After a sleepless flight from Dallas to Newark to Heathrow, I’ve arrived in London. Unlike my last flight here in November, which was also sleepless, this didn’t seem so bad. The actual transatlantic part of the flight was around 6.5 hours which is tolerable. Actually, I’m not sure it is tolerable so much as I’m just used to longer flights now. Once you’ve done DFW to SYD, or JFK to JNB, anything under 8 hours isn’t that big of a deal.
The reason I’m in London is because I’ll be speaking at an event tomorrow night: Future of Tourism which is sponsored by G Adventures. I did one last October when I was in Toronto and I’ll also be doing one next month in Melbourne.
The event takes place tomorrow, Tuesday March 20 at the Royal Institution. I’ll be speaking on the same stage where Marie Curie and HG Wells have spoken. Admission is free but make sure to reserve a seat ahead of time.
I’ll also be hosting a meetup on Wednesday, March 21 at the Marylebone from 6:30-8:30pm. If you are in London and love travel, come by for a pint. I might be convinced to stay later if there are still people hanging around :)
My journey to London was interesting. I had to go through security twice and for the first time I can never remember, I didn’t go through a metal detector. I had to go through the porno scanners both times. In the past when I’ve been forced to use those things, I also had to go through a metal detector.
Given the problems with scanners, this seems like a huge step backwards in security. All you really need to do is put something in your wallet and then hold it over your head when they ask you to. The scanners do NOT check for metal, it is just looking for bulges.
One final reminder to enter the contest we are running to win a Scottevest Transformer Jacket. It just takes a few clicks to enter!
Links
- In Mexico, the middle class is becoming the majority.
- This guy can speak 50 languages.
- Palestine’s entry into UNESCO could mean that the Church of the Nativity could get repairs.
- Confrontation brews as U.N. World Heritage pact turns 40
- Speaking of Links, Jodi Ettenberg has launched an email newsletter of great links
When we left Singapore two weeks ago, we went through five security checks, including two metal detectors, two wandings and a pat down. That, in contrast, was a bit much.