Peter Farmer ( Traveller Letters, May 18 ), one of my biggest travel disappointments was a return visit to the Alhambra in Spain, in early June last year. After visiting as a young backpacker in 1982 when I remembered being only one of a few visitors, I looked forward to my return visit to take in the magnificent gardens and architecture that I am sure I had not fully appreciated at the time. As you experienced, the Alhambra was teeming with visitors and the experience lacked the awe that I had experienced all those years ago.
I have a similar photo to yours taken as testament to the crowds last year. I’m forever grateful that I was able to experience what I did in 1982 on a shoestring budget but it highlights how much travel has changed over the years and how it has become much more accessible to all in the developed world. That’s a good thing in many ways, but it could also spell disaster for the places we over-love.
Vicki Copping, Oatley, NSW I recently had return flights booked with Qatar Airways which cancelled my seat on one of the flights (operated by another airline). I was not informed until I went to check-in and was told that I was not registered for the flight. I later discovered that Qatar Airways had sent me one email informing me that there had been a change to a flight time.
It was not written in the email that my seat had been cancelled altogether. Of six flight bookings on the ticket, one had a time change and one was cancelled. Qatar Airways is refusing.
