Informing the international traveler since 1976.
Archive for August, 2005
Costa Rican timeshare — a unique overseas accomodation option
After purchasing a time-share in August ’03, I started reviewing the large catalog with listings of hundreds of time-share properties around the world, including information on availability, amenities, nearest airport and more. I have been traveling internationally for some 30 years and thought a time-share would give me greater selection for accommodations abroad. International exchange On a [...]Bhutan’s wealth
I write in response to the reader’s letter titled “Poverty in Bhutan” (April ’05, pg. 84). It seems to me that Bhutan must compare very favorably to most countries, including the USA, by any objective measure of poverty. There are no homeless and no beggars in Bhutan. There is no crime and no corruption. There is no [...]Thailand, Cambodia guides
We took the “Discover Thailand” tour, plus the optional pre-trip visit to Angkor Wat, Cambodia, with Overseas Adventure Travel (Cambridge, MA; 800/955-1925 or www.oattravel.com) in February ’05. The entire 19-day trip was great and our two guides were outstanding, as good as any we have had in over 30 years of travel. Both guides are under [...]Guatemala travel
We were in Guatemala for 12 nights in October ’04. The travel agency we used in Antigua, Voyageur Tours (Centro Comercial La Fuente, 4a. Calle Oriente No. 14, Antigua, Guatemala, C.A.; phone [502] 832-4237, fax 4247, e-mail info@travel.net.gt or visit www.travel.net.gt/ant.html), was outstanding. We made all contacts with them through e-mail. We worked with Patricia Barragan [...]Close shave?
Regarding the letter titled “Don’t Even Think About It” (June ’05, pg. 89) with the picture of the interesting road sign showing a sailboat with a line through it, my guess is that it means “Don’t trailer a sailboat with its mast up on this road,” perhaps because there is a low-hanging power line somewhere [...]TSA refund received
After returning from a trip to Chile on Nov. 21, ’04, I found that the TSA locks on my luggage had been cut instead of opened. I immediately filed the appropriate claim form with the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) reporting that two TSA-approved locks had been cut and requesting reimbursement for their value. Over a [...]Checkpoint security
Placing valuables into the open plastic container at airport x-ray checkpoints certainly is a concern (Nov. ’04, pg. 18 & Feb. ’05, pg. 83). However, there is a solution, if security would only go along with it. I was returning some time ago from Mexico and noticed that instead of using the open plastic containers, they [...]Exchange $$ at legal kiosks
I learned of a currency exchange scam during a visit to the Czech Republic in October ’04. There are some other countries in Eastern Europe that have obsolete currencies. A prevailing scam in Prague is for people to offer a very wonderful rate of exchange from U.S. to Czech currency. Apparently, when the transaction is made, [...]A good look at Berlin
Three friends and I booked a trip to Berlin for March 6-11, ’05, with Expedia (www. expedia.com). For $905 each, double occupancy, it included airfare, hotel and ground transportation. We flew from the Washington Dulles airport to Frankfurt on United and connected with a Lufthansa flight to Berlin. We walked off the plane in Berlin to [...]Booted in Haarlem
One helpful hint for driving abroad is to avoid parking infractions. In Haarlem, Netherlands, several years ago, we found marked spaces with few automobiles and no instructions that we could see. But when we returned from the Franz Hals Museum, in the rain, there was our car — booted. As the rain grew heavier, we [...]
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