October TraveLife magazine available!

Imagine, it's already October and another 12 months is about to come to an end and I'm another year older!

That's the bad news - the good news is that another issue of TraveLife magazine will be distributed this weekend in the Toronto Star (Oct. 22), my former employer and Canada's largest newspaper.

TraveLife magazine can be accessed online right NOW at http://www.travelife.ca/ and our team of excellent writers have been busy filing stories from exotic places around the world.

In the October/December issue of TraveLife magazine, you'll find stories on:

British Columbia's Sunshine Coast: Brian Brown and Laurel Rowbotham sail away on a 10-day cruise along B.C.'s breathtakingly beautiful waterways and tell us about their experience of fishing for crabs and shrimps and coming face-to-face with bald eagles and starfish.

Japan's Kyoto: George Millar tells us about his experience at a temple in that ancient Japanese city.

Israel's Eilat: TraveLife's photo editor Casey Nolin takes some back roads to get to Israel's "fun capital."

San Francisco: Karen Asp and her husband patrol the streets of San Francisco in some unusual vehicles.

India's Little Tibet: Our adventurous writer Amy Chung goes out of her way to find excitement in India.

Guam's food culture: Cynthia Dial attends a food festival on Guam and comes away with an appetite for more of this treasured island.

Bora Bora: Mark Dimitroff discovers the inner beauty of this South Pacific treasure with the help of an island icon.

China: Chloe Tse has the second part of her amazing journey to China, the land of her ancestors.

And it's been a busy time between editions for me - I've taken exciting trips to Panama, Taiwan, Malaysia and Miami and share my experiences in the October issue of TraveLife magazine.

So look for a copy of TraveLife magazine in the Toronto Star Saturday (Oct. 22) or go online and read it on your iPad or smart phone.

Ryanair a "Euro-peeing" airline

Ryanair, which has been criticized severely, especially in this corner, for even contemplating turning their on board washrooms into"paid toilets" complete with a coin slot, has solved the problem - they're getting rid of the bathrooms.

The fly-by-night Irish carrier says it's eliminating two of the three washrooms on its planes so it can squeeze in another six seats.

Passengers will be given "pee" bags just in case, though. 

What next - get rid of one of the engines to make the plane lighter and save on fuel ... or how about getting rid of the pilots (auto pilot will do) so more seats can be added to the cockpit area.

Ryanair in now the worst "Euro-peeing" airline and one wonders why anyone would trust this carrier.

Jury duty hangs me out to dry

Day II of jury duty is over – still no trial to preside over for juror 1557.

Nerves are getting frayed. The grumbling is getting louder.

Biggest complaints: Why do we have to pay for coffee? Why is there no free Internet access?

There are 200 of us cramped in a jury lounge and in the last 24 hours we’ve been called to court just once -12 of our members were picked for a criminal trial from a pool of 50– the rest of us just sit and wait.

One perspective juror wonders why we are being kept from our jobs – “with so many people out of work maybe they should pick jurors from the unemployment roll instead of the tax list (which is what they do in Ontario).”

Some people are getting very cozy – I think one affair has started up in the back of the room.

There’s lots of sneezing and coughing – I’m sure I’ll be sick for weeks after this.

On my death bed, I hope I get credit for the days I’m spending here.

GAP rebranding earns a G grade

G whiz! I just heard that GAP Adventures has rebranded itself as G Adventures.

How clever! Not!

The change was ordered after a U.S. judge ruled that GAP Adventures' name conflicted with the mighty clothing brand - GAP clothing was the first to register the name so it gets title to it, the judge decided.

So the adventure travel company decided to drop the "A" and "P" and just go with "G".

Gee!

One wonders what other "G" names the company flirted with? G Spot Adventures maybe? Or maybe Golly G Adventures?

As part of the rebranding, G Adventures is offering a contest where the winner gets a free trip anywhere in the world - you have to bring your own tent, of course.

G, I wonder if I'm eligible for that prize?

Maybe "CAP Adventures" or "GO Adventures" would have been a better label to stick on this "new"company but G, what do I know?

I give this name change a G- grade!

Will Irene leave Aruba before I arrive?



The Tierra del Sol is Aruba's only
golf course and it looks like a beauty.

 Just my luck - I'm heading to Aruba and a hurricane is bearing down on the Caribbean.

Hey, last March I arrived in Arizona in a snowstorm.

By the time I get to Aruba, they tell me Hurricane Irene will have blown through the area and the island will be blanketed in warm sunshine the rest of my stay.

I'm actually joining a group of U.S. and Canadian journalists for a golf tournament which will be played on the island's only golf course, which is part of the Tierra de Sol resort, one of the best properties in the Caribbean, I'm told.

I'll be sending daily reports from Aruba - after my golf and scuba diving and wine tasting and ...

Wow, after looking at my itinerary, maybe I won't have time to write.

Only kidding!

I'll be in touch and let's hope a lady named Irene leaves Aruba before I arrive.

Paolo's Air Deal Today is Paris

Paolo dug up another great air deal today!

Paris Airfare

$629

Return from Toronto

Airline: KLM

Air taxes: Approx. $486

Travel Period: 

June 24 - Sept. 10, 2011

Ticketing until: June 29, 2011

Call: 1.866.929.6688

Good Boy Paolo!

Paolo's Newest Travel Deal

My pooch Paolo digs up great air deals.

Dubai Airfare

$802

Return from Toronto

Air Taxes: $549 (approx.)

Travel Period:

July 15 – Sept. 10, 2011

Ticketing until: June 10, 2011

Call: 1.866.929.6688

Good boy Paolo!

Paolo's Travel Deal Today

My pooch Paolo digs up great air deals every day!

Delhi Airfare

$667

Return form Toronto

Airline: Jet Airways

Travel Period:
May 24 - June 18, 2011

Ticketing Until: May 31, 2011

Air Taxes: $459 (approx.)

Call: 1-866-929-6688

Good Boy Paolo

Europe too expensive for tourists

Great European cities are getting too
expensive for North Americans to visit.

Friends returning from Europe are all telling me the same thing - they're not going back!

Between the euro being so strong against North American currencies and the cost of everything - especially hotels and restaurants - being so high, they tell me Europe has priced itself out of their league.

And with the announcement this week that major carriers like Delta, KLM and Air France are cutting back on transatlantic flights - due to high fuel costs and empty seats - getting to Europe is going to cost much more thanks to the decrease in capacity.

Cash-strapped European countries, which have been closing up tourist offices in North America because they don't have the money to operate them, are facing stiff competition from the Asia/Pacific region, mainly China, where Canadian tour companies can offer great 2-for-1 deals (see http://www.toureast.com/ for examples) because costs of Asian hotels are so much lower and airline capacity continues to expand to that part of the world.

Europe has no one to blame but itself, of course. They thought they could keep raising prices and North Americans would keep coming. But, with the emergence of Asia, where most of the new hotels in the world are being built, and the aggressive marketing campaigns launched in Gulf Coast countries like Dubai, North Americans have been presented with lots of valued options that European countries like France, Italy and Great Britain just can't match.

This week the World Tourism Organization predicted China will soon replace France as the No. 1 travel destination in  the world - and I predict that in five years, three of the Top 5 spots on the organization's tourism rankings' list will be occupied by Asian countries.

North American travellers are looking for bargains - the continued increase in online travel bookings is proof of that - but Europe has none to offer.

Paolo's Travel Deal Today

Cairo Airfare

$440

Return from Toronto

Airline: KLM
Travel period:

May 17 - June 18, 2011

Ticketing Until: May 25, 2011

Air Taxes: $534
Call: 1-866-929-6688

Good Boy Paolo

Finnair connects Toronto & Singapore

Just got word from my friends at Finnair that they're launching a flight to Singapore via Helsinki from Toronto.

That means you can visit two great parts of the world on one trip. Price of the round trip ticket from Toronto: $1,069 return!

That's an amazing price and one that will be hard to pass up.

I just got back from Singapore and I can tell you there's so much to see and do in Asia's loveliest city - and I strongly suggest you stay at the St. Regis Hotel; one of the best in the city. I've never been to Helsinki but from what I hear, it's one of Europe's best places to visit.

Finnair will be flying out of Toronto five days a week from May 26 to Sept. 11, 2011.

Finnair, which operates one of the youngest fleets in Europe, is the only airline offering a daily connection between Singapore and Northern Europe.

Helsinki’s compact terminal is designed especially for transfer traffic so making your connecting flight from Toronto to Singapore won't be a problem.

Finnair offers a comprehensive route network via Helsinki to over 50 destinations in Europe and 10 cities in Asia. 

For more information, go to www.finnair.com

Paolo's Travel Deal Today

My precious pooch Paolo digs up great air deals daily.

Delhi Airfare

$640

Return From Toronto

Airline: Jet Airways

Travel Period:
April 11-31, 2011

Ticketing Until: April 15, 2011

Air Taxes: $467 (approx.)

Call: 1-866-929-6688

Good Boy Paolo

Paolo's Travel Deal Today

My precious pooch Paolo digs up great air deals!

Seoul Airfare

$617

Return from Toronto
Airline: United

Air Taxes: $337.96 (approx.)

Travel period:

April 20-30, 2011

Ticketing until: April 28, 2011

Call: 1-866-929-6688

Good Boy Paolo!

Hotels putting towels under wraps

As much as 20 per cent of hotel linens are stolen each month.

I have to come clean about something – I take soaps and shampoos from hotel rooms.

In fact, I haven’t had to buy a bar of soap or a bottle of shampoo for almost 10 years now.

I’m not alone, of course. Many other people help themselves to “designer” soaps in high-end hotels like the Ritz-Carlton or Four Seasons and one executive with Fairmont hotels once told me that amenity thieves actually pay the hotel a compliment because by taking soaps and shampoos the guests are actually letting the hotel know they approve of the brands stocked in the property’s bathroom.

Towels, however, are a different story.

I’ve never tucked a towel away in my suitcase at checkout but apparently many others do. And the practice of stolen towels and bathrobes has become such a problem for hotel chains that some are now employing anti-theft devices - radio-frequency tags stitched into towels, robes and other linen which triggers an alarm if removed from the premises – to try and keep the thievery under wraps.

The “Linen Technology Tracking System”, which is similar to shop security tags, has been patented by a Miami-based company and is now being employed at hotels in Hawaii, Miami and New York.

A hotel industry source says that properties lose between 5 and 20 per cent of their linen inventory per month and that something has to be done to cut down on the losses.

I just hope they don’t embed detectors into soap.

Paolo's Travel Deal for Today



My precious pooch Paolo digs up some great air deals every day!

Tel Aviv Airfare

$653

Return from Toronto
Air Taxes: $535 (approx.)

Travel period:

15 May – 16 Oct 2011

Ticketing Until: April 19
Call: 1-866-929-6688

Good boy Paolo!

Airlines are making 'bags' of money

Airlines are running off with bags of our money thanks to the added fees their charging for extra luggage.

The U.S. Transportation Department announced today that U.S. airlines raked in $2.57 billion (U.S.) in bag fees in 2010 and that figure is expected to top the $3 billion mark in 2011.

Most U.S. airlines this week announced they are raising the fees for second and third bags of luggage – you’ll be charged as much as $90 for a third bag of luggage on some airlines.

Soon you’ll be charged more for extra luggage than the air ticket is worth.

The extra bag fees mean more and more people are trying to stuff everything into their carry on to avoid the extra fees. This means less room in the overhead bins.

The airlines are taking advantage of that, too – some U.S. carriers have started charging $10 for priority boarding to let people get first dibs on the overheads.

American Airlines is now charging $19-$39 for “Express Seats” – they’re located in the first few rows of coach.

Low class Ryanair ups fees again

The day budget airlines in Europe started charging to use bathrooms aboard flights – I’m not kidding – that’s the day they went from being “low cost airlines” to “low class airlines” in my opinion.

And the sky is the limit with these low class carriers when it comes to passing along fees to you.

The latest is what amounts to a $3 (U.S.) levy Ireland’s Ryanair is charging passengers on all flights in order to cover costs of flight cancellations, delays and to meet obligation guidelines set down by the European Union for “force-majeure” incidents.

That’s on top of the fuel surcharges, extra baggage fees and of course the bathroom usage levy that Ryanair is already taxing passengers with.

The low class carrier has endured 15,000 flight cancellations and delays over the last year and Ryanair says that’s cost them almost $200 million.

Hey folks, when it comes to low class airlines, you get what you pay for and with Ryanair that’s not much. Next they’ll be charging for seat cushions – oops, I hope I haven’t given them another money-making scheme to sit on!