I’ve ridden on what was at the time the world’s fastest rollercoaster, Formula Rossa in Abu Dhabi. It accelerates from zero to 240km/h in five seconds with nearly 4.8G of force. Riders wear goggles to protect their eyeballs.
I didn’t enjoy the experience and felt physically ill for the remainder of the day, but it made me think about travel and always wanting to go faster, further and better.
The world’s fastest rollercoaster, Formula Rossa, is an eye-boggling attraction at Abu Dhabi’s Ferrari World Park. iStock Why do we insist on doing certain things, even though intuition or experience tells us we mightn’t enjoy them? Why are we sucked in by bucket lists and frequent-flyer points, and seduced by luxury hotels and Michelin stars? Well, for valid reasons occasionally, and there’s no harm if approached in good measure.
But often a bit more balance might deliver better holidays, and our quest for the best might be better directed towards a more rounded travel experience.
I’ve yet to meet a traveller unwilling to discuss at length their jet lag, and how to minimise it. Getty Images Sign up for the Traveller newsletter
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Of course, different people obsess over different things – though I’ve yet to meet a traveller unwilling to discuss at length their jet lag , or theories on how to minimise it. We all have our niche preoccupations, from the coldness of our beer to how early we should arrive at airports.
But here are some obsessions I dare say are widespread. No harm in occasionally giving into their lure, of course, but let’s not make them an all-consuming passion.
Bucket lists
The Eiffel Tower is just a bit of romanticised ironmongery, and you could spend a better half-day in Paris. iStock I get it. We all have a need to understand the world by ordering it, ranking it and making sense of the information overload. We want to know we’ve been to the right places and not missed out. But consider bucket lists an indication, not an obligation.
I don’t believe there are any genuine must-sees. Van Gogh paintings aren’t must-sees for those with no taste for sunflowers or severed ears. The Eiffel Tower is just a bit of romanticised ironmongery, and you could perhaps spend a better half-day in Paris than on a visit to it.
In short, don’t let the hype and peer pressure overcome your instincts. And don’t succumb to the herd instinct. Bucket lists have ruined many places through overdevelopment and overcrowding. Inconvenienced locals become enraged.
You don’t get bonus points and a free set of steak knives by ticking off lists of places that someone else has decided are terrific. They aren’t curated to your likes, and you’re better off wisely cherry-picking. There’s no better bucket list than one you draw up yourself.
Rooms with a view
How much time are you going to spend in your hotel room? Even when there, how long will you stand by the window? iStock The view is one of the top lures used by hotel advertisers when, really, we’d be better off being assured whether the bed is comfortable, and hot water reliably produced, and in a shower space large enough to avoid bruised elbows.
Our desire for rooms with a view isn’t so much obsessive as misguided. Ocean-gazing rooms cost more than city-gazing rooms in the same hotel, even though the light-twinkled cityscape can be far more pleasing at night.
You pay significantly less if you forgo any kind of view but get the same room category. And realistically, how much time are you going to spend in your hotel room? Even when there, for how long will you stand by the window? Ten seconds?
Save your $100 extra dollars and spend it on a cable-car ride, or cocktails on a scenic terrace, or an ascent to the top of a skyscraper. That’s view-money better spent, and more enjoyable.
Airport lounges
Airport lounges are where we pay a lot of money for lacklustre finger food and champagne that’s only sparkling. Nothing pleases us more than being able to post on social media from an airport lounge, preferably with a glass of champagne and our business-class ticket “casually” displayed in the foreground.
Airport lounges allow us to show off, which is a sensible and appropriate thing to do in what are for many people straitened financial times – just ask Marie Antoinette, who would never have mingled with riffraff in the terminal concourse.
Why do we consider airport lounges so wonderful? We pay a lot of money for lacklustre finger food and that champagne which – oh, sorry – is only sparkling wine. Some lounges are so overcrowded that you can barely find a seat, let alone a shower.
Those who can afford business-class travel presumably stay in very nice hotels and eat in fine restaurants, and yet they seem to be overcome by being offered limp canapés in airport lounges. I don’t know what that’s all about – but how do I get in?
Perfect beaches
The perfect beach entrances for a while, and then we move on to more…
Read the full article at The Sydney Morning Herald →
Australia