Travel Tip of the Day: One Way Tickets to Weird Destinations

We've all been there haven't we? Trying to buy a one way ticket to a far flung city in China, India, Iran or Nepal that no one has ever heard of. It might be your terrible pronounciation, but you suspect, that this city, of 7 million people, might just be a practical joke.

Dynamic, Modern, Cosmopolitan Zhengzhou, a city on the go! But does it really exist? Find out next week!

"Goddamit Sammy! Zhengzhou dosen't really exist! How come even I haven't heard of it?"

Ok, that was all nonsense, but it made a lot more sense than the way airlines charge for longhaul, one way tickets to places like Zhengzhou. I scoured the web, looking for the cheapest possible flights, the tickets that would begin my new adventure. But all I could find were the 550 pound plus tickets for the cheapest Russian carriers with questionable safety records.

The Safety Standards of Russian Carrier Aeroflot may have improved, but they still need some landing practise!

 I found that the cheapest way of flying one way is, believe it or not, buying a return ticket for a bog standard, 2 or 3 week holiday! My Ticket to Zhengzhou, courtesy of KLM and Southern China Airlines, cost just 400 pounds, 150 quid less than its closest one way competitor!!!

What is the Point! I mean what is the bloody point! How the bloody hell can a one way ticket cost more than a bloody return?!? Whats happened to this country since bloody Wilson!?

How can airlines justify this? My experience makes it evident that airline fares are in no way related to fuel costs and overheads, if it is cheaper to fly twice the distance, my suggestion to you is that you give your return ticket to a local goat for the return journey, hey, its not gonna cost you anything!

But actually, Having a return ticket, as well as being cheaper, can give you a useful safety net. If your new life in the exotic east isn't what you hoped. You could always just fly back!

Song/Thought of the Day: Is the British Empire really Dead?

A few Days ago I discovered an old Canadian Song from WW2, and it got me thinking, is the British Empire really dead, or has it just transformed from a political entity, to a cultural Empire?

Remembrance Day Celebrations in Victoria, Canada. It's hard to ignore the British Overtones.  

Here are the Song Lyrics:

Though England's foes may assail her,
Though war clouds hang around,
Still the bright sun smiles o'er Britain's Isles,
For friends in need she's found.

From India's Strand to Baffin's Land they have answered the Empire's call,
For we can't turn our back on the Old Union Jack,
The best old flag of all.

Then give three cheers,
Three British cheers for the old red, white and blue.

Let all the world know that Britain's foe,
Is Canada's foe too.

Across the sea in Germany,
Our boys will prove their worth.

For the maple leaf,
Our emblem dear,
And the best old flag on Earth.

Jubilant Crowds in Perth, WA, waiting to greet the Queen of Australia. The WA flag and the Aussie flag are British Ensigns. 

Now my thinking is this, by 1939, the UK had cut most of it's political ties with it's dominions, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Yet all these countries declared war on the Axis Powers as soon as the UK did.

Even today, the British Monarch is the head of state of Canada, New Zealand and Australia, as well as a multitude of other nations, but even more than that, there is something quintessentially British about the former Dominions. In Australia, people seem to enjoy tea and cakes more than us Brits while Paul Theroux described Christchurch as looking like a suburb of South London.

Christchurch New Zealand could easily be mistaken for a Town in South East England. Even it's Famous Church is a copy of a church in Feltham, South West London.  

The ancient Greek sphere of influence which spread from Western Europe all the way to modern day India had few direct political connections yet it is often considered an Empire, maybe this is now true of the British Empire?

Thanks for reading my random ramble, please post your thoughts, I'd love to hear from other people, especially those of you living in the cultural empire!