The border guards are usually polite and tell me there's nothing wrong with my passport (not that they would tell me if I were on a watchlist). This only happens at Heathrow, all other machines read my passport fine. I can even read my passport's NFC chip on Linux.

I was following the instructions to use the gates - specifically this one:

After 3 failed attempts, it told me to seek assistance. As there were lots of free gates, I decided to test a theory.

I went to a different gate, inserted my passport, and held it down with my left hand. The gate successfully read my passport and let me through.

What's the difference between my left and right hand? On my left, I wear my wedding ring, on my right, I wear an NFC ring!

As far as I can tell, the ePassport Gate is only expecting one NFC response to its query. That's pretty reasonable. I suspect it prevents people holding two different passports in the reader. Most other eGates that I've used don't require the passport to be held down; they pull it in.

So, there you have it. If you wear an NFC ring, or have an NFC implant, be aware that it can cause "card clash" which could confuse passport readers.

People told me that it was impossible to be veggie in Japan. That was nonsense. I wouldn't say it was easy, but it was possible with a little bit of planning.

First, the good news! I found loads of fully veggie restaurants in Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, and Hiroshima. If you and your travelling companions are happy to be veggie all the time, you'll be fine.

All the larger convenience stores had some veggie options. Usually cut vegetables, or potato crisps, or egg-salad sandwiches. Some of them had tofu sushi and the like.

You aren't going to be able to wander into any random restaurant and get a veggie feast (although you'll probably find edamame everywhere!) but you can find omni-places which do decent veggie-friendly fare. Even street-food markets usually had at least one suitable offering. I had flame-grilled bamboo, tornado potatoes, local cakes, and a few other tasty treats as we strolled along. Google Translate goes a long way if you want to make certain.

Now the bad news. How much plausible deniability do you want in your life? Almost nothing in supermarkets or restaurants has the ⓥ symbol or similar on it. In Europe you'll find it everywhere, here you'll have to point your phone at the menu and trust the AI to translate correctly.

Bonito (fish-flakes) is everywhere. It is added as flavouring much like the West adds salt and sugar. It often goes unlabelled. Even at a restaurant specialising in tofu, I was served a little dish of bonito - thankfully on the side. It's up to you how much you care about this. I took the pragmatic decision that if there weren't great big lumps of flesh in my food then I was going to let it slide.

I ordered the special Vegan Ramen in one place. It was made with a different soup base to the meaty one (as confirmed by my omniwife) but it did also have a boiled egg in it!

As I've mentioned before, there are no Vegan Morality Police. You can be as flexible as you like with your diet and you won't be sent to hell. Which is lucky, because you might need a fair bit of flexibility in Japan!

There are various campaigns in Japan to raise awareness of veggie issues - including better labelling of food. But, for now, you may have to go with the flow.

A few apps make things easier:

• Google Translate is good - but not flawless.
• Payke is a shopping app with a built in barcode scanner. Zap something in a shop and it will probably tell you the ingredients in English. The app - like many in Japan - isn't attuned to Western ideas of usability, but it mostly works.
• HappyCow is essential. It lists veggie restaurants and omni restaurants with a decent selection of suitable food.
• Google Maps was adequate - but check the results carefully.
• Tabelog lists every restaurant in Japan and has lots of reviews from locals - I couldn't find an easy way to show only veggie-friendly places though.

There are no shortage of decent veggie places. Some are Izakaya bars with touch-screen menus mostly translated into English. Others are fine-dining with a set multi-course tasting menu. You'll find veggie versions of all the classic Japanese dishes - or burger & chips if that's what you want.

And here's some tips that I picked up along the way:

• There are lots of Italian restaurants in Japan. You can usually find a few veggie dishes in those.
• Similarly, Indian restaurants always have an aloo-gobi or similar if you fancy a curry.
• Hotel breakfasts are usually well-labelled. All the ones I went to explicitly said if food had meat or fish in it. If all else fails, a bowl of rice and pickles will fill you up!
• The chain "Mos Burger" has a couple of plant-based "green" burgers on its menus. They were pretty good!
• Lots of the veg-only places we went to were full of tourists. You may not get the "authentic local" experience if you stick to just those sorts of restaurants.
• Have a few beers or a couple of glasses of Sake if you think you accidentally ate something you'd rather not have.

Here are a few photos and reviews of some of the places I enjoyed - you can read more on my HappyCow profile.

A Vegan Walks Into A Steak Restaurant...

One of the best vegan meals I had in Japan was at - of all places - a Halal Kobe Beef restaurant! They specialise in eye-wateringly expensive cuts of meat. But they also had a vegan set menu which was exquisite.

A perfect vegan miso, with a sesame salad, followed by tofu and vegetables grilled in front of me. A half-dozen mock-meat gyoza with various dipping sauces. Then garlic rice which blew my nose away.

Located in the very touristy Dotonbori district, it was quiet at lunch but I recommending booking in advance. A spectacular meal with a very friendly chef.

Ramen

There is a chain of ramen restaurants called Ramen Kiou. Like lots of fast-ish food places in Japan, you order using a touch-screen at the table. This chain has a helpful screen describing their vegan policy:

There were several veggie options and, as it is an open kitchen, you can watch the chefs work.

What's better than one vegan gyoza?

Eleven vegan gyoza!

The aptly-named Vegan Gyoza restaurant in Tokyo served us up a selection of their steamed bundles of happiness. Each was a distinct flavour and each was a unique colour. Splendid!

So Good We Went There Twice

I don't usually revisit restaurants while on holiday - but Nezu Noya was so good we made an exception!

Hidden inside a health-food store, it's a small restaurant so you may need to wait if you haven't booked.

The chopstick holders were delightful seashells. I assume even the most ardent vegan wouldn't consider that problematic 😄

Too Much Tofu

We wandered around the bamboo forests north of Kyoto and were suddenly overtaken by an all-consuming need to eat tofu. We found ourselves at Yudofu Sagano - they are a restaurant set in beautiful gardens, with several cosy rooms inside. We sat on the floor (!) while we were served a ten-course tofu lunch.

Here's a small selection of what we had.

There was a simmering pot of tofu in the centre, and then a plethora of of other styles. In all honesty, it was too much - but in an excellent way! Each dish was explained to us, which allowed me to avoid the fish-flakes (served on the side).

Beer and Grub

An Izakaya is a sort of bar which which does food. Again, you tap on an onscreen menu or scan a QR code to order. Then food and drink appears at your table.

We found a Vegan Izakaya in Kyoto which had space for us - which was lucky as it was pretty full.

They had a KFC-style coating on their mushrooms which was excellent - and a decent range of beer.

Naramachi Vegan Nabi ならまちヴィーガン菜美

No trip to Japan is complete without visiting Nara, and no visit to Nara is complete without visiting Vegan Nabi!

This is a cat themed restaurant. There are no cats wandering around. Gorgeously decorated with lots of cat-based artwork and jewellery to buy. The food is outstanding. Fresh and obviously made with love.

The green blob by the soy sauce is not wasabi - it is super strength yuzu pickle.

And more...

If you're vegetarian or vegan, you can find plenty of options in major cities. We had no trouble eating at veggie-friendly restaurants in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Hiroshima. You may need to be a little flexible about what you consider veggie - but should be able to enjoy a delicious range of food.

I packed a bunch of snack bars, stocked up Google translate with suitable phrases, and resigned myself to having to pick the ham out of a salad while my wife dined on local specialities. Ah well, I can survive on bread and olives, I guess.

As it happens, I was wrong. Totally and utterly wrong. From Bratislava to Zagreb, I had my fill of tasty veggie treats without fuss. Even the trains weren't too bad.

Here's a quick run-down of what worked and what went (slightly) awry. Or skip to the photos.

On-Train Dining

This was the most variable experience.

The Deutsche Bahn trains had an web site which let you order to your seat! I tried the vegan currywurst which was excellent for train-food. Similarly, the tofu-curry was better than I expected, and was washed down with a lovely radler.

Some of the Czech trains had a selection of sandwiches and salads which were veggie and vegan.

Breakfast on the sleepers was pastry (with dairy) and some fruit. The train from Germany to Paris had a single vegan dish - grated carrot!

The Eurostar back to the UK served up a perfectly fine salad, with yoghurt on the side. They were very good at getting me some non-dairy spread for my bread.

Some trains had no dining car, or only took cash, or nothing veggie. So it is always worth stocking up before travelling. Which leads me on to…

Supermarkets

While other countries don't have the same pre-packed sandwich culture as the UK, you can always find crisps, snack bars, instant noodles, and - sometimes - pre-packed salads.

The Ⓥ symbol is pretty universal - but it's handy to know what the local word is for "Milk". Across Europe, labelling rules are pretty strict, which is good because…

Allergens

The EU has a list of common food allergens. I think nearly every restaurant menu we saw had prominent labelling under each dish. Even if you can't translate exactly what you're eating, it is easy to spot a dish with dairy, eggs, etc.

Say, how do you find good restaurants to eat at?

Happy Cow to the Rescue!

I've spent 12 very happy years using Happy Cow - it list restaurants which are either pure veggie, or have decent veggie options. So before getting to a city, we found restaurants that looked promising.

In fairness, nearly every restaurant we passed had at least something vegetarian on the menu. Usually something cheesey or a side dish of vegetables. But Happy Cow showed us restaurants which had a good selection of omni dishes and veggie dishes. As Liz is an omni, we ate at a mix of places and, to be honest, some of the mixed restaurants were better than the veggie only ones!

You can read all my reviews on my profile.

Local Cuisine

It's no fun going to a brand new European country and only eating veggie sushi and Quorn sausages. Thankfully, we had a great range of local cuisine done in the veggie style.

In Frankfurt I had a vegan Sausage with cabbage salad and home fried potatoes, paired with some lovely apfelwein. I had various simulacrums of local dumplings in sauce, the traditional sandwich with a veggie twist, and the world famous cake make without dairy. Lush!

Of course, it isn't all local dishes for local people. We also went to a very strange influencer restaurant in Slovenia who were happy to chat about which dishes were suitable.

Cultural Hegemony

Despite Brexit, English is still widely spoken. When we tried speaking in the local language we were immediately handed an English menu! And, on the few occasions that didn't happen, Google Translate is basically magic.

Lots of the dishes may be strange to you. That's OK, it is all part of the adventure. But, if you do freak out…

In An Emergency

In every city in Europe, I guarantee you'll find one of the following:

• A falafel stand which claims to cook the only authentic falafel in town.
• A Chinese takeaway with an excellent selection of tofu dishes.
• An Indian restaurant who can do a range of "pure vegetarian" meals.
• A big chain fast-food place,

Luckily, I didn't have to resort to a veggie whopper or a KFC vegetable wrap, but it was nice to know I could fall back on them if needed.

Where it went wrong

There were only a few hiccoughs. Some of the restaurants had slow service or rude staff - but you get that in any restaurant.

One veggie place we went to served the worst vegan schnitzel I've ever tried. Tasted like flattened cardboard coated with crumbled disappointment.

I was pretty sure one of the packet of crisps I bought was milk free, but on closer inspection I was mistaken. Off to vegan jail for me!

Should I Do This?

Yes! If you follow a veggie or vegan diet, Europe is very accommodating. We found kebab shops which only did plant-based dishes, high class restaurants with a couple of incredibly inventive dishes, and everything in between.

Sure, the options on trains can be a bit dicey sometimes, and there's always the suspicion that the waiter has mistaken your order, but it is basically fine.

Nearly every restaurant has a website where you can check the menu in advance, and most of them support online reservations.

Honestly, there's never been a better time to be a veggie in Europe.

Photos

Please enjoy these various shots of delicious food from across Europe.

There are lots of companies which will sell you a pre-designed package Interrailing tour - but we decided to tread our own path. We spent a few weeks poring over maps and rail planners, scouring booking.com for hotels, and working out where we would stop for laundry!

This is a practical look at our itinerary, how we booked the journeys, and the travel snags we faced. If you think you can do better, please write your own blog post.

London to Amsterdam

The Eurostar itself is the most civilised way to travel. Get on train in city centre, a few hours later get off train in a foreign city centre.

The pre-travel experience isn't great. St Pancras is, sadly, dangerously overcrowded. Tried to get into the Premium lounge but even with 1st class tickets we were rebuffed. We also had the wrong sort of Amex for access.

Also annoyingly, there are only limited 1st class seats available for Interrail passengers. So our choice was 1st class with a change in Brussels or standard direct. We went direct so we didn't have to faff with a change. The seating in modern Eurostar trains is fairly spacious.

Amsterdam to The Hague & Back

The Interrail app made this simple. Go to the journey planner, pick a train, add it to your journey.

The massive Aztec Code opened the gates, and we strolled on to a train and sat upstairs. The return was just as simple.

Amsterdam to Frankfurt

Our first attempt at buying reservations. Annoyingly, the Interrail app punts you out to their website. Even more annoyingly, they cheekily add a booking fee - we found out later that DB's website (which has an English version) is fee free.

There's also no ability to select your seats with the Interrail website.

Again, a painless journey. The vegan currywurst was more than adequate for train food. The police passed through the train at one point checking passports - so useful to keep your papers close to hand.

WiFi was free and had a bunch of entertainment services if you get bored of looking out the window.

Frankfurt to Zurich

Frankfurt station has a 1st class lounge - but not for Interrail passengers. Thankfully the main station has plenty of seating.

The night before departure, the Interrail app said seat reservations weren't necessary, but the DB website recommended them. Reservations were easy in the DB site and it let us pick our seats - only 6 were showing as available. We got on and the train was packed, so it was certainly worth the few Euro for a reservation.

No police checks but, on departing Basel's Swiss station, the guard checked passports.

Zurich to Brugg & back

A quick hop over to visit a castle. No barrier checks at Zurich's station. It is quite large, so worth leaving a few extra minutes to walk all the way down to the platforms.

Incredibly roomy 1st class on the upper deck.

We walked all the way to a minor station, hopped on a train back to the city.

After walking for an hour to a little bar where we met some friends, we found another little station to take us home. We didn't even have time to climb the stairs before we were back!

Zurich Cruise

The various benefits of the Interrail ticket aren't always obvious. We went on a lake cruise and were pleasantly surprised to discover that we got 50% off the 1st class tickets. We sat in the sunshine and took in the surrounding glamour.

Zurich to Prague Sleeper

This was one of our anchor journeys. 10 weeks before departure, we booked a private sleeper compartment.

We arrived at the station an hour early and had a slightly nervous wait for the train to appear on the departure board. Confusingly, there were two sleepers listed in the app, with subtly different routes but the same departure and arrival times.

Turns out, the train splits, with half going to Prague and the rest elsewhere. The train arrived about 15 minutes before departure, which was a little unnerving!

The private carriage had four free bottles of mineral water and some slippers, which was a nice touch.

Beer and wine was available to buy. There was a vegetarian breakfast, but nothing vegan other than a bread roll and a bottle of fruit juice.

Sleep was possible, although the starting and stopping of the train is quite disturbing.

No border checks. So we stepped off into the city centre.

Prague Public Transport

We paid about £11 for unlimited trams, buses, and metro for 3 days. Well worth it!

Prague to Bratislava

Annoyingly the Interrail app doesn't let you select seats, so it is always a hop off to the provider's website to select from a seating map. I wouldn't mind, but Interrail have the temerity to charge an inflated price for seat reservations plus a booking fee.

I found it was cheapest to book reservations directly on https://CD.cz - note that they have shitty customer service for when things go wrong.

For example, our 1st class carriage was cancelled! We received an email after we had boarded changing us to 2nd class. Not ideal but we eventually battled through the crowds to get to our seats. Well, somewhere close to our seats.

No border inspection, but the ticket checker wanted to make sure our IDs matched our tickets.

WiFi was a bit rubbish, kept disappearing, but I was eventually able to submit a refund request for our seat reservations.

Bratislava to Budapest

A 10 minute delay in departure led to a 20 minute delay in arrival, but the 1st class carriage was available. We each got a free bottle of water. No toilet paper or hand driers in the loos. No passport checks at the border.

Budapest Public Transport

An utter failure! Despite the machine being in English, we just couldn't work out how to buy a single bus ticket. So we walked.

Budapest to Vienna

Slightly confusingly there are multiple stations which go to Vienna. Neither of which were the station we arrived at!

The Interrail app, once again, wouldn't let us book seat reservations - so I registered for yet another train provider's website.

Keleti station has a 1st class lounge. Basic drinks and snacks available - although the only vegan food was pistachios 😆

The lounge was right next to the Vienna train's platform, which made for a relaxing wait.

At seat dining service, although the web-based ordering system was a bit slow. Had a surprisingly decent tofu curry and beer.

No passport checks and only 5 minutes late.

Vienna Public Transport

Very easy to buy a 24 hour pass - all the machines spoke English. Tickets were pre-validated so we could jump on and off throughout our stay.

Vienna to Graz

The OBB lounge is available to 1st class Interrail holders. So a relaxing wait for the train. Some snacks and drinks available.

Departed and arrived on time. Only thing of note was that a couple of the toilets were out of order.

Graz to Ljubljana

Graz station also has a 1st class lounge. Our Interrail tickets didn't work on the automatic scanner, but the ÖBB agent took pity on us and opened the door. Plenty of snacks and drinks available.

One of the few journeys where we couldn't choose our seats when reserving. As a result, we were assigned to seats at opposite ends of the only 1st class carriage. Luckily, it wasn't very full so we grabbed two free seats next to each other.

No WiFi on the train, which was odd. That said, the quality of WiFi has been highly variable on these journeys.

The dining car was cute but cash only. The only vegan thing on the menu was a salad.

Train was old and rickety, came in a few minutes late.

Long wait at the border and a couple of ticket checks - but no passport inspection.

Ljubljana to Zagreb

Train arrived on time, but no 1st class compartments. A fair few disgruntled Interraillers. No WiFi on the fairly decrepit train. But the 2nd class carriage had little compartments of 6 seats, so it wasn't too bad.

No power sockets, so glad I had my big battery with me. No air con, although the windows could be dragged open. No food or drink that I could see either. Primitive toilets.

Tickets were checked once we were over the border, but no passport control.

Czech railways, who sold us the 1st class reservation, refused a refund because we couldn't prove there was no 1st class! They refused to check with the train operator. So I filed a credit card dispute.

Zagreb Public Transport

Like other cities, there's a 24 and 72 hour pass for unlimited rides. We got the Zagreb Card which also came with entry to a bunch of museums.

Trams were plentiful. No need to show your ticket unless an inspector appears. Stops were announced in Croatian and English. Some trams were clean and modern, others ancient and filthy.

Zagreb to Stuttgart Sleeper

Another "tent-pole" journey booked weeks in advance. We managed to get a private berth for two - but without a toilet / washing facilities.

Zagreb station has left-luggage lockers which were big enough for our massive packs.

Train arrived 40 minutes early. Unfortunately, there was a problem without our coach so, after much shunting, a new one was procured. Rather than a 2 person berth, we got a 6 person couchette - albeit all to ourselves.

No WiFi, but plenty of phone signal along the line. One toilet didn't have soap, the other had no paper. Choose wisely!

At 0415 we crossed the border to Germany. Whereupon the police boarded, knocked loudly on our door, and demanded to see our passports.

I'll be honest, it wasn't the best quality sleep I've ever had! Breakfast was a pre-packaged chocolate croissant. No vegan option, but we did get some bottled water.

Given the reservation was over €200, we were somewhat underwhelmed!

Stuttgart Public Transport

Find a machine at the U-Bahn, select English, pay a few € for a day pass. As with every other country there are no ticket barriers and you don't have to present your ticket to the driver.

Stuttgart to Ludwigsburg & back

Cheeky little day-trip on our last full day. Trains every 10 minutes. 1st class available on the way out, but not the way back. But, for a 13 minute journey on a clean and modern train, it was hardly noticeable.

Stuttgart to Paris

The trip I'd been dreading. Given Deutsche Bahn's reputation for poor timekeeping, I was worried we'd miss our connection in Paris.

We reserved the seats before we started the whole adventure as Interrail said they were selling quickly. Fair enough for a peak time morning service and, indeed, the train was crammed.

The TGV 9576 was a bit shabby. Even in 1st class some seats were torn and there were mystery stains on the ceiling. The luggage rack had just about enough space for everyone's bags.

The Interrail app was pretty good at keeping us informed of the likely arrival times. Although it thought the train would arrive late into Stuttgart instead it came early and departed on time. It also said there could be mandatory bag inspections and to allow an extra 20 minutes for boarding. That didn't happen though; we just strolled straight on.

On train WiFi worked once the train departed. There were some locally hosted podcasts, movies, train information, and food ordering.

Literally the only vegan option was grated carrot. Bienvenue en France!

Some of the toilets had no paper so, just like China, remember to carry your own!

Paris to London

Much like the journey out, this was booked months in advance. That allowed us to get first class seats for the journey back.

A quick walk in the rain from Garre L'Est to Nord. The standard route takes you up a flight of stairs, which isn't ideal with luggage. The walkway between the stations isn’t yet complete. Luckily there is an alternative route.

The Eurostar terminal only lets you in 2 hours before departure. The lounge is only for Premier Mega Extra Special customers, so we sat in the main station.

Once on the train the "Plus" seats aren't noticeably more comfortable than the standard seats although they are a bit larger.

Departure was on time. As we were travelling in "Plus", we got a complimentary meal. There wasn't a vegan option, so I spooned the yogurt off my salad bowl. The cabin crew found me some margarine for my bread. Wine was nice!

Train arrived perfectly on time. But disembarking was delayed because of another train on the opposite platform.

Statistics

The Interrail Android app has a nifty little summary of all the journeys you've taken. I'm not sure if that time accounts for delays (probably not) - but the rest seems accurate.

I've spent an utterly miserable month commuting between Oxford and London on GWR's over-crowded and decrepit trains. I was delayed around 21 times in a single month. That's close to 80% of all journeys that I caught arriving late. An utterly shambolic performance by anyone's standards.

The one faint glimmer of hope I had was the thought that I might be able to claim a tiny amount of compensation for the constant delays. That was not to be the case. Initially, I'd emailed the company to make the complain - only to receive back a whinging excuse that they were dealing with a large volume of complaints and that I should expect a 3 week delay before hearing back from them.

Even their complaints department is delayed!

After a month of travel, I rang up to see what had happened to my complaint. "I'm awfully sorry sir, all our computers are down. Try calling back later."

Of course, their complaints department breaks down as often as their locomotives.

The next day I tried again. After 10 minutes on hold I gave up. Then, because I'm a glutton for punishment, I tried again. The same delays. One more attempt - and I was through!

"I'm sorry sir, we currently have a two month backlog of complaints. We've only just started on September."

That seems like an awfully long delay. I turned to the Office of Rail and Road to see what their guidance to train companies says:

3.31 Licence holders must provide all complainants with an acknowledgement and complaint reference/tracking number as appropriate and to make a full response to 95% of all complaints within 20 working days.

Office of Rail and Road's Guidance on complaints handling procedures for licence holders, 2015

Well - a 2 month delay is much longer than 20 working days. So, what powers do ORR have?

The maximum penalty ORR may impose is 10% of the licensee’s turnover.

Office of Rail and Road's economic enforcement policy and penalties statement for Railway licence holders, 2015

Oh! Wouldn't that be lovely! Fine the useless layabouts and return that money to the passengers. Sadly, that's unlikely to happen.

I spoke directly to ORR and they said that they are "working closely with GWR to resolve the issue."

I spoke to TransportFocus - they're the independent transport user watchdog:

We are aware that they are a bit behind. But we just deal with individual complaints as they come in.

I sent details of the issue to them - but they also have a backlog of GWR complaints to get through.

In the interest of fairness, I spoke to GWR's press team. They refused to answer any questions by phone and insisted on email. 

We’ve recently moved our contact centre to a new site, bringing all our customer service work back to the UK, and the move means some detailed responses are taking longer than we would like. We are working with our new team to improve our response rates.

Ah, the good old "blame the call centre workers" tactic. Pathetic.

This is an unacceptable abdication of responsibility from a company. If you have a backlog of complaints, it seems to me that there are two simple solutions:

• Hire more staff.
• Fix the problems causing the complaints.

I appreciate that some of the issues surrounding track maintenance are outside of GWR's control. But their response to long-suffering customers is completely their fault. First Group - who own GWR - made a profit of £114m last year. I suspect that they've calulated that putting barriers in the way of compensation is cheaper than fixing the underlying issues.

Sadly, the region is stuck with GWR for another 4 years. So, I guess I'll be taking the coach into London for the foreseeable future.

I'll leave you with my favourite quote from the GWR Passenger's Charter:

We’ll make claiming compensation for a delayed journey as easy as we can.

What a joke!

These character flaws have finally proved useful! Let me explain how you can claim hundreds or even thousands of Euros in compensation for delayed flights.

A couple of years ago, we took a holiday to Turkey flying with Thomas Cook. The flight out was delayed - normally I wouldn't complain about a short delay; but this was 5 hours! Stuck in Gatwick Airport for 5 hours - urgh! Not the greatest start to our holiday.

I tried complaining to Thomas Cook, but they were having none of it. They said all we were due was a couple of Euros for food and water while we were stranded.

I wasn't satisfied and fired off a complaint letter stating that under EC Regulation 261/2004 we were entitled to a lot more than that. Their reply - in February 2012 - was basically "sod off". The European Court of Justice had ruled in 2009 that airlines need to pay compensation for severely delayed flights. A consortium of airlines asked for a judicial review and stated they wouldn't pay up until the ruling went through.

I recently found the old letter - hurrah for hoarding! - and decided to see if anything had happened in the last 2 years.

Well well well! In January 2013 the airlines lost! The statute of limitation in England and Wales is 6 years. So I rang Thomas Cook to enquire about my complaint.

While it would have been nice if the airline had actively contacted me, I can't fault how quick and easy it was to make the claim over the phone. I rang 0844 412 5954, went through the options and - after a short wait while they looked up my details - was told that we would be getting €400 each for the outbound leg of the delayed journey. At the current exchange rate - that's about £345 per person! All paid via bank transfer.

Nice!

Thomas Cook have an easy to use form on their website specifically for these 261/2004 complaints.

At the most extreme example, a typical family of four delayed both ways on a transatlantic trip could be due €600 per person per leg. A total of €4,800. Roughly £4,000.

The ruling is very clear. If your flight was delayed, and you reached your destination 3 or more hours late - you are owed:

• €250 for a flight of less than 1500 km in distance.
• €400 for flight within the EU of greater than 1500 km in distance, or any other flight of greater than 1500 km but less than 3500 km in distance.
• €600 for a flight not within EU of greater than 3500 km in distance.

I strongly urge you - if you have had a flight delayed in the last 6 years and haven't yet made a claim for compensation, do so now!

If you've found this post helpful, you can say thanks by buying something for me from my Amazon wishlist,

Four cities, three countries, two weeks, one massive continent. Africa.

I'm flying down with InMobi, my employers (this blog post is personal and doesn't reflect company policy etc). We'll be visiting all the local mobile developers and researchers and seeing how we can help them. I'll be posting work related stuff on the official InMobi blog - but I'll be posting on shkspr.mobi any personal thoughts, reflections, and fears.

FEAR!

Yes, I have the fear. I'm fairly well travelled, but I've never been to Africa. I'm excited, full of wanderlust, and a tiny bit terrified! Perhaps, gentle reader, you can help put my mind to rest over some of the concerns I have.

Vegetarian Food

Even in Western Europe and the USA, I can't always be guaranteed of getting a vegetarian meal in a restaurant. What's the situation like in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria for vegetarians? I've been advised not to eat salads because they're often washed in tap water - should I just surrender my principles and eat a bit of meat while I'm out there?

Mobile Technology

All the countries I'm visiting have good GSM coverage - that's partly why I'm going! I'll be taking along my Android phone, and probably a backup device. But what about roaming costs? Should I buy a local SIM while I'm out there - or will I get better rates with Truphone or Maxroam? I'm only going to be a few days in each country - are there any pan-African solutions? Solar chargers and emergency batteries are also a good idea - any tips on which ones are good?

Health

I've just received all the vaccines I'll need, plus anti-maleria tablets. Any recommendations for lotions, potions, or pills to prevent getting sick while I'm out there?

Anything Else?

Like I said, this will be my first time in Africa. Are there any other bits of advice you can give this nervous traveller?

This has been sent to Virgin Atlantic's complaints team.

Dear Sir, I realise that it's a standing joke to complain about the quality of airline food - but I wish to convey my distress at the vegetarian meals provided on the last two flights I took with you. On flight VS069 (27/12/2010) I had specifically requested a vegetarian meal. Hidden in the salad were prawns - something I did not realise until after I had taken a mouthful. I asked the cabin crew if they had any vegetarian alternatives and was told that they did not. On flight VS070 (03/01/2011) I had, again, specified my meal preferences in advance. Having now learned to be wary of Virgin's vegetarian meals, I was disappointed to note that the Caesar salad dressing contained anchovies. I'm not looking for compensation or thousands of Flying Club air miles. I just want you to show a little more respect to your vegetarian and vegan passengers. I don't expect gourmet food on an economy flight; I do expect my requested vegetarian meal to not contain meat, fish, poultry, or their derivatives. I spend a lot of time travelling for business and leisure. As much as I enjoy the Virgin Atlantic experience, this episode has rather put me off travelling with you again. Yours faithfully, Terence Eden