The maximum speed of the KLIA Ekspres appeared to be 160 km/h, and it was touted as the fastest train in Southeast Asia. The train had free Wi-Fi over a 4G network, so we were able to send photos home and chat on Gtalk. We also tested a Gtalk video call with each other while sitting on the same train, and it worked. I wished more people back home had Android devices so I could talk with them.

Every time I travel, I discover something I could have done better. I now follow many of those lessons, such as bringing only electronics that charge via USB, but still forget others, such as packing a stuff sack for dirty clothing. This trip to Bali began with a lesson I will not forget: before leaving the airport, confirm that the taxi driver understands the destination. My delayed flight arrived after midnight, but the taxi desk was still open. I organised a prepaid taxi for 135,000 rupiah, or about US$13. Prepaying reduced the need to haggle and removed any concern about a longer route increasing the fare. My previous taxi ride in Bali had been straightforward, but this time the driver and I had no language …

Photos from a brief transit in Vancouver.

TDX data has been available for a number of years on 131500.info, but many tools are GTFS specific. I also find GTFS easier to work with. Luckily, converting from TDX to GTFS is not overly difficult, and below are some instructions. This howto is a bit old, as I am only now copying it from my “Notes” folder to put online to help others. Note: You can now directly download GTFS from the TransportInfo website: https://tdx.131500.com.au

I seldom used Facebook, and felt some kind of negative emotion after logging on each time. I don’t know if I am alone in feeling this way, but each time still felt a bit like a secret contest. A bit, not a lot, but sort of subconsciously. Honestly, though, even at an involuntary subconscious level, I don’t like this sort of negative feeling. I would rather be sharing ideas or creating something. Wish me luck.

Here’s a little hack I thought I’d share. There are maybe other ways to do this, but this way took all of two minutes, which suits me. My daily routine has me taking a train along the Inner West Line (here in Sydney), and I wanted to know in advance if there was any issues with the line. 131500 provides weekely emails about upcoming trackwork, and there’s an RSS feed of delays; this is what you’d see in many of the Sydney transport-related apps. Another information source is through Twitter. For all of these sources I only really care about the one line I take every day - the quickest answer would seem to be if I could only get updates on Twitter for my line

For the previous month, I had been hearing hints about a surprise birthday holiday to an unknown destination. That weekend, I finally learned that I would be travelling to Cairns in Queensland, a gateway to some of Australia’s greatest natural wonders. I left Sydney early on Friday and arrived at Cairns Airport by 9:00am. Although activities were booked for days two and three, the first day was open. After considering my options, I decided to take the Skyrail over Barron Gorge National Park and return to Cairns on the historic railway.

Now that my Europe trip has ended, I need to leave a note of things I wish I had done better, both travel-wise, and the stuff I brought along. I like to travel light, and find it a little comical when I see people struggling with giant 70L backpacks; I always do carry-on, no matter for a two week trip, or two months. (This means my packs have to weigh less than 7KG). Even in winter it is possible to pack light. The trick seems to be only packing what one will use regularly, with no duplicates, of appropriate size, and hopefully reusable for other purposes. Don’t pack anything you would be gutted if it broke.

This is going to be a very short post, as there is not much to tell. This was my first time setting foot in the Middle East. My plane stopped in Abu Dhabi on the way back from Europe. One memory that will last a lifetime is stepping off the plane and walking to the bus that would take us to the terminal. After winter in Europe, the desert heat hit me like a wall.

After weeks of travel across Europe and thousands of kilometres, I concluded my big 2012 trip with a long stay in Istanbul. I knew there would be a lot to see, although I hadn’t planned far ahead. Even though I arrived rather late at night, I still went out to explore. Istanbul is a foodie’s paradise, perhaps not quite like Singapore, but with delightful sweets on every corner. Day 0 - I ate.