Donna's Favourites - 2002

 December 2002  - Look for some exciting new improvements on this web site in the next few months.  For starters I am actually doing my updates more frequently.  Look at this, it's only December 02 and I already have 44 new listings.  The list is growing my friends.  So here we go with the most memorable stories from this update:

• First in the train station section, Hattie does quite the selling job in promoting the Paris train stations.  Possible physical attacks, theft, employee ignorance and hypothermia are some of the Paris train station offerings.  Care to join me for a sleepover?  I didn't think so.

• Been there, done that.  So you buy a rail pass and plan to save money by sleeping on the train.  What happens when you buy a rail pass in the UK and the only overnight train is the London-Glasgow run?  Of course, you do that routing night after night.

• Oh those crazy kids in Los Angeles.  Apparently the only way to survive the night at LAX is to take a few hits of acid.  You'll need something a lot stronger than that, my friends, if you ever visit Port Moresby (murders) or Lagos (tarmac muggings).

• And finally I would like to commend Joseph Saldibar on excellent airport reporting.  Get out there and visit more airports for me, would you!  More thanks to a nameless contibutor who sent me stories on Bamako, Abidjan, Hamburg, Dhaka, Venice, Pogo, Bogota, and Latour de Carol.  He/she provided terminal names, dates and even times of his/her visit.  Thanks for such attention to detail.!

November 2002 - This update brings us the following treats:

• We all know (or assume) that airline, bus, train and boat staff get the most comfortable seats.  You think they want to share them with you?  Well, a crew member on the Turku-Stockholm ferry does.  He has supplied the access codes to get into the staff area.  Shame on him and shame on me for highlighting this point further by mentioning it on my favourites page.

• This Minneapolis listing  has a good description of the side effects from sleeping in a bad airport

• Depending on the city you happen to be visiting, suffering the inconvenience, bribery attempts, discomfort, etc at a shitty airport is actually a blessing that you will soon be leaving your present hell.  I like this new addition to the glowing Kiev reports. 

• Are you a woman travelling alone in Cairo?  Be prepared to be solicited for sex.

• You know an airport is bad when the only positive review comes regarding it's bathroom.  Check out Split, Croatia.

• Be a little suspicious of any airport that 1) does not have xray equipment to scan bags before you enter the plane and 2) has the equipment, but it's still wrapped in plastic because no one knows how to install it.

• Why do people take offence when an airport gets bad reviews?  Someone has taken offence that I do not edit your comments.  Please remember that this is not a censorship based web site, my friends, and I am not going to edit your comments to make sensitive people happy. 

August 2002 -  The popularity of the BTGSA airport hostals is on the rise.  As a visitor to this site, you will now learn that a few of our less civilized airport hostals offer:
- lockouts - at night which isn't so convenient
- free and unusual contoured beds in the form of counter tops, luggage carousals, the floor, urine covered washroom floors, and the famous bucket seat
- free meals, which, unfortunately, you need to catch yourself.  A rolled up newspaper is handy for swatting at your meals.
Ok, there were just a few listings during this update, so I had nothing else to write about.  I'm getting really silly.  Here is the listing that sent me off on a tangent.  

July 2002 - After 6 years and 1600 airport listings, the stories sometimes becomes a blur.  To help demonstrate this, in March 2001 we received a listing from Derek Rimmer, who took up residence in the handicapped bathroom at the Madrid airport.  Then in November 2001, we received a listing from a member of the Spanish wheelchair hockey team who tried to use this bathroom where our previous contributor had been camping out.  A special thanks goes out to Adam Taussik who pointed this out to me.  I should point out that the second story came a month after I listed Derek's story as a favourite, so it could be some jerk telling stories.  You decide for yourselves.

• Sleeping in airports with a child?  You're not alone, check out Heather Blumberg's story of Milan.

• People, please do be offended if travellers don't have a good time sleeping in your local airport.  Although coming to the defence of your airport is very noble, you are accustomed to the inconveniences and, likely, have not had to sleep there when your house is nearby.  For you Tel Aviv visitors, Roy would like to defend his airport.  But airport defenders should remember that if they're going to tell us about the comfortable seating that nobody else has been able to find, they need to tell us where this seating can be found.  

• This story from Florence is a reminder to airport sleepers that you need to arrive at the airport before the last flight departs/arrives.  Most airports will not kick you out if you have a ticket, but none will open their doors to you once you arrive and the doors are locked.  Having said that, I also received a message from Joe and Leslie describing their experience at Pisa, where they were kicked out at 12:30 AM.

• Good ole Dublin, the airport that started this site.  It looks like the airport executives have taken note of the only complaint I had about my stay - the announcements.  Read Colin Chang's update.

• As I was updating the Europe M page, listings started disappearing.  I lost a total of 24 listings and I no longer have the original message.  I don't want to lose anymore, so I have to find out what the problem is before I continue with the updates.  Frontpage sucks!

April 2002 - I was summoned for jury duty this week, so this is the perfect opportunity to update the site.

• This listing from someone with a layover in London doesn't say much for the city's ability to keep it's visitors awake.  This tired traveller caught up on some sleep during a bus tour.

• Read this Manchester listing for a tongue lashing on using prayer rooms as "hostels" and other things this site actively promotes.

January 2002 - Last weekend some dumbass wrote in my guestbook that after September 11, this site will be obsolete.  Huh???  I don't know what hick town you fly out of but here in the big city, dem airport folks 'er askin' us to be checked-in up ta 3 goddamn hours.  I think now more than ever we need to share our stories of coping with the extraordinary waiting times.  But I digress...on to my favourites for this update:

• If you're not sure you want a bunch of looky-loos hovering over you while you catch some z's, check out Julia Busetti and Emily Westergaard experience at the Norfolk airport.  They showed some initiative and put up a tent so that they could drool in private.  You go girls!

• Not an update goes by without a new Singapore listing.  In this one, our contributor stayed 3 DAYS.  He/she also gives some good prayer room etiquette advice should you be interested or religiously-challenged.

• I can't tell you how proud I was when I read a Fukuoka, Japan report in which Selina Hallam writes that when spotted she "claimed all innocence when accosted by an airport employee".  It's good to know that my Airport Sleeping Tips page is getting some hits.

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