuitable seats we had been allocated. But on our return journey, despite the app insisting that “check-in is open” we are required to check in at the airport terminal. No reason is supplied. We can’t even pay the exorbitant prices Qatar levies for discretionary seat selection (more than $40 for a middle seat in economy. Seriously). This is conduct Qantas and Jetstar would be proud of.
Ken Richards, Elwood, Vic

Princess diaries

David Whitley in his piece (Traveller, August 26) on car games reminded me of the game our family played years ago for long car trips which we called “Storytelling”. “Passenger one” commenced a story and related one long paragraph; passenger two added to the story and it continued until one said “the end”. It is easier now with our grandsons, as they don’t tend to commence the story with “the princess...” as our daughter used to, with our son then adding a gory end to the princess. Now I have time to observe the improvement in our boy’s imagination, confidence and emotional maturity when “Passenger two” commences on a long pathway to destroy the hero of the “Passenger one” story. Their choice of topic reflects their individual interests, and we all have great fun.
Maree Williams, Kew, Vic

Airs and disgraces

Another week, another letter (no doubt one of many) decrying the clumsy shemozzle that passes for Sydney International Airport arrivals process. Fellow travellers, we must steel ourselves to the fact that Border Force and its federal minister, Tony Burke, just don’t care. However, one question I would like to ask is whether this joke of a system is confined to Sydney Airport or not? How are other capitals faring? Your experiences, please.
Ross MacPherson, Seaforth, NSW

Profit motive

Well, what did you expect when Sydney Airport got privatised (Traveller Letters, August 17)? Service, or something silly like that, getting in the way of profits?
Dave Horsfall, North Gosford, NSW

Degrees of separation

The places you bump into people… Rome’s Piazza di Spagna or the Spanish Steps.Credit: iStock

Some years ago I was walking near the Spanish Steps in Rome when I saw, coming towards me, the solicitor who sat in the office next to mine at Legal Aid. I didn’t even know he’d left Australia. Recently my brother and his family bumped into my sister’s daughter, Genevieve, looking at the view in Positano. Has anyone else had small-world coincidences like this?
Jennifer Saunders, Bywong, NSW

P&HO, HO, HO

I usually read your letters column for travelling tips, not amusement, but Gabrielle Pettit’s solution to P&O’s ridiculous stipulation (Traveller Letters, August 17) made me laugh loud and long. Bravo.
Susie Holt, South Yarra, Vic

Wise words

Michael Gebicki’s article on cards (Traveller, August 17) omits some important information on card fees. I’ve used both Wise and Latitude cards when travelling. The Wise card allows a total of $350 withdrawals a month in two or less withdrawals before a 1.75 per cent fee applies. There are also ATM withdrawal fees charged by Wise and the local ATM fees. These ATM fees were between $5 and $8 in Japan and Europe in 2023 in those ATMs which did accept the Wise card. Latitude’s new $8 monthly fee plus the $1.95 online payment fee now tips the balance in favour of the Wise debit card but if your overseas spend exceeds $920 in a month, Latitude is still cheaper. A decision is pending.
Dan Dempsey, Oatley, NSW

Spot the difference

The temples at Prambanan, featured in a photo in your article about the Amanjiwo resort in Indonesia (Traveller, August 24), are not connected in any way with Borobudur. Prambanan consists of a number of Hindu temples, spread out over a fairly large area. Borobudur is a single Buddhist temple. The temples are quite distant from each other and were built by different peoples.
Erik Hoekstra, Leura, NSW

EDITOR’S NOTE The offending photo caption in the online version of the story has been corrected. For the record, on its website Amanjiwo states that the Prambanan Temple Complex is located within a one-hour drive from the resort with a visit offered as a guest experience.

Tip of the week: Longing for Longreach

The Qantas Founders Museum in Longreach.Credit: iStock

We’ve just returned from an Outback Pioneers tour departing from Longreach, Queensland. Tour groups stay in the unique and comfortable “The Stables” accommodation in the centre of Longreach and provide great, nourishing meals. Tours included a Starlight sunset cruise, dinner and poetry on the banks of the river and a sound and light show accompanied by Billy tea and damper. A day trip to Winton to see the Australian Age of Dinosaurs with its magnificent views and dinosaur footprints is awe inspiring, and a lunch visit to the hotel where Waltzing Matilda was first performed is included.

Back in Longreach we did a tour of a working sheep and cattle station, the Stockman’s Hall of Fame, Qantas museum and the Cobb and Co stagecoach experience. All must-dos. Take a walk along the Longreach botanic walk and eat fine foods at The Branch restaurant. Return trips to Brisbane can be done by air or rail, but book early if you’re only going one way on the train.
Kerrie Robertson, Warrnambool, Vic

Nuts for doughnuts

Beignets are doughnuts like no other.Credit: iStock

When reading your regular Port guide I was reminded of a delicacy that I was addicted to when staying with my brother who owns a bar in New Orleans. Beignets are doughnuts like no other and New Orleans’ Cafe du Monde has been selling them since 1862. The whole experience of people-watching while being served in this bustling space is not to be missed.
Patricia Harrington, Kerang, Vic

Don’t do your lolly

As a travelling mum with babies and small children over the years (Traveller Letters, August 17), sucking bottles or lollies is not always the answer. By the time of takeoff, babies and children are over-tired, and not much will placate them. But, once the aircraft engine starts humming, they fall asleep and a peaceful cabin is had by all. Less advice and a little tolerance for stressed-out kids and parents goes a long way.
Emma Burrows, Winston Hills, NSW

Feeding time

Further to the travelling with babies advice from Judith Bond, a useful tip for families with babies or young children is to keep on breastfeeding. Breastfeeding offers wonderful convenience (no bottles to wash, water to boil or feeds to warm up), helps to prevent illnesses such as gastro and ear infections and helps to soothe an unsettled baby. A baby sling/baby carrier can be useful to carry a baby, especially when walking in places with uneven surfaces, and at airports when the baby stroller is packed as checked in luggage and being in the baby carrier helps to soothe them. For more tips on travelling with a baby, check out breastfeeding.asn.au
Julie Taylor, Newport, Vic

Belgian veer

Passport control at Belgium’s Brussels Airport is a nightmare if you are coming in from a non-EU country. We dutifully emptied our water bottles, and went through the usual security checks, then entered a hot room with several hundred people, waiting to have their passports checked manually by one person, although there were five passport desks. Leaving Brussels Airport was not much better. Electronic scanning was available for UK, US or Canadian passports, not Australian. Once again we joined several hundred people who spent over 60 minutes waiting to have our passports stamped. Try to avoid Brussels Airport, or allow several hours between connecting flights.
Suzanne McMahon, Glen Iris, Vic

Trains in Spain

When arranging seniors’ tickets for trains for travel in Spain do book well ahead online. However, buy the tarjeta dorada (gold card) for discount rail journeys travellers over 60 years of age, in Spain itself prior to your train travel. This worked well for us as we did not need a gold card number to make advance bookings through the Trainline online booking site (the Renfe Spanish national rail site is impossible for Australian credit cards) or for our Spanish walking company. The gold card is also useful for seniors’ entry into some monuments, as it is based on passport details, though one ever asked to see them on our train trips. Oh well, at least we had them.
Cathryn Newcombe, Denistone, 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