Lee Tulloch’s article implies that travellers should be better behaved,but what if the hotel is at fault? When checking in at a hotel (part of a chain) in Lusaka,the staff at reception alleged that our room had not been paid for and wanted a credit card payment. Fortunately,we had brought all the credit vouchers that our travel agent had armed us with – we had the entire holiday of three weeks prepaid before we left the country. Despite taking photocopies of the relevant vouchers (including transfers to and from the airport),the issue of non-payment was again raised the next morning at check-out. It was only after confirmation of payment by the ground operator that we were allowed to leave. The reality was,the communication between their reservation and reception teams was poor and the result was an inconvenience to us.
Susan Chee,Brighton,Vic

LETTER OF THE WEEK:ALL CREDIT

Regarding Michael Gebicki’s column about global flight delay compensations (Traveller,May 17),I can counter with the way Italian rail operator Trenitalia provided two refunds on our recent travels. For the first,requested via their portal,the compensation was credited within 24 hours. The second,more complicated request,was dealt with well within their 30 days agreement and meeting their very clear obligations. It’s just another reason to travel via train when in Europe.
David Lewis,Gladesville,NSW

WINDOW SEAT

Australians are almost famous for not exploring their own backyards before travelling abroad;I cannot express enough the wonder of taking the Indian Pacific from Sydney to Perth and the thrill of whizzing through Parramatta station with a glass of chilled sparkling wine,then climbing up through the mountains while planning our first off-train excursion. At 5am in Broken Hill,we opted for the trade union hall,where the first union was formed to protect miners’ rights back in the day. The food and service was five-star and we travelled comfortably in gold class. Nothing beats waking at 3am somewhere across the Nullarbor to witness a blanket of huge and brilliant stars.
Kate Klarwill,Earlwood,NSW

WELCOME TO COUNTRY

It was grand to see Tess Atie of Northern Territory Indigenous Tours mentioned in your article (Traveller,May 27). My friends and I had the pleasure of meeting Tess in Litchfield National Park during April while on a private tour of the area. I wish we had known about this tour because she was so interesting and informative and has a wicked sense of humour. I would encourage tourists to seek out this wonderful person – it would be more than worthwhile.
Sally Wroe,Castle Hill,NSW

WELCOME TO COUNTRY,AGAIN

Many friends visiting from overseas are interested in finding out more about First Nations peoples and their communities. Showing them Bangarra Dance,exhibitions and artefacts in Sydney has been appreciated,but how much more rewarding would it be to have a 10-day immersive experience in the real Australia.
Judith Rostron,Killarney Heights,NSW

GONE TO GREECE

How different was my experience to (Traveller Letters,May 27) Lissanne Oliver’s costly problems retrieving her earphones left behind on a Virgin flight. A couple of years ago I left my mini iPad on a Qatar flight to Rome,and contacted their office there. They quickly came back to me,advised it had been found and asked where in the world I would like to pick it up. I nominated Athens,the next airport on our trip,and it was there as promised – at no cost. So,Lissanne has lost confidence in Virgin,while I’ve found excellent service in Qatar.
Frank Johnson,Peakhurst,NSW

SNACK PACKS

Ben Groundwater’s article on travelling with children was spot on (Traveller,May 27),especially about the amount of food needed. On one trip with my then four-year-old,where the request for snacks started in the taxi to the airport,just two minutes after leaving home,continued throughout the taxi ride and then in the check-in and security queues,I had to restock at the airport! Lesson learned.
Jill Disint,Williamstown,Vic

CHOICES,CHOICES

I generally love reading people’s letters but theMay 27 rants were too much. We should be extremely grateful that we can travel when others (maybe even our neighbours) have trouble putting food on the table for their family. Let’s get over the complaints about the food,the cancelled fights,the delayed bags. Just be grateful we have the choice.
Anne Miller,Corio,Vic

TIP OF THE WEEK:KYOTO GO

Kyoto – capital of Japan for more than 1000 years and home to thousands of temples and shrines is also a great travel base. Using the amazing fast train network (included with the Japan Rail Pass),you can be in Osaka in 15 minutes,Nara in 30 and Hiroshima in two hours. We stayed walking distance from Kyoto Train Station (although the subway system is excellent anyway) and had the benefit of visiting Osaka,Nara and Hiroshima without having to haul our luggage and waste time checking in and out of hotels. Even Tokyo is a 2½ hour fast train trip so we left Kyoto in the afternoon,trained to Tokyo and flew home from Tokyo that night.
Leonie Jarrett,Hawthorn East,Vic

MYSTERY CHARGE

A Google search for rental cars in New Zealand revealed CarFlexi.com as one of the first hits. Many major brands were promoted but on selecting a car hire option,I noticed a $300 charge against my card and naively assumed it was a deposit. It wasn’t and a fruitless email exchange about a non-existent insurance charge resulted in loss of the money. Incidentally “Yes Rentals” at Auckland airport were exemplary to deal with and had no knowledge of the issue I had with the web portal of CarFlexi.com.
Alan Haselden,West Pennant Hills,NSW

PIPE PANNED

It’s been 30 years since we’ve been to Europe and unsurprisingly things have changed. We have travelled by trains from London to Paris,and up to Norway with only minor hitches and all booked online. No need for cash anywhere unless you get stuck for a toilet in a popular spot. We are currently in Bergen which is jaw dropping for its beauty. Other notable differences from those days are the Irish pubs appearing in every city (handy to watch the state of origin in Stockholm). Also,the pan flute quartet so ubiquitous in 1991 has given way to the town square accordion. When travelling,it seems nothing stays the same.
James Cheeseman,North Ryde,NSW

A RIGHT STATE

Your Americas special (Traveller,May 28) brought back so many memories. In 2018 my husband and I rode Harley-Davidson touring bikes from Los Angeles to Las Vegas over seven days. We went on Route 66 to Monument Valley as well as Grand Canyon National Park,Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon. We are now preparing for our next ride in July out of Seattle and into the Canadian Rockies. The US is an amazing country to visit and a great place to ride motorbikes.
Jane Lang,Port Melbourne,Vic