The Times of London is running a series about disastrous holidays, contributed by their readers. The latest instalment is at:
http://travel.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,18409-2467641,00.htmlThere are links on the right to earlier instalments, and as you go back through the weeks, the links update to show you earlier entries, so you can go through the whole year's entries. It's fantastically funny in many ways - one has to sympathize with the poor tourists, but some of the entries just made me giggle! An example:
The place: Delhi airport. The Time: the day that Indian airlines went computerised. Not a good day to be travelling. Not a good day to have chosen to go to Udaipur. Not at all good to be sitting in Delhi airport with nothing at all to do. Or so you would think. But that was the best part of the trip... It started some weeks before in another airport, waiting for the bags that had disappeared. The only suggestions offered to my father by Mr Cherubim, the hapless agent who booked the flights etc were: "Well - Mr Jones, if he (the airline agent) does not find the bags, you will have no option but to biff him on the nose." But we did get to Srinigar and the beautiful lakes. The houseboat was very beautiful and I am sure it was no-one's fault but my family's that they all got food poisoning. But they are a robust lot and were ready for the pony trekking in the Himalayas when it started. Perhaps my father was still feeling unduly aggressive following Mr Cherubim's sound advice; perhaps he was still full of energy from the unfortunate electrocution-in-the-bathroom episode. Who can say why the horse took against him so violently, preferring to flee alone into the foothills than be ridden by my dad. Once recovered by the sherpas several days later - during which time my dad trudged on foot whilst we all rode in comfort - the horse decided death was preferable to this indignity and fell off the side of the mountain - Emma Shepherd, London
