Next time you race to catch a train… try and make sure you get INSIDE the train.

Tourist Chad Vance clung to Ghan train for two hours

A YOUNG American tourist has survived a terrifying train ride in which he clung to the outside of the legendary Ghan in the freezing dark as it hit speeds up to 110km/h in the South Australian Outback.

Chad Vance, 19, frantically pursued The Ghan after missing it in Port Augusta, managing to climb on and squeeze himself into a tiny stairwell as the train raced for almost 200km through the night.

Ever since SARS, China has take quarantines seriously as the mayor of New Orleans learned this week.

New Orleans mayor quarantined in China for possible flu exposure

The mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, has been quarantined in China after possible exposure to the H1N1 virus, his office said Sunday.

Mayor Ray Nagin, who traveled to China on an economic development trip, flew on a plane that carried a passenger being treated for symptoms suspected to be from the virus, commonly known as the swine flu virus, the mayor’s office said in a statement.

Want to take your 9mm pistol with you when you move? No problem, just get your roommate who works for the airline to help you sneak it on. Great idea… right?

FBI: Airline worker helped roommate get gun on jet

The FBI charged a US Airways employee with helping his roommate get a concealed, semiautomatic handgun onto a plane departing Philadelphia early Thursday.

Customer service agent Roshid Milledge switched black carry-on bags with passenger Damien Young at the gate so Young could board the 7 am flight to Phoenix with the unloaded 9 mm weapon, the FBI said in an affidavit.

Expect this study to spark a debate over how you should travel if you want to save the planet.

Train can be worse for climate than plane

True or false: taking the commuter train across Boston results in lower greenhouse gas emissions than travelling the same distance in a jumbo jet. Perhaps surprisingly, the answer is false.

A new study compares the “full life-cycle” emissions generated by 11 different modes of transportation in the US. Unlike previous studies on transport emissions, Mikhail Chester and Arpad Horvath of the University of California, Berkeley, looked beyond what is emitted by different types of car, train, bus or plane while their engines are running and includes emissions from building and maintaining the vehicles and their infrastructure, as well as generating the fuel to run them. (Table 1 on page 3 has a complete list of components that were considered).

But the bad news for the airlines:

World’s airlines set to lose $9 billion

The world’s airline will lose $9 billion this year on top of $10.4 billion lost in 2008, IATA has warned.

The airline body’s director general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani cautioned that a return of rising fuel prices was putting recovery from global recession at risk.

Airlines post 79% on-time rate in Apri

But some things have actually improved… of course it is easier to be on time when fewer passengers are getting on the plane.

U.S. airlines’ on-time performance improved in April compared to the previous month and the same month last year, according to a monthly federal report released Tuesday.

The 19 largest carriers recorded an overall on-time arrival rate of 79.1%, better than both the 77.7% of April 2008 and March 2009’s 78.4%, according the Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics. A flight is considered on time if it arrives within 15 minutes of schedule.

Some other blog posts that I liked:

• Seven Ways to Immerse Yourself in Spanish at Home
• 9 of the Weirdest World Heritage Sites
• Traveler’s 101 - The Complete Travel Tip Post

There was something about the airy clifftop setting of Amankila that made me feel like flying while I was there. Perhaps it was the way the three-tier pools flowed into each other and, seemingly, off the side of the precipice. It could have been the fact that the adjacent bar had no walls, just pillars, through which sunbeams and breezes swooped in and out. Or it could have been the far-reaching views, with the Lombok Strait fading into the horizon. A pair of wings would have been a good idea, though, to get down to the beach. Guests at this hotel can take a pathway cut into the hillside – or hitch a ride on a hotel buggy. Either way, the destination is worth the journey to the base of the cliff, to find a long, long swimming pool, its emerald surface reflecting the green of the coconut grove in which it sits.

It feels secret somehow – although not as secret as the beach lounging areas, set into the sand, surrounded by foliage, to create a sense of privacy. It might feel private, but hotel staff are instantly on hand to provide any requisites, should an urge to snorkel or sail or kayak or surf take hold of you. The hotel has a 40-foot outrigger anchored just offshore, designed after a jukung – a traditional Balinese fishing craft – and available for island cruising or private picnics on board. As you sail out to sea and look back at the resort, it barely makes an impression against the rich green hillside, with just some roofs visible: and even these fit perfectly into the Balinese backdrop, crafted as they are with alang alang thatching. Just as the boat reflects traditional Balinese design, so does the hotel, built to blend into the area instead of standing out starkly, as so many other hotels in beautiful places do. The individual suites here are set far apart from each other, and follow the lines and flow of their eastern Bali surroundings: in particular they echo the royal water palace just outside the district capital of Amlapura.

They are a little like mini-palaces themselves, these suites, with their canopied, king-size beds, and outdoor terraces with daybeds, and – depending on the suite – private pools. One suite has not just an aquamarine-tiled pool, but lily ponds and private butler service. Whichever little house on the hill you choose, even without a private butler, you could stay there without leaving for a week. These are rooms with views indeed, and the standard of room service is almost as high as the cliffside setting. But the surroundings are seductive too, and demand to be explored. A beguiling mix of religion, royal culture and architectural splendour is to be found in Old Bali, as this area is often called, and the nearby temples and villages have enough charm to make the walk along the winding walkways that lead away from each suite worthwhile. And that’s saying something.