Several of our regular attendees at Travel Talkers were not able to attend or attended the meeting late due to delays caused by Hurricane Nicole. Travel delays can be due to weather, equipment, staffing or some unnamed snafu. We’ve learned to be flexible and stay calm in the face of flight delays, lost luggage, missing travel documents and cancelled connecting flights.
During the Travel Topics section of the meeting, Vernitta asked us to respond to real or imagined travel delays. Meghan said if her vacation flight to Hawaii was delayed, she would head to the airline lounge and have a drink to start her vacation early. She cautioned us, however, not to party too much at the airport since you don’t want to miss your flight once it is finally ready to take off.
Shanthi and her daughter had one last connection with change of planes before they could get home after a 12-hour international flight with a connection on the East Coast before their final destination in the Midwest. When they entered the boarding area, they were told the flight was oversold and they could not get on the plane even though they had tickets and boarding passes. The airline was compensating travelers with hotel and travel vouchers and a seat on a flight the next day, but Shanthi just wanted to get home. Luckily there was a couple on the flight who were willing to give up their seats and take the hotel and travel vouchers offered so that Shanthi and her daughter could make the flight. They boarded the plane minutes before take off.
Our Destination Master, Shanthi stumped us with these clues clues about the mystery country:
1. The second least populated nation.
2. The second-fastest-growing economy in the world.
3. Tourism started in 1974.
4. Plastic bags have been banned since 1999.
5. The first country in the world to ban the production and sale of tobacco products in 2010.
6. The only country in the world to officially measure national happiness.
7. 72% of the country is covered by forest – Carbon negative country.
8. The economy is based on agriculture, forestry, tourism and the sale of hydroelectric power (with the major river valleys).
9. The average altitude is 2438m above sea level.
With these clues could you guess the name of the country?
If Bhutan sounds like a perfect place to visit, do your research first. Passport holders of countries other than India, Bangladesh, and the Maldives must visit Bhutan on a guided tour and visitors are limited. However, these requirements may be changing, https://www.tourism.gov.bt/.
Our featured speaker for the meeting was Elma. Her speech, “COVID-19: My Perspective” was about the benefits she experienced when all the Toastmasters Clubs moved to online meetings hosted on Zoom and other platforms. This gave her the opportunity to attend clubs around the world and network with other Toastmasters. She gained new confidence and took on leadership roles at the club and district level. I met Elma at a meeting of the Intercontinental Toastmasters Club, an internationally focused advanced club which meets on Friday 10:30 PM Eastern/7:30 PM Pacific/Saturday 3:30 AM UTC /8:00 AM IST. We are fortunate to have Elma attending Travel Talkers. She has invited her colleagues from the BFM Diplomats Toastmasters Club in Nassau, Bahamas to join our meetings. We enjoy their perspectives and travel stories.
Join us for our next meeting on November 17 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm Pacific (-8 UTC). The meeting theme is “Family Travel” Toastmaster, Helen; Destination Master, Kit; Speaker, Vernitta; Travel Topics Master, Elma.
Register for the meeting: https://tinyurl.com/TravelTalkersZoomLink
Looking forward to hearing your Travel Stories!
Helen Josephine,
Travel Talkers Toastmasters
Travel Talkers Toastmasters 
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