RDU Terminal 2

RDU Terminal 2

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Travel Humor - Travel in the UK is Different

Location:  Traveling by Train from London Paddington Station to Bath. 

My train trip was diverted, and the conductor announced that it was because "cows got on the line and broke it." Must be some of those soccer hoodlum cows.

Later the conductor announced that "the cows broke a train" rather than the line itself. A high stakes game of chicken gone horribly wrong?

Here is the posting from the BBC web site. The "delays of up to 30 minutes" was wildly optimistic.




Best Comment - Heath Thomas: Were they Chick-fil-A cows?

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Travel Image - Home Away From Home

Location: Walking in Collindale, North of London. 

I joke about London being my home away from home. I really felt that way when I saw this "Carolina Fried Chicken" shop in Collindale.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Travel Humor - No Smoking?

Location: Arriving at London Heathrow Airport from Budapest. 

A blast past from the past AKA something you don't see every day: While walking through the terminal to immigration at London's Heathrow airport I saw a very unusual sight - a guy fresh off a flight, sitting down in the hallway, smoking a cigarette. He finished it just as I walked by, crushed it on the floor, tossed it, and went on his way. Guess he had heard about the long lines at Heathrow immigration and decided he couldn't wait that long.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Travel Humor - No SIM for You!

Location: Westfield Stratford City Shopping Center, Near London's Olympic Park. 

Due to the high international roaming charges on my phone I wanted to buy a UK pay-as-you-go SIM card.

Store 1: No nano SIMs available.
Store 2: Had nano SIMs, but no pay-as-you-go.

Fine - I will sign up for one month. Still couldn't buy it, because 3 clerks, a senior clerk, and a manager all failed to complete the sales transaction - with my sister's UK credit card!

Isn't modern technology great!

Travel Story - The First Shall Be Last

Location: Prague Airport, Czech Republic

I had to book a ticket from Prague to Budapest at a fairly late date.  It was a small plane (ATR-72), and the only seats left were "Business Class."  I get plenty of upgrades based on airline status, but I never willingly pay for them.  As I had little choice, I forked over the money and moved on.

The night before the flight I went online to check in. I was a little surprised to see that the "Business Class" seats were in rows 15 and 16.  I figured they started numbering at 15, and picked 16 so I wouldn't have a bulkhead seat.

I was very surprised when I learned that the "Business Class" was in the last 2 rows of the plane, which explains the rows 15 and 16.  The alleged benefits of "Business Class" were:
1) Access to the airline club in the Prague airport (very nice, but not worth the premium)
2) Supposed early boarding (worthless, as we were bussed out to the plane en mass)
3) "Business Class" seat (worthless - worst seat on the plane according to SeatMaestro - see below)
4) "Premium" meal (almost worthless - microscopic bit of salad)

Even so, it was an interesting experience to pay a premium to sit in the back.

Boarding Pass:



Seat Map:




Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Travel Humor - Not as Far As You Think

Location: Dulles Airport, Washington DC. 

More airport humor. On my way home to Raleigh-Durham via Washington DC. While waiting to board the flight, a random passenger approached me.

Passenger: "When are scheduled to arrive?"
Me: "About midnight."
Passenger: "Is there a time change?"
Me: (momentarily stunned) (pick jaw off floor) (suppress snark) "No"

Best comment - Ransom Pate: “Ah yes, those sneaky north/south time zones”