Traveller Letters: Lying down across seats is dangerous? There's an easy solution

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Traveller Letters: Lying down across seats is dangerous? There's an easy solution

Lying down across empty plane seats doesn't have to be risky, writes one reader.

Lying down across empty plane seats doesn't have to be risky, writes one reader.Credit: Getty Images

EMPTY FEELING

Regarding the comments from your aeronautical engineer reader (Traveller Letters, February 26), I have flown in the horizontal position across three empty seats for years. If available I always use the middle seat belt taut around my waist which is no different to doing the same while sitting upright. I can't see how my weight can make any difference to the aircraft trim as it is the same in either position. And yes, I take my shoes off as well.

John Swanton, Coogee, NSW

LETTER OF THE WEEK

HEART STRINGS

Your discussion about oud recently (Traveller Letters, February 26) brought back my peak travel experience on the hippy trail in an Afghan bus travelling to Kandahar, in a landscape of nothingness - pure desert. A man appears and hails the bus. He's one man in an empty desert. After boarding and taking a seat at the back of the bus, he unwraps a beautiful oud instrument with peacock-bejewelled tuning screws on its stem. Fixing me with a knowing eye, he begins to play. Suddenly I'm plunged into a song of spacious beauty, with images of Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Rumi. He never stops looking at me as he effortlessly plays. Ten minutes pass in a moment. He then stops, wraps his oud and barks a command to the driver to stop the bus. Again, with nothing visible from horizon to horizon, he steps off the vehicle and walks into the desert, my eyes following him until he is out of my sight. That one experience encapsulates everything I love and miss about travel as it was in the 70s.

Ian Hamiton, Myocum NSW

LOST AND FOUND DEPARTMENT

A shout out to the Jetstar crew and passengers on my packed flight from Launceston to Sydney recently. In my haste I left my AirPods (which can cost upwards of $200) on the seat by the gate and only discovered the fact when we were seated. I frantically reported it to the flight attendant on board and activated the tracking function on my device. After playing the sound a few times, as soon as the doors closed another flight attendant came to our seat waving the AirPods about. To whoever handed them, thank you for your honesty and to the Jetstar crew for your kindness and efficiency.

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Catherine Robinson, Whale Beach, NSW

WILD TIMES

Catherine Marshall's recent cover story on Australian-style safaris (Traveller, February 26) reminded us of our own multiple wildlife encounters on a recent Tasmanian road trip. At Thousand Lakes Lodge in the island's remote Central Highlands we spotted quolls, Tasmanian devils and wallabies with platypus sightings in the adjacent ponds which entertained us each evening. Elsewhere, in Cradle Mountain National Park, there were echidnas and black currawongs whilst in Freycinet National Park it was the Australian fur seal. Finally, on Bruny Island, in addition to wallabies, pademelons, New Holland honeyeaters and blue-winged parrots, the early-evening sight of thousands of shearwaters returning to their dune burrows to feed their noisy offspring was a highlight.

John Gibson, Sydney NSW

TESTING TIMES

I have serious COVID fatigue. As a travel agent I recently had a traveller seek help after testing positive to COVID on arrival from the US. He could not travel on his connection to Melbourne and was told he would need to self-isolate in Sydney for seven days. The problem was no hotel would accept him and when I contacted NSW Health they would not assist with booking him into an approved COVID hotel as, apparently, these are reserved for unvaccinated travellers. Who is responsible for such idiocy?

Karen Torstensson, Bacchus Marsh, NSW

SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT

I have always been saddened by stories about travelling to Antarctica (Traveller Letters, February 19), putting unnecessary feet into that relatively pristine environment, but now there is proof of the dangers of tourism. The journal Nature Communications published an article last month examining the effects of tourism and research on snow melt. Black carbon from fossil fuel combustion settles on the snow and darkens it, making it melt sooner. Black carbon in Antarctica comes from ships, planes, power plants, generators, helicopters and trucks powered by fossil fuels like petrol and diesel. While research stations contribute the most black carbon, the huge increase in tourism to Antarctica over the past decade has meant an enormous increase in the amount of black carbon from that source. I understand the unquenchable desire within humans to explore but it's about time we started thinking about the consequences of our actions. Holidays are not a magical, ethics-free time.

Kathy Prokhovnik, Marrickville, NSW

DO TELL

Many thanks to your correspondent (Traveller Letters, February 19) for alerting me to the fact that my Cathay flight to London booked through Qantas some months ago using Qantas points had been cancelled, without Qantas or Cathay having the courtesy to tell me. My return flight booked on Japan Airlines (JAL) through Qantas using Qantas points was also cancelled the same week but at least Qantas did bother to inform me. After three long phone calls, Qantas organised a substitute flight for the return (JAL) trip. However, after a three-hour phone call, spread over three operators, one of whom hung up on us, Qantas would only offer a not very satisfactory substitute flight for just part of the outward (Cathay) journey. Apparently this was considered "not our fault" by Qantas, even though the inward flight, cancelled for the same reasons, apparently was. Go figure. I now have no option but to pay cash for the missing leg of the outward flight. So, if you have a trip to Europe booked on Qantas points, be aware, be very aware (guess which airline I am not booking the missing leg with.) And after two weeks, we still don't have the e-ticket and receipt for any of these flights.

Peter Burton, South Melbourne, VIC

WIN A SET OF THREE HARDIE GRANT TRAVEL BOOKS

The Letter of the Week writer wins Hardie Grant travel books worth more than $100, including Undiscovered Tasmania by Rochelle & Wally Dare; Emma Shaw's Ultimate Weekends Australia; and Vantastic by Kate Ulman.

See hardiegrant.com

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.

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