tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47638136628009781992024-03-20T04:56:21.516+11:00PlanetBlueToursMichael Fattalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515853579138337617noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763813662800978199.post-82646914141687626112013-11-21T12:27:00.002+11:002013-11-21T12:27:57.880+11:00Aussies the world's second-biggest spending travellers.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I found this article on the SMH travel page...totally blew my mind.<br />
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Aussies the world's second-biggest spending travellers.</h1>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHOVUI7a1ryUOTsBY3E3qVJGN0xbo-i59JoZW_mJaUCwNMHDeyuYpNiXO1HKqB6EJ8QAR2Pci3AflrUQPMffPX70LcbYKd5BIjGogAEGj2Kaa1pnYfOaXtnnjg_7vLCj42my9FIJlFJyf/s1600/IN+JERUSALEM+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHOVUI7a1ryUOTsBY3E3qVJGN0xbo-i59JoZW_mJaUCwNMHDeyuYpNiXO1HKqB6EJ8QAR2Pci3AflrUQPMffPX70LcbYKd5BIjGogAEGj2Kaa1pnYfOaXtnnjg_7vLCj42my9FIJlFJyf/s400/IN+JERUSALEM+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aussies in Jerusalem</td></tr>
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Australians are among the biggest-spending travellers in the world, second only to Saudi Arabians.</div>
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Aussies are forking out an average of $3962 on each overseas trip, well above the world average of $2300, according to Visa's latest Global Travel Intentions Study.</div>
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Saudi Arabians spend a whopping $6414 while the Chinese are third on the list of big spenders on $3679.</div>
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Despite the dip in the Australian dollar, it seems Aussies are hell-bent on spending even more in future.</div>
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The study predicts Australians will increase their travel budgets by 9 per cent, to $4331, on their next trip.</div>
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VisitBritain has revealed that Aussies are the top international shoppers in Britain, flocking to stores such as Harrods and Selfridges.</div>
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According to VisitBritain, Australians spent $1.5 billion in Britain last year, most of it on clothes.</div>
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''Australians are no longer going just for traditional sightseeing, they are going there to shop,'' VisitBritain marketing manager Mark Haynes said.</div>
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Paul McGrath, managing director of Creative Holidays, said that despite the fall of the dollar, Australians are showing no sign of changing their ''have passport, will travel'' mentality.</div>
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''Value is key for Australians when travelling so we find when our dollar drops they still travel en masse but seek out the best bang for their buck,'' he said. ''This might mean staying closer to home and travelling to Bali or the Pacific Islands or looking into three and four-star properties instead of five-star.''</div>
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Colin Bowman, executive general manager of marketing at Flight Centre - which has just announced that the group's net profit has risen by 23 per cent to $246 million in the year to June - said Australians' penchant for travel is not slowing.</div>
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''The Australian dollar may have dipped but it is the continuing cheap airfares that are encouraging Australians to travel,'' he said.</div>
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"The weakened dollar may affect end-destination spending, but it is not stopping us from going overseas,'' Mr Bowman said. "We have just launched our earlybird Europe deals for next year (including Sydney to London with a night in Hong Kong $1821, Melbourne to London $1799), so there are some very good fares out there."</div>
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He said Aussies are also resilient travellers and continue to go despite natural disasters such as Iceland's volcanic ash cloud and terrorist threats around the world.</div>
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"We have seen over many years that Australians love to travel. We like to explore and experience different things.''</div>
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The love of holidaying means that Australians put travel ahead of any other motivation for saving, according to research released earlier this year by the St George-Melbourne Institute.</div>
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The institute reported that nearly 60 per cent of Australians nominated holidays and travel as a key motivation for saving money, ahead of a deposit for a house, renovating, retirement, education, repaying debts, buying a new car or an expensive item for the house.</div>
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Visa's Global Intentions Study also found that part of the reason for Australians' high spend is that we like to go on long-haul trips to "expensive tourist destinations such as the USA and UK".</div>
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The study found that 98 per cent of Australians have travelled for leisure in the past two years.</div>
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The study polled almost 13,000 people in 25 countries.</div>
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1. Saudi Arabia $6414</div>
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2. Australia $3962</div>
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3. China $3679</div>
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4. Brazil $2844</div>
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5. South Africa $2779</div>
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Figures based on average spend per person per trip.</div>
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<span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Source: Visa</span></div>
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http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/aussies-the-worlds-secondbiggest-spending-travellers-20130831-2sxe1.html</div>
Michael Fattalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515853579138337617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763813662800978199.post-53259861497496288742013-09-13T16:45:00.001+10:002013-09-13T16:54:33.850+10:00It Begins - The Mary Jones Experience 2013!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEashappcyoZ8OS7-EcKEZ406hOJF6EsCGO_35q1Vx6o-8DXxT0BRYCxnEiVyGSZFADM9SCDQW55g37_gbIHg48H08gzYSawaFdcygw3coCpBz_M6nFg_gKY2heBhBiFKNuepHPCGZkzqK/s1600/Welcome+To+Wales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEashappcyoZ8OS7-EcKEZ406hOJF6EsCGO_35q1Vx6o-8DXxT0BRYCxnEiVyGSZFADM9SCDQW55g37_gbIHg48H08gzYSawaFdcygw3coCpBz_M6nFg_gKY2heBhBiFKNuepHPCGZkzqK/s200/Welcome+To+Wales.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome To Wales</td></tr>
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Well - Its finally September and I am here now in Cardiff, Wales with the group. After 9 months of planning, praying and mixed feelings of excitement and anxiety. We are here now in Wales!<br />
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<span class="s1">Out of Australia there has never been an organised guided group "Mary Jones Experience". This is the first time ever. I feel like a pioneer! (Maybe thats a bit of an exaggeration)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6HIm_XGXOXQpug9868FwKueMbUPJjNTVdfHfJtAJPBwDinoQB5b4tY_KGhUUWvc1gjRtelthdUSBfwVltM1UKwqdVrVYp8xRfG-uCy9-xkrugLo1qw-0K5Rs5QSNrdrvLH7Y7UXoApis0/s1600/Museum+-+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6HIm_XGXOXQpug9868FwKueMbUPJjNTVdfHfJtAJPBwDinoQB5b4tY_KGhUUWvc1gjRtelthdUSBfwVltM1UKwqdVrVYp8xRfG-uCy9-xkrugLo1qw-0K5Rs5QSNrdrvLH7Y7UXoApis0/s320/Museum+-+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of my group</td></tr>
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<span class="s1">Its great that 22 of us from all around Australia will be traveling around the UK, visiting towns and cities. Immersing ourselves in the history, culture and spirituality of the region. The travellers themselves are a good bunch. Some are old friends, others meeting for the first time. All of us though, like minded and one as a group.</span></div>
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<li class="li1"><span class="s1">We are all as one thanks to our salvation in Jesus and our strong belief in Christianity</span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1">We are inspired by the story of Mary Jones and are here to experience 'the walk'</span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1">We are all supporters of the Bible Society, through fundraising, volunteering and even employment!</span></li>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbKjjHyhekmEUk0cMOHiw3FB97rSQxt6nGNSHpNmNo8ca8XQylWTN-hjz1AAYEu2ktoTtNm6iv8WTRlFqIX6TX6yCcXKKAsgo_waNGm6mPswnVBJizdG8fsr4jJWtLp3IxtgXvPj0ncnZ/s1600/Avebury+-+Me+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTbKjjHyhekmEUk0cMOHiw3FB97rSQxt6nGNSHpNmNo8ca8XQylWTN-hjz1AAYEu2ktoTtNm6iv8WTRlFqIX6TX6yCcXKKAsgo_waNGm6mPswnVBJizdG8fsr4jJWtLp3IxtgXvPj0ncnZ/s320/Avebury+-+Me+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thats a big stone @ Avebury</td></tr>
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So over the next 12 days follow me Michael Fattal on behalf of PlanetBlueTours as I post up photos and blog about the “Mary Jones Experience”.<br />
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<span class="s1">Seriously I have the best job in the world. :)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl-Pefse0LWU9Cj7SpZ6MK4U0rMJPC7wMDrn5yZrpfPkxkN-YkkmKcjVQmZ7a6kDQrcT_HWoxvEoJLySkSUU8lbzUvY9L6RvloZgUEgK30VDoBQzlfZq-CzYymrWlGFgxMI8pOA05wK1Xt/s1600/2011-07-01-0901-12_edited1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl-Pefse0LWU9Cj7SpZ6MK4U0rMJPC7wMDrn5yZrpfPkxkN-YkkmKcjVQmZ7a6kDQrcT_HWoxvEoJLySkSUU8lbzUvY9L6RvloZgUEgK30VDoBQzlfZq-CzYymrWlGFgxMI8pOA05wK1Xt/s320/2011-07-01-0901-12_edited1.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Jones and her Bible</td></tr>
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<span class="s1">For those who don’t know what all this Mary Jones stuff is about heres a brief explanation about Mary.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><i>“Mary Jones, a 15-year-old Welsh girl walked 26 miles in the late 1700s from Llanfihangel-y-Pennant to Bala in search of a Bible. She saved up for 6 years so she could afford one. By doing so Mary helped inspire the founding of Bible Society which gave birth to a worldwide Bible movement. “</i></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Such an inspiring true story. On the “Mary Jones Experience” we will be re-tracing Mary’s journey through the welsh country side. Many of the travellers have been training to do this walk!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLnBtfYjy8ZAbBlTtiYfYQwbr0aLKk1MqHhsibt2s7aYoM3_xakCLEOJTwP3QtEk4rJ9oTaXg3sRrMYYm6eo613NgoH8HhwRRY8JEe3UyT1cd4nXD3H7q8dPUJpu2wSmWh9e4YarLfxqwk/s1600/Cardith+-+Me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLnBtfYjy8ZAbBlTtiYfYQwbr0aLKk1MqHhsibt2s7aYoM3_xakCLEOJTwP3QtEk4rJ9oTaXg3sRrMYYm6eo613NgoH8HhwRRY8JEe3UyT1cd4nXD3H7q8dPUJpu2wSmWh9e4YarLfxqwk/s200/Cardith+-+Me.jpg" width="149" /></a><span class="s1">There is a lot more though - over the next few posts I will tell you about the fundraising aspect of the tour and let you in on something amazing.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Enough from me for now.<br />
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<span class="s1">Keep following the blog - check out the photos on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.660255920652745.1073741825.134653753212967&type=1">facebook</a> and you can also follow me on <a href="https://twitter.com/planetbluetours">twitter</a>.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Your Fearless Leader - <a href="https://twitter.com/michaelfattal">Michael Fattal</a></span></div>
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Michael Fattalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515853579138337617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763813662800978199.post-91869414113878095562013-09-08T21:01:00.004+10:002013-09-08T22:27:47.315+10:00Back To Blogging<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="s1">The humble PlanetBlueTours blog is making a come back!</span></div>
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<span class="s1">I am excited once again to share a bit more about our guided group tours, offer some travel tips, share some great travel photos and much much more. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWn-2M1U01xcvOSg5-v2gtnWTUbkJjmbB7L-83PGjxI0Abvy_SD2P-myCkvLK0Vcoam42OD7rdCGUGvu55m0SWeyHz-1A2QylTwho1zqSllIiCpn43luGEmkbjorNjNn5TU6aIAoyOuBTJ/s1600/IMG_3127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWn-2M1U01xcvOSg5-v2gtnWTUbkJjmbB7L-83PGjxI0Abvy_SD2P-myCkvLK0Vcoam42OD7rdCGUGvu55m0SWeyHz-1A2QylTwho1zqSllIiCpn43luGEmkbjorNjNn5TU6aIAoyOuBTJ/s320/IMG_3127.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lunch at the Tel Aviv Markets</td></tr>
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Here's what you can expect over the coming two months</div>
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<li class="li1"><span class="s1">Lots of photos and videos from my adventures across the world on the different guided group tours that PlanetBlueTours operates.</span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1">Highlighting some of the past guided group tours that I personally have travelled on. Like our Turkey, Greece and Israel guided group tour with MECO Australia in 2012. Our Israel, Jordan and Egypt guided group tour with Pastor Mike Kwok in 2013. Expect some awesome travel photos and videos of Israel, Turkey, Greece, Jordan and Egypt!</span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1">I will be bringing some live updates on my current guided group tour through out Wales and England - the Mary Jones Experience in partnership with the Bible Society Australia and the UK</span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1">Finally based on some of the feed back on our ‘travel tips’ I will continue to post up more regular travel tips!</span></li>
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<span class="s1">So stay tuned for some more posts! </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Your Fearless leader - Michael Fattal :) (from London, Uk)</span><br />
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Michael Fattalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515853579138337617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763813662800978199.post-37260115177310509792013-05-28T11:54:00.000+10:002013-09-08T22:19:52.815+10:00PlanetBlueTours Top 10 airplane tips.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="s1">This week I was inundated by literarily 2 whole emails asking, “Michael what are your top 10 airplane tips”. So on my recent flight to Beijing, China with my brother Joshua and I - we deliberated and came up with our top ten airplane tips.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Sitting in our economy class seat on China Airlines (which is based in Taiwan) flying to Beijing, China getting ready for our ‘Don’t Stop The Travel: Beijing’ web series we tried to come up with our list. </b><br />
<br />I mean we are both long term travellers, we both work for PlanetBlueTours the best travel company out there ever. I have been around the world 29932 times and he has dealt directly with over a million clients always giving the best travel advice.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Simple right? <b>Wrong</b>. <br />
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It’s not that we couldn't come up with top 10 airplane travel tips.<br />
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We just couldn’t agree!</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Funnily enough our points where very similar, just different sides of the same coin. Joshua decided that you should not drink ANY water while on board.<b> No water, at all.</b> Because it means you have to get up and go to the bathroom. Thats like saying I don’t want to have a shower because it means I will have to turn on a tap and use some energy.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">To set the record straight, we are brothers, by blood 100% (many people don’t believe) - we have grown up together and yet we are just so different. We couldn’t even come up with 10 each because we spent so much time bickering...</span></div>
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<span class="s1">So without further ado, our top 10 airplane tips that actually turned out to be 5/6. I have listed each point and then Joshua's points with a <b>JF</b> and mine with an <b>MF</b></span></div>
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<li><b> Shoes - from the start we couldn't agree, JF is more concerned about having a business meeting on board the plane as opposed to comfort.</b></li>
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<li>Wear business shoes or heels - JF</li>
<li>Wear your most comfortable shoes eg. loafers - MF</li>
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<li><b>Dress well- we both agreed you don't wear track pants and a daggy jumper on board but again two different extremes.</b></li>
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<li>Dress to impress - long sleeve cotton shirt with cufflinks and some nice pants - JF</li>
<li>Casual is king - nice t-shirt with some cool denim - MF</li>
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<li><b>Noise cancelling headphones - the only point we both unanimously agreed on.</b></li>
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<li>invest in a good pair of good quality noise cancelling headphones to beat the drone of an airplane - MF</li>
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<li><b>Don't pack light!</b></li>
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<li>Bring everything you can on board, laptop, camera, mobile phone, ipod, ipad, pens and pencils. You never know when you may get super bored and really wish you had some paper to draw on - MF</li>
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<li><b>Clean socks.</b></li>
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<li>You will most likely take your shoes off, so save a life and wear clean socks - JF</li>
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<li><b>Drink lots of water VS Don't drink any water.</b></li>
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<li>The boffins over at the Joshua Institute of Bad Science believe that you shouldn't drink any water during your flight because it will mean you will have to get out of your seat and go pee. - JF</li>
<li>Every single sane medical professional, health professional and every other sort of professional recommend plenty of water while on your flight and as a travel professional, so do I. - MF</li>
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So there you have it.</div>
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<b>Our top 10 airplane tips,</b> brought to you by the best in the business *winks*<br />
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PlanetBlueTours.</div>
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Michael Fattalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515853579138337617noreply@blogger.com2Lingxiu Line, Lingchuan, Jincheng, Shanxi, China35.572448615622804 113.30200195312535.572448615622804 113.302001953125 35.572448615622804 113.302001953125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763813662800978199.post-13442809014292614842012-10-25T11:40:00.000+11:002013-09-08T22:18:01.836+10:00Radelaide (Adelaide) in 60 Seconds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="s1">Last weekend I had the great opportunity to head to Adelaide, South Australia with a group of friends for a 30th birthday.</span><br />
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<span class="s1">Lets get a few things straight first though.</span></div>
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<li class="li1"><span class="s1">I am from Sydney</span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1">Adelaide is well known to be <b>dead</b>, <b>boring</b>,<b> full of hicks</b> who speak funny and <b>boring</b> again.</span></li>
<li class="li1"><span class="s1">I was not excited to go, I even posted this up on my FB status </span></li>
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<span class="s1">Man was I wrong.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Radelaide</b> as it is commonly dubbed by those who love the place,<b> really was awesome. </b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Beautiful city, nice and clean, awesome gourmet food every where, great wine and most of all, great company.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Which brings me to my true point - <b><i>“a holiday is only as good as those you go with.”</i></b> Which ended up almost as our trip motto and something I plan to use for PlanetBlueTours in the future.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Thanks for everyone who hosted us and see you all in Radelaide for New Years Eve, so gonna rock!<br />
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Michael Fattalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515853579138337617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763813662800978199.post-85524745743384365782012-09-30T16:22:00.000+10:002013-09-08T22:18:28.187+10:00The perfect travel partner part 3<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here at PlanetBlue, after much deliberation we have compiled a list of the top 5 traits that make for a terrible travel partner:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">· The complain about everything travel partner. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The food, the drinks, the prices, the accommodation, the transportation, the smells, the sounds and that's just the beginning. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">· The stingy travel partner</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This trait is a little less obvious at first, during the trip planning stage they will assure you they will pay for everything, you will talk about that relaxing foot massage every day and how great it will be and then horror while on trip "$3 australian dollars for a foot massage?! are you joking, im not paying that!"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"We have to TIP the waiter? A whole 25 cents? forget it"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">· The ‘I’ll do whatever you want to do’ travel partner </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">· Order everyone around and be bossy travel partner</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">· Don’t be adventurous and do nothing travel partner</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Yes, I think we have covered all the annoying traits of a travel partner. What drives you crazy? </span><br />
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Check out the other two stories <a href="http://planetbluetours.blogspot.com/2011/09/perfect-travel-partner-part-2.html">here </a>and <a href="http://planetbluetours.blogspot.com/2011/09/perfect-travel-partner-part-1.html">here</a>.</span></div>
Biancahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16474110220485042652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763813662800978199.post-92029005402167751552012-09-30T16:18:00.001+10:002013-09-08T22:19:10.165+10:00The perfect travel partner, part 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When Michael returned from Taiwan he said that travelling with his brother Joshua was easy. Easy? Does that really happen? All this got me thinking of the perfect travel partner. <br />
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Do they exist? <br />
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I also started asking, what makes an annoying travel partner?<br />
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So we compiled a list of the best posts on travel partners, good and bad!<br />
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So check out the following links -<br />
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<a href="http://planetbluetours.blogspot.com/2011/09/perfect-travel-partner-part-2.html">The perfect travel partner, part 2</a><br />
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<a href="http://planetbluetours.blogspot.com/2011/09/perfect-travel-partner-part-3.html">The perfect travel partner, part 3</a><br />
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<a href="http://planetbluetours.blogspot.com/2011/09/planetbluetours-top-10-airplane-tips.html">Top 10 airplane travel tips</a><br />
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With more to come.</div>
Biancahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16474110220485042652noreply@blogger.com0Unknown location.38.384727668850843 113.5766601562538.384727668850843 113.57666015625 38.384727668850843 113.57666015625tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763813662800978199.post-7518511595377101072012-09-30T16:18:00.000+10:002013-09-08T22:18:48.364+10:00The perfect travel partner, part 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A couple of years ago now I travelled overseas with my best friend. We had never travelled together and I was looking forward to getting away and relaxing for two weeks. We got along really well so being together for two weeks straight would be a breeze right? <b>Wrong.</b><br />
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You see even though she had grown up in Europe and travelled quite a bit, she wasn’t what I would call a savvy traveller. Dinner and lunches meant I would need to order for her because she couldn’t decide what she wanted and couldn’t handle a hint of chilli, did I mention we were in Thailand? That was fine, I could do that.<br />
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Being grounded in Bangkok for four hours in the heat and stench is annoying for anyone but apparently more so for my friend as she complained endlessly for those four hours. If I had to hear it for just one more moment I would have beat the plane and ran like a mad woman to Phuket...alone. <br />
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The little annoyances turned into large ones and I eventually told her I needed space so left her alone in the hotel room (as she would get lost if she went anywhere else) and walked for couple of hours to relax.<br />
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It wasn’t all bad I guess there were times when I’m sure I drove her crazy too.<br />
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Check out our tips on 'What not to do' as a travel partner <a href="http://planetbluetours.blogspot.com/2011/09/perfect-travel-partner-part-3.html">The perfect travel partner, part 3</a></div>
Biancahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16474110220485042652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763813662800978199.post-42372779059249022012011-09-01T15:52:00.005+10:002011-09-28T00:11:37.590+10:00China, Taiwan and Turkey - a trip for our director<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ANZAC Cove, where PBT will be visiting next year</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We bid farewell and happy travels to our fearless leader and his trusty sidekick today who are braving new travel experiences all for the sake of research. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">From there, they’re off to Taipei, Taiwan where they’ll experience the Ah Mei Tea House and then travel to Sun Moon Lake and explore the incredible National Park. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">All while they get to stay at the jaw-droppingly beautiful Lalu hotel <a href="http://www.thelalu.com.tw/">http://www.thelalu.com.tw</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That is where they will part ways and Michael will head on to Istanbul, Turkey. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We are currently in the midst of organising a bumper trip to Turkey and Greece for April next year hosted by Reverend Gordon Moyes with a special visit to ANZAC Cove. <a href="http://www.gordonmoyes.com/">www.gordonmoyes.com</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Michael will be making sure all the hotels chosen for the tour are up to PlanetBlue standard and will pay a visit to the 7 churches of Revelation scattered across the Coast. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The average temperature in China and Taiwan is about 25 – 30º Celsius at the moment and 33º Celsius in Turkey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jealous? Yes so are we!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bianca </span></div>
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Biancahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16474110220485042652noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763813662800978199.post-19859875862237098782011-08-30T07:35:00.001+10:002011-10-25T18:04:45.964+11:00PlanetBlue and engineers?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="s1">The first 'official post' on the PlanetBlueTours blog is not about some exotic destination or about the latest in cruising and not even about the most awesome cup of coffee. </span><br />
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<span class="s1">No.<br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivfqI75Rrk9Ifzl1n_60p1XmzOfsOVvTbJT3NquRviwdFEQGs6CcRwkukeplcWma_iaYxl5anbGcamUR5kt8V83yGlB0LMIjCsfc00_o8cHKTOQzLHIZJ2jLtKhLR1nKJX08-M5-ghBezP/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-08-30+at+7.31.49+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivfqI75Rrk9Ifzl1n_60p1XmzOfsOVvTbJT3NquRviwdFEQGs6CcRwkukeplcWma_iaYxl5anbGcamUR5kt8V83yGlB0LMIjCsfc00_o8cHKTOQzLHIZJ2jLtKhLR1nKJX08-M5-ghBezP/s320/Screen+shot+2011-08-30+at+7.31.49+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">It's about how an engineering student from the University of Technology, Sydney contacted the office asking to do an interview with the director of PlanetBlue for a group assignment.</span><br />
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<span class="s1">I am now sitting in my office waiting for a group of engineers armed with a video camera, microphone, notebooks and pens, getting ready to answer a bunch of questions about PlanetBlueTours and ERP's (Enterprise Resource Planning). </span><br />
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How cool is that!</div>
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<span class="s1">It seems they stumbled across the PlanetBlue website, liked that we do tours for 18-35's who want to do more than just party and drink. Then confirmed with the uni professor that PlanetBlue was suitable for the group assignment, got it all confirmed and now I am here waiting.<br />
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<span class="s1">I'm very excited to help out a group of young people, I also secretly love engineering so I have a feeling I'll be asking them more questions than they will be asking me.</span></div>
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So welcome to the official first post of PlanetBlueTours - where you can experience history, culture and <b>engineering</b>.<br />
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<span class="s1">I will post up in the next few days something travel related! Details on my most recent trip to the snow (first time to see the amazing white substance ever!)<br />
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Until then.</span><br />
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<span class="s1">MF</span></div>
</div>Michael Fattalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515853579138337617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763813662800978199.post-90241294525128757052011-08-19T19:05:00.001+10:002011-08-19T19:05:35.764+10:00About to launch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The official PlanetBlueTours blog is about to launch soon.<br />
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Watch this space!<br />
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</div>Michael Fattalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515853579138337617noreply@blogger.com0