I got my bags packed on a roll heading out there and I'm ready to go looking real good

in my passport photo.

Amateur Traveler episode 342. Today the amateur traveler talks about rugged mountains,

remote markets, and border guards as we go to the Central Asian country of Tajikistan.

I know that I should be heading home

but maybe not, maybe not to the day.

Welcome to the amateur traveler. I'm your host Chris Christensen. Before we get

into this week's interview I do have three news stories for you. It's been an odd

week on airplanes. An article came out in travel and leisure that said someone in Australia may be getting a last laugh over airlines lofty baggage fees.

After a recent Quantis flight from Brisbane to Melbourne, cargo handlers got a wacky surprise when

unloading the plane, a live crocodile had gotten loose among the luggage.

It turns out on Australia that reptiles, lizards, and snakes are allowed to travel in

cargo but I suspect not in first class. And then speaking of things that weren't

classy there are two bizarre stories that came out within a week of each other about flight attendants not getting along.

The first story comes from a flight from New York to Washington, an American Eagle flight that

was delayed for four hours because of flight attendants who couldn't get along with one another.

Apparently one of them was on her phone while the other one was trying to tell people to turn off their phones and made the announcement

everybody needs to put their phones away and

electronics and so on including the flight attendant. That did not go over well and

they eventually refused to work with one another and all the passengers were

delayed four hours waiting for another flight attendant.

Two United flight attendants on a Chicago bound flight from Raleigh Durham decided to fight on the

...