Traveller Letters: The Digital Passenger Declaration app is an embarrassment to our country

Jennifer Farrer, Castle Hill, NSW

ALASKAN CAN DO

I love flying internally on Alaskan Airlines when in the US. Recently my flight got rescheduled so it was no longer possible to make my connection in Los Angeles. When I called the number in the US I got answered in less than a minute. The person was very helpful and offered a full refund, but apologised that it may take up to seven days. I received the money in my credit account four days later. What wonderful customer service.

Derek Hulme, Jannali, NSW

CORK CREW

My husband and I flew Qantas on May 20 on an evening economy flight from Perth to Melbourne. As we were descending to land, one of the cabin crew approached my husband and remarked that, as it was his birthday the next day, would we like a couple of bottles of champagne to celebrate the occasion. We were taken by surprise and accepted her very kind offer. When getting off the flight, she jokingly mentioned to only open the bottles at midnight. The Qantas crew certainly embody the Spirit of Australia.

Jacqueline Homer, Fremantle, WA

A RIVER RUNS BY IT

Sally Pope (Traveller Letters, May 28) mentions the Loy La Long Hotel in Bangkok. We too stayed there in January, 2019 and loved it, such a quirky little hotel in an old teak house run by delightful friendly people. We ate a tasty breakfast each morning on a tiny deck hanging out over the Chao Phraya River, seemingly so close that we could, if we had wished, jump right in. It was fascinating to watch the busy river traffic with express boats and long-tails rushing by. At night we watched the river sparkling with city lights as we ate delicious traditional home-cooked Thai food. Ours was the spacious green room with a huge golden bath surrounded by painted lotus leaves. I would recommend this B&B for anyone wanting an authentic and relaxing Thai experience.

Lynne Hutton, Castle Hill, NSW

BOXING (NOT SO) CLEVER

I thoroughly enjoyed Andrew Bain's story on cycle touring (Traveller, May 28) and I already have a copy of his Ultimate Cycling Trips book. I was also interested to note that he, too, finds the will to live sapping away when preparing a bike for air travel. When I started cycle touring in the 1980s, all we had to do was remove the pedals, turn the handlebars around and deflate the tyres. Cycles were then wheeled on and off with pushchairs and wheelchairs and seemed much easier for airport staff to handle than a heavy, unwieldy box. It certainly made it easier for cyclists travelling from one destination to another. We have to offload a huge box at one end then find another at the finish. I've tried using body cycle bags which are useful but offer no protection if mistakenly thrown around with other luggage and which, if Qantas at Tokyo airport are anything to go by, some airlines seem unwilling to handle. I'd be interested to know why airlines insist on boxing bikes. I can understand they may be worried about grease from chains getting on other items but there are easy solutions to counter that concern.

Beverley Hadgraft, North Manly, NSW

GARUDA AWAKENING

I'm afraid, Lindsay Somerville (Traveller Letters, May 28) that we have a very senior Flight Centre agent who has not been able to use our Garuda credits to Bali from just over two years ago, despite daily calls. Virgin was easy to deal with but Garuda remains intransigent and has lost our business.

Ashley Berry, Toolijooa, NSW

TIP OF THE WEEK

REIGN IN SPAIN

We have just realised our long held ambition to see the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum (guggenheim-bilbao.eus) in Bilbao, Spain. What a magnificent building, and well worth the trip and Bilbao itself is a surprisingly sophisticated and attractive city. We followed your contributor Katrina Lobley's tip from her Traveller article and stayed at the Miro Hotel (mirohotelbilbao.com) which had a superb view of the Guggenheim from our room. We also followed Ben Groundwater's tip in another Traveller story and took a day trip to have lunch at the Michelin-starred seafood Restaurante Elkano (restauranteelkano.com) in nearby Getaria. It involved a bit of a trip by train and bus, but a wonderful dining experience. My own best tip? If you're a bit hesitant about navigating the Basque pintxos scene, as we were, take a guided pintxos tour. We went with Irene from The Best of Basque (thebestofbasque.com) and she was just great (and so were the pintxos.)

Peter Burton, South Melbourne, Vic

EDITOR'S NOTE: We're delighted to have been of assistance and we'd love to hear from other readers trips you've done guided by advice from our Traveller writers and editors.

LOW RENT

Some advice for travellers renting vehicles: Double check that your chosen one is actually registered. Avis slipped up and my mate was pulled up by Highway Patrol and told to return the car to the nearest Avis office or cop a fine. Do check before you drive away from AVIS premises.

Sue Le Cornu, Iluka, WA

CAUTIONARY NOTE

In Paris, just before the pandemic, in two different grocery shops, we were given change from €10 after tendering a €20 note. Saying, "I gave you twenty" in French immediately produced a grovelling apology and a €10 note. We were clearly foreign tourists. It may have been an honest mistake each time, but tourists are advised to keep a keen eye on their currency when tendering cash and receiving change. In Madrid, on the same trip, there was often reluctance to accept a €50 note and sometimes a refusal. A €100 note was a complete no-no. Carrying lower-value notes makes life easier.

Brian Macdonald, Watsonia, VIC

LET'S GET ENGAGED

By traditional metrics, the new Holiday Inn Express Melbourne (Traveller, May 29) sounds like a fantastic place to stay Holiday-makers are, however, increasingly conscious of sustainability and most would hope a new hotel would have respect for the environment embedded in the design. Holiday Inn Express (hiexpress.com) deserves some kudos for incorporating refillable toiletries pumps and having a "Green Engage" program. More information about the hotel's energy supply, waste management, material sourcing policies and water-saving systems would, however, be appreciated by most environmentally conscious travellers.

Amy Hiller, Kew, VIC

WIN A SET OF TRAVEL BOOKS

The Letter of the Week writer wins Hardie Grant travel books worth more than $100. For June, that includes Ultimate Cycling Trips: Australia by Andrew Bain; On the Himalayan Trail by Romy Gill; and Rewilding Kids Australia by Melissa Mylchreest.

See hardiegrant.com

The Tip of the Week writer wins a set of three great Lonely Planet travel books, including Ultimate Australia Travel List, The Travel Book and Armchair Explorer.

See shop.lonelyplanet.com

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