I have always admired people who do intriguing things in the travel industry. People like Sir Richard Branson, who started his own airline and other merchandising enterprises.
People like the founders of Saga Travel in the UK, who saw that the over-50s were being neglected by the travel industry and that the over-65s were finding it very difficult to obtain travel insurance. Saga decided to rectify this discrepancy and today their organisation embraces all aspects for the mature holidaymaker, from boating, wildlife and cottage holidays, property rental, plus car hire and travel insurance.
I am now eagerly awaiting the launch of a new airline in the USA called Pet Airways, which according to reports, caters to those who want their pets to travel in the lap of luxury rather than in a cage in the belly of an aircraft.
Having obtained the information from the new airline’s website, I wondered if this was in fact a spoof!?
Travel fables actually sometimes become realities. For example, for more than a thousand years, there existed a legend about the Lost City of the Desert, thought to be Ubar in the middle of the Arabian Peninsula.
This legend became a fact in 1983 when the NASA shuttle, Challenger, flying over the Empty Quarter obtained infra-red images of the desert, which showed multiple tracks leading to a location in Oman.
Several years later, a ground expedition discovered that these tracks led to a place called Shisur and excavations revealed a huge fortified city, frankincense burners and pottery dating from the time of Noah’s sons, as the myth had maintained.
The city had been built on a massive limestone cavern, which had collapsed burying the city in a sinkhole, and Ubar had literally been swallowed up by the desert. But, this legendary city at the hub of the frankincense trail was no longer a myth.
You would not call it a myth, but I do recall the disbelief from many quarters, when Emirates Airline was started in 1985. Later on Qatar Airways, Etihad and Air Arabia, not forgetting Oman Air, once chugging comfortably along, are now posed for major international expansion.
All these Gulf based carriers proved to be winners and have underscored the burgeoning travel market of the Gulf region and Bahrain Air has now also joined this formidable airline listing.
Travel is an adventure of discovery and the more we travel by air the more we are delighted and saddened by some of what we see. We love the charm of Cyprus, but are saddened by the fact that Nicosia International Airport has been closed since the Turkish invasion of 1974 and now lies in a UN Buffer Zone between the Greek and Turkish communities, though, of course, we fly to Larnaca from Bahrain and Dubai.
We admired the magnificent Taj Mahal in Agra built by the Mughal emperor, Shah. Jahan, in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child, but as we view this white marble edifice, which also contains the mausoleum of Shah Jahan, we also reflect on the fact that it took 22 years to build using 22,000 labourers, 1,000 elephants at a cost of 32 million rupees ($68,000), which probably equates to a billion’ dollars in today’s money.
It was a time of terribly unnecessary extravagance and one has to wonder, if the so called labourers were volunteers or were treated harshly, as they built this edifice, as was the custom then. And even today, as we visit the nearby cities, beggars stretch out their hands underlining the two faces of the Indian subcontinent.
We can also read success stories like the Dhaka Project, where a single cabin attendant based in Dubai has changed the lives of hundreds of the poorest of the poor in the Bangladeshi capital.
My husband came back from a visit to Peru several years ago and proudly showed me photographs of Macchu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas, but then he spent a long time talking about the legless cripples he had seen outside his hotel pushing themselves along the pavement on wooden boards.
No one would argue that we live in a perfect world, but it is probably justified to argue that by travelling to various locations around the world, we are bringing revenue into each country visited which theoretically should help the indigenous population.
Many countries depend on tourism for their main income. Though there are other major sources of revenue, tourism is very important for Thailand.
That is why it is so disappointing to see groups from unions and political parties closing airports and rioting at major tourist sights, potentially killing off the tourist trade for the next 12 months.
We love Thailand and while we admit that the internal struggle would not deter us from visiting once again, there are quite a few people who have chosen an alternative location for their next vacation.
One city, which depends solely on tourism for the main income, is Oberammergau in Bavaria. Once every 10 years it stages the famous 380 year old Passion Play with 2,000 performers taking part. The 41st will take place in 2010 and is expected to attract 500,000 visitors. During the years between the decade the town still attracts about 350,000 visitors annually, who come to enjoy the concerts, operas and plays.
Back to pets. Actually, as permanent expats we have never been able to keep pets, as we have always had to travel at the drop of a hat and would have had constant problems at what to do with Rover.
I detest reading reports about pets being abandoned and left on their own by expats departing for their home countries.
Oh, Pet Airways! Turns out, it is not a spoof, as I first thought.
Pet Airways of Delray Beach in Florida is due to make its first flight on July 14th this year serving five US cities with a 19 seater turboprop plane in which all the seats have been removed and replaced with pet carriers. Pets or ‘pawsengers’ can be booked online or checked in at a Pet Lounge at the airport.
The new airline states that the clientele list will be restricted to dogs and cats…no snakes allowed!
Editor’s note: A flight down to Maryland might well suit the pooch, for a hotel there is offering a weekend indulgence package for canines. The Inn at Perry Cabin at St Michaels, Maryland, USA, gives all dogs a Welcome Pet package, with a dog biscuit, a map of the area for walks, local vet information and more, but the real treats are the fit-for-a-king dream dinners prepared by its executive chef Mark Salter.
“Osso bucco with seasonal veggies or a tender ground local Angus burger on a blended rice cake with veal broth” quotes the doggie menu. Owners can ask for a copy of Chef Salter’s recipe for making the hearty mix and gourmet dog biscuits at home, too. There are also designated pet friendly rooms from $360 per night (not including $100 pet fee).
SPEAKING OUT by Jonna Simon