Matty Somewhere

Tamun Ayun Temple (Mengwi Temple) Bali, Indonesia

If like me, sometimes when travelling in Asia, you may have a moment where you feel ‘templed out’, in other words, after looking at temple after temple, often in repressive heat, they start looking all the same, you have seen enough and can’t bare to see anymore! When I was in Bali, this didn’t actually happen…

Palaces, Queens, Dikes and Bikes, (Part II) Het Loo Palace & Gardens, The Netherlands

If you have read part one of my royal journey in The Netherlands, you’ll know I just missed out on meeting Queen Beatrix at Noordiende Palace in Den Haag ;)…..and, so, my dear friend Brett and I headed to the north of the country to visit Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn, once home to sovereigns,…

Happy New Year from freakyflier.com

What an interesting year 2012 was. From the 1st January till 31 December, I flew on 12 flights (lower than some years) on 5 airlines including Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air, Jetstar and Vietnam Airlines which I reviewed on freakyflier.com. I flew Business Class and Economy Class and visited two overseas destinations, Indonesia and Vietnam. There were…

Merry Christmas 2012. How Does Santa Claus Find His Way Around Australia?

With the help of Airservices Australia, of course! A few day ago I was talking to my friend Johl whom I’ve known for around 12 years. He is an Air Traffic Controller based at Sydney Airport and he excitingly mentioned how this time of year always get so busy. I, surprised at his excitement of such busyness, reluctantly agreed and…

A Tale Of Two Lighthouses, Wollongong, NSW, Australia

I grew up in Wollongong and during the school holidays or on a long weekend, my dad would sometimes take my brother and I fishing, much to our delight, and I think my mum’s as she had a few hours respite from her noisy and sometimes over-energetic boys! The very first time, when we were…

Review: Vietnam Airlines Dong Hoi to Ha Noi – ATR72-500 Economy Class

Flight date: 20 July 2012 Aircraft: ATR72-500 Flight Number: VN1590 Flight Time: 1hrs 40mins Class: Economy Seat: 6A I have travelled on hundreds of flights on jet aircraft all over the world, Airbuses, Boeings, Embraers, Canadairs and even a few DC”s, but I can count the number of propeller aircraft I have flown on on one hand. In fact, my first…

A Royal Tour of Sydney

When I was a kid, my primary school would charter a bus and we’d go on an excursion to the Sydney Royal Easter Show. In 1983 we were on the bus and almost at the showgrounds when all traffic on South Dowling Street came to a halt. On the opposite side of the road were…

Review: CountryLink Xplorer – Sydney to Bundanoon Economy Class

What: CountryLink Xplorer Where: Sydney – Bundanoon, NSW Southern Highlands Service: Southern Xplorer CLK635 A train with wine 🙂 . I was going away for the weekend to visit some good friends who live in Bundanoon, a few hours south of Sydney in the New South Wales Southern Highlands. Leaving after work on a Friday…

Hanging out with the locals in Hai Phong, Vietnam

What: Hai Phong Opera House forecourt and adjacent park Where: Hai Phong, Norther Vietnam Who: The locals Sometimes, to really get the feel for a place, its nice to take a break from the information overload that sightseeing can cause and just hang out and do what the locals do. On recent trip to Vietnam,…

Prambanan, A Hindu Temple in Yogyakarta

What: Ancient Hindu Temple Prambanan Where: Located about 18 kilometres from Yogyakarta, Indonesia When: 8th Century “A group tour or independent?” was often one of the first question I would ask as a Travel Consultant. “No not a group tour, I don’t want to be with a bunch of people I don’t know” was usually…

Review: Jetstar Airways – Darwin to Denpasar (Bali) Economy Class

Flight date: 12 February 2012 Aircraft: Airbus A321-200 Flight Number: JQ85 Flight Time: 2hrs 35mins Class: Economy (Value Plus fare) Seat: 28A Travelling overseas, for those living in the southeastern part of Australia, usually means a long-haul flight unless, of course, you are crossing the ditch to visit our Kiwi cousins. But for our country folk that reside in the north…

The Temple of Heaven, Beijing, China

What: Temple of Heaven Where: Beijing, PR China When: 15th – 20th Century One Christmas, when I was about seven or eight years of age, Santa Claus left my brother and I a board game called Chinese Checkers under the Christmas Tree. I don’t think my brother and I ever learnt how to correctly play…

Palaces, Queens, Dikes and Bikes – The Netherlands (Part 1)

What: Noordeinde Palace & Het Loo Palace and gardens Where: The Hague & Appledoorn, The Netherlands Other than my passion for commercial aviation and travelling (oh and cheese) I have a sincere interest in the Kings and Queens of Europe, the royal households and their history. I do, in fact, have a portrait of my…

Review: Vietnam Airlines Sydney to Ho Chi Minh City, Business Class

Flight date: 15 July 2012 Aircraft: Airbus a330-200 Flight Number:VN772 Flight Time: 9hrs Class: Business Class Seat: 4c For me, a big part of the excitement of long-haul travel is the unknown. I’m not talking about where I’m going and what cultures, foods and history I will encounter, that surely is an exciting part, but my experience of getting there….

Tanah Lot and the Balinese Festival of Buda Wage, Bali, Indonesia

What: Tanah Lot, A picturesque Hindu Temple built on a coastal rock formation Where: Bali, Indonesia, about 45 minutes drive from the tourist centre of Kuta When: 15th century, restored in the 1980’s I’m not one that enjoys large crowds, I avoid the hoards of people around Sydney Harbour on New Years Eve and the thought of shopping…

Hoi An, Vietnam

What: Hoi An Ancient town a UNESCO world heritage site. Where: Central coast of Vietnam, about half an hour drive from Da Nang International Airport. When: 2000 years of history as a trading port starting with the Cham people, the Chinese and lastly the Vietnamese. I love to see history. I love it even more…

Review: Lion Air – Yogyakarta to Denpasar Bali & Yogyakarta Soto Ayam

Flight date: 15 February 2012 Aircraft: Boeing 737-900 Flight Number: JT568 Flight Time: 1hr 10mins Class: Economy class Seat: 17C It was hot and I’d had a huge day in Yogyakarta, visiting Borobudur and Prambanan Temples and the Sultans Palace, so I was fine being dropped by my tour guide at Yogyakarta International Airport airport…

Review: Vietnam Airlines Ho Chi Minh City to Dong Hoi

Flight date: 20 April 2012 Aircraft: Airbus a320-200 Flight number: VN1400 Flight time: 1hr 40mins Class: Business Seat: 2F It was a quick check-in at the Vietnam Airlines counter at the sometimes chaotic Ho Chi Minh City domestic terminal, not only because of no others in the Business Class line, but also as I was travelling in a…

Review: Garuda Indonesia Airlines Denpasar (Bali) – Yogyakarta

Flight date: 14 February 2012 Aircraft: Boeing 737-800 Flight Number: GA251 Flight Time: 1hr 10mins Class: Economy Seat: 12A A 4.30am wake up call for a 5am pickup to Denpasar airport for a 7am flight. With very little traffic on the roads at this dark hour, I was at the airport by 5.20am for a…

Continental Airlines – “I’ll have a Scotch and Coke”…” Sorry sir…a whaaaat?”

Is it my Australian accent or the generic term I use when asking for something that confuses other users of the English language? On a Continental Airlines flight, the first couple of times I’d ask for a scotch and coke, I would be met with dismay and a shocked look as though I was speaking another language….

Virgin Blue (DJ) E-Jet in AFL Livery

New uniforms, new aircraft for regional routes and new branding and livery expected soon, in the meantime, the newest aircraft to join the Virgin Blue fleet (this Embraer 190 and a Boeing 737) have been painted in this quite plain AFL (Australian Football League) livery, with an all white tail. Virgin Blue recently won the AFL contract….