Category: travel

Travel review – Mt Warning Rainforest Park

If you’re climbing Mount Warning or exploring the Border Ranges, staying nearby makes the trip a lot easier.

Nestled in the caldera of a long extinct volcano on the New South Wales – Queensland state border, Mt Warning is one of the spectacular and quirky geographic features of Australia’s East Coast which boasts being the first place on the continent to see the sunrise*.

Climbing Mount Warning is doable as a day trip from the Gold Coast, Byron Bay or even Brisbane but to get the best experience staying a few nights in the surrounding rainforests is a good idea, particularly in warmer weather when it’s not a good idea to climb mountains in the middle of the day.

Mount Warning Rainforest Park is a private campsite on the road to the mountain offering cabins, powered caravan sites and unpowered campsites.

Camping sites

 

Mount warning rainforest resort unpowered tent camping site
Unpowered camping sites

We stayed in an unpowered camping site during the September school holidays. Despite it being a busy period, there was plenty of space available and each site had its own campfire. It’s up to you to get the wood.

The sites are comfortable and the ground isn’t too hard for tent pegs. Be warned that it can get cold at night depending on the season.

beware fo snakes at mount warning resort camp site
Beware of snakes!

As the site is in a rainforest, be prepared to meet some of the locals. There’s no shortage of brush turkeys, snakes, lizards and frogs around the grounds so tread carefully at night and don’t leave food lying around.

There are some less desirable locals as well and while the campsite does seem safe, the Mt Warning carpark does have a reputation for thieves. So keep valuables locked away and out of site.

Amenities

There’s plenty of powerpoints and free gas stoves at the camp kitchen, so there’s no problem with charging devices and cooking dinner.

Mount warning rainforest camp kitchen camping site
The campsite kitchen with powerpoints.

Some large, ex-commercial fridges are available for residents to store food. Make sure you mark what’s yours and hide anything like chocolates, wine or beer as any communal storage is going to see those things walk.

The camping area toilet blocks are clean and pretty well maintained, although the hot water controls for the showers can be difficult to figure out.

Be prepared for a cold shower until you manage to get the buttons working. The buttons are also outside the shower cubicles so try and grab the stall closest to the controls so you can lean out and press them mid-wash.

Mount Warning Resort Games Room and Swimming Pool
Swimming pool and games room

Should the weather turn bad – the area is a rainforest – there is a games room has some basic arcade games ($2 a time), pool table and TV for shelter. Outside is a small, well-maintained swimming pool that’s handy for cooling off in the warmer weather.

mount-warning-rainforest-resort-office-and-wifi-hotspot

It’s safe to say the wi-fi hotspot has become the modern campfire.

Outside the site’s reception is comfortable porch which has seats, coffee tables and free wi-fi. You can expect to find guests on their laptops and iPads at all hours checking email and Facebook posts. There’s also a couple of handy power outlets.

Mobile phone coverage is patchy in the district so don’t expect reliable phone communications or fast mobile data. The site has a Telstra payphone that’s accessible at all times.

Service

The site is family run and service is homely, the office isn’t always occupied so it’s sometime necessary to rouse some office help.

One of the missed opportunities is catering to the gathering of people accessing the wi-fi hotspot, offering drinks and snacks past the office’s 6 o’clock closing time would be nice.

Provisions

The office sells basics and snacks but for serious shopping it’s best to call in at Murwillumbah twenty minutes away which has all the major supermarket and shopping chains. There’s also camping supply stores if you’ve lost or forgotten anything.

Coming in from the West, Kyogle has a small choice of supermarkets while the local village of Uki offers a picturesque pub and general store.

Attractions

While climbing the mountain is the main attraction, there’s plenty of other things to see.

Being Australia’s capital of ‘alternate lifestyles’ there’s no shortage of yoga and healing centres. The hippy capital of Nimbin is picturesque 45 minute drive south.

The Border Ranges and the Gold Coast Hinterland are also worth exploring in their own right with some spectacular scenery and the campsite makes a good base for explorers.

Transport

Like most of rural Australia, there’s little public transport. There is a train service to Kyogle and frequent coaches to Murwillumbah from Brisbane, Sydney and the Gold Coast. A local bus passes the Mt Warning turn off once every weekday and its a fifteen minute walk to the campsite.

Rock formations on the way to mount warning resort camping park
Rock sculptures in the creek on the way to Mount Warning

The best way of getting to Mount Warning is by car, taxi or to hire a bike in Murwillumbah. On the way to the campsite you’ll pass a creek where people have build various sculptures out of the rocks.

Costs

The cost for a family of four camping was $50 per night. There’s no extra charge for showers or cooking facilities.

Overall, the Mount Warning campsite is a good, economical place to stay for those happy to sleep out and enjoy the rainforest.

*While many say Mount Warning is the first place on the Australian mainland to see the sunrise, in the summer months parts of southern NSW see the sun earlier due to their latitude. If you count all Australian territories, then various small uninhabited rocks along with Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands see the sun first.

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Big data, mobile apps and smarter logistics – why Avis is buying Zipcar

Smartphone apps are more than just a funky way of getting information. The combination of big data, social media and mobile insights offer businesses deep market intelligence.

With no bad press over New Year’s Eve it looks like hire car service Uber avoided the surge pricing traps of 2011 and the good news continues for the online booking industry with the news that Avis is buying car sharing service Zipcar.

Assuming the acquisition isn’t another example of the greater fool investment model, Avis’ purchase of Zipcar makes good sense in expanding the hire car giant’s footprint into the share car business.

Regrettably Avis use the 1980s term “synergies” four times in their media release but it does seem the businesses are a good fit both in fleet sharing and improving both company’s services.

Zipcar’s technology is another asset which Avis can use,  with the car sharing service’s ability to track vehicle locations meaning better fleet management for the hire car business.

Car sharing logistics

The logistics angle of car share services is something that’s been highlighted by Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick at various times, most recently at the service’s Sydney launch last November.

Another aspect of the car sharing and hire car booking services is their Big Data advantages which the online startups bring.

Historically, car hire companies have been reasonably good at gathering data on their customers with loyalty schemes, direct mailing and plugging into airline frequent flier programs. However they have been left behind by the Big Data boom in recent years.

Companies like Zipcar, Uber and taxi hailing apps like GoCatch have big data in their DNA, having been founded in the era of cloud computing and social media they have access to more information and a better ability to use the knowledge they gather.

Predicting the price surges

At Uber’s Sydney launch Kalanick described how Uber’s traffic volumes increase in San Francisco when the Giants win a game, the interesting thing is that the surge happens three hours before the match starts.

Insights like the traffic patterns around football games and holidays are gold to a high inventory business like hire car services. They are also important to the entire logistics industry.

This latter point is probably the most overlooked part of all with the current rush into social and mobile based apps – the market intelligence that these services gather.

While it’s tempting to dismiss that market intelligence as just monitoring who likes cats or cheeseburgers, the application of that data is transforming supermarkets, airlines and even concert venues.

Avis seem to have understood that it will be fascinating to see how they will use Zipcar’s data and whether their competitors will figure out the importance of what these services offer.

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Travel review: Marriot Marquis, San Francisco

In downtown San Francisco, the Marriott Marquis is good place to stay for a conference, just be careful of the coffee machine.

San Francisco’s Marriot Marquis is a welcome place to rest after a tough flight or a long day at a conference, just be careful when you take on the coffee machine.

The first impression of the Marriot Marquis San Francisco when you step out of a cab is that it is a very busy place. Being situated next to the city’s Moscone Centre makes it is the centre for the convention trade which overruns the hotel when a big convention like Dreamforce is on.

Something all major conference destinations do well is dealing with crowds and the Marquis is no exception. The reception desk is efficient, fast and friendly – right down to having no problem with a check-in earlier than the stipulated 4pm. Exactly what a traveller needs after a cramped 13 hour flight.

The room

A standard room at the Marquis is a comfortable size with a genuine king sized bed. Beside the bed is a clock radio that is simple to set and actually works, this is something many other hotels should take note of.

There’s plenty of room to spread out with a good sized bath, plenty of storage space and a deep wardrobe. In the wardrobe is the standard digital safe for valuables.

On the TV there is the usual range of cable TV, free to air stations and in-house movies. Interestingly the cable selection included Russia Today but not the BBC World Service or Al-Jazeera.

Power sockets are plentiful including two mounted on the writing desk for easy laptop charging. Wireless networking, which costs an extra $14.95 a day, gives reasonable download speeds and is more than adequate for most cloud computing tasks.

The Coffee Machine of Doom

Unlike the user friendly beside clock the one cup drip coffee machines are quite possibly the most difficult devices ever installed in a hotel room.

in room coffee maker at the san franciso marriott marquis
The evil Marriott coffee maker

Thinking the first one was broken, I sent it back. It turned out it wasn’t but I never quite got the knack of figuring out how to work them.

Along with being horribly user unfriendly, the disposable cartridges in the thing are horribly environmentally unfriendly. Generally give the things a miss and visit one of the many good coffee shops in the neighbourhood.

Fitness Centre

The fourth floor fitness centre features the usual range of equipment but in a complex the size of the Marriott expect it to be busy at peak times, at 7am the place was packed.

The swimming pool and fitness centre at the Marriott Marquis San Francisco hotel
The Marriott Marquis’ swimming pool

Upstairs on the fifth floor is a respectable 30ft swimming pool which doesn’t get too busy, however more than four lap swimmers at one time will be difficult. The pool is quite shallow at one end and enthusiastic tumble turners should take care at the end of their laps. Note the pool opens at 6am, half an hour after the rest of the fitness centre.

Location

For attending conferences at Moscone the location is unbeatable and being right on Market Street in downtown San Francisco with Union Square, Westfields and all the major shopping outlets close by.

Harbourside tourist attractions are some distance from the hotel although the Marriot is close to the Powell terminus of the city’s iconic cable cars to Fisherman’s Wharf. The vintage K-Line street car service also runs to Fisherman’s Wharf via the Embarcadero waterfront.

Both the BART and Metro are around the corner at the Powell Street Station – the BART takes half an hour to San Francisco airport but it’s unlikely you’ll need that if you can afford to stay at the Marriot. Cabs to the hotel are around $65 including a 20% tip.

Overall

It’s difficult to fault the hotel as the service is friendly and efficient while the rooms are comfortable with all the features required for a good business stay.

Overall, if you’re not on a tight budget and you’re attending a conference at the Moscone Centre or have business in the SoMA district then the Marriot Marquis is a good choice. If you’re in San Francisco for the tourist experience or you have business in the Financial District then you’ll probably find hotels closer to what you’re in town for.

Paul travelled to San Francisco and stayed at the Marriott courtesy of Salesforce to attend their Dreamforce conference.

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Gift giving in China

Giving gifts in Asian cultures can be fraught with risks

A terrific little infographic from cross cultural PR firm Illuminant shows the right and wrong ways of giving gifts in China.

The first faux pas listed is giving clocks and the advice “if you happen to receive a clock from any Chinese source, get your butt to airport pronto” is marvellous.

Giving gifts in sets of six or eight is also a great little gem.

One of the cultural differences between East Asia and the west is the habit of giving small gifts of appreciation and it’s easy to get this wrong. What is acceptable in the People’s Republic of China might be a grave mistake in Korea or Thailand.

A handy little app for dealing with cross cultural misunderstandings is Hooked In Motion’s World Customs and Cultures that lets you dial up the basic protocols like not touching heads or hand gestures which should be avoided. Sadly it doesn’t cover gift giving.

Illuminant’s infographic and Hooked In Motion’s app remind us that the whole world isn’t being homogenised by the web and global communications as each culture takes today’s tools and adapts them to their own worlds.

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Economy Plus – the United Way

Is United’s Economy Plus worth the extra money?

One of the tough things about long haul, overnight flights is getting a decent night’s sleep. I find this can only be done in a windows seat where you can snuggle against the fuselage and get reasonably comfortable. So it’s a priority to get those windows seats for a big flight.

With the return flight to Sydney from San Francisco it turned out there were no window seats in the basic economy section so a $150 upgrade to United’s Economy Plus section was needed to grab one of those essential windows seats.

Check-in

The United online check in, while clunky, still worked and the upgrade to Economy Plus was a simple online credit card transaction with a straightforward seat allocation, the selection was painless and effective.

At San Francisco airport the check in, albeit three hours early, was friendly and quick with no quirks and thankfully the seat allocation had been kept.

One thing to keep in mind with United’s seat allocations is they reserve the right to change them and even kick you out of Economy Plus, albeit with a refund of the supplement, if the flight is full and the Sydney flights are usually packed.

So it’s a good idea to get the airport and check in early to reduce the chances of losing your seat which is highly likely if there’s been disruptions elsewhere in the United network meaning connecting passengers have missed earlier flights.

Getting through security is the usually fraught hassle however the TSA staff deal with flummoxed tourists and language barriers with a brisk efficiency. Keep your sense of humour and accept that travellers’ dignity was one of the early causalities of the War On Terrorism and the process shouldn’t be traumatic.

Airside

San Francisco’s International Airport is a delight compared to the snarling, customer unfriendly Sydney Airport. While food outlets aren’t cheap, San Francisco’s are decent and there’s plenty of accessible power sockets, working desks and free wi-fi that works.

The gates themselves can be some distance from the facilities so be prepared not to stray too far. The gate lounges themselves are fairly spartan and there’s no reason to wait there until a few minutes before the aircraft starts boarding.

The seats

Sadly I didn’t get the aircraft registration numbers for this flight or the previous inbound trip but it appeared that this plane was newer – say mid-1990s – than the flight into San Francisco which could well have been one of the first 747-400s ever built in the late 1980s.

The United Airlines Economy Plus 37" seat pitch
United Airline’s Economy Plus is far more comfortable than standard economy

The Economy Plus seats’ additional 3″ of legroom are definitely worth it. The moment you get in the seat, you know the extra room makes a much more comfortable trip than the cramped 31″ of standard economy class.

One thing to keep in mind is that while Economy Plus adds nothing more in service, being at the front of the economy cabin does mean you get first choice of food, beverages and easy access to the middle toilets which is a slight advantage over those crammed at the back. It’s also a little quieter as the seats are over the wing rather than behind the engines.

Another benefit with the additional pitch is that you don’t get a faceful of headrest when the seat in front of you reclines so it is possible to work on a laptop, read or eat in comfort even when the person ahead of you is still sleeping.

Inflight entertainment

While the system was still the shockingly decrepit 1990s cabin screens, there were for some reason additional choices on the audio channels including a classical music selection which made it far easier to relax than cheesy 1980s love songs or gangsta rap.

Naturally there was no inflight power in the cheap seats so take advantage of the plentiful power sockets at SFO to make sure you’re fully charged before boarding.

Shortly after take off the cabin crew come around with meals. Overall the cabin crew seem tired and beaten, while they aren’t rude or unpleasant one wonders if they have all received too many stern memos from management about being friendly to customers.

Food

An interesting thing about cheap airline food is how they cook and serve it in ways that make it difficult, if not downright dangerous to eat with plastic cutlery.

Tough chicken for dinner on United Airlines
Careful trying to cut that chicken

In this respect UA 863 didn’t disappoint. The tough, mystery chicken lying under a red sludge masquerading as barbecue sauce was difficult to cut and risked sending one’s drink flying into your neigbour if you weren’t careful. This isn’t helped by the weird ridges United insist on putting underneath their trays.

The bread had a strange chemical taste while the Love and Quiches Double Chocolate Crunch Bar was the highlight of the meal. The red wine was nice as well.

After as good a night’s sleep as one can get in an economy class seat, breakfast was served around two hours before landing in Sydney. Again it was tough to eat.

French toast for breakfast on United Airlines out of San Francisco
You’ll need lots of syrup to soften that tough toast

Like the chicken earlier in the flight, the French toast was tough to cut and hard to eat. Fortunately a good soaking in maple syrup makes it almost edible.

The fruit salad was spartan but fine while the cold croissant tasted strange like the roll served the night before. It’s a shame United can’t find one of San Francisco’s excellent bakeries to supply their bread.

Arrival

The plane arrived on-time and without problems with immigration straightforward after dodging the embarrassing and garish duty free ripoff shops.

Customs is the standard mass brawl that’s normal for early morning international arrivals at Sydney when a dozen or so wide bodied jets arrive at the same time from Europe, Asia and the US.

If you have the choice, it may be worthwhile choosing a flight that arrives in Sydney after 8am so you can avoid both the customs hall and traffic peak hours.

Once past customs it’s welcome to the snarling, belligerent and anti-traveller horror that is Sydney Airport. Get out of there as quick as you can by train, taxi, bus or car.

Note if someone is meeting you, the pick up area is on the far side of carparks A and B. It’s not marked for either passengers in the terminals or for those driving into the complex. None of this is an accident and it’s best for both parties to have mobile phones so they can co-ordinate movements.

In many ways the customer hostile attitude of the Sydney Airports Corporation is good news for United Airlines as it makes their tired inflight service feel warm and inviting.

Overall the United Economy Plus option is worth the extra $150 charge to at least get earlier service and more legroom if you have to fly UA. It’s difficult though to recommend United while they fly such awfully old equipment and you should only consider it if the connections or the fare make them the best option.

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Riding the zombie skies

Travel review — United Airlines Sydney to San Francisco economy class

When the CEO of an airline states his product is unacceptable, your expectations of a trip won’t be high. So it was with trepidation I boarded United Airlines’ Flight UA870 from Sydney to San Francisco for an overnight economy class  flight.

The 13 hour overnight flight from Sydney to San Francisco is a jet lag nightmare with a 3pm departure and arrival in SFO at 11am the same morning. So getting some sleep on the flight is essential regardless of how cramped the seating is.

Check-in

United’s online check-in is clunky but works and I was lucky to grab a windows seat that’s essential to getting any sort of sleep on an economy flight. The online check in refused to print a boarding pass so it was necessary to check in at the airport.

At the airport check in is efficient but you’ll have to enter most of the information about your accommodation in the US again. Keep these details handy as you’ll be using it for the US immigration form and may be asked about it on arrival.

Sydney airport doesn't like cleaning tables
Don’t expect clean tables at Sydney international airport

One aspect about waiting in Sydney’s international terminal is just how dirty it is. It’s depressing that the Sydney Airport Corporation is too busy clipping the ticket of unfortunate travellers with excessive parking fees and service charges that it can’t be bothered employing cleaners.

The Seats

limited leg room in United Airlines economy
Tuck in your legs, there’s not a lot of space to go around

When Jeff Simsek says his Airline’s economy class product is unacceptable he’s not joking. The old seats are less comfortable or roomy that those on Australian Jetstar domestic flights.

Leg room is about what’s expected on an oceanic economy flight but when the seat in front of you is reclined it’s difficult to read a magazine or use a laptop.

As far as power for your laptop or iPhone are concerned — forget about it, those things weren’t invented in the 1980s.

The inflight entertainment on United Airlines is even worse when the headphone socket is broken
The broken headphone socket

The age of the seats shows in the lack of any seat based entertainment system and the socket for the headphones was broken making it necessary to rip off some of the inflight magazine’s back cover to get it working.

Once working, the ‘entertainment’ was restricted to about ten channels, all of them offering some music and it’s suprising there is no news, business or comedy channel.

The 80s channel was eclectic mix including Madness and Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Relax — maybe it was lucky we didn’t have video screens.

If one area illustrates just how 1980s the interior of United’s cabin is, it’s the centrally mounted video screens.  These just don’t cut it and are an embarrassment on a modern aircraft.

Food and beverages

Two meals were served inflight with beverages. Alcoholic drinks were included and the red wine was a perfectly fine Fox Grove Cabernet Sauvignon.

United economy international dinner

Lunch two hours after departing Sydney and was braised chicken with overcooked vegetables accompanied by a lettuce salad and a very dry chocolate cake.

breakfast on United economy international to san francisco
Choose the fruit

Breakfast two hours before arrival was eggs, baked beans and chicken sausage cooked within an inch of their lives. It was edible but I’d suggest the fruit next time.

One thing to note about the United economy class tables is they are incredibly uncomfortable to rest your arms upon. On more modern airlines these tables fold into two.

Cabin Crew

Overall the cabin crew were efficient and courteous although not really friendly.

A bizarre aspect about the flight were the in-air announcements which were quickly mumbled declarations that were difficult to follow. The sound levels were low and the announcements were crackly, it must have been that 1980s equipment.

Arrival

One of the benefits of the United flight between Sydney and San Francisco is the sensible mid-morning arrival time so the airport and roads aren’t crowded. Getting away from the airport was easy.

1980s zombies

In many ways United Airlines are a vision of the future — zombie businesses staggering on without the money to invest in modern technology.

The US airline industry has ruthlessly used Chapter 11 to keep afloat over the last thirty years and now we have governments doing everything they can to prop up ‘too big to fail’ businesses we’ll see a lot more companies looking like United.

Qantas’ move off the San Francisco route also illustrates the drooling, anti-customer incompetence of Alan Joyce and the rest of his management team. The United flight was packed and they can continue to run aging rust buckets on the route as there’s no competition.

Given there’s no competition on the Sydney-San Francisco route, United is what you’re stuck with. If you have to fly economy on this route get a window seat, bring a bottle of water and take some sleeping pills.

If you were around in the 1980s, then enjoy the experience of what it was like when United’s 747s were new and the pride of the sky.

Paul travelled courtesy of Salesforce on the way to the Dreamforce 2012 conference in San Francisco

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Travel review: Jupiter’s Hotel and Casino, Gold Coast

The Gold Coast’s Jupiter’s Hotel and Casino is a property desperately in need of a refurbishment.

Jupiter’s was built in the late 1980s as part of Australia’s initial casino mania. Today it’s looking its age despite several refurbishments in recent years.

Apart from the gambling room, the complex’s main attraction is its proximity to the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Location

Jupiter’s Hotel and Casino is located centrally on the Gold Coast in Broadbeach, around 4km South of Surfers Paradise and 20km North of the Airport, right next to the Pacific Fair shopping mall.

The Casino sits on its own island some 500m away from the beach. The Gold Coast Convention Centre is a 200m walk from the hotel across an open air walkbridge.

Most of the time that walk will be fine but be prepared to get soaked in wet weather.

There is also a cheesy and largely pointless monorail that runs to the shopping complex across the highway. The $3 fare is reportedly waived for hotel guests but check at reception first.

Check-in

The front desk staff are friendly and helpful. There was no problem with checking in two hours before the official check-in time.

Asking reception for some fresh milk for the tea making facilities was no problem.

Rooms

While it’s claimed there have been ongoing refurbishments since 2008, the rooms are dated and tired, despite a relatively recent paint job.

Beds are comfortable and the blackout blinds do a good job of plunging the room into darkness and keeping the early morning or late evening sun out of the room on a hot day.

The bathroom, mini-bar and tea making facilities are basic but adequate. Each room has a digital combination safe as well as ironing equipment.

One aspect of the 1980s legacy is the scarcity of power points with only one double power outlet next to the fixed desk unit. Luckily there are nearby shopping centres to buy a powerboard if you can’t borrow one from reception.

Rooms have wireless and wired Internet available for a fee, although it may waived for convention guests. Surfing and downloads are extremely quick.

Amenities in the room are satisfactory with the standard range of free to air and cable TV stations including CNN, Bloomberg Asia and Sky.

Unfortunately the room doesn’t have dressing gowns and it’s little touches like that which let the hotel down.

Fitness Facilites

the Gym is well equipped with the usual range of weights, rowing and walking machines and open from 5.30am on weekdays.

 It’s open to the public and could get crowded at busy times. The weekend times are fairly limited with Sunday being a stingy 8am to 4pm, Saturday’s are 7 to 5.

If you want a swim, there’s a large, warm pool next door to the gym and lap swimmers can get a 25m stretch if it isn’t busy. The pool area is open from 6am to 9pm and also has two spa baths.

Overall impressions

Jupiter’s desperately needs an investor to spruce the place up. The public areas are looking  run down with chipped tiles and scuffed walls. Generally there’s a faded 1980s vibe about the place.

That 1980s feel also comes from the patrons, a midweek stay at Jupiter’s will find you sharing with a lot of grumpy seniors who are presumably playing the pokies (slot) and games in the casino.

In many respects Jupiter’s reflects much of what is wrong with Australian hospitality — a 1980s property that hasn’t had the investment to compete in the 21st Century catering for a declining, low value segment of the marketplace.

Overall the hotel is adequate but there are better deals to be had on the Gold Coast.

If you’re attending a conference at the Gold Coast Conference Centre then it may be worth checking out rooms at the nearby Sofitel or the many serviced apartments in the Broadbeach area.

Paul stayed at Jupiter’s Hotel and Casino courtesy of Microsoft when attending the 2012 Australian TechEd conference.

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