Throughout the week, our team shares articles they’ve stumbled upon that may interest our readers, even if they might not otherwise merit a full post. Here are some of the posts we found interesting this week: Hallucinating mid-flight, Uber’s deceptive cancellation, sites to see in Northern Ireland, and an alternative to Zion’s Narrows.
On a recent Alaska Airlines flight, a passenger started hallucinating and understandably panicking when he thought the plane had lost its wings and that meth was coming out of the air vents. He had been talking to himself and showing signs of panic and aggravation throughout the flight. Then, when he attempted to open the emergency exit door mid-flight, it took 3 people to stop him. This is obviously a serious offense which could get him up to 20 years in prison, but the passenger was also obviously not in his right senses. Apparently, when medical examiners saw him upon landing, he told them he had been drinking for the last 10 days, had been hearing and seeing things, and was also on antidepressants. This reminds me just a bit of the time an Alaska Airlines pilot got high on psychedelic mushrooms and tried to turn the engines off mid-flight.
Uber could face billions in penalties across US after ‘deceptive billing and cancellation practices’
Uber is facing steep penalties for a myriad of issues, including making it confusing and difficult to cancel Uber One subscriptions, among other things. Some Uber customers said they had to go through more than 30 different “actions” across 23 different screens just to cancel their subscription! In this day of one-click functions, 30 actions is beyond frustrating. Customers also complained that the claims of how much savings they’d see with the Uber One membership were ultimately misleading, that discounts never showed up, that they were enrolled in Uber One without knowing it, or that fees kicked in before their free trials were even completed. Uber has many issues to address (or pay for) here.
10 amazing experiences in Northern Ireland
So many travel to Ireland, but Northern Ireland gets, I think, unfairly missed. The culture is magnetic and authentic to its core, and the terrain is both harsh and beautiful. In college, I spent two different semesters living abroad in Derry, Northern Ireland, where I got to do quite a lot of adventuring with local friends. In fact, the #5 recommendation on this list, “Walk 17th century walls,” features the 400+ year old wall that surrounds Derry, which I crossed nearly every day as I’d walk downtown to the chip shop or shopping center. And of course, Derry has a plethora of murals which tell the complex and emotional story of “the troubles” in the 60’s and beyond. (I lived just up the street from these murals, in fact.) But the most obvious recommendation on the list, at least for more light-hearted tourism, is the Causeway Coastal Route, where you can see both the bizarre hexagonal geography of the Giant’s Causeway and the adorably fairy-tale (yet also terrifyingly high) Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. The Glens of Antrim will also give you the perfect, lush green fairytale landscapes you dream of with a trip to Ireland, so consider adding a few stops in Northern Ireland as well.
My experience at the Narrows at Zion National Park was actually less inundated with crowds than is typical because I was there close to dusk when most (more safety-conscious and wise hikers) were already heading back to dry land. But it’s become one of the go-to hikes in Zion and, like Angel’s Landing, the crowds show it. I am always interested in a “try this instead of this” article if I think it could save me an overcrowded experience where I’m fighting through droves of tourists to snap a picture or catch a view. While I can’t vouch for this suggestion myself, I can vouch for the fact that Utah is absolutely littered with beautiful hikes and slot canyons, which don’t seem to attract more than a handful of visitors. So it doesn’t surprise me at all that a place like this would be both lesser-known and worthy of a visit. This hike is just 4 miles round-trip, but is described as somewhat challenging. Personally, when I’m in Utah, “somewhat challenging” is kind of what I’m looking for. Has anyone been to this spot to attest to its “off-the-beaten-path” nature?
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Great write up! I was in Derry earlier this year and found it fascinating since I love somewhat modern historical sites. Giants Causeway was also great. I was lucky enough to get a permit for the Narrows overnight hike and it’s one of my favorite hikes of all time! FWIW, I’ve had a harder time getting other permits from the NPS. Happy Holidays Frequent Miler Crew!