Qantas was not helpful at all when I needed help

From Rude to Garuda

My husband travels to Melbourne every three weeks for immunotherapy and we booked a flight to Denpasar and stayed at a house in Bali. Normally we fly Garuda but the Garuda flight was full so we booked Jetstar. When I showed my passport to the Jetstar check-in agent (for some reason I couldn’t get a boarding pass online) I was taken to a “customer service” person who declared that my passport was damaged and therefore I couldn’t get on the flight. She said I wouldn’t be able to get into Indonesian immigration.

I explained that there had been a (minor) rain disaster in Turkey two years ago and that I had travelled to many countries since then and had been to Bali at least 20 times without any problems. But the Jetstar customer service ignored me and refused to let me board the flight. I booked a Garuda flight for the next day. The e-passport reader at Bali’s Ngurah Rai airport was happy with my passport as usual.
Eva Gardyn, Yarraville, Victoria
Editor’s note: Writer and journalist Nick Bryant recently wrote about a similar experience flying to Bali on Jetstar. Click here to read.

Where’s my passport, bro?

I just returned from a wonderful Italian vacation and I’m back with great memories, photos and jet lag. One thing worries me though: what happens to the passport copies that Italian hotel managers collect when guests check in? Millions of images have to be generated of important personal documents that should be kept safe. I get uneasy every time I see my cherished passport copied or photographed with someone’s phone and sent somewhere in cyberspace (just like when I was pickpocketed on the Rome subway on my last day abroad).
Lorraine Hickey, Green Point, NSW

A smart move

Thankfully, I hold a German passport which does not qualify me to enter Australia through the airport smart gates (Traveler’s Letter, June 8). I usually breeze through manual passport control. Unfortunately, I still had to wait for my luggage to arrive as the smart gate agents would slowly move towards the baggage carousel. In the end, we were at the mercy of the baggage handlers.
Kirsten Valla, Vaucluse, New South Wales

Farewell to the past

Vicki Copping This Week’s Letter (Traveler’s Letter, June 8) reinforced what I’ve been saying for decades: “Don’t go back to a place you visited decades ago and have fond memories of.” The only place I’d break that rule is in the Old City of Jerusalem. I was lucky enough to spend a few days in the Old City in the 1960s—it was incredible. I recently had the pleasure of looking at photos of the Old City of Jerusalem online—the narrow 2,000-year-old streets looked like they had just been cleaned, the boardwalks led visitors to the next viewpoint or souvenir shop in Qumran, and the Wailing Wall was carefully laid out to handle the crowds.

My memories are fragmented. There is no atmosphere of the past. If you have good memories of a place you visited long ago, don’t ruin them by going back. Those memories may not be correct, but if they are precious to you, continue to enjoy them and don’t let yourself get bogged down. As Vicki said, times are changing, and not always for the better.
John Millard, Doncaster East, Victoria

Tip of the Week: Navy Gaze

Opened just three years ago, the Musée de la Marine on the Place de la Concorde near the Tuileries Gardens in Paris is a must-see attraction in Paris. Named after its post-revolutionary role as the French Navy’s offices, the museum showcases all the grandeur of Versailles and the beauty of French craftsmanship, but without the crowds. The museum has set entry times, and provides visitors with headphones that connect to recordings in each room. An underrated aspect of this museum is that it’s open every day. Another overlooked museum, the Musée Carnavalet, located in the nearby Marais district, offers a history of Paris from its earliest beginnings to the present day. An added bonus is that entry is free.
Jennifer McKay, Ashbury, NSW

Missed flight

I enjoyed reading your article on the world’s most extreme airports.VisitorsJune 9), but I can’t believe Bhutan’s Paro International Airport didn’t make the top 10. It’s not for the faint of heart; landing felt like the plane’s wings were brushing the walls of the Himalayas, and takeoff gave us stunning views of Mount Everest above the clouds. Its runway is one of the shortest in the world, and pilots don’t need any technical aids – all navigation is done using visual landmarks. Pretty extreme.
George Foster, Thornbury, Victoria

Dizzying glitch

Regarding your article on extreme airports around the world, unfortunately, the passenger train service to Gisborne, New Zealand, stopped a few years ago. Last year’s cyclones and flooding on the east coast of the North Island temporarily shut down rail and road traffic, isolating this already remote city. The road has been restored, but for any train enthusiast who wants to travel from Gisborne (where I was born and raised) to Palmerston North, the long wait at the abandoned train station is worth it.
Karen Hansen, Paddington, NSW
Editor’s Note: Thank you for correcting our mistake. Online version of the article It has been corrected.

The key to quality service

Your recent story about the tourism industry gone wrong (VisitorsJune 9) All concierges are treated equally. Your author may not have had the opportunity to stay at a Les Clefs d’Or hotel or experience the concierge services provided by a Les Clefs d’Or member. Les Clefs d’Or has more than 4,000 members worldwide, who are known for proudly wearing a pair of crossed golden keys at their respective hotel lobby desks and posts. Our certified, tried and trusted colleagues help us maintain our high standards of service. The inappropriate behavior and conduct mentioned in your article is strictly prohibited.
Rhett Constantine, President, Les Clefs d’Or Australia, Melbourne, Victoria

Stockholm Run

When we traveled to Scandinavia this year, we decided to follow the advice of author Brian Johnston (Traveler’s Brief, February 28) and then departed from Stockholm to Sigtuna, which was an easy short trip with regular trains. Once there we had a wonderful walk around this 10th century town, taking in the ruins and history as well as the beautiful lake. There are also nice shops and lots of cafes for a coffee or lunch. The only problem was that as it was a Monday the Viking Museum was closed but we still thoroughly enjoyed the trip.
Kim Popplewell, Church Point, NSW

going up

There are an astonishing number of chain elevators (Traveler’s Letter, June 8) are used all over the world, with two in Frankfurt, Germany, one of which is inside the Flemings Hotel and leads to a bar on the roof. Unfortunately it’s a rather cramped bar and can only hold a few people, but it’s a fun ride. The other was used in the TV series Babylon Berlin It’s a clever way to create character interaction as part of the police headquarters.
Tony Sullivan, Adamstown Heights, New South Wales

This week’s letter writer wins three Hardie Grant travel books. hardiegrant.com

televisionThis week’s tip writer won a set of three Lonely Planet travel books. shop.lonelyplanet.com