Old Lad

So the Arctic adventures are over and I have to say it was everything I hoped it would be. I can recommend Havila ships as the way to travel – excellent service and food, and the added advantage that being ferries they can get into the small fjords that big cruise ships can’t. I was unsure what travelling solo would be like, and if I am honest it was a bit strange. There were conversations on the voyage but a lot of the time I just sat and read and watched the scenery go by. Single travellers are discriminated against by the travel industry. Costs are much higher with single supplements adding at least 50% or more to the costs. This even applies to those companies that specialise in solo traveller holidays. Add to this the fact that travel insurance is higher as you get older and it becomes clear that travel is expensive for Old Lads.

I travelled by train to Manchester Airport – the most relaxing way to get there without the stress of motorways. However it is 7 years since I last flew and I had forgotten what a dismal and dispiriting exercise air travel is! Dante’s Inferno describes, 9 circles of Hell. To my mind Manchester Airport is the tenth! It’s now too big and crowded, and appears to have been planned as a busy shopping mall that planes occasionally visit. The so called automatic check in didn’t work in that it did not print my bag tags. So I go to the check in desk and explain why I can’t do a bag drop, to be met with the reply “ Are you sure it didn’t work”! Security procedures are the usual nightmare – monosyllabic attendants who bark instruction – jacket off, belt off, pockets empty. They might as well be issued with cattle prods! Despite emptying my pockets and having no metal on me the new scanner sounds an alert. “What’s in your pocket” – “ It’s a handkerchief “ – “Show me!” and then I am grudgingly let through. “I’m paying you to do this” I mutter understand my breath. What happened to a bit of common courtesy? And so the long trudge to the boarding gate. I pass a sign that tells me it’s 6 minutes walk to the gate I need.

Is it because I’m older that I find this so unpleasant? It certainly feels more exhausting than it used to.. Lots of travel is meant to be the lot of a fitter and older generation but I would venture to say that air travel is getting to be too stressful with not just the airport horrors but also the fact that modern airlines have craftily cut back on space so expect to sit uncomfortably for 2 to 3 hours. And if like me you are getting a bit stiff getting up off a chair, try getting in and out of the middle seat of 3 in a Boeing 737! I suspect it may be a while before I contemplate flying. I think I will stick to the train. It’s the only way to travel for Old Lads – and the railway sandwiches have certainly got better!

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