Traveller letters: How the TripAdvisor factor is ruining guest experience

Also, if you are with a group you may miss out when someone else takes your specially ordered dish. In Olympia, Greece, the vegetarian meal had already been served and I had to wait forever for my meal, and in Swan Hill, Victoria, someone, again, had already claimed the vegetarian meal and I was served fish.

Robert Alves, Wattle Glen, VIC

It was so interesting to read Sue Williams' account of trying to find a meat-free meal across the world. I became fully vegetarian two years ago after dabbling on and off with meat-free days.

My future daughter-in-law, Jacqueline, finally inspired me, having herself been vegetarian since the age of eight. She is a brilliant cook and my son has now eschewed meat and fish to join her in a new healthy way of eating for him.

I have to say that here in Australia it is frustrating trying to find an establishment that caters properly for us non-meat and fish eaters. The supermarkets are getting better with their wares and not just fake meat dishes. The choice of vegetables and fruit in Australia is phenomenal and I also think that airlines are being much more accommodating for us.

However, I find it hard to believe though that Sue couldn't get a decent vegetarian meal in the south of England. I am from the south, and the British certainly are far better with vegetarian restaurant and cafe choices than in Australia.

Paula Watson, Holgate, NSW

UNHAPPY VEGEMITE

Reading your Traveller supplement over coffee every Saturday morning is a ritual for me, and I have been on many a trip based on its articles (and ads).

Traveller letters are a perennial favourite but I do shake my head at times over the sheer pettiness of some rants. The letters about confiscated snacks (Traveller letters, May 26) just takes the cake.

Is it really possible that Australians cannot take a holiday without such mundane items as Vegemite and peanut butter? Get a grip, people, and if you can't enjoy the huge variety of foods available in other countries (surely one of the great joys of travel) then just put your comfort items in your checked-in luggage. Or just do without and broaden your palate. Airport security is an established curse.

As for the parent of the allergic child, there are probably many allergens contained in the airline meals I enjoy, so why not seat the child on the aisle with a parent alongside as a safety barrier? Long-haul flights close to restless children are no joy for the rest of us, so please let us not have our food choices limited on their account.

H. Neill, Southport, QLD

HANS DOWN GOOD ADVICE

Steve Meacham's article on Rutherford's Den in Christchurch (Traveller, November 10, 2017) prompted three friends and I to visit it this year. We spent several absorbing hours there.

Now, after reading his evocative description of Hans Heysen's home at Hahndorf, South Australia (Traveller, May 12), I want to visit The Cedars on my next trip to South Australia. More articles connecting the history of local heroes with tourist destinations, please.

Elizabeth Cameron, Hurstville Grove, NSW

Far from seeing nothing for 1000 kilometres when travelling in Australia, bicycling the Savannah Way between Cairns and Darwin reminded me that every 50 metres or so the terrain changes, as does the road (Traveller letters, May 12).

Aboriginal workers, near Domadgee in Queensland, showed me I needed to see things through their eyes and pointed out birds and plants that were "invisible" to my city-slicker eyes.

In June, I plan to bicycle in Cape York and will have to pay close attention to the continuous changes you cannot see from a SUV.

Ken Pisichko, Qatar, DOHA

RIGHT ON KEW

One of the best kept secrets in Kew Gardens, which often does not get mentioned in travel articles (Traveller, May 26), is the Marianne North gallery. Marianne North was an English artist from the Victorian era who was remarkable for her time in that she travelled the world in the 1870s and 1880s, generally unaccompanied, and visited all corners of the globe painting flora.

More than 800 of her wonderful paintings, which include previously unrecognised plants, are displayed in this gallery which was built at her expense in 1881, and are also shown in a book, A Vision of Eden, which tells her fascinating story. The collection includes many Australian flora, including the beautiful waratah

We were introduced to this gallery by friends when visiting the UK and the gardens in 2010 and it left a lasting impression. We highly recommend it to travellers visiting Kew.

Caroline Clarkson, Lower Templestowe, VIC

POOR IMPRESSION

We recently booked, online, our first flights with Jetstar, return flights to Adelaide for the weekend to see the Impressionist exhibition. Our return flights cost $349. We checked and double-checked our booking.

The next day I checked again and discovered that the 9.20am flight to Adelaide that I had booked was PM not AM. On the website the fights are in order of cost not in chronological order so the 9.20pm flight is listed in amongst five AM flights and they don't use 24-hour times. Changing this flight cost an extra $285.

Peter Hendrickson, East Melbourne, VIC

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