Author: kvnrowe

1 August 2019

We have left the coast and have headed west, largely along the Tropic of Capricorn.  This puts us in the tropics for winter, what can I say, the only way to enjoy winter.

Everything is huge up here, the length and frequency of the coal trains, the distances between towns, the size of the farming properties, the trucks, the hats, horizon and sky and even the Van Gogh paintings.  All the signs seem to be faded from the intense heat and sunlight and the area is so empty they list the names of the properties on road signs so you think the place is more populated than it really is.

After leaving the coast we visited the town of Emerald.  Now Emerald has no emeralds but if you drive out of town a little way you come to the town of Sapphire which does have sapphires.  Forget Rubyvale if you are thinking of rubys.

In Sapphire for $20 you can buy two coffees, a scone, jam and cream and a bucket of sand and gravel that might include sapphires.  They then teach you how to sift and sort your bucket of gravel. We scored a 3 ct sapphire but it was all fractured and worthless.  A lady who filled her bucket from the same pile as us uncovered a 3 ct gem quality stone worth over $1000.  Not bad for a $20 investment.  We had fun finding our dodgy sapphire and several zircons.

Before heading further west I discovered we had a flat tyre.  This was our second automotive challenge and there was more to come.

Travelling on a Sunday revealed just how quiet the Queensland country town can be.  They were all closed.  No opportunity for a coffee on this day of travel.  We were lucky to find a petrol station that was open and it offered a limited range of food for lunch.  Now these towns are about one petrol station big and if you are lucky there might be a pub.

At Longreach our time was divided between the Qantas Founders Museum and the Stockmans Hall of Fame, two cultural icons.   Every town around here has some claim for the foundation of Qantas either they were where the first board meeting occurred or they were the destination of the first flight or the original Qantas hanger was based at their airport.  Regardless, Qantas has very strong links with this remote part of Australia.  It’s quite a contrast from the high technology of a 747 jumbo jet to the vast open spaces of the cattle and sheep properties around here.

From the modern technology of flight we travelled to dinosaur country.  The area around Winton claims two major dinosaur museums. One full of very old bones of sauropods and the other fossilised footprints of a stampede that occurred one Tuesday afternoon in February 95 million years ago.  There are over 3,000 footprints of small dinosaurs in the stampede along with several prints from the predator chasing them.

I am always wary of claims that this is the ‘only one of its kind in the world’ however I am more confident this large scale display of so many footprints is pretty unique.  The other unique part of this visit is that to get to the stampede museum you have to drive over 100kms out of town primarily over dirt roads.  No masses of tourists that you might see at the terracotta soldiers or tour buses just a large tin shed in the middle of nowhere.

And the car now sports a very becoming crack across the windscreen compliments of a passing road train.

24 July 2019

A point of clarification for readers from the northern hemisphere – we in Australia head north for the sunshine in contrast to your need to fly south for winter.

We have successfully made it to Queensland and spent a week in Brisbane after a brief delay in Narrabri to complete a Saturday morning 5 km Parkrun.

I am trying to complete Parkruns in towns starting with the letters of the alphabet.  I have visited 11 different towns including two in the UK but I needed the letter N and hence the delay in Narrabri.  There will be many more Parkruns over the period of this trip.

After a week staying with family and catching up on 1st birthday parties and all the family gossip it was time to head north.  I also got to do another Parkrun this time in Zillmere.  I think there is only one town that starts with Z in Australia that has a Parkrun.  It’s a must do.

This time my sister and brother-in law joined us in our escape from the big city of Brisbane.

The further north we travelled the more winter was becoming a fading memory.  Regular checks of the weather sites reinforced for us that this trip north was more than justified considering the bleak temperatures our friends were enjoying at home.  I also had the irrestible urge to remind them of what they were missing via regular messages and emails.

We have been staying in 1770 for the past few days.  The town is so named after Jimmy Cook (Captain Cook to those less familiar with the navigator)  dropped in here 250 years ago.  Unlike the Hawiians the locals were happy for the short visit and for the English ship to continue on its journey without resorting to violence.  Of course we now have all sorts of laws and surveillance vessels to stop such foreign incursions of raggard foreigners turning upon our beaches.   These days Jimmy would probably claim to be an economic refugee escaping Brexit.

Our travels have taken us through that part of Australia where our tomatoes, lettuces and all sorts of ‘summer’ produce are produced all year round.  We now expect fresh mangoes, stawberries, tomatoes, lettuce, etc to be available regardless of the season.  This has it upside like dropping into a strawberry farm and buying a large tray of ‘second’ stawberries ie those the supermarkets reject.  We gorged for the next two days on oversized strawberries all for $5.00.

On our way to 1770 we stopped one night at a ‘free’ camp which was more like a parking lot, one block back from the main street of Childers.  Childers is a classic Queensland country town with three pubs in the main street, each one over a 100 years old.  It’s nice to see some of this Australian architecture still remaining.

We are now heading west to discover dinosaurs and Australian history so you can look forward to more ramblings in the coming weeks.

July 24, 2019

Two months of travel through the north to escape the southern winter.  Well that was the plan.  We were packed and on the road. Brisbane was our first destination which we would arrive at after two days of driving.  I was already thinking of my Planetrowe.com posts.

Alas, after a mere 300 kms of travel we were back home

The car went bang and I’m talking a very loud bang.  We pulled over.  Some hours later we were towed into the nearest town where we stayed the night.  The next day we drove a hire car home.  The car and caravan were towed home and the car taken to our mechanic.

After a delay of several days it turned out the problem wasn’t as severe as expected and some 6 days after the initial bang we were back on the road.

It’s hard to believe but again about 300 kms from home we had the second bang.  This time we knew what the problem was and the roadside assistance mechanic fixed the problem after a 1.5 hour wait on the side of the road.  We again drove to a local dealership who assured us the problem was fixed and so we headed off.

Two hours later ‘BANG’.  This time I knew what the problem was and how to fix it.  In ten minutes we were back on the rod.  So first time a week to fix, second time 1.5 hours, third time 10 minutes.  This is the learning curve in action.

We drove on to the next dealership in Dubbo NSW and booked the car in for the next day.  They squeezed us in and by 10.00 am we were back on the road with assurances they had really fixed the problem.

We drove away with some trepidation but I can report 2 weeks later the car is behaving.

For those with an interest in these things the hose from the intercooler to the turbo became disconnected hence the bang.  No real damage just a hose coming loose.  The things you learn.

One message I should share, if you have the option of premium level care for your roadside assistance take it.  In 40 years we have  never used this level of service until now and it was worth every cent.

One other observation.  The dealership reset our engine light via a WiFi connection to the motor.  Who knew the motor had a WiFi connection and what other info does the manufacture collect via WiFi?  I’m not paranoid, oh no.

March 1, 2019

As always you never have enough time to see everything and at the end of your travels you are left with the sentiment that I must return to see what I missed.  And so it is with our trip to Tassie. We have only skimmed the surface of this amazing place.  Some lasting memories:

Wilderness

Tasmania has its fair share of amazing wilderness with some 40% of its total area covered by National Parks. The Cradle Mountain / Lake St Claire wilderness area is only one of two parks in the world that meet seven out of the 10 key criteria for listing as a World Heritage site. They have lots of trees that are over 2,500 years old and one in particular that is 100 metres (330 ft) tall . And what is so unique is that they are still there and growing and haven’t all been cut down.

International Naming

Tasmania boasts a town called National Park and a seaside town called Penguin. Were all parks around the world named after this tiny town of one shop and a pub, I would like to think so. Similarly I think all short little fat sea birds have been named after the village of Penguin in northern Tassie. As you would expect there is a big penguin.

Tannin in the Rivers

Everywhere in Tasmania the rivers run a chocolate brown colour. This is from the tannin that leaches from the native vegetation. I had to explain this to a couple of international tourists who commented that where they came from brown water was usually toxic and full of industrial pollutants. They were rather relieved with my explanation.

Convicts

I try to avoid measuring behaviours of the past with our values of today however at any reckoning the treatment of the convicts was brutal.

At Port Arthur convict penitentiary there was a cell where the walls are so thick there was no sound and no light could enter. The cell was designed for total sensory deprivation. Men would go mad in this cell.

Sarah Island is a tiny speck of about 5 acres in the Macquarie harbour on the west coast of Tasmania. You couldn’t find a more remote and inhospitable piece of land. It is windswept, wet and freezing cold. Down here you are getting closer to Antartica than the tropics of Australia. The men were despatched to Sara Island as a punishment. Worse yet the female prisoners were put on a nearby island which was even smaller and more bleak. The women did have a cave to sleep in but of course only at low tide because at high tide the cave flooded.

I guess in those days the concept of human rights hadn’t quite reached the conceptual stage.

The convicts have certainly contributed to the tourism appeal of Tasmania with the colonial architecture in Hobart and the rural towns and villages. You have to wonder what Tasmania would be without the convict history. Just think what the USA missed out on by rejecting the English attempt to send more convicts their way.

The Best Things About Tasmania

The food, wine and single malt whisky. This includes their famous scallop pies.

Temperate rainforest wilderness.

Amazing trees both ancient and tall. They have the tallest flowering hardwoods in the world.

Wooden boats.

Colonial towns and villages.

Quiet roads and no real traffic.

A pace of life that is a step back.

Tasmanian devils. They are so well named and you would never call a young devil Bambi, Fluffy or Snuggles.

Final Words:  What Not to Say in Tasmania.

It’s the ‘River Derwent’ not the Derwent River! Launceston is pronounced Lonceston, do not pronounce it Lawnceston.

16 February 2019

This the first of my ramblings for 2019 and the first from Australia in nearly two and a half years. While this adventure might still technically be overseas I am not sure an overnight trip on a ferry to Tasmania qualifies for a true ‘overseas’ experience.

We are now in the land of Tasmanian Devils, wooden boats, wilderness and amazing food of all descriptions.

Crossing Bass Strait

Being an island there are but three options to get here; you are born in Tasmania, you fly or you travel by boat. We chose to travel on the ferry with our car and caravan.

As with all ship travel at some stage there is the obligatory safety briefing. As expected we were given an explanation on how many blasts of the siren indicated we should proceed to the muster stations and how many indicated abandon ship. Of course this would never happen. We went to sleep in our cozy but comfortable cabin on very calm seas.

Some two hours later I am awoken and all I can hear are blasts from the ship’s horn. OK, you have my attention; does this mean off to my muster station in my PJs or what? Bass Strait will be bloody cold in my PJs. Just a second how many blasts on the siren meant muster stations; I think it was seven. My counting in my half awake state is something like six, seven, eight, nine……….fifteen, sixteen….. Just a second wasn’t it seven blasts and now we are at twenty two. This is not muster stations it’s probably another ship in our way. No need to panic, go back to sleep, no proceeding to the ship’s lounge to see what everyone else wears to bed; not tonight.

We arrived next morning in the port of Devonport after a very relaxing crossing with no ill effects or even a hint of motion sickness.

Wooden Boat Festival

The prime motivator for this trip was the Hobart Wooden Boat Festival that only happens every two years. Now I am not about to get into boating and certainly not a wooden boat and all the work that is involved. No my interest is purely in the beauty of wooden boast, their history and the craftsmanship that goes into building these craft.

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Scallop Pies

We were determined to sample the legendary Tasmanian scallop pies. Our first attempt ended in disappointment when told the purveyor had sold out. All was not lost as we were assured nine cases of pies had been delivered to another outlet and he was sure to have plenty of the sought after pies.

We set off across the harbour to find the man who was ‘sure’ to have pies. Yes, you guessed it he had also sold out. We accepted this as it was just after lunchtime. So tomorrow we would be back and the successful purchase of the pies would be assured.

Next day we headed straight to the pie man only to be told he had already sold out and it wasn’t even lunchtime! Damn it do these pies exist? Maybe we are in the scallop pie version of the Monty Python cheese shop scene?

The wooden boat festival ended without us scoring a scallop pie.

Fortunately our travels took us to the remote south of Tasmania where we were confident scallop pies would be found. Success at last, a restaurant come coffee shop in the village of Geeveston proudly advertised scallop pies. Failed again, no pies, the shop was closed; we were too late.

Back the next day we finally scored our scallop pies. Bliss and joy, and they were well worth the wait.

Scallop pies are something all traveller’s to this island should sample. I was however starting to think scallop pies had gone the way of the Tasmania Tiger, extinct.

Toilet Story

As I have previously said all good travellers’ tales require a toilet story. True to form this trip has its obligatory loo story.

We visited a road side loo that obviously used the nearby creek water for flushing. Unfortunately the creek water was deeply coloured by the tannins from the vegetation. Yes, the water was a chocolate brown. I’ll say no more except to say it was rather disconcerting.

Seahorse Centre

We have visited one of the very few sea horse breeding centres in the world. I am not sure what the world does with the thousands of sea horses bred at this centre but it was fun to see such numbers of the little creatures and to have the them twist their tails around your finger.

Did you know the sea horse is one of the few animals where it is the male that gives birth to the young. I am not sure what evolutionary quirk caused the males of this species to think birthing the young would be a good idea and that they should do it in preference of the females. I am glad they did not become role models for all other males.

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Mawson’s Hut

In Hobart there is a wonderful replica of Doug Mawson’s hut. This is a full scale replica of the hut seventeen men lived on Antartica for three years around 1911. Consider the living conditions: the men were lucky to bathe every 18 days, they ate seal and pengiun and no fresh fruit or veggies, the hut never got above 4c (39f) and the average outside speed was 70 kph (44 mph). The smell of all those wet woollen garments and the body odours must have been something to behold and for three years!

Convict Labour and Colonial Villages

After the American war of independance some 70,000 government sponsored boat people arrived in Australia. These were the ‘convict’ years. There early immigrants were out to work cutting timber, mining coal, clearing the land, boat building and building townships. The efforts of these ne’er-do-wells are everywhere to be seen across Tasmania especially in the construction of bridges and colonial villages and towns. Many of these buildings are now coffee shops and bakeries. When you come to Tasmania come prepared to eat and drink well.

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More to come……

7 October 2018

Twenty seven days in China is about to come to an end and so I thought I would try to collect my final thoughts:

Personal Space in China

There is none, leave your personal space at home, you won’t need it in China.

The Rules of Queueing

There are none.  If you apply the behaviours you might use at home you will never get to the front of the queue.  Its just the way it is here.

Pace of Life

It’s hectic; the only Chinese you will see sitting quietly will be those in a massage chair, the rest are doing something or going somewhere.

The Great Firewall

Dont expect to use Google or Facebook.  The Chinese firewall is very effective.

Scenery

Stunning from the mountains to the vegetable plots and rice paddies, rivers to big cities.

Chinese Sense of Humour

It is there, you just have to break through that external facade.  A ‘hello’ or ‘thankyou’ in mandarin will always encourage a smile and a nod of encouragement.

Photographs

Be prepared to be asked to be in their photographs particularly if you have blond hair or at least not black hair.  Westerners are still a curiosity in some places.

Western Tourists

They haven’t discovered China yet but with the construction of 155,000 western toilets across the country it is expected they will come.

Food

Spicey out west, more like home style Chinese food in Shanghai.  Always very good.

Development

Lots of it and it’s happening at a pace.  No protests against mobile phone towers in China.  Everyone has a smart phone in their hand and no one uses cash or credit cards.  All payments are made by Internet transfers.

Police

Everwhere and not just to respond to crime.  These guys are just as interested in maintaining social order and good behaviour.

Cameras

Everywhere and I am pretty sure they all work and someone or something is watching and recording people doing the wrong thing.

Plumbing and Toilets

They are getting there.  Lots of western toilets being built (155,000 they say) it’s just the maintenance bit that hasn’t quite caught on.

Safety and the Nanny State

Not an issue in China.  Riding an electric motor scooter on the footpath without a helmet while on your mobile phone – no problem.

Crossing narrow bridges over a river or steep drop off and no railing – no problem.

The Bad Bits

Stinky tofu – it’s disgusting.

Spitting – I will say no more.

Toilets that didn’t flush.

The cacophony of load music emanating from shops, market stalls, restaurants and karaoke bars; the Chinese love loud.

The Chinese Firewall

Crowds on the National Day Golden Week.

This hasn’t been the most developed travel log series and I apologise to my readers for that result.  The internet speeds for me have been slow and somewhat frustrating not to mention the pace of this tour and the limited time available to compose and write one’s thoughts down.

7 October 2018 

Fast Trains

We travelled from Chengdu to Choncqing a distance of 321 km in less than 1hour 45 minutes in one of China’s modern high speed trains.  Choncqing is a city of about 34 million and we met everyone of them on the streets of old the city.  It was the national holiday and everyone was out – I do mean every one.

Choncqing

High speed train

This city is a manufacturing hub with an ability to deliver new computers into Europe in 11 days via trains crossing Russia and in 25 days to Pacific countries via the Yangtze River and the Port of Shanghai.  I kept wondering which of all those people I met on the streets of the old town assembled my iPhone.

Railways in Choncqing

Choncqing

Escaping Choncqing

Three days on the Yangtze river was the best way to escape the crowds of Choncqing; no traffic, no queues, no hordes of people.  Peace and quiet on the Yangtze, of course I am not referring to meal time in the ship’s restaurant.

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Great facilities, comfortable cabins and the opportunity to learn mahjong and the opportunity to take more pictures of the Chinese landscape.

A Very Big Dam

The trip down the Yangtze is only possible because of the Three Gorges Dam which has created a 600 km long lake, about 100 metres deep.

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Yangtze River Gorge

The Three Gorges Dam generates about 10% of China’s electricity.  It includes locks for the ships that transport goods to Shanghai and a ship lift for smaller boats.  And more locks are on the drawing board.  Prior to the construction of the dam teams of men in harness, manually hauled ships up steam against the flow of the fast flowing water in the gorges.

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Locks on Three Gorges Dam

Three Gorges Dam

Shanghai and Maglev Trains

Another city that eclipses the population of Australia.  If Beijing is about government then Shanghai is about the money.

Shanghai

Shanghai Police

Shanghai Market

Still it’s the National Holiday and the crowds are so great the army and police are directing pedestrian traffic on the streets and narrow alleyways.  You can only walk in the direction they set and no turning around, the sea of humanity just won’t allow for the free radical that wants to go the other way.

Shanghai Maglev Train

Maglev Speed

If the fast trains are very fast then the Maglev is ridiculously fast.   We reached a speed of 431 kph in 3 minutes from a standing start.  The train covered 30 km in 7 minutes.  I have never travelled so fast in a land based vehicle.  Wow!

Next Log will be the Epliogue to this trip and my final thoughts.

October 2, 2018

Our travels through provincial China continue.  We have traveled further west towards Tibet and the Himalayas although but not quite that far.  The scenery continues to amaze along with evidence of the pace of development in this country.

There are few western travellers this far west but the Chinese tourist is ever present.     Hopefully development won’t change what is uniquely Chinese before the western traveller discovers and enjoys the offerings of this part of the world.

Village and People of Shaxi

An old village built on the tea horse road that was once used to transport tea from the southern provinces of China to Tibet.

Village of Shaxi, tea horse road, Yunnan Province

Shaxi town square, Yunnan province

Shaxi village

Tiger Leaping Gorge

The awesome Yangtze River Flowing through a narrow gorge on the road to Shangri la.

Road to Leaping Tiger Gorge

Leaping Tiger Gorge, Yangtze River, Shangri La Province

Leaping Tiger Gorge

The new Road to Shangri La

This new road with its tunnels and elevated roadways caught my eye as illustrative of the development that is happening all over China.  I would love to come back and enjoy the road to Shangri la when the road is finished.

New road to Shangri La

New road to Shangri La, Yunnan province

The Pandas of Chengdu

A great way to loose many hours watching pandas as they sit back on their haunches, stripping the bamboo back to its core and gorging before they reach for that next piece of bamboo.

Pandas, Chengdu

Panda, Chengdu

Pandas, Chengdu

Panda devouring bamboo, Chengdu

The People’s Park of Chengdu

The ethnic minorities enjoy maintaining their cultures through singing and dancing in the public parks.  With 90% of the population living in apartments public parks and the only spaces where you can socialise with your friends.

Lady singer, Chengdu People’s Park

Ladies singing in Chengdu People’s Park

26 September 2018

I thought it was time for a quick summary of my observations so far of travel in China along with some of my recent experiences.

Hotel Beds

If you travel to China be prepared for hard beds.  The beds here  are consistently hard but I have to say I sleep very well and wake very refreshed.  I might need to go to a firm bed when I get home.  The Chinese tourists complain when they travel to the West that the beds are too soft.  So before you come to China practice by sleeping on your floor to get yourself prepared.

Electricals

In the past it’s been plumbing and shower systems that were a challenge to understand.  In China it’s the hotel light switches that require some time to understand. In one hotel the sensor lights came on every time I rolled over.  This required me to manually turn off the lights which off course caused me to move and hence the sensor lights were back on.  I seemed to be caught in a never ending loop.

Tourism In China

Imagine a David Attenborough documentary about the migrating wildebeest moving across the Serrengeti Plain.  This is tourism in China.  Amongst the masses of wildebeest are small herds of zebra and antelope.  We are those small herds amongst the masses of wildebeest.  On the side of the great herd are the predators.  These are the hawkers selling small trinkets.  They spot vulnerable prey like someone on their own and dart into the herd to surround their prey with offers to sell their tickets.  Their prey either succumbs and agrees to buy or with determination and commitment shakes off the hawkers.  And so the herds relentlessly move on.

Lijiang Street, Old Town

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Development

Its crazy the pace of delopment in this country.  Cities that 30 years ago had no cars and a population of 100,000 are now 4 million strong with cars everywhere along with excellent highways and railways, and forests of apartment buildings.

Along with the new China seems to be making great effort to preserve the past and some of the old towns including ancient trading cities dating back to the Tang Dynasty.  This is in spite of the destruction caused by the Cutural Revolution between 1966 and 1976.

Ethnic Minorities and History

As we travel west we see more of the ethnic minorities and less of the Han people.  These ethnic groups have histories all of their own and often can be traced back to Kublia Khan and the Mongol invasions of China.

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Traditional dancing in the park, Kunming

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Traditional costumes, Stone Forest Kunming

These ethnic groups have their own customs and unique local foods.  Their costumes  provide information on the marital status of the wearer avoiding any need for social media or internet dating apps.  In many instances the head dress worn by the women indicate whether they are single, have a boyfriend or are married.  Contact with parts of these head dresses by a male would indicate your intentions and would be interpreted as a commitment to the young lady.

Very little English is spoken out here and so a greeting in the local dialect or in mandarin will go a long way.  It is amazing what a translator app on a smart phone can achieve. The people are so friendly, always with a smile and often a request to be photographed with them.

21 September 2018

Our departure from Guilin was via a four hour boat ride down the Lipang River.  The river excursion was through a classic Chinese karst landscape of limestone pinnacles.  The view from the river is replicated on the ¥20 note.

Limestone pinnacles along Lijiang River

Lijiang River

Lijiang River

As in all popular Chinese tourist destinations there are many, many people also enjoying this river trip.  There is a long procession of river boats all full of tourists with their smart phones recording this amazing scenery in countless photos.

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Our destination was the town of YangShuo which until about 2004 was a small agricultural town, it’s only claim being the end of the boat ride from Guilin.

YangShuo

Moon Hill

Overlooking YangShuo

In 2004 a night time spectacular named the Impression Sanjie Liu was created and now what was once a sleepy town is home to some 300,000.  The show employs 600 locals and is set on the Lijang river with the limestone pinnacles as a back drop.  An amazing song and light show entertains 2000 people at each of two shows a night.

Pace of life

On another travel adventure a Cambodain woman  offered a comparison on the pace of life between Cambodia and Vietnam. She explained Cambodians were walking while Vietnamese were running.  If this analogy is correct then the Chinese are sprinting.

This was well demonstrated when we were warned the Chinese would leave the Impression Sanjie Liu show before it even finished.  Sure enough at that point when it looked like the one hour show was soon to finish the locals were up and heading for the exits.  They clearly had somewhere else to be and were not interested in staying to the very end of the performance.

Tai Chi for Travellers

After a Tai Chi lesson I have realised there is a more modern version waiting to be taught.  Tai Chi is based on the martial arts, this new version is based on international travel.  The following explains some of the Tai Chi for Travellers movements.

Security Scan

This movement will prepare you for the body scan process in all airports.

Spread your legs wide apart and extend your arms up and out from the body at 45 degrees and hold the position.  Repeat 10 times.

Stopping the Traffic

For those moments when you are trying to cross a busy street and there seems to be no rules.

Legs spread, head looking over right shoulder and right arm extended with fingers pointed up.  Left arm pulled back like an archer.  Stare straight ahead over your shoulder as you imagine the traffic stopping.

Checking Overhead Baggage Compartment

This will strengthen the body in preparation for checking the overhead baggage compartment to make sure there is nothing left behind.

Lift up on the tips of your toes and hold the position. Continue until you feel the stretch in the back of your legs.

Searching under the bed

A must do exercise for when you check the hotel room on your departure.

Bend the knees and bend  your back at the hips.  Move the upper body in a circular motion.  Continue until you find that lost item under the bed.

Holding a Backpack on Your Chest

This movement should prepare you for those moments when security tells you to wear your backpack on your front eg if you visit Harrods with a backpack.

Extend your arms out, forming a circle in front of you.  Hold the position.

Placing baggage in Overhead Lockers

This movement is similar to Checking Overhead Lockers.

Reach up with both hands, extend the reach, stretch and hold the position.

Attracting a Friend

An invaluable exercise for busy airports.

Raise both arms above your head and stretch as both arms move in a circular motion.  Continue as you search for your missing friend.

The Line for Immigration Check

This movement replicates the process of ensuring the traveller in front of you in the queue moves along toward the immigration check and doesn’t dawdle.

Bend the knees and extend the right arm in a forward thrust, open the hand, rotate the fingers and withdraw the arm.  Repeat with the left arm.  Continue as you imagine the person in front of you moving along in the queue.

Empty Your Pockets

A useful exercise for when security asks; do you have anything in your pockets.

Raise your hands above your head in a stretch.  Bring your arms down on each side of your body, down over your shirt, over your trousers and down your legs until your hands are touching your toes, and hold. 

Packing Your bag

Finally:

At the end of each movement clasp your hands together and push down. This movement replicates the process of compressing your suitcase so you can zip it closed.