Watch out, obnoxious passengers! Kung fu lessons for Hong Kong Airlines cabin crew

Working as part of an airline cabin crew can be a tough job, just ask Gadling’s very own Heather Poole. Passengers get drunk, passengers get rude, sometimes even passengers go on strike. Now the cabin crew of one airline are getting trained to strike back.

Hong Kong Airlines staff are taking kung fu lessons, the Guardian reports. The cabin crew is learning Wing Chun kung fu in order to deal with obnoxious passengers. According to the airline, a female cabin crew member has already used her new-found combat skills to deal with an unruly passenger, who an airline spokesman described only as “a fat guy”.

Maybe getting your add kicked at 33,000 feet should be added to our list of Top 10 Hong Kong Experiences.

[Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons]

GadlingTV’s Travel Talk – Thailand Part 6: Swordfights and Elephants

Gadling TV’s Travel Talk, episode 36 – Click above to watch video after the jump

Travel Talk is back! After our fall hiatus we are excited to bring you our greatest adventure yet: Thailand.

From the vibrant heart of Bangkok to the remote countryside, we traveled by foot, car, boat, motorbike, ox cart and elephant to savor the the splendor of ancient temples, the energy of the muay thai ring, the serenity of rural life, and every single spicy bite of Thai cuisine. We’ll be bringing it all to you in the coming weeks as part of our special 12-part feature: Travel Talk Thailand.

As we venture further from the bustle of Bangkok, we get a chance to be the first westerners to visit a Thai martial art and dance school, taking swordfighting lessons from the Thai National Champion. Then we learn how to tame, wash and ride giants.

If you have any questions or comments about Travel Talk, you can email us at talk AT gadling DOT com.


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Hosts: Stephen Greenwood & Aaron Murphy-Crews
Special guest: Joom!
Produced, Edited, and Directed by: Stephen Greenwood & Aaron Murphy-Crews
Special thanks: Tourism Authority of Thailand, Trikaya Tours

Travel Talk took Thailand by storm on invitation from the Tourism Authority of Thailand. No editorial content was guaranteed and Aaron & Stephen were free to openly share all adventures that they embarked upon.

Learn while you travel

Are you the type of person who loves to learn new things? You’re reading Gadling, so obviously love to travel. Have you ever thought of combing both of those things into a learning vacation? If so, then check out this article from the London Times Online which lists some of the top learning holidays from around the globe.

An example of some of the great trip options that the Times suggest include learning to cook in Tuscany with a travel company called Tasting Places, which specializes in cooking holidays in a variety of countries around the world. Looking for something a bit more adventurous? Then how about learning to SCUBA dive in Egypt with Scuba Travels, who will take you to the Red Sea where you can explore a number of great dive sites, several of which have wrecks. Other suggestions including learning to be a cowboy on a Colorado ranch, training in the Brazilian martial art of Capoeira, or discovering your inner-artist by learning to paint in Andalusia.

These are just an example of some of the best learning vacations around, and chances are, what ever activity that you’re passionate about, you can take a vacation and manage to learn more about the topic. Whether it’s rock climbing in Thailand or learning the Tango in Argentina, there are plenty of exotic locals you can visit under the excuse of learning something new.

Bruce Lee’s former home may become a museum

The former home of actor and martial arts master Bruce Lee may eventually become a museum dedicated to the deceased star. Officials in Hong Kong have launched a competition to design the museum, and the owner of the home has offered to donate it and the HK$100,000 ($13,000) in prize money for the winner.

The home is currently a Hong Kong “love hotel” that rents rooms by the hour, but would be transformed into a memorial hall, kung fu studio, library and film archive that showcases the life and work of Lee. According to Hong Kong officials, Lee’s daughter, Shannon Lee, will be on the panel of judges that also includes architects and town planners. In preparation for the museum, the government has begun collecting Lee’s personal items and has commissioned documentaries about the creation of the museum and the life of Lee, who died in 1972 at age 32 from swelling in his brain.

The winner of the contest will be announced by the end of the year, but there’s no word on when construction of the museum would begin.

Flight attendant foils kidnappers with flight attendant training skills

Heather Poole, Gadling’s very own flight attendant who knows the moves to take care of herself and everyone else on a loaded plane, brought this China Daily article to our attention. In China, a flight attendant who two guys had kidnapped, got away by using the anti-hijacking techniques she learned in flight attendant training.

The attendant, an employee of Shanghai Airlines, learned — in preparation for the Beijing Olympics — how to stay calm, act obedient, keep the kidnappers engaged, discretely untie a rope, and make a run for it when the kidnappers weren’t paying attention to her. According to the story, one of the men got into her car at a green light and forced her to pick up another man at a different location.

They took her bank card and her pin number. Her quick thinking probably saved her life. It turns out that, last July, these two guys killed a woman motorist they had kidnapped. This was discovered after she told the police what had happened and they were able to apprehend this pair.

As this story points out, one that is corroborated by Heather’s Galley Gossip post on recurrent flight attendant training, flight attendants know the moves that make a difference in air travel. Maybe their theme song ought to be “Kung Fu Fighting.” Everyone knows Kung Fu fighting, fast as lightning … although in this case, rope skills and calm were the key ingredients.



That flight attendant is something of a hero … something these women are definitely NOT. Click the pictures to find out what kinds of trouble they were getting to in the air.