With Pru on ABC Victoria Statewide we had a wonderful discussion about park benches with lots of listeners calling in to tell us why they love park benches on our travels.
I love picking apart my travels and finding within my travel experiences the things I do at home and away. Exploring a General Store, a market, catching public transport and in this case, sitting on a park bench to admire the view, have a rest, eat a pie or strike up a conversation.
I loved sitting with my son Tom on a bench by the Thames as much as I love the bench at the end of Boundary Road, overlooking Shoalwater Bay where my school holidays were spent. Where is your favourite park bench?
On ABC Victoria Statewide, Prue asked me about the Federal Government’s plans to introduce a compensation scheme for travellers.
Unlike schemes in Europe, it’s not likely to be financial. It will start out offering food, accommodation and support to refund or reschedule flights.
It will be a bit like making it onto the air bridge but not quite the aircraft.
We often talk about the need to be good tourists when we travel. We should expect the same of our airlines as well. We expect good service in the air and we should get good service on the ground when there’s a problem
Talking with Fred on The Couch about sports tourism was fascinating to explore the global size and rise of sports tourism and consider how often people travel for sport, where to see a favourite sport or tour an iconic ground.
South Fremantle Bulldogs in the change rooms after a big win
Every time I write about my aviation experiences I am drawn very emotionally to the poem, High Flight, by a young Canadian RAF Spitfire pilot, John Magee. The lines he wrote fill your heart and soul when you’re in a jet, glider, skydive, hot air balloon and particularly in a Spitfire, roaring through the blue skies above Kent in England.
I’m fortunate to have variations of this story published by Have a Go News newspaper and by Airline Ratings and Australian Aviation. Being published by Just Urbane is always exciting but this story means so much to me and I really hope it drives readers to embark on an action packed adventure of their own that is exciting and emotionally charged as well.
On ABC Victoria Statewide on the Drive program with Prue Bentley, I discussed the decisions that need to be made if you’re travelling into a war zone or if you’re already there.
Enjoy listening to audio file below.
Always remember to find multiple sources of truth when making complex travel decisions. Get advice and be informed from government sites, news sites as well as building a travel picture from social media, your booked accommodation and tours.
On ABC Victoria Statewide the timing was perfect for Prue to want to know more about Kuala Lumpur. I’d returned from Kuala Lumpur only a few hours before our discussion.
We wandered through Kampung Baru and found a streetside stall selling Nasi Lemak. I explored the streets around my hotel, Hotel Stripes, and found a refreshing bowl of Cendol. At Chow Kit Hotel I enjoyed sambal prawns and satays with sophisticated cocktails in lamp lit dining rooms oozing speakezy vibes.
Prue and I talked about the melting pot culture of Malaysia and what this means beyond food. You can discover beautiful temples and mosques dating back to the late 1800’s. There is architecture from the 1940’s being reincarnated from laundries and residences into galleries, cafes and bars.
We discovered the green lungs of KL, those green spaces like Kabun Kabun Bangsar – a community garden with vege patches and squabbling turkeys and geese. There’s remnant jungle surrounded by urban jungle and parks with walking trails through shady trees that cast dappled light as you meander through opportunities to get away from the hustle and bustle of this amazing city.
It’s an exciting time to get to KL. Air Asia is flying new direct routes from Darwin and Adelaide and there’s always great deals on the established routes from the other state capitals. I also found that Air Asia has its own ride share service and partners with luxury and boutique hotel brands. I flew Air Asia, caught Air Asia ride share and for two nights enjoyed the remarkable Chow Kit Hotel. It’s a great way to travel, being able to bundle everything under one umbrella of service.
Hotel Stripes roof pool and bar with views to KL Tower (including remnant jungle). A beautiful hotel in a heritage neighbourhood.Chow Kit Hotel feels like a Gatsby era gambling den. It makes you smile as soon as walk into the hotel.Kebun Kebun Bangsar is a beautiful respite from the urban jungleCaptain Nasharudin and all of the Air Asia staff I met were so excited about the new direct routes to KL. KL is not a stopover city, it’s a destination.
It was a battle that was broadcast across the ABC airwaves of the Northern Territory with Andrew Murdoch and he graciously gave me the win. He wasn’t convinced that the new Air Asia flights from Darwin to Kuala Lumpur would fill many seats but after my descriptions of a city full of vibrant culture – from architecture to food – and monorails, shopping malls, secret bars, street food and so much more, I won the debate!
Enjoy just a few pics below of KL days and nights:
It’s not the Petronas Towers, Bukit Bintang or Petalang Street, it’s just a little cafe in 2D and it defines the quirkiness you’ll find in a city that enjoys having fun around every corner.
Nasi Lemak is a meal you can enjoy for breakfast, lunch and dinner. My favourite Nasi Lemaks in KL are in the old streets of Kampung Baru.
There’s nothing wrong with too much food in KL. Jalan Alor is just behind the bright lights of Bukit Bintang’s high end shopping malls. You’ll find fresh fruit, grilled satays and all sorts of curries and barbecue meats and vegetables that all go very well with a freshly made coconut juice or chilled Tiger beer.
With Prue on ABC Victoria Statewide we discussed the strategy required for that short interval break during a theatre show. Do you run for the bar or the bathroom? Do you try both?
We explored London’s West End, New York’s Broadway, The Loop in Chicago and even closer to home in Perth with opportunities to see Wicked at Crown Theatre and upcoming productions in Geelong.
Musicals can lift an old story to new heights, think of Matilda and Lord of the Rings. They can provoke an interest in history thanks to Les Miserables, Evita and, of course, Hamilton.
Musicals and tourism walk excitedly hand in hand, engaging you in temporary escape experiences and providing an opportunity when you’re in distant lands to immerse yourself in local culture or closer to home turning a night out into a night away.
Try and book early for your theatre experience but there’s nothing wrong with Prue’s approach to just rocking up to the ticket counter in your best back packer outfit and trying your luck!
Just a reminder if you’re booking online to please make sure it’s an official ticket purchasing site.
The curtain is about to come down on this description but it might come back for an encore if I can upload the audio file of the discussion a bit later on.
Do you sing the songs as you approach the theatre? “I’m young, scrappy and hungry and I’m not throwin’ away my shot!!!”A bit different to the excitement building at the Narrogin Town Hall on the opening night of Oliver in 1984. Only a bit different.Opened in 1911, the Victoria Palace Theatre, where Hamilton is playing, is a jaw dropping theatre with a spectacular marble foyer, a soaring ceiling dome and all sorts of velvet and brass trimmings.
Chris Parry Writes For Us 