The first was triggered by the news that Brits are loathe to use public transport when they go travelling. Susiezoo was soon on the Forum asking fellow myWanderlusters what they did, and unsurprisingly most said that using local public transport was often a highlight of their trips.
Not for the first time, it seems the great British public are missing a trick. As Liz Cleere noted, using public transport is usually the quickest and cheapest way into a country’s soul. I remember catching the local bus to Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, to watch the Aussies play cricket and sitting next to a lad from Melbourne. It was his first time away from home and the highlight of his day wasn’t Mark Waugh scoring a particularly elegant century, but the woman on the bus with a live chicken on her lap. Add your two-bob's worth to the debate here.
The other news-inspired debate was posted by hmoat01 and concerned the slow demise of Lonely Planet and with it the guide book in general.
Personally, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with guidebooks. I’ve spent more than a couple of hours broiling in tropical sunshine looking for establishments that, through the slip of a draughtsman’s thumb, were nowhere near where they were shown on the map. And that’s not to mention the time I spent a good day and a half trying to figure out which restaurant in Hue, run by a deaf, dumb and mute man, was the one mentioned in the Lonely Planet guide. It seems that once the first deaf, dumb and mute guy got the thumbs up from LP, every deaf, dumb and mute man and his dog was opening a restaurant in Hue.
Having said that, I shall miss the particular quirks of each brand of guidebook. What will you miss? Or won’t you? Have your say here.
AlanTaylor is just back from Edinburgh where he traced his family history. And from Bretforton in the Cotswolds where he got to spend some quality time with the latest branch on the family tree. Iwantagapyear, meanwhile has returned from Roatan in Honduras with a freshly-minted open water diving qualification under her arm.
While the heatwave may have broken in Europe, albeit temporarily, things are hotting up over in Experiences thanks to our heat-themed mini-writing competition. There are way too many terrific entries to highlight here. And I don’t want to pre-empt the judge’s decision. But can I just say, Wolfgirl, I think I may have had a drink or two at that same shebeen. The boiled goat’s head sounds familiar. Warm up over here.
Finally, to our Photography section, where chandaala has posted some stunning images of Masaai women from a totally new perspective. AngelaR has shared some stunning images of the flowers of the High Sierra in California and a set of photos from Yosemite National Park. And Karen Warren unveils a series of pics from a recent trip to Northern Ireland. You can check them all out here.
Well, that’s me done. I’m off to catch the 4.23 to Clapham Junction. It’s public transport, I know, but it doesn’t have quite the same allure as a chicken bus in Jamaica on a sultry West Indian morning.
