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Archive for November, 2005
Adventure Travel » Morocco: distinctive architecture & distinctive people
(Part 3 of 3 on Morocco) Kasbahs “Come wiz me to zee casbah,” Charles Boyer supposedly said to Hedy Lamarr in the movie “Algiers.” This legendary romantic line never was used in that classic 1938 film, but the myth lives on. What is a casbah, anyway? A casbah (kasbah) is a walled, fortified residential/commercial center, originally an extended-family [...]Focus on Archaeology » Ancient Egypt in one week
I first visited Egypt 22 years ago. On my fourth trip to the country, in November 2004, I traveled with my 25-year-old daughter, Katie. I wanted to see her eyes light up at the sights that make Egypt one of this world’s greatest tourist destinations. I wanted her to say, 40 years from now, “Way [...]The Discerning Traveler » Settling your debts abroad
(Second of two parts) In the last issue I analyzed the ins and outs of bill paying abroad. In this issue, I offer additional suggestions on this topic. Debit card checklist Once you have acquired your debit card, it is helpful to do the following. 1. Ascertain the expiration date of your plastic money (the same holds for credit [...]Better Travel Photography » Picture your unique story
When we return from an adventure, we count on photographs to tell the story and convey the excitement and the feeling of the place we’ve been. But often we end up with “George in front of the Eiffel Tower,” “George beside the Blue Danube,” “George riding on a camel,” “George staring into the camera”. . [...]Travel & Health » Dealing with jet lag and motion sickness
One of the most mysterious and arcane topics among airplane travelers is jet lag and its incapacitating effects on the traveler. Having firsthand experience from traveling frequently over a 6-year period from New York to numerous destinations in Asia, I have found that jet lag is a debilitating experience that, fortunately, can be dealt with. I [...]New on the Bookshelf
by Chris Springer, Contributing Editor “The Clumsiest People in Europe, or: Mrs. Mortimer’s Bad-Tempered Guide to the Victorian World,” by Todd Pruzan and Favell Lee Mortimer (2005, Bloomsbury. ISBN 158234504X — 208 pp., $19.95 hardcover). It’s a small world, after all — and here’s a shockingly small-minded view of it. Nineteenth-century children’s author Favell Mortimer wrote a [...]The Cruising World » Dew from Heaven
Too often, we cruise passengers think of our cabin stewards and stewardesses as 2-dimensional persons, without families, lives or futures. So aboard Crystal Symphony on a cruise through the Mediterranean in the summer of 2005, my wife and I decided to have a chat with our energetic, attractive, 24-year-old stewardess, Rasa Janonyte of Klaipeda, Lithuania. [...]All Aboard » Rhine-Main by S-Bahn
There is a myth that travelers cannot visit small European villages and towns by train. It gratifies me that my e-mail shows that more and more readers are discovering the large number of less-well-known cities and villages that they easily reach by train. A case in point is Germany’s Rhine-Main S-Bahn, the rapid-transit system that [...]Driver-guide in Oman
We wanted to share a nice “find” we made in Salalah, Oman, while on a cruise in April ’05. It is a great cab driver and tour guide named Khalid Bakheet (phone 99489979 or contact his friend, Ali Atif Al Yafai, who is the assistant front office manager at the Hilton Salalah Resort, Box 699, [...]Food in Turkey
The food on our trip to Turkey was wonderful. Lots of lamb, of course, but the big surprise was the quality and variety of seafood. Best grilled fish ever! The surprise treat was the fried mussels on a stick. The mezes, or starters, were another surprise; a modest mom-and-pop restaurant would offer eight or 10 [...]
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