Informing the international traveler since 1976.
Archive for December, 2005
Report Cards
From Seoul, SOUTH KOREA, Sept. 12, ’05. . . • Hotel Incheon Airport. I made my reservation on the Internet after reading reviews of hotels close to the airport. I had a one-night layover. The cost of the room, $89, included airport pickup and dropoff. The room was clean, comfortable, quiet and large, with a nice bathroom. [...]Far Horizons » Changing hotel rooms at and after check-in
by Randy Keck There are times when travelers arrive at a hotel or other accommodation to find that they wish to change from the room they have been assigned, even though it is of the room type and category they requested and reserved. In this edition of “Under the Microscope,” I will examine some typical situations [...]Latin America » Destination: Peru
Recently, I was a delegate to the 2005 TravelMart Latin America. It is one of the most important business events for the tourism sector in Latin America. This year, Peru was the host country. Close to one thousand representatives of tourism organizations around the world gathered in Lima, Sept. 14-16. TravelMart brings together sellers (airlines, cruise [...]Mideast and Mediterranean » Queen Zenobia & Palmyra, Syria
Most know that Hollywood made Cleopatra famous with movies of her romantic trysts with Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony, but historians generally view Arab Queen Zenobia as having greater beauty, chastity and valor than her Egyptian ancestor. But who was Zenobia? During the third century A.D., Rome was challenged by Persia (Iran). As Roman Palmyra, in [...]The Discerning Traveler » The vanished reservation
“You can leave earlier if you travel standby on Delta,” the reservation agent told my cousin, Marcus, when he called Northwest Airlines about his JFK-to-Seattle flight. “Fantastic! What a terrific service,” he commented. He wasn’t quite so happy a few days later when he checked his seat assignment for the return trip to JFK online and found [...]Ask Steve
Hello! My name is Steven Venables. When I started in the travel industry 40 years ago, everything was a little more formal. In fact, the airline I first worked for, United, required us to wear military-like uniforms and use only our last names when introducing ourselves to passengers or answering the telephone. I was “Mr. Venables.” But [...]Travel & Health » Meningitis
Meningitis is a dreadful word and an even more dreadful condition. The central nervous system of your body, that is, your brain and spinal cord, has a special lining, call the meninges. When these meninges become inflamed or infected, you develop meningitis. This condition can cause a wide range of signs and symptoms, from a headache, [...]All Aboard » Railpass question
by Jay Brunhouse Q: “Hello, Jay. Sure appreciate your making your e-mail address available to your readers. I’d like to get your thoughts on something. . . “For years, I, like most other Europe rail enthusiasts, considered that the Eurailpass (in whatever particular ‘flavor’ best suited for the journey) was a no-brainer for Europe itineraries covering a lot [...]Kudos for TACA
I would like for people to know how nice the airline Grupo TACA is. I was scheduled to go to San José, Costa Rica, on Sept. 4, ’05, for a couple weeks. I live in Slidell, Louisiana, which was very hard hit by Hurricane Katrina. TACA readily agreed to refund the full amount of my ticket. LAUREL [...]The King and I
After traveling in Laos and southern Thailand on a trip in 2001, I found myself in Bangkok on the first of December awaiting my flight home in a week. The city was decorated with yellow banners and pictures of the King for his birthday on Dec. 5th. Thinking that there might be some special celebration, that [...]
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