THE CRYING GAME
I recently returned from Spain travelling business class with KLM from Madrid to Amsterdam and then Qantas Amsterdam to Australia. On both legs of the 10-hour overnight flight, there were crying babies, one of which cried for the full 10 hours. I could not believe that the family did not have something to help the baby settle, with the flight attendant offering me ear plugs, which were no help.
I guess there is no possibility for a crying room on planes, as they have in churches and some theatres, but surely when a passenger has paid for a comfortable flight, they can expect a little peace and quiet.
Lea Anschutz
LETTER OF THE WEEK
Your article by Ute Junker (Traveller, January 17-18) regarding saunas makes an important point in advising that one should take it easy, cool off before going into the hot sauna, or, if there are several rooms, start where it is not too hot.
A Swede tells me about an occasion when he had finished quite a hard squash game, after which he had a quick shower and went to the sauna. His opponent did the same, but collapsed with a heart attack and died minutes later. Ambulance personnel explained that the deceased had worked up a very high pulse during the game, after which he went into a hot sauna without cooling off a few minutes beforehand.
I wasn't told if it happened in a "wet" or "dry" sauna, but the effect would have been the same. A "wet" sauna may be less hot, but the steam in the air prevents your sweat from evaporating and cooling the body automatically.
Lars Johansson
HUME SWEET HUME 1
Lee Tulloch's column on the Hume Highway (Traveller, January 17-18) tickled me with its mention of the town of Boho. I grew up at Tallangatta in the north-east of Victoria and I had a mate at Swanpool, which is on the way from Benalla to Mansfield in Victoria. When I came up to stay, I always cut through Boho Church Road to get to his farm. I think there is a church somewhere, but that is all.
It's funny to reflect on how Australia managed to think big and build the Harbour Bridge when it was between the great wars and fund it via imposing tolls and yet it was only last year, I think, that they finally linked up the Hume as a dual carriageway from Melbourne to Sydney.
I remember as a kid in the '50s being in the Tallangatta pub with my dad and some American engineers from an American construction company, which had just finished the Snowy Mountains scheme. One of the engineers quipped to Dad, "would you like us to run you guys a little ole motorway down from Sydney to Melbourne?"
Sam Paton
HUME SWEET HUME 2
Good to see that Traveller is back for 2015 with all the usual good info on where to go and how to get there. I especially liked Lee Tulloch's column on the Hume Highway (Traveller, January 17-18) as one who has travelled it on both a regular and infrequent basis and seen it significantly improved over the years. However, the retired Royal Australian Navy submarine on display at the NSW town of Holbrook to which she refers is an "Oberon", not "Orion" class sub. Oberon were submarines that preceded the Collins class.
Michael Hayden
NEVER LEAVE HOME . . .
Further to your letter of the week on advice for travel insurance (Traveller Letters, January 17-18), in 2013 my husband and I travelled to Europe with a complimentary travel insurance policy with our American Express card.
Unfortunately, my husband feel ill in Nice in France and he needed an ambulance. I rang the so-called direct emergency number given to me before we left Australia, only to be connected to the normal switchboard. Luckily, he was not having a heart attack.
The next day, I received a call from the insurance company, which informed me that I needed to supply them with a list of all medical people my husband had seen in the past three years, including dentists and physios. I told them I was unable to do this until we returned to Australia. I was then informed they couldn't assist me until I supplied this information.
However, prior to leaving Australia, we had also taken out a travel insurance policy with AAMI, which I phoned and, within 10 minutes, I was talking to a doctor. AAMI also told me not to worry about anything until we got back to Australia and they kept in contact with us throughout the rest of our trip. The difference was unbelievable.
Narelle Boland
POINT TAKEN
As a Qantas Frequent Flyer member, I expected to get award points for recent travel on One World partner Malaysia Airlines. Well, I did, but not many - just 1029 points awarded for a return flight Sydney to Kuala Lumpur. It turns out that Qantas FF members must check the Qantas terms and conditions for award points with One World partners. Also, watch out for Jetstar flights. No points were awarded for business class return to Hawaii. I got more points from the credit-card ticket purchase than actually flying.
Dave Stimson
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The writer of the letter judged the best of the week will receive a LUXE travel guides box set, valued at $60, including savvy, pocket-sized guides for destinations including Sydney, Melbourne, Hong Kong, London and New York. See luxecityguides.com for more details. Letters may be edited for space, legal or other reasons. Preference will be given to letters of 50-100 words or less. Email us at travellerletters@fairfaxmedia.com.au and, importantly, include your name, address and phone number.
