👨‍✈️ The Briefing Room:

Notes and open topics from the editor’s desk.

Welcome Departures. The place to be for where to go and what to see. It is a very exiting week as India has finally opened for international travel. As such I have dedicated a couple of sections of this week’s newsletter to the country. I am also putting the finishing touches on the podcast and getting ready to launch video on the platform. So there will be a lot more to come in the next few weeks and months. But now without further ado let’s take this week’s edition of Departures away!

Alvin

📰 This Week in Travel:

A TLDR approach to some of the week’s most important headlines.

• After 2 years of isolation from the majority of the planet, India opened up for international travel this week and with the announcement, over 60 airlines from 40 countries have been granted permission to fly in to the country. Among the biggest carriers, Emirates will operate 170 weekly flights. Air Arabia, Sri Lanka Airlines, Oman Air, Singapore Airline, British Airways, Lufthansa and United Airlines will operate 140, 128, 115, 65, 49, 32, 28 weekly flights respectively.

• One of the most anticipated features for Apple iPhone users started rolling out this week. Initially announced at WWDC a few months ago, Arizona residents in the United States running iOS version 15.4 and above can now add their drivers license into their phone’s wallet for easy transit through TSA airport security checkpoints. The company plans on slowly rolling out the feature to other states and countries in the coming months, so make sure you bookmark the above link to see when it becomes available in your neck of the woods.

• France’s domestic flight ban goes into effect this week. In an effort to reduce carbon emissions, the law that was initially passed by the senate last year will ban all domestic flights that can be made by train in 2 1/2 hours or less. This will affect flights from Paris to Bordeaux and Paris to Lyon among others.

📸 Destination Deep Dive:

Comprehensive multipart series on a single destination.

France Part 07

Last week on Destination Deep Dive: France Part 06 we went for a walk through one of my favorite scenic routes along the banks of the Seine River and around Square du Vert-Galant. This week we start going down the list of some of my favorite rooftops in the city.

In the interest of not veering to far from Paris’ first arrondissement and the area we have been exploring for the last few weeks around Notre-Dame, I’m kicking off my rooftop compilation with what is the one with the most spectacular and panoramic views of the entire city, Montparnasse Tower. Completed in 1973, the 59 floor skyscraper remains one of the tallest buildings in the European Union and stood as the tallest building in France until was surpassed by the Tour First building in 2011.

Though mostly an office building, the 2 main highlights for visitors are the open air rooftop observation deck which offers 360 degree views of the city and the excellent Ciel de Paris restaurant on the 56th floor. I will do a complete write up of the restaurant on a separate post, but for now all I will tell you is it offers almost equally jaw dropping views of the city with just as impressive menu under a modern climate controlled dining room. For the latest observation deck operating hours and to buy tickets, go through the official website:

https://www.tourmontparnasse56.com/en/

Next week on Destination Deep Dive: France Part 08 we continue our tour of the best roof tops in Paris.

About Destination Deep Dives

Destination Deep Dives offer a more immersive look at one particular destination in a recurring format over a several editions of the newsletter. It is where I give myself room to explore a broader set of points of interests, for all travel styles and budgets. Think of them as small parts of a larger travel guide. Even though I will be publishing them all together as one guide at the end of the series, you may access them all as individual articles inside their corresponding Departures edition here:

• France Part 01 // Notre Dame

• France Part 02 // La Tour d’Argent

• France Part 03 // La Samaritaine

• France Part 04 // Shakespeare & Company

• France Part 05 // Café Le Procope

• France Part 06 // Square du Vert-Galant

🗺 Bucket List:

Short highlight of a dream destination.

There are plenty of places in this planet I have yet to go. But out of all the countries still on my own personal bucket list, India has been on the top the longest. Before the pandemic hit, I had started planning a 6 month trip to the country that would take me to most of the places I had been pegging on my travel map throughout the years. Now that the country has opened up for international travel again, I will be revisiting my old travel plan and making some adjustments to accommodate visiting some friends and hopefully a few more cities. If any of you have any recommendations, I would love to hear them either on the comments section or by replying to the newsletter.

If you were to take a trip to India, where would you go?

Leave a comment

🧳 Carry-on Only:

Travel experience, tech and accessory reviews.

AER Travel Collection 2022

Right on queue, as we all get ready to hit the runway, another one of my favorite California based bag labels has just released an updated third generation of their Travel Collection for 2022. Available in a variety of colors and materials like 1680D ballistic Cordura and lightweight VX-42 X-Pac, the collection include the Travel Pack 3, Travel Pack 3 Small, Flight Pack 3, Day Sling 3 Max, Day Sling 3 and Travel Kit 2.

via aersf.com

💰 Deal of the Week:

Special sales and offers from all over the web.

For this week’s Deal of the Week I found this amazing deal departing from London to Mumbai on May 12th for only $183. The trip makes stops at Cluj and Abu Dhabi before reaching its final destination 18 hours later in Mumbai. So definitely not for the faint of heart or anyone trying to get there fast. But for those good with trading a little time and convenience, this is one of the best deals I have seen in a long while. If you prefer arriving in New Delhi, there is a similar itinerary the same day for $194.

via gotogate.com

🛠 Hack of the Week:

Tips and tricks for better travel quality of life.

Here at Departures, we prefer to always go carry-on only. But there’s a little trick we like to save for those rare times where we need to check luggage. Before handing your suitcase at the counter, ask for a free “Fragile” tag or label. Most airlines baggage handlers will place these on top to the pile inside the baggage compartment and they are usually the first ones to come off the plane and on to the conveyor belt at your destination.

🛫 About Us:

Departures is a free newsletter about photography, travel & lifestyle. To find out more about what this is, who I am and why should you be here, visit our dedicated about page here:

About Departures