Traveller Letters: I just discovered Australia's best airline

LETTER OF THE WEEK

IN DEEP IN PARIS

Oblivious, often have I swum, in small-town French swimming-pools. In bathers, shorts even, and bare headed. No one ever corrected me. Not so in Paris. For once, my outer-arrondissement hotel sat directly alongside an inviting 50-metre pool, one of various in Paris. But the hotel guy warned me upfront - my blue shorts and bald head wouldn't pass muster. No worries, the pool security guard showed me how to buy a €4 swimming cap. And madame at the front desk lent me a tight fitting navy blue costume from her basket below, leaving me looking slightly less stupid than the only other permissible option - tight fitting budgie smugglers. But I was in. Even then, I failed to read the fine print. After I had bought spiffy Calvin Klein bathing trunks and returned to the piscine, the lifeguards pounced: "Pas de calecons! Pas de shorts!" (No underpants! No shorts!). Never mind, madame humoured me for the remainder of my five-day stay. And I promised to bring the prescribed gear upon my return for the 2024 Olympics. "On vous attend," (We are waiting for you), grinned the security guard.

Stephen Saunders, O'Connor ACT

FEEL THE FEAR

I'm with Lee Tulloch (Traveller, August 20). I don't like the bumps of flying either, especially over mountains and vast oceans. My fear of flying came to a head 20-plus years ago when we lived in Wellington and that's when I decided to take a Fear of Flying Course that covered: how planes are tested; what they can still fly with (or without); weather patterns; point of no return; and how to try to remain calm when it's turbulent. The 'reward' was a flight to Auckland so we could practice our new found skills. The day of the flight was perfect – not a cloud in the sky and unusually, not a breath of wind. Since then there have been many opportunities to practice due to missed landings and once when the captain advised the landing hydraulics weren't working. I still practice these techniques – seat upright, feet flat on the ground and wiggle your toes, palms open facing upwards in your lap, and breathe – in to the count of four through your nose and out counting to six from your mouth at least three times. The last part is tricky with a mask.

Helen Cooper, Canterbury, Vic

BAG MAN

Jan Naughton's experiences of being stuck in a French lift (Traveller Letters, September 10) are something we've never experienced on many of our trips to France. My wife, who does all of the booking, seems to have the knack of finding accommodation that requires me carrying bags up several flights of steep, narrow old stairs. Give me a lift any day.

Peter Miniutti, Ashbury, NSW

TRIBUTE RUN

I enjoyed your recent article on visiting cemeteries (Traveller, September 3). On our first visit to Rome in 1985 we stayed near the Central railway terminal. I found the only nearby green spot for running and escaping the chaos of the roads was the Quadriportico Verano Cemetery. Made the mistake on a mid afternoon run of entering the cemetery and raised more than a few eyebrows at a graveside service taking place. After that faux pas I would run on the walled outside of the cemetery. It was fascinating to see the stone masons, florists and others setting up in the morning. By the end of a week of running, I was being greeted with waves and "ciao" from the florists.

Alex Gosman Lyneham, ACT

TIP OF THE WEEK

CHECK ONE, TWO

My wife and I are planning to travel overseas in the first quarter of next year and we have travel insurance provided by Cover-More through our Commonwealth Bank credit card. I searched the product disclosure statement (PDS) for the word COVID and it wasn't mentioned, so I assumed we had COVID cover under the general medical cover. But after checking with CoverMore their advice was that a new PDS had been issued and it did provide COVID cover but under the existing PDS that I had, my existing policy did not provide COVID cover. They further advised that they didn't intend to let me know of this change but I was able to cancel the existing policy and take out a new policy under the new PDS. My advice is to check that the terms of your travel insurance have not changed between the time you take out your cover and the time that you travel.

Dennis Leman, Varsity Lakes, Qld

POLICY ISSUES

We booked a trip with Princess Cruises but then had to cancel and book another date. Within seven days after taking out the policy I telephoned Cover-More to change the date of travel on the policy. I was on hold for more than six hours but never connected and my letter to them on July 4 has had no response. On July 22 I finally spoke to a representative, who said I couldn't change dates on a policy but had to have another policy issued and that I could not get a refund. I explained how many times I tried unsuccessfully to contact Cover-More with no success – within the required 14 days cooling off period. I was offered a refund of 75 per cent and told when my letter was processed I would receive the 25 per cent balance. Thirty-eight days later I am still waiting to hear from them.

Claudia Sterling, Nunawading, Vic

PLAN B

My wife and I recently returned from a holiday in Broome, WA. I was just about to order an Uber X taxi when I noticed the fare was $88 from Perth airport to our house. The same journey from our house to the airport a week earlier was $32. We instead took a standard taxi that cost us $52. It pays to be on guard for Uber's surge pricing and considers alternative transport.

Brian Smyth, Wembley, WA

PASSION PROJECTS

For those who, like me, have a love of photography, I'd suggest brushing aside all of that advice of leaving your photographic device back home so that you can focus on enjoying the moment. Focusing on the framing of countless photographs as we stroll along global highways and byways not only adds to my pleasure in those many moments, but also gives us a way of reliving our travels back home. For each destination we can then later sit together going through the (literally) thousands of downloaded photos to select the 370 or so that will fit comfortably into each digitally ordered photo album. And, of course, as we go through them we talk about the memories they bring back, and savour the sights that we're reliving. There is, too, the bonus - if travelling with a child or grandchild - of giving them a copy of the album as a souvenir of a very special time in all of our lives.

Anne Ring, Coogee, NSW

SINGLE

While single travellers feel a single supplement is unfair, look at it from the hoteliers' perspective. The hotel room is generally the same size, so the share of rates, electricity, bed tax and the like is fixed whether there are one or two travellers. The cost of cleaning, laundering of sheets, towels and the rest is the same for one or two occupants. The hoteliers' costs are not halved if only one person is in the room, hence the single supplement for travel involving hotel stays.

Louise Kloot, Doncaster, Vic

HOW TO WRITE TO US

We give preference to letters of 100 words or fewer and they may be edited for space, legal or other reasons. Please use full sentences, don't use textspeak and don't include attachments. Email us at travellerletters@traveller.com.au and, importantly, include your name, address and phone number.

The Letter of the Week writer wins Hardie Grant travel books worth more than $100. For September, that includes We Live in a Caravan; Life Unhurried; and Paris or Die. See hardiegrant.com

The Tip of the Week writer wins a set of three great Lonely Planet travel books, including Epic Hikes of Australia and New Zealand, Epic Road Trips of Europe, and Epic Road trips of the Americas. See shop.lonelyplanet.com