Letters: To key or not to key

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This was published 11 years ago

Letters: To key or not to key

I have found that customs officers seem to unlock my checked-in luggage for inspection and do not replace the locks so I have taken to travelling with unlocked cases, at least on domestic flights. I am concerned that unlocked cases on overseas flights may have unwanted items placed in them by unscrupulous people. How do others manage?

- Heather D'Cruz

Weights and measures

Attempting to beat the weight limits is a high-risk strategy and can be frustrating for those waiting behind. We have used the airports' self-serve luggage scales - generally disguised as unstaffed check-in points. The queues are certainly shorter and it makes check-in so much more relaxed.

- John Paech

Some mistake, officer...

If travellers decide to act on Simon Goldhill's suggestion to visit Haworth and the Bronte parsonage in Britain (Armchair Journey, Traveller, May 26-27), they may do well to heed advice about parking, if driving there. Haworth is a delightful village in West Yorkshire that oozes Bronte history, but unsuspecting visitors who park at the Changegate car park next to the parsonage (opposite the Edinburgh Woollen Mills shop) need to be aware this is a private car park over which the police have no jurisdiction. Unwitting visitors who are five minutes late returning, have parked slightly outside their space or whose ticket has fallen off the dashboard, will find their car wheel clamped. The only way to have it unclamped is to pay £90 ($140) to the parking officer, who also happens to be the car park owner.

- Patricia Farrar

New Zealand's Sunday best

Planning a trip to New Zealand, my wife and I last weekend made online inquiries to three small or medium-sized NZ travel operators. All responded within a short time, including early on Sunday. That's the kind of responsiveness that their Australian equivalents need to routinely demonstrate in today's competitive environment.

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- Andrew Dye

Scales and justice

It's easy to understand Elizabeth Proude's frustration (Traveller Letters, May 26-27) about being detained at the airport check-in line while passengers reduce the weight of their luggage, causing her to miss a flight. Scales should be provided for passengers to use before presenting their luggage at check-in.

- Max Foster

Last of the Latin lovers

In Lee Langley's description of (ancient) Calabria (Traveller, May 26-27), Lee makes two mistakes, historical and linguistic. Magna Graecia was not used by the Byzantine Greeks to describe southern Italy, nor even the classical Greeks, but by the Romans. It is a Latin phrase, not a Greek one. The English word, Greek, derives from the Latin graecus. The root, graec, is connected to the English, grey. The Greek word for Greek survives in English as Helleni. More such articles please; I really enjoy them.

- Garriock Duncan

Priory warmed for winter

The review of The Priory at Bingie (Traveller Weekends Away, May 26-27) mentioned that it would be closed in June, July and August. The installation of central heating in the living room has now been finalised and we are open to guests for the winter. The views over the lake and mountains in winter are not to be missed.

- Barbara Romalis, The Priory at Bingie, NSW

Paris surprise

My daughter and son-in-law had a similar hiccup to their plans to fly to Paris when Air Asia ended its long-haul flights to Europe (Traveller Letters, May 12-13, 2012). They were allocated seats with another carrier, on their original departure date. They enjoyed a higher level of comfort and service, at no extra cost, than they would have received on the original "no-frills" flight.

- Frances Baker

We welcome your travel-related opinions, experiences and letters. Letters may be edited for space, legal or other reasons. Email us at travellerletters@fairfax.com.au including your name, address and phone number.

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