avgeek | GlobalSalsa: travel writer Belinda Jackson

Apr

Navigating the unknown – travel during the Middle East crisis & Australia’s best runway rooms

Travel has taken a huge hit with the Middle East crisis now entering its fifth week, and it can be challenging to keep up with what you should and shouldn’t do with travel plans during these significant and devastating world events.

This week on The World Awaits, my co-host Kirstie and I are sharing our Hot Take on the travel situation, bringing you the good and the bad news to help you navigate this uncertain time when it comes to travel plans – with some positive solutions.

Our tip is for all the the aviation geeks out there. We’re sharing the best runway rooms at Australasian airports; so if the sight of a plane taking off gets your blood pumping, this is the list for you. I’ve personally tried and tested a few, in fact, we recorded last week’s podcast in a suite on the eighth floor of the Novotel Melbourne Airport!

If you like the look of this super convenient hotel, jump on our giveaway to win a night at the Novotel Melbourne Airport – just enter via our instagram or facebook post – simply follow The World Awaits and the hotel, like and tag a friend for an extra entry.

And if you can’t get enough #avgeek, listen in for Belle’s tarmac tour of Melbourne Airport; the airport does occasionally offer similar tours, see melbourneairport.com.au/community/airport-tours

Download the SAILY app in your app store and use our code ‘theworldawaits’ at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase; see saily.com

Listen to The World Awaits on all major platforms, including

APPLE PODCASTS https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-140-hot-take-navigating-the-unknown-travel-during/id1689931283?i=1000758697943

SPOTIFY https://open.spotify.com/episode/6vZaYF3Dbrzb2uWzkm5A4L

and via our website https://theworldawaits.au

Sep

Best airfares to Europe & the US, top Aussie towns & pre-travel checklist

Want to get the best airfare to Europe or the US? We’re going full #avgeek, as flight booking expert Mark Trim shares insider secrets on airlines to watch, alternative routes and the best time to buy. He also shares tips on booking in shoulder seasons, round-the-world tickets and the Asian gateways offering great lie-flat deals.

The co-founder of the Complex Travel Group, which specialises in round-the-world fares, adds that the ‘best’ airfare may be the most wallet-friendly, or it could also be the one stuffed with fabulous destinations for a memorable adventure, see complextravel.com.au

Also, Airbnb releases its list of the best tiny towns to visit in Australia, and there are some crackers in there! And finally, tick off your essential pre-travel checklist with smartraveller.gov.au, from vaccinations to passport checks.

May

Airline review: FlyDubai to the Silk Road city of Almaty, Kazakhstan

It might seem weird posting a flight review in the midst of a global lockdown, but irrepressible travellers are already looking and booking deals around the world for travel late in 2020 and throughout 2021.

If it’s not on your radar, FlyDubai operates a fleet of Boeing 737-800s out of Dubai Airport’s Terminal 2. It’s currently still on the ground, but when in the skies, its destination list includes some intriguing cities including Prague, Naples and Dubrovnik in Europe, Tbilisi in Georgia and its new route from Dubai to Finland’s fun little capital, Helsinki. It also services the ancient cities along the Silk Road including the Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat and Almaty in Kazakhstan, which is where I was headed on this journey.

The UAE is already opening back up, with sister airline Emirates flying from its Dubai base to Sydney and Melbourne, sprinkling hygiene kits around its cabins, which includes masks, gloves, wipes and hand santiser. Like Emirates, FlyDubai is owned by the Dubai government, and the two often codeshare.

Click here to read my review, published in the Traveller section of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers. The print edition is currently in slumber, dreaming of its next destination.

Sep

Airline review: Madrid to Cairo with Egyptair

Recently, I completed an epic trek from Cusco, near Macchu Pichu in Peru, to Cairo, Egypt.

Let me tell you, it took some serious, late-night internet hunting! I could have travelled via Sao Paulo, (Brazil) then across to Casablanca (Morocco) and on to Egypt, or from Sao Paulo via a 12-hour layover in Addas Ababa (Ethiopia) and on to Cairo. In the end, the best connections were flying from Lima (Peru) up to Madrid (with three hours cooling my heels in a secondary airport in Ecuador) with LATAM and from Madrid on to Cairo with Egyptair.

This is my review of the Egyptair flight – I’ve flown many times domestically and internationally with the national carrier – on the Madrid-Cairo route, a direct flight of 4 hours 40 minutes.

I’m going to paste my favourite para here, about the food on board:

Chicken or the beef? The beef arrives cubed in a sauce with spiral pasta, and is surprisingly comforting. It’s accompanied by a dried, tired salad, crackers, chocolate cake, a wholemeal dinner role, butter and a triangle of La vache qui rit (The Laughing Cow, incidentally, is the nickname of Egypt’s deposed military dictator, Hosny Mubarak).

Because you needed to know that last fact : )

Published in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age‘s Traveller section, you can read my full review of Egyptair’s service here.

Feb

Game on: kids in business class

Business class is out of reach of most travellers, and I had to hit my third decade before experiencing the delicious sensation of turning left on the plane.Some, however, are far luckier.

Recently, my seven-year-old daughter put Etihad Airways’ business class to the test en route to Abu Dhabi.

We’ve flown Etihad many times before, we’ve been scarred by its kids meals, most notably a long-haul economy nightmare of reoccurring cheese macaroni and UHT banana milk that comprises the kids menu – with no water served with their meals. I’ve ranted about it in the past – why load children up with a tray full of sugar, then complain when they turn into sugar-fuelled screeching monsters?

This time, in business, it’s a whole different ball game…

To read the full story on the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s Traveller website, click here

Follow

Navigating the unknown – travel during the Middle East crisis & Australia’s best runway rooms

Best airfares to Europe & the US, top Aussie towns & pre-travel checklist

Airline review: FlyDubai to the Silk Road city of Almaty, Kazakhstan

Airline review: Madrid to Cairo with Egyptair

Game on: kids in business class