A couple of days ago I published a Bloomberg View column on ways to reduce deaths – and crowds – on Mount Everest. The two are closely related: too many people on the summit means that climbers are spending too much time in a dangerous, low oxygen environment. Why the crowds? Nepal’s government earns needed…
All posts in Travel
(Why) Do Chinese Airlines Prohibit Smartphone Airplane mode?
The other day I was sitting at the gate at Pudong Airport in Shanghai, downloading a couple of newspapers to my iPhone that I hoped to read during the flight. Of course, I’m keenly aware that use of phones of any kind on flights is prohibited so I did the responsible thing and right before…
Is Delta Airlines Scamming its Customers With Change-Ticket Fees?
The other day I purchased a ticket from Delta Airlines, the world’s largest airline, for international travel in the month of September. Then, as sometimes happens, something came up and I needed to change the dates of my outgoing flight by a few days. I had no illusions: change ticket fees are expensive. Generally, they…
China Southern Got the South China Sea Memo
The other day, in the midst of a long flight on China Southern Airlines, I turned – as I like to do – to the in-flight magazine. Nihao is actually better than most and, after losing myself in a brief essay on the nature of time (I’m not kidding), I flipped to the back, and…
A banking advertisement you won’t see at US airports.
Spotted in Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris: For my non-French speaking readers, the caption reads: Pakistan is the world’s second largest textile exporter. We see a world of opportunities. And you? Needless to say, this advertisement is pretty much unthinkable in a US airport, and that underlines for me the unfortunately black-and-white understanding of Pakistan…
Bus Station No More? A Quick Traveler’s Note on Delhi Airport’s New Terminal 3
I spent much of the last two weeks in India, and the one that I’m going to share with my readers is a sign that I found in the brand spanking new, much vaunted, Terminal 3, at Indira Gandhi International Airport (the rest of that trip shall remain shrouded in secrecy, occasionally broken on twitpic).…
As the flight ascended, the knife descended.
The other morning, as my flight ascended into the sky over a major Asian airport, I felt something hard fall to the floor beside my feet. Curious, I leaned forward and saw, on the floor, something that I initially mistook as a piece of the seat in front of mine. I picked it up, turned…
Beyond Security Theater: Unsecured Theater, and the Shanghai Metro X-Ray Machines
Not long after the 9-11 attacks, Bruce Schneir, a US security expert, coined the term “Security Theater.” The original definition was made in his book, Beyond Fear: Thinking Sensibly about Security in an Uncertain World, but for the purposes of this post, let’s use the definition presented in this easily accessed essay from the New…
Scrap on the Beach
The staff of Shanghai Scrap has been traveling for the last week or so – three continents, 15,000 miles, in a week or so, actually – and thus posting has been light to non-existent. But, thankfully, we have found a port to call our own: Guarujá, Brazil. We’ll be spending a week on assignment here,…
Seoul
For the next day or so I’m lost in a sea of acronyms, terrific street food, and unexpected good fortune. Posting resumes on the weekend, I believe.