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Upgrades / Forum Ferreting / → All Tags

Forum Ferreting: Wear a Suit Get an Upgrade?

A wedding dress and a bouquet may boost a coach couple to the lap of luxury (the same way a short skirt can get a girl nearly kicked off a plane), but the folks at Flyertalk wondered, what about the solo flyer? Can a fancy suit, a nice tie and some slicked-back hair send a non-elite traveler to the front of first class? According to one flight attendant, yes:

I assure you that passengers wearing jackets and/or ties stand significantly higher chances of snagging the upgrade than someone in a T-shirt, shorts and baseball cap. It also helps if you can make the check-in agent smile. Nobody wants to upgrade the sloppy grouch who argues.

Sure, that's nice, but like one biz-class traveler says:

When I'm sitting up front, it's amazing how many guys wearing suits do the walk of shame thru F or J to the back of the bus. Doesn't always seem to work for them.

Related Stories:
· Wear a Suit to Get an Upgrade? [Flyertalk]
· Bad Girls Fly Southwest [Jaunted]

[Photo: Jon Feingersh/zefa/Corbis]

Forum Ferreting / Lonely Planet / Blogs / → All Tags

Best Snippets of the Thorn Tree

The Lonely Planet Thorn Tree forum has long been a good place to hang out for some serious forum ferreting, but there's always been one problem: too many threads, so little time. That's why LP's newest innovation seems like a good idea, even if it does have an overly serious name.

We're talking about the Lonely Planet Community News blog. It's been floating around in cyberspace a little while now but recently seems to have found its purpose, and now tends to feature conclusions from the most interesting threads on the Thorn Tree, saving us from digging around ourselves.

Recent highlights were the ever tricky to visit Myanmar or not question, on-the-ground tips from Mexico after the recent hurricane and the consensus that Scandinavian languages can be easy for English-speakers to learn. Sounds hard to believe but we never said this new site tells the truth: It just passes on what other travelers say, making our ferreting life easier.

Related Stories:
· Community News Blog [Lonely Planet]
· Forum Ferreting: Thorntree Speaking in Tongues [Jaunted]
· Forum Ferreting coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Plymography]

Africa Travel / Lonely Planet / Forum Ferreting / → All Tags

Forum Ferreting: Seeing the Dunes in Namibia

When we think sand we usually picture a nice beach, but chatters over at the Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree have got other ideas: dunes. And according to this board of globetrotters, Namibia is the place to see the biggest and the best.

Sossusvlei is a salt pan in the Namibian desert, but it's known for it's incredible red sand dunes that rise more than 3,000 feet in some places. If it's a once in a lifetime trip, chatters say these dunes are not to be missed. And they've got a few tips for making the most out of the adventure, too.

Go to Sossusvlei, make sure you go further than Dune 45 at some time, wear whatever you want on your feet, spend two nights nearby. Stay hydrated, don't walk from the end of the 2wd part in the heat of the day if you can avoid it, take plenty of film and a sun hat and last but not least - don't try and make sand castles, it just doesn't work.

And if you're planning a trip to Namibia, now's the time to go, since December and January tend to see the most rain. Would that make the sand castle construction easier?

Related Stories:
· Lonely Planet Thorn Tree [Official Site]
· Namibia Travel Stories [Jaunted]
· Namibia Hotel Reviews [Hotel Chatter]

[Photo: Patrtick Schoonbee]

Forum Ferreting / Mount Kilimanjaro / Africa Travel / Mountains / Mountain Climbing / → All Tags

Forum Ferreting: Climbing Kilimanjaro

We love Top Ten lists, so when we found a forum on BootsnAll that asked backpackers for their top tips for climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro we had to take a peek. What did we find? Words of wisdom that every camper knows--about sleeping with the next day's clothes to keep them warm or reusing baby wipes--as well as a few choice bits of wisdom specifically about reaching the summit of the Kill:

Instead of a backpack for the porters to carry all your stuff that is not in the day pack...use a DUFFLE bag. Easier for one to pack and unpack. The porters consolidate bags and carry them in their packs on their head...so even if you have a great pack its not very useful for them.

Forum-goers also have ideas on what to pack:

Don't forget knee braces and elastic bandages. You will need them while coming down. Your knees will thank you.

And even a special tip just for the ladies:

For the girls...dig a hole in front of your tent between the tent door and the outer fly, make a 'dam' on the downward slope...This is great if you need to pee in the middle of the night and you don't want to walk to the long drop (bleh), find a bush, or it's freezing cold outside. Cover your pee with dirt when your done...Get as low as you can, knees literally on the ground and lower legs splayed out to prevent splashing and waking up your neighbors.

Related Stories:
· Forum Ferreting coverage [Jaunted]
· Tanzania Travel [Jaunted]

[Photo: Millbrook Inn]

Forum Ferreting / → All Tags

Forum Ferreting: Speaking in Tongues

Half the fun of travel comes from experiencing a new culture--that's a whole lot easier when you know the language. But we've all had embarrassing verbal snuffs--and now there's a place to air them at the Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree travel forum, Speaking in Tongues.

There are questions that range from the practical: How to say thank you in Arabic, to the curious: How U.S. and U.K. rules differ when it comes to name changes after marriage. And then there are the miscommunications, like this one that caught our eye:

A colleague of mine mainly conducts qualitative research and found herself working on a project with people suffering from constipation ... It was difficult to get the discussion going and that respondents were giving unexpected answers. The problem, it turned out, was that half the group confused 'hard stools' with 'constipation'. that means that the 'hard stools' people thought they had constipation, but they hadn't - they only confused the softness (or lack of if) of their stools with constipation (hard stools people have regular bowel movements, no matter how hard their stool is while sufferers from constipation have irregular bowel movements and their stools can be of any hardness).

i just thought i let you know that some people don't know to differentiate between the two.

Apparently, if you've got a question, a comment (any kind of comment) or a story about language this is the forum to post it.

Related Stories:
· More Forum Ferreting [Jaunted]

[Photo: Talkscape]

RV Travel / Forum Ferreting / Travel Discussions / → All Tags

Forum Ferreting: People Still Love RVs

Staying in hotels is nice and even hostels can be decent. Camping in a tent is down right thrifty. But if you ask the folks at RV Travel they'll tell you the 10-wheeler is the only way to go.

It turns out despite high gas prices and insane summer traffic, people still love the great American Road Trip. It's just these days they like knowing what they're getting into. Just listen to this:

People don't get into RVing to save money...they do it so that they can go places they want to go where there are NO motels...and so they can sleep in their own bed and use their own bathroom. (Have you ever seen the reports on TV where they've gone in with a blue light and shown the stuff that's still all around the room even after it's been cleaned? It's disgusting!)

Turns out avoiding bed bugs and worms tops the list of RV travel positives. (And seriously, we've all seen that Dateline.) But those in the know say it's best to avoid KOA camps, too. After all, there are plenty of places that let you park for free. (Word is Wal-Mart's a good place to try). But past that, they've been a thorn in RVer's side for way too long.

Our reason for avoiding KOAs is a purely political one: KOAs, along with ARVC, are usually behind the "can't park any place but an RV park" ordinances in local communities. We refuse to support any business or organization that tries to push these.

We say if you can handle one of these rigs on the open road, more power to you. But for us? Well, we'll stick to backseat driving on this one.

Related Stories:
· Road Trips coverage [Jaunted]
· RV Travel [Official Site]

[Photo: Stewart]

Online Travel Discussions / Forum Ferreting / Michelle Higgins / New York Times / → All Tags

Forum Ferreting: NYT's Readers Say You Can Still Afford Europe

We can barely stretch a buck, let alone a Euro, so we were excited to see the New York Times' practical travel guru, Michelle Higgins, take a stab at surviving the exchange rate.

Mostly, though, her tips are no-brainers: Fly coach and pick a budget carrier, use mass transit and heck, pack dinner instead of lunch. As usual, we found the down-and-dirty commenters had some pretty valuable tips of their own.

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Air Travel / Flyertalk / Forum Ferreting / TSA / → All Tags

Travel Forum Ferreting: Are Carry On Regulations Merely Suggestions?

We've been traveling with one-quart bags and leaving our scissors at home since we got word items like these were banned from air travel.

And until today, we thought everyone else was, too.

But according to chatters on Flyertalk, some passengers see government regulations as mere recommendations.

The scary part? Items like screwdrivers, knives and giant bottles of hair gel are going undetected in airport security lines. How do we know? Just listen to this:

As my bags went down the belt, I remembered I had my full-sized toiletries in the roll-aboard so I told the TSA guy that it would probably get pulled because of it. I get to the other side and everything came thru without anyone saying anything, so off I went. But wait -- that's not the end of the story. When I opened my bag at the hotel in DC, not only did I pull out all my full-sized toiletries, but I also had a box cutter in the bag.

And in a case of great irony, one traveler had this experience to share:

A couple of weeks ago flying out of TPA, the screener takes my carryon off the belt to check it. Misses 3 Bic lighters, a pocket knife, a laser pointer that looks like a .30-06 shell and CONFISCATES MY DING DONG DEODORANT.

If this doesn't make you feel safer, we're not sure what will.

OpenThread: What can you bring on a plane?

[Photo Credit: MSNBC]

Forum Ferreting / Wifi / Travel Tech / Humor / FlyerTalk / → All Tags

Travel Forum Feretting: Beer, Please

Online travel forums are filled with gems, if you have the time to dig for them. Luckily we do the dirrty work for you in our somewhat regular Forum Ferreting feature.

There's nothing like a good game of wifi cruising to brighten up a hard day on the road. Of course, if you're scrambling to get online and can't find a connection (outside of your hotel's ridiculously priced service), that's a whole different story. When we say wifi cruising, we mean the casual practice of scrolling through your radar to see what the kids are naming their networks these days. As Flyertalkers know, naming your network is a bold statement, one that can say a lot about you. In a thread called "What's the funniest wifi network name you've found?," they're listing the best of the best encountered on their travels and at home:

Deliver beer to room 306
-SpaceBass (user)

Watchin Porno In Here!
-kanebear

Stay out or I'll break your neck.
-Kurwah (We run into threats like this all the time with protected networks.)

abuse my ex's wifi
-Single Malt (Great idea.)

...and there are more, including a lot that reference porn and/or beer. Have you found any that can beat the listings on Flyertalk? And will someone bring that guy in room 306 some beer already?

[Photo: dailysnap]

Airlines / Budget Airlines / Oasis Hong Kong / Forum Ferreting / → All Tags

A Champagne Supernova Revisited

Online travel forums are filled with gems, if you have the time to dig for them. Luckily we do the dirrty work for you in our somewhat regular Forum Ferreting feature.

Now that Oasis Hong Kong Airlines is up and running, only the question of quality remains. Is it just a long-haul easyJet with a cabin experience that would be unbearable after more than a few hours? Do you get something besides a death rattle for your hard-earned dough? The introductory prices seem too good to be true, especially if they remain the same for Oasis' eventual U.S. routes.

It's going to take some more time and passengers before any sort of solid opinion on Oasis develops, but at least one review has trickled in on Flyertalk. A poster flying business class reported on how Oasis handled the delay snafu ("brilliantly") and left this detailed description about the cabin setup itself:

As I boarded the Boeing 747-400 door 1 Left, I was amazed at how much room there was in the Nose (A Zone) of this Business Class Cabin, config with 12 seats from rows 18-20 and 21-29 in three other cabins on the main deck, the Upper deck was config 11-17.

The seats in the front row of 18A/C H/J have six rows of windows beside them and Ooddles of space on the floor in front.

Row 21 is config in a 2-3-2 just behind door 1 left/right (still part of the nose section) but the centre seats D E G have poor recline, so avoid these if you want better sleeping.

oasis have used Singapore airlines Old Ultimo seats, seats are noce and comfy with 60 inch pitch (Airlines old First class pitch).

He also calls it a "fantastic value." We wonder if economy passengers will feel the same way. Stay tuned.

Related Stories:
· OasisHongkong Airlines Inaugural flight [Flyertalk]
· Airline Report: A Champagne Supernova in the Sky [Jaunted]

Forum Ferreting / Flyertalk / JetBlue / → All Tags

Travel Forum Ferreting: JetBlue Name Game

Online travel forums are filled with gems, if you have the time to dig for them. Luckily we do the dirrty work for you in our somewhat regular Forum Ferreting feature.

Anyone who's flown JetBlue knows that in addition to standard tail numbers, their planes have precious names like "Hopelessly Devoted to Blue" painted up front. Some who have flown JetBlue, however, know a whole lot more about these names than the rest of us, and it only makes sense that you can find them on Flyertalk.

JetBlue superfan, jetBlueNYFL, has been leading a game over on the boards, urging posters to list the names of the planes they've flown in. From this, we've learned that Canyon Blue is the plane that made a much-publicized emergency landing at LAX a year ago. They're also trashtalking some broad named All Because of Blue. Says JetBlueFA:

has anybody else flown on N635JB "All Because Of Blue"? The plane was delivered in April '06 and I already hate that plane! I flew it today on the MCO-JFK run and what a P.O.S she already is

These poor, helpless aircrafts need a Lorax or something to speak for them! Head on over for more plane names than you ever wanted to know, plus information on tracking down flights of your own.

[Photo: cybele-la]

Related Stories:
· The JetBlue Plane Name Game [Flyertalk]
· JetBlue's New Website [Jaunted]

Forum Ferreting / → All Tags

Shave and a Haircut, Two Bahts

Online travel forums are filled with gems, if you have the time to dig for them. Luckily we do the dirrty work for you in our somewhat regular Forum Ferreting feature.

This week's forum ferreting is all about follicles in foreign lands. Getting a haircut abroad can present a challenge. The experience can reflect the culture of a place in a clichéd way--we've found German haircuts to be exceedingly precise--but subtleties are easily lost in translation. In countries where they may not be familiar with a strange hair type, like parts of Asia, haircuts can get really interesting, and shaves even more harrowing--but worth it for that baby-soft feel. So we hear, anyway.

Here are some frosted tips on what to expect when getting a haircut in Southeast Asia:

·Laos: No hot towel, just cream lathered on my face, and she starts on my beard, with a open blade, the old fasioned kind. I almost felt like I was at the dentist, hands clenching the arms of the chair, while I feel each stoke over my rough face....ouch! Two razor blades and 30 minutes later, I was done, I open my eyes, and half the village was watching the Falang get a shave... I looked at my face in the mirror, and it was nick FREE...Nice job. Painful, but nice.

·Thailand: I wanted it short on top, and shorter on the sides. He did a pretty shitty job on the sides, and I was getting kinda nervous. Then when it was all done, instead of using a brush to clean the hair clippings off my ears, neck, and shoulders, he began to blow on me! Then I notice what he did: Instead of making it the same length in the back, he left a big curly section of hair near the base of my neck! It was like some Asian mullet.

·Vietnam: I did get an amusing hair-experience in Hanoi. She cleaned my ears out with her fingers (during my head massage that was part of the haricut) and then she proceeded to pick my nose as well with her bare fingers. Then my friend had to blow her nose on her hairdressers hands rather than use a tissue!

[Image via B Tai/Flickr]

Related Stories:
· Travel Forum Ferreting [Jaunted]
· Laos and Then [The Guardian]