thecrashpacker's Guestbook

Very enjoyable
You've hit the nail on the head. We're a funny lot..

Interesting thoughts
Thanks for your most interesting thoughts on cheap flights! It's very rare indeed to find such a combination of total cluelessness and hypocrisy in one blog post. "air travel is, as we all know, the number one killer of the environment." Ehmm, no. According to the IPCC (you can read their complete report on the internet), aviation is responsible for around 2% of the world's emissions of climate gases. If there were no flights at all between 1990 and 2050, they estimate that this would have resulted in the planet being around 0.05 degrees cooler in 2050. I don't think this sounds like a disaster. "they hold small cities to ransom with their demands". I think rather they benefit small cities, which before cheap flights were not on the tourist map at all. "Flying rust buckets waiting to crash". The budget airlines typically have much newer airplanes than the so-called "decent airlines". Ryanair has the newest fleet of all airlines. "I reckon we could all afford to pay green taxes of three or four times what our tickets cost us. We cant afford not to for our planets sake, but it would also make us value our travels more, we would appreciate the trips that we had to save up for.." If you are so keen on paying a lot for your tickets, nobody is stopping you from flying business class on the "decent airlines". I can assure you that I value all the trips I made for next to nothing with Ryanair, just as much as if I had paid more. In fact, I value them more, the less I pay. It is especially pleasing to know that I am annoying all the sad, clueless hypocrites who want to deny everybody else the opportunity to experience the world. Keep up the good work! :-)

Hi You wrote "Ryanair stung me for forty quid to check in at the Stanstead airport" I believe its spelt Stansted Thank you

great blog
I just want to say what a great blog you wrote, i might use some of your frases! I travel a lot, move a lot, but still i agree with you...no more cheap flights:) Fantastic!!

Great Blog...
I wonder how we'll look back at the current state of travel in 30 years...

Information
I think guide books are useful but to a certain extent. I mean, you have to experience things on your own. Always. Lonely Planet guides are useful but sometimes not updated. I am going to SEA next months and I am reading travelfish.org which is excellent. Once I will be back I will let you know what it was like. Love, Graciela from Argentina.

Feeding the corruption
Your illuminating story clearly shows how the "baksheesh" system is fed by lazy mzungus such as yourself, who couldnt be bothered to follow common code and practices by simply booking your flight at a reputable travel agents. What did you expect when you bought your "ticket" off the shack on the beach? Little wonder you took off at all! Tanzania could do better to tighten rules and disallow such practices if only to stop blase travellers such as yourself from thinking they can get away with anything if they flash their Western dollars about. It takes two hands to clap - in your case, you (and others with similar mentality as yourself) are the main reason of the baksheesh system existing in the first place. If you had used common sense and booked your ticket at a travel agents like the other tens of thousands, you wouldnt have had to worry about getting on a plane at all, and you wouldn't be fanning the baksheesh system Shame on you!

a bit jealous
I just came back from a couple days in NYC, wish I found, or knew about DUMBO! Love the sunset pics and your fun style of writing!

Love this...
I really enjoyed your writing, your photography and your perspective. Thanks for the great take...