Boarding Pass, January 2005 issue
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 347th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine.
An ITN reader and her husband, senior travelers who had some difficulty walking, were on a 16-day river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest in September-October ’03. This was a special trip for them, and they had booked the highest-grade cabin on board and upgraded [...]
Report Cards, January 2005 issue
From Paris, FRANCE, Oct. 16, ’04. . .
• Le Navigator (63 rue Galande, 75005 Paris; phone 01 43 54 35 86) — in the fifth arrondissement. Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Reservations advised. English spoken.
First course, main dish, dessert and house wine, €20 (near $25.50); for example, moules mariniere, coq au [...]
Features, January 2005 issue
by Henry Linden, Torrance, CA
I love to travel. Since I have visited about 75 countries, I am constantly on the lookout for new and unusual experiences.
About a year ago I was thinking about going to the island of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago, located between Greenland and Norway, to get an idea of what it [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
My husband and I were traveling independently in the Outback of Australia’s Northern Territory in July ’04. Suddenly my husband and I looked to the side of the road and both said, “Oh, no, that ‘roo’ is going to jump right into us.” Within seconds that beautiful kangaroo had committed suicide and our car had [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
On our trip to Southeast Asia in January ’05, we will be visiting Thailand, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia and Hong Kong. While we are independent travelers, we purchased package deals for Thailand, Cambodia and Hong Kong with Pleasant Holidays (e-mail generalreservations@pleasant.net or visit www.pleasantholidays.com).
The package for Burma is being provided by Golden Rock Tours & Travel [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
My wife and I were very interested to read Dennis Cavagnaro’s article on the River Kwai (Nov. ’04, pg. 24), as we had made a similar trip in September-October ’03.
I must admit that since we were on the “Discover Thailand” tour of Overseas Adventure Travel (800/955-1925 or www.oattravel.com), we arrived in Kanchanaburi by bus on [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
In March ’04 I purchased a new Motorola V-400 “World Class” phone and opened a new Cingular line to use it. (My existing Cingular phone would not work with the new GSM services.) The new phone was purchased for use on a trip to Sweden planned for early April.
I received assurances from the sales personnel [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
Inspired by the article on renting “a home away from home” (Aug. ’04, pg. 38), I am sending some comments concerning renting gîtes in France.
You can get information on or book one of the 50,000-plus gîtes by contacting La Maison des Gîtes de France et du Tourisme Vert (59 rue Saint-Lazare, 75 439, Paris, Cedex [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
For a recent trip to France and Italy, arranged on short notice, I decided to book all hotels ahead of time. I had considerable benefit from using a site called Venere.com.
The site is not a “bargain” or auction site. The hotel presents the offer at a given price, take it or leave it. Nor is [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
Ely, Cambridgeshire, in England, is a beautiful small city with a glorious 12th-century cathedral whose most outstanding feature, to me, is the Octagon Tower. Constructed of eight massive pillars which support 200 tons of timber, glass and lead, the Octagon seems to hang in space. It was added in the 14th century after the original [...]
Funniest thing, January 2005 issue
Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. There are no restrictions on length. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.) The ITN staff will choose each month’s winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Entries [...]
Features, January 2005 issue
by Yvonne Michie Horn, Santa Rosa, CA
“Je voudrais pasta avec fromage, s’il vous plait.” Eight-year-old Taylor, who at home is highly suspicious of anything stranger on her plate than noodles with cheese, had practiced her dining-out phrase to perfection. Her brother, 12-year-old Max, on the other hand, was ready to try anything, with one exception: [...]
Features, January 2005 issue
A couple mailed to ITN a copy of their letter to Grand Circle Travel, as follows.
My wife and I were on your “Great Rivers of Europe” riverboat cruise from Vienna to Amsterdam, embarking July 2, 2004. We are “Inner Circle” members.
While we were extremely pleased with the river cruise, the accommodations, the program and the [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
We are using our frequent-flyer miles for the first time for a trip to Antarctica in January 2005. We had enough miles with both Delta and United. I started calling more than a year early to book our flights and learned that you can’t book more than 11 months out.
Delta would not allow us [...]
Cruises Critiqued, January 2005 issue
On Jan. 29, ’04, we embarked on a 9-day cruise on Silver Whisper, which took us from Colón, Panama, to Callao, Peru. We had cruised quite frequently on the smaller Silversea ships and were curious if the newer, larger ships would also become our favorites.
We booked a mid-ship veranda suite at a total cost of [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
We took a trip to Argentina, March 23-April 4, ’04, booked through our travel agent, Keka’s Travel (9600 NW 25th St., Ste. 4-C, Miami, FL 33154; phone 800/593-5352 or visit www.kekastvl.com).
We flew Aerolineas Argentinas round trip from Miami to Buenos Aires for $2,182.50 per person in business class. It was a good flight but with [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
My fiance and I took a wonderful 2-week trip to Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet in September ’04. The itinerary was designed by Nino Mohan of Worldview Tours (Box 11417, Newport Beach, CA 92658; phone 800/373-0388 or visit www.worldviewtours.com) to meet our particular needs regarding where we wanted to go and the amount of time we [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
We visited Barcelona for four nights in September ’04. We stayed at a delightful, newly renovated apartment near the end of Las Ramblas. We shared with two other guest rooms a self-service breakfast, a well-stocked kitchen, a large sunny dining room and two bathrooms. The cost was €60 ($77) per night for a double room. [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
I went to Yerevan and Gyumri, Armenia, for three weeks in April-May ’04. In each city I stayed in a guest house. The one in Yerevan was owned by Kaikush Kambartsumyan (or it may be Haikush Hambartsumyar; the writing is hard to read) and cost $40, breakfast included. The guest house in Gyumri was owned [...]
Features, January 2005 issue
by Nili Olay, New York, NY
My husband, Jerry, and I live in New York City. As much as we love the city, we do like to get to a warm climate for a while each winter. Southern Africa seemed a logical choice until I started to read the guidebooks. They all warned that during the [...]
Accomodations Worldwide, January 2005 issue
Europe
After numerous trips to PARIS during which we stayed in hotels, my two traveling companions and I decided to try apartment living for our 2-week visit in April ’04. We saw the classified ad in ITN for Marie-France LeFebvre’s studio apartment (contact Marie at 15 Chatham Ct., Newport Beach, CA 92660; phone/fax 949/718-1374 or e-mail [...]
Features, January 2005 issue
As a docent at Washington, D.C.’s, Hillwood Museum, featuring fabulous Russian treasures, I have been fascinated with a trip Catherine the Great made down the Dnieper River in 1787. Accompanied by the Austrian emperor and other diplomatic guests, she led a tour of her expanding empire from Kiev to the Crimea, sailing in a fleet [...]
Features, January 2005 issue
My wife, Connie, and I, in planning our Southeast Asia trip with our son Jon and his wife, Kendra, in late 2003, originally intended to include only Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Cambodia (the countries included in our special Cathay Pacific promotion) on our itinerary. However, the more we read, the more we wanted to [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
My wife and I had no plans to go to the Olympics. Neither of us are big sports fans. In fact, I had never been drawn to any sport on TV until they started televising poker. That’s my kind of sport!
Our decision was made while watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Greece on [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
We traveled to Germany, May 7-June 2, ’04. We had seen much of the country’s natural beauty, the Romantic Road and other attractions on a previous trip. This one was planned with art as the main objective.
In FRANKFURT we were booked at the Kaiserhof Hotel, which, despite the grandiose name, is a simple but adequate [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
I’m writing in response to a reader’s inquiry regarding flights that allow smoking (Oct. ’04, pg. 84).
Please be aware that smoking on airlines was not banned simply due to its being considered “socially incorrect.” My father worked in testing on aircraft for 31 years, and during the age of smoking, equipment failure was extremely high. [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
In response to the inquiry about smoking in air terminals, as recently as September ’04 people were smoking in the airports of the Azores. These are, obviously, small places; smokers were not confined to designated sections but present even in the gate areas.
Although we are not smokers, we generally have no objection to the presence [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
In response to William Hollifield’s letter “Valuables Put in Peril” (Nov. ’04, pg.18), the security procedures at the Frankfurt, Germany, airport are still a nightmare. I passed through there on Oct. 17, ’04, on my way home from Italy. Flights had to be held because the security line was so backed up.
They were using an [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
Re the letter “Valuables Put in Peril,” about losing sight of items going through the airport x-ray. . . Your passport, the majority of your money, all your credit cards, I.D., tickets, etc., should never ever be in a coat, pants pocket or purse. If you have it in your hands in Frankfurt or almost [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
I use the following technique to prevent being separated from my essentials at airport security (Nov. ’04, pg.18).
Before I leave for the airport, I transfer all items that I normally carry in my pockets, with the exception of my wallet, to a single plastic bag, which goes inside my backpack. Since there are no valuable [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
I would like to add some information to the excellent articles on “Charming Madeira” by Philip Wagenaar in the May and June ’04 issues. I made a trip there a few years ago. I agree that Madeira is a beautiful and wonderful place to visit.
I hope that no one will miss seeing this island because [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
Before our visit in October ’02 I had never been to London, and we three girls were a little nervous about a private tour guide; I was traveling with my daughter and my sister. So I got on the Internet to find a tour guide and came up with a couple, Harry and Pat Norman [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
I attended the Chelsea Flower Show in London on May 25, ’04, and found it a big disappointment. This was my second visit and the crowds were such that we could barely view the gardens and exhibits. The Royal Horticultural Society bragged that 160,000 persons attended during the week. That amounts to 32,000 daily! We [...]
Travelers' Intercom, January 2005 issue
Each Sunday afternoon at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, there is a free organ concert for about an hour. Starting between 4 and 5 p.m., depending on the time of year, each concert presents a guest organist from one of the cathedrals of Europe.
We always attend this concert whenever we visit Paris. They print [...]
Columns, January 2005 issue
Costumed greeters wearing comic heads dance before the crowds passing out of Neiwan’s modern train station in the high hills of Taiwan. Children squeal happily at the sight. The street is lined with endless stalls offering delicious treats, which together form a special kind of market. One sight nearby is the Taoist Jai Kung Temple [...]
Columns, January 2005 issue
Recently, a sharp-eyed ITN reader booked a Holland America Line cruise to Alaska for 18 days, paying for herself and her roommate. Three weeks before the cruise, she received from the cruise line a puzzling document requiring her to sign and send back a preauthorization to hold $60 worth of credit per person per day [...]
Columns, January 2005 issue
In February a few years ago, a group of middle-aged novice travelers ventured to Costa Rica to tour Braulio Carrillo National Park, which rises and falls between cool, high mountains and low, torrid jungles, all of it washed by swift, curving rivers and waterfalls.
Unbeknown to them, this lovely, pristine region was a mosquito-infested area fraught [...]
Columns, January 2005 issue
With a camera over my shoulder
(Part 4 of 6 on Spain)
As reviewed previously, in April ’04 I traveled with six photographers on a 16-day tour with Close-Up Expeditions (800/457-9553 or www.cuephoto.com). Entitled “Spanish Explorer,” it began in Marseille, France, and ended in Granada, Spain.
In Spain, after visiting Albarracín, we proceeded to Cuenca, whose Old City [...]
Columns, January 2005 issue
(First of two parts)
By all accounts, Genghis Khan was not a nice guy. Nice guys finish last, and Genghis Khan was determined not to be at the back of the pack. In the late 1100s and early 1200s, this Mongol warrior carved out a vast empire that stretched from Beijing to the Caucasus Mountains in [...]
Boarding Pass, February 2005 issue
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 348th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine.
In a conference in Geneva in November, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) committed to four initiatives to simplify the airline business and cut costs.
Implement 100% electronic ticketing by Dec. 31, 2007 — no more paper tickets.
Implement “bar codes” on boarding passes to replace [...]
Report Cards, February 2005 issue
On GREECE, December ’04. . .
• Hotel Sakellaridi (Trikalon Street, 422 00 Kalambaka, Greece; phone +30 2432 022716 or fax +30 2432 075910) — in the town nearest to Meteora.
Very nice, clean, friendly hotel. Inexpensive at €45 (near $60) including breakfast. (The cost is for drop-in guests; our tour from Athens stayed here.) I do [...]
Features, February 2005 issue
by Rob Sangster, Nova Scotia
“. . . For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say, ‘Come you back, you British Soldier, come you back to Mandalay!’. . . On the road to Mandalay, where the flyin’-fishes play. An’ the dawn comes up like thunder outer China ’crost the Bay. . .”
With [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
In 2003 my wife was badly “burned” by telephone calls she made to the USA from overseas, so I researched the market and came up with an excellent service: Iscom, Inc. (IsCard.com Division, One Silicon Alley Plaza, 90 William St., Ste. 702, New York, NY 10038; phone 212/324-1100, e-mail info@iscard.com or visit www.iscom.net).
It’s available toll-free [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
My husband, Jim, and I thought we were smart, well-prepared travelers with our duplicate passport photos and our extra antibiotics. After all, we had traveled extensively and Jim even wrote travel articles for various newspaper travel sections and ultimately even the photography column for ITN. I guess we were in total denial about the possibility [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
We attended “Austrian Woodcarving Weeks” in Elbigen-alp, Austria, Oct. 10-24, ’04. This was at the Geisler-Moroder Austrian Woodcarving School (A-6652 Elbigenalp 63, Austria; phone 43-5634-6215, e-mail geisler-moroder@aon.at or visit www.geisler-moroder.com. Geisler-Moroder’s U.S. representative is Carl G. Wiggins; phone 205/979-1111 or e-mail wiggs7@ aol.com).
The woodcarvers’ program cost $1,602 double and the noncarvers’ program, $1,102, including daily [...]
Funniest thing, February 2005 issue
Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. There are no restrictions on length. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.) The ITN staff will choose each month’s winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Entries [...]
Features, February 2005 issue
Do you speak French? No? Then perhaps German? Not to worry, everyone you meet in Luxembourg will also speak English — and most likely Spanish. However, a phrase in Luxembourgish, the national language, best describes the citizens of this grand duchy: Mir wölle bleiwe wat mir sin, or “We want to stay what we are.” [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
On May 22, ’04, I called Grand Circle Travel to see about reserving the “Great Rivers of Europe” trip taking place Aug. 29-Sept. 16. I spoke to Robert in Customer Service and told him we wanted to reserve that date and the extension to Brussels. He checked and informed me that there was one cabin [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
The Black Sea has always interested us, so in May ’04 my husband, John, and I flew from London to Istanbul to join the ship Minerva II for a cruise called “Grand Baroque to Grand Bazaar,” May 22-June 5.
The plane had been chartered by the ship line, Swan Hellenic Cruises (U.S. office at 631 Commack [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
Friendly faces, lively music, colorful art and beautiful churches are what my husband and I found on our 12-day “Danube and Black Sea Sampler,” a river cruise from which we returned on Oct. 17, ’04. The cruise was offered by Vantage Deluxe World Travel (90 Canal St., Boston, MA 02114-2031; phone 800/322-6677 or visit www.vantagetravel.com).
After [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
I read with interest the description of the Marco Polo in the October ’04 “The Cruising World” column. I concur with Mr. Toulmin’s evaluation of the ship.
I cruised to Antarctica in January ’03, spending a week crossing the Drake Passage, making landings on the Antarctic Peninsula to walk among the penguins and viewing Cape Horn [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
A friend and I got together recently to compare notes and photos from our 2004 biking adventures in Europe.
My husband, R.C., and I, Donna Pyle, have done seven trips with Hindriks European Bicycle Tours (Box 6086, Huntington Beach, CA 92615; phone 800/852-3258 or visit www.hindrikstours.com), most recently to the Andalucia region of Spain but also [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
I was “rolled” in Milan, Italy, in January ’04.
I was at The Royal Café, in the galleria near the Duomo, and wanted a simple salad. The waiter put one roll on a side plate. When I got the final bill, it listed $10.95 for the salad and €7 (about $9) for the roll! Ouch! As [...]
Features, February 2005 issue
The Kamchatka Peninsula, part of The Russian Federation, extends from the northeastern end of Siberia, thrusting down to divide the Sea of Okhotsk from the Bering Sea. It is one of the few truly unexplored wilderness areas left in the world. Sharing a latitude with Alaska, it is remote and difficult to get to. Conditions [...]
Accomodations Worldwide, February 2005 issue
Europe
Les Gains bed-and-breakfast (home of Diana and Kit Wordsworth, 61310 Survie, Exmes, Normandy, FRANCE; phone 0033 [0] 2 33 36 05 56, e-mail
christopher.wordsworth@libertysurf.fr or visit www.lesgains.tk) — located near Argentan in Normandy and set in the tranquil countryside of cider apple orchards and rolling green hills.
In a 17th-century farmhouse on a working sheep farm, Diana [...]
Features, February 2005 issue
It is said that Ethiopia has an image problem, and indeed it has. Years of relentless media coverage of famine, war and rebellions have taken their toll. Unfortunately, this has made travelers pass on the opportunity to visit an area that is unique, not only to Africa but worldwide.
Deciding on a destination
Ethiopia has four faces, [...]
Features, February 2005 issue
Many years ago I took my first trip with a travel company (which shall remained unnamed) and learned some hard lessons. It was a frustrating and expensive process, but it did pave the way for many other successful trips with very few unpleasant surprises.
As a single female traveler, I initially ask the tour operator questions [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
To help you in choosing a tour, the United States Tour Operators Association, or USTOA (342 Madison Ave., Ste. 1522, New York, NY 10173), suggests a number of questions to ask and points to consider.
Questions to ask
• What is and is not included in the price? Find out if airport transfers, service charges and airport [...]
Features, February 2005 issue
We are extremely interested in history and enjoy visiting different cultures. In August ’04 we visited Bulgaria. After spending 10 days in this largely unknown jewel of the Balkans, we wanted to tell our friends that Bulgaria has everything anyone would expect for a perfect vacation.
Customized tour
Our trip was planned by Balkan Travel & Tours [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
My wife, Elaine, and I traveled in Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands at the end of January and beginning of February ’04 for two weeks. We then spent several weeks in Peru and finally a month in Panama. Here are a few comments that might be of interest to readers.
ECUADOR & GALÁPAGOS —
It seems most [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
London was crowded with tourists in August ’04 and it was also the wettest August on record. Daily sky bursts were the norm, and before your umbrella was fully extended you were sopping wet. So many people running for the same shelter at the same time only exasperated the situation.
Although it rains everywhere, there are [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
It is with much interest that I read the letter “Web Booking Provided No Satisfaction” (Nov. ’04, pg. 36), regarding a reader’s experience booking a cruise through Travelocity. She booked a Category Y Outside Guarantee and was surprised to find that her cabin was obstructed. She found that for $50 more she could get what [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
ITN printed a letter of mine about my going through Frankfurt Airport in 2003 and having a security screener insist that my wallet and passport be x-rayed (Nov. ’04, pg. 18). I expressed concern that they could have been stolen while they were at the other end of the conveyor belt and out of my [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
During a February ’03 trip, my pocket was picked in Santiago, Chile. The last time I was a victim of street crime was in 1966 when a band of street urchins stole my wristwatch in Saigon.
I’m an experienced traveler and have made many visits to big, dangerous, third-world cities, like New York and Los Angeles, [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
My wife and I would like to share some wonderful restaurants we experienced while traveling in Europe in May and June ’03.
• In Hall, AUSTRIA, a pretty medieval town about 15 minutes from Innsbruck, we ate at the Goldener Hirsch restaurant (A-6060 Hall-Unterer-Stadtplatz, Austria; phone 05223/53124).
For $18 for two, we had soup, entrées, vegetables, beer [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
After spending three months trying to put together a 3-week trip to Turkey, I was ready to throw in the towel. It seemed there was a choice of either packaged tours or backpacking but little in between. I knew I wanted a car and driver (but did not want to pay the small fortune I [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
I was taken on a private tour of cathedrals and monastic sites in northern England by Michael Boote of English Country Holidays (West View Cottage, Town St., Sutton-cum-Lound, Retford, DN228PT, England; visit www.merviel.com). My tour took place July 6-11, ’04, and cost $2,600. I was traveling alone. For two or more people, it would have [...]
Travelers' Intercom, February 2005 issue
My husband and I traveled by train to Berlin, Germany, in June ’04. We used public transportation there (U-Bahn and S-Bahn), seeing all of the exciting landmarks such as the Brandenburg Gate, once a dividing point between East and West Berlin and now a symbol of German unity.
We visited the Kaiser-Wilhelm Church, or Gedächtnis-Kirche. I [...]
Columns, February 2005 issue
—All Aboard is written by Jay Brunhouse
The high-speed Eurostar train linking London with Paris and Brussels through the Channel Tunnel celebrated its 10th anniversary with a news-making “walk on the water,” and at the same time publicists seized the opportunity to report happy operating results. Eurostar had achieved the highest market share in its 10-year [...]
Columns, February 2005 issue
Island paradise or hell on Earth? Three New Zealand judges apparently took the latter view as they sentenced six of Pitcairn island’s few male inhabitants to two to six years in prison for numerous rapes and assaults that took place over a 40-year period on the last remnant of the British empire in the South [...]
Columns, February 2005 issue
—by Chris Springer, Contributing Editor
“Crete” by Barry Unsworth (2004, National Geographic. ISBN 0792266439 — 170 pp., $20 hardcover).
Crete has never wanted for literary attention, but this book is a welcome addition to the library of works on the place. After writing a novel set in ancient Greece, Barry Unsworth sets off to explore Crete firsthand. [...]
Columns, February 2005 issue
Is its prevention worse than the disease?
This theme has run wild lately with regard to malaria, and it is time to set the record straight. Let’s look at the facts and calm the excitement with some common sense.
To understand why we need protection against malaria, let’s understand what we are fighting. Malaria is a potentially [...]
Columns, February 2005 issue
It was raining when we left Amsterdam on our way to France in May 2003. I put the car on autopilot and drove south until the sun came out.
We found ourselves in Satillieu, a typical small town in the French Ardèche.
We checked in at the 2-star Chaleat Sapet (Place de la Faurie, 07290, Satillieu, France; [...]
Columns, February 2005 issue
—Timeless Roads of the Mideast and Mediterranean is written by Ed Kinney.
(Part 5 of 6 on Spain)
Continuing on our April ’04 photographers’ tour, entitled “Spanish Explorer,” the eight of us left the mountainous city of Cuenca and drove to Toledo through the La Mancha area of Spain.
These austere plains, with occasional windmills, were highlighted in [...]
Columns, February 2005 issue
—Far Horizons is written by Randy Keck.
Periodically, in future I plan to do “Under the Microscope” columns which will examine in detail various terms and aspects of tours and touring.
This first column will take a close look at advertised tour departure dates listed by tour and other travel operators. When the departure dates are attached [...]
Boarding Pass, March 2005 issue
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 349th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine. With this issue, ITN begins its 30th year of publication.
A few months ago, Donald Bridgman of Lincoln, California, wrote to ITN, “I found this in one of my bags on my return from a trip to Alaska.”
The Transportation Security Administration had opened his [...]
Report Cards, March 2005 issue
From Brugge, BELGIUM, Jan. 16, ’05. . .
• There is no cash machine or currency exchange at the Brugge train station. There’s an ATM at the post office on Market Square. Money exchange and other ATMs are on Steenstraat off the Markt.
• Hotel Ensor (Speelmansrei 10, Brugge; phone 050/342589 or visit www.ensorhotel.be) — in a [...]
Features, March 2005 issue
—by Beverly Shaver, El Cerrito, CA
Almost every visitor to Asia at one time or another passes through Singapore, be it on a shore excursion from a cruise ship or while changing planes. We did not plan to linger as we arrived there on our way home following a 2-week, September ’04 ramble through eastern Malaysia, [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
After the initial shock of and reaction to the unprecedented tragedy that hit South Asia on Dec. 26, it is important to present the traveling public with an accurate account of the current situation on the ground in terms of tourism. I have such information to pass along regarding Sri Lanka.
The tsunami wave that hit [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
I took an around-the-world trip in 7½ days flying first class on Qantas, American Airlines and Cathay Pacific, Nov. 6-14, ’04. I used One World’s ’round-the-world fare. The ticket cost $9,100. I paid full price — no breaks. The fare was deeply discounted from the price I would have paid buying point-to-point first-class segments.
This was [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
At Miami Airport I checked in for Virgin Atlantic flight No. 6 to London Heathrow and, putting on my nicest smile, asked if I could possibly have an exit row seat. . . for the stretch-out room. Imagine my surprise when I was told I could “upgrade” to an exit-row seat for the sum of [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
The reader’s letter “Flights Spoiled a Good Cruise” (Jan. ’05, pg. 26) regarding Edward DeCrappeo’s July 17 Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Washington, D.C., inspired me to write. My wife and I took that same flight in June ’04 and we concur completely with his comments on the discomfort of the airplane.
While we thought the [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
I read with interest the reader’s comments in the letter titled “Flights Spoiled a Good Cruise” (Jan. ’05, pg. 26), regarding the flights assigned by Grand Circle Travel (Boston, MA). We are also Grand Circle “Inner Circle” members.
On the five trips we have taken with Grand Circle and one with Insight Vacations (Long Island City, [...]
Funniest thing, March 2005 issue
Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. There are no restrictions on length. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.) The ITN staff will choose each month’s winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Entries [...]
Features, March 2005 issue
—Col. Harold Grady, St. Louis, MO
When the rat race gets too hectic, the travel bug bites me and I yearn for exotic places and faraway lands. However, for 2004 my wife, Donna, and I were in a quandary about where to travel. We crossed Europe off our list because of the weak dollar there. Likewise, [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
ITN is breaking with tradition, in this case, in how it presents a reader’s complaint and the company’s rebuttal. In the interest of brevity and clarity, the following facts have been summarized from many, many pages of correspondence. — Editor
ITN subscriber Joyce Barnes of Los Angeles, California, was scheduled to join a tour of Burma [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
A reader sent ITN a copy of a letter mailed to AMS Hotels (Parc Center, Bolling Ave. 8, 1119 Schiphol-Rizk, Netherlands) regarding a property in Amsterdam, as follows.
I write to express my deep disappointment in finding that the Toro Hotel — once on a par with the St. Simon in Paris — has been allowed [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
I read with a lot of interest the October ’04 article by Lew Toulmin about the Marco Polo of Orient Lines (800/333-7300 or www.orientlines.com). Yes, he does a good job on the history of the Marco Polo, but we feel that the biggest reason the ship has so many, many repeat passengers is the staff [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
In late October ’04 I boarded the Monet, a small cruise ship carrying a maximum of 59 passengers, at the San Basilio pier in Venice, Italy. Our itinerary was a leisurely 7-day cruise down the Dalmatian coast (formerly Yugoslavia), terminating in Dubrovnik.
The yacht-sized ship allowed us to dock at the center of small towns such [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
I went on a 14-day cruise from Moscow to St. Petersburg in August ’04. This was my first trip with Uniworld (Encino, CA; phone 800/257-2264 or visit www.uniworld.com) and I was very impressed with not only Russia itself but the spotlessly clean ship, the wonderful food, the most gracious staff and the relatively modest price [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
I was in Germany for several weeks in June ’04 and found a wonderful small hotel, Hotel Berlin Plaza, one-half block from the Ku’Damm in Berlin. I would recommend it. I think it’s too small to have “groups,” but the building did have two elevators. Almost all of the other people there were Germans. I [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
For our fourth trip to China, in October ’03, we selected areas of the country that had UNESCO World Heritage Sites that we had either read or heard about for many years. Our new destinations would be Shanghai, Tunxi, Huang Shan, Chengdu, Leishan, Zigong, Dazu, Chongqing and Suzhou. How to journey to these destinations over [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
• A promotion run in 2003 by Grand Circle Travel (347 Congress St., Boston, MA 02210; phone 800/221-2610 or visit www.gct.com) promised two $250 travel certificates applicable to your next GCT trip if you completed an extensive questionnaire on your future travel plans. We dutifully completed it and sent it in and waited and waited [...]
Features, March 2005 issue
—Kathryn Whitmer, Bellingham, WA
If you are fascinated by the art treasures at the Hermitage and are not content with a typical 2-hour tour with hard-to-hear commentary, an extraordinary opportunity awaits you in St. Petersburg, Peter the Great’s gleaming city on the Gulf of Finland.
In the January 2001 issue of ITN (page 12), an article by [...]
Columns, March 2005 issue
How did the travel insurance industry respond to the Asian tsunami disaster in December 2004 and how did this affect travel insurance coverages for this period and for subsequent travel?
General travel insurance policy coverages
Claims for medical, trip interruption, trip delay and miscellaneous coverages such as baggage loss, etc., are being accepted as a result of [...]
Accomodations Worldwide, March 2005 issue
Europe
If you’re looking for a quiet hotel in Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS, that is within a 5- to 10-minute walk of the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum, then the very quiet Hotel Washington (Frans van Mierisstraat 10, 1071 RS Amsterdam, the Netherlands; phone +31 [0] 20 679 74 53, fax +31 [0] 20 673 44 35, [...]
Features, March 2005 issue
—Diane Powell Ferguson, Scottsdale, AZ
Inspired by a positive review in International Travel News by Charles R. Cusack (Nov. ’02, pg. 82), we chose Fish Eagle Safaris (phone 800/513-5222 or visit www.fisheagle safaris.com) for our ninth African safari — the second to Botswana.
Planning ahead
We contacted company owner Bert du Plessis to customize wildlife viewing in the [...]
Features, March 2005 issue
—Deanna Palic, Contributing Editor, ITN
Guidebooks point travelers toward the more internationally known Croatian islands and cities on the Adriatic: Hvar, Korcula, Split, Opatija and Dubrovnik. For this holiday, however, my husband, Josip, and I were searching for a destination relatively unknown to international tourists. Our ultimate goal was to alternate between relaxing at the beach [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
My wife, Arlene, and I spent a few hours in a little-visited part of the world that is well worth seeing because of its complex history and location.
Transnistria (Trans-Dniestria or Transdniester) is a self-proclaimed autonomous republic that is part of the Republic of Moldova. This pseudocountry consists of a narrow strip of land bordered on [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
A discovery! I purchased a GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) phone for a trip to Egypt/Jordan in November ’04. Although there was no need for lengthy conversations with my progeny, I did feel a need for a phone should a crisis of some kind occur.
This phone is a winner. It cost $49 (I believe [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
This is a follow-up to my letter in the February ’05 issue, page 16, regarding making phone calls through Iscom, Inc.
While calls can be made with the IsCard FROM the U.S. to Austria (Country Code 43) at the rate of nine cents per minute from a regular phone and 49¢ on a mobile phone, Austria [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
A trip we made to Kenya was a near disaster.
On Sept. 29, ’04, I drove us from Arusha, Tanzania, into Kenya. A tourist visa cost $50. After a noon lunch in downtown Nairobi, we were blocked in traffic on busy Kenyatta Avenue, surrounded by thousands of pedestrians, when we were approached by a street beggar.
At [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
In his review of “Guerrilla Travel Tactics” by Levinson and Brandt-Sarif (Nov. ’04, pg. 92), ITN Contributing Editor Chris Springer seems determined to criticize what may be the best book of its kind on the market right now.
I’ve been going through my copy for about the fifth time. I’ve underlined key points and copied out [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
Travelers to Italy looking for a trattoria near the Milan train station can go with confidence to Trattoria La Baita (phone 02-6694173), just around the corner from the station at Via Lepetit 27, corner of Via Vitruvio. On the night we were there in October ’04 it was a cheerful, bustling place without any loud, [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
I was in Florence, Italy, on a Christmas-in-Florence tour, Dec. 21-28, ’04, and found several good places to eat in the Centro Storico area. Both are on the street that is about one block from the famed Ponte Vecchio.
• On Borgo Santi Apostoli is Il Boccale Ristorante (Borgo S.S. Apostoli, 33r; tel. 283384). I had [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
On a trip to Croatia in June ’04, we found three restaurants which were excellent.
In Krk Town on the island of Krk, we recommend Konoba NONO (Krckih iseljenika 8, Krk, Croatia; phone +3 85 [0] 5 1222 221). It’s just outside the Old City and across a small inlet.
The great-grandson of the founder was spinning [...]
Travelers' Intercom, March 2005 issue
In need of a driver on our September ’04 trip that included Hungary, we were turned on to Gabor Stern (e-mail sabor.s@vivamail.hu, phone 0036-202238630) by the Hungarian National Tourist Office (e-mail info@gotohungary.com).
A very pleasant man with acceptable English skills, Gabor picked us up at the train station in an air-conditioned car and delivered us to [...]
Columns, March 2005 issue
You’ve seen it dozens of times in movies and on TV: a bird’s-eye view of a red sports car screeching through hairpin curves one after another, racing down a precipitous granite mountain with a thousand-foot plunge below into inaccessible ravines. Don’t you wish you were driving the sports car?
Now the camera zooms down onto the [...]
Columns, March 2005 issue
—The Cruising World is written by Lew Toulmin.
We reclined comfortably, looking up at the thousands of brilliant stars overhead. The ship swayed slightly as she drove forward at 25 knots.
Suddenly the stars shifted dramatically, galaxies appeared and great streaks of color covered the heavens. Harrison Ford whispered in our ear, saying, “And now we will [...]
Columns, March 2005 issue
That cramped feeling you get from sitting in economy class could be a very real ailment.
For the last couple of years, Economy Class Syndrome — known as ECS — has been featured on evening newscasts and in a variety of health journals.
ECS is caused by Deep Vein Thrombosis, or DVT, which affects approximately two million [...]
Columns, March 2005 issue
(Second of two parts)
In January’s ITN, Julie explored remnants of Chinggis Khan’s empire.
Naadam Festival
The Naadam is Mongolia’s biggest holiday of the year. Held on July 11, 12 and 13, on the anniversary of the 1921 revolution when the Mongolians ousted the Chinese, Naadam originated in Chinggis Khan’s time when Mongolian warriors competed in three “manly” [...]
Columns, March 2005 issue
(Part 6 of 6 on Spain)
As the seven of us placed our suitcases in the 8-passenger van being driven by Don Lyon, chief guide and outfitter for Close-Up Expeditions, the weather cleared. Hopefully, this would be a positive sign for great days of photography during our drive from Toledo toward and into the mountains of [...]
Boarding Pass, April 2005 issue
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 350th (!) issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine.
“This is just what I need. Where have you been all my life?!” That’s what Shifra Rosoff of Framingham, Massachusetts, said when she called ITN’s toll-free number to subscribe (800/486-4968) a month ago.
Don’t assume all of your traveling friends know about ITN. Ask [...]
Report Cards, April 2005 issue
From Rome, ITALY, Feb. 5, ’05
• Daphne Inn (Via di San Basilio, 55 00187 Roma; phone 39 06 47823529, fax 1 702 995 4383 or visit www.daphne-rome.com) — very near Barberini Metro.
Clean, comfortable and quiet bed-and-breakfast. Very helpful English-speaking staff. We paid €120 (near $156) for three adults in one room, and that included a [...]
Features, April 2005 issue
by Bill Kizorek, Lisle, IL
On my thirtieth trip to Thailand, I spent 30 days roving the country via taxis, tuk-tuks, buses, planes, boats and elephants. Here is the recap for not only budget travelers but also those who want to savor the pinnacle of Thai luxury. Half of the trip was an independent (and expensive) [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
My husband, Norman, and I were lured into visiting Hungary by the idea that it was one of the bargains left in European travel. As we found on our trip in September ’04, this proved to be correct. It has joined the E.U. but, for now, is still using the old currency (forint). Nearby Austrian [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
I took a trip to the U.K. in September ’04 that included a visit to the Isle of Man. Ariving at London Heathrow Airport, I chose to take the underground to the center of the city for £5.40. This took approximately 45 minutes, but it was certainly the least expensive way into central London.
Prior to [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
Www.hotelclub.net is the best online hotel reservation service I have found. I have reserved hotels in Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Macau through them and have gotten the best prices I could find plus total reliability.
I last used the service for a 2-week trip in November ’04, staying at the Marco Polo in Hong Kong [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
In Bangkok, the SkyTrain continues to be a godsend for getting passengers up and out of the awful fume-ridden traffic. The SkyTrain is quite crowded during rush hours, but it’s air-conditioned, so being packed in isn’t bad.
I think there are plans to expand the lines even further. For now, they go just about everywhere a [...]
Features, April 2005 issue
by June L. Griffin, Lewiston, ME
August 2004 was the ideal time for my week’s visit to the beautiful English countryside, includings the Cotswolds, which offer some of the loveliest scenery in the country.
Making arrangements
There are several ways to reach this region. One way is to take a train from London to Oxford and then a [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
On Nov. 7, I was scheduled to take Northwest Airlines flight No. 49 to Detroit, Michigan, out of Paris’ Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport. My e-ticket did not indicate which terminal I would be leaving from. When I told the Gare Montparnasse Navette bus driver “KLM,” he dropped me at Terminal Two. The signage there [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
ITN was mailed a copy of the following letter sent by a reader to U.S. and U.K. offices of the Hertz Corporation.
I rented a car at the Manchester, U.K., airport on Aug 25, 2004. I had called the previous day with rental inquiries and then called again the day of the rental to be sure [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
My wife, Georgene, and I returned Dec. 13, ’04, from a one-month adventure trip to India. We based our jaunt on the tour “Crossroads of India/Nepal” offered by Worldview Tours (Newport Beach, CA; phone 800/373-0388 or visit www.worldview tours.com), with a catalog price of $6,990 per person. Working very closely with Nino Mohan, company owner, [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
I read with great interest Nili Olay’s article on her South Africa trip (Jan. ’05, pg. 36) arranged by Leora Rothschild of Rothschild Safaris USA (1685 S. Colorado Blvd. #197, Denver, CO 80222; phone 800/405-9463 or visit www.rothschildsafaris. com).
I was not at all surprised at her delight in Leora’s excellent suggestions and arrangements. My husband [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
I was in northern and southern Ethiopia, Jan. 9-27, ’05, and I can heartily recommend our travel guide and agent. We have traveled overseas from one to four times a year since 1981, and all three of us on the Ethiopia tour agreed that this was the best guide we’d ever had on any such [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
We spent 18 days traveling in Romania in September ‘04 — a truly great trip. Our itinerary included UNESCO world treasures like the painted monasteries in Bucovina plus picturesque villages and dramatic mountain scenery.
We flew on LOT Polish Airlines from Newark to Bucharest (changing planes in Warsaw), where we were met at the airport by [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
I found the freighter travel articles in the October ’04 issue most interesting. I would like to add some comments in order that individuals contemplating going this route will have another viewpoint to consider.
Starting in 1998, my wife and I have been on four freighter trips, not counting another in February ’05 to the Southwest [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
It was with a sense of great anticipation and adventure that we started our 3-week tour of Viet-Nam in December ’03. We experienced a country where the people are a delight, the scenery is exceptional and history and religion resulted in other wonderful sightseeing opportunities. Here are a few of the highlights of our trip.
After [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
The single most important, not-to-miss place in Cairo is the Egyptian Museum. We wish we’d had more than one day there on our visit in March ’97, but the one we had was wonderful.
The Tutankhamon exhibit, part of which we had seen when it was on exhibit in Los Angeles in the 1980s, had far [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
Dublin, Ireland, is a city of much charm and history. On our visit in July ’97 we walked past the impressive Custom House building and the 18th-century Bank of Ireland, which once housed the Irish Parliament. Heading up Grafton Street, we passed many excellent shops and galleries.
We entered the handsome main entrance of Trinity College, [...]
Features, April 2005 issue
by John Chatfield, Contributing Editor, ITN
From the gleaming modern city of Dubai to a safari in the bush in Kenya — there couldn’t be a larger contrast.
In November ’04 I was on a familiarization trip to Kenya sponsored by African Travel, Inc. This was a joint effort of the Kenya Tourist Board and several American [...]
Features, April 2005 issue
We wanted to know the questions you ask when deciding at which hotel to stay and even which room within a hotel. What are your minimum requirements? What’s on your “I hope they have it” list? How do you go about locating, researching and booking a hotel room? Responses from a couple of readers appear [...]
Accomodations Worldwide, April 2005 issue
Great Britain
My husband and I spent six weeks driving through Great Britain and Ireland in August and September ’04. Here are some great places to stay that we can recommend. (Also see Nov. ’04, pgs. 4, 116.)
• In London, ENGLAND, the Ridgemont Hotel (65 Gower St.; tel. 44-20-7636-1141), a B&B, is located in the Bloomsbury [...]
Features, April 2005 issue
We stood in rapt attention as our guide pointed out the figure of a bison on the cave wall. The artist had used the natural contours of the rock to give a 3-dimensional quality to the body of the animal. As the guide used his flashlight to outline the figure, we could almost imagine it [...]
Cruises Critiqued, April 2005 issue
Most travel agents and ship reviewers agree that there are four lines that head the top of their lists for luxury or high-quality cruise lines, namely Crystal, Radisson Seven Seas, Seabourn and Silversea. Through a seemingly chance juxtaposition of forces, my wife and I had the opportunity to sample three of these lines within a [...]
Cruises Critiqued, April 2005 issue
Having cruised on the Star Princess twice, for a month each time, I found the review of the ship in Philip Wagenaar’s August ’04 “Discerning Traveler” column a bit too glowing and one-sided. Our first journey was on her inaugural voyage in 2002 from Singapore to Los Angeles, and our second cruise was in March [...]
Cruises Critiqued, April 2005 issue
We took a cruise from Belize to the Barrier Reef and Guatemala and back, March 12-23, ’04, with American Canadian Caribbean Line (461 Water St., Warren, RI 02885; phone 800/556-7450 or visit www.accl-smallships.com). The cost ranged from only $2,455 to $2,985. It was for 11 nights, with the option of arriving one day early and [...]
Features, April 2005 issue
by Theodore Lewis, Severna Park, MD
A little over two years ago, my longtime German friend, Walter, invited me to visit him in Germany and we took a wonderful tour along the Romantic Road (see Jan. ’03, pg. 52). For 2004 he suggested we visit the quaint and colorful towns and cities in another part of [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
During my annual vacation to the world’s best-kept secret, Sapporo, Japan, I always make sure I allocate one day for a trip to the most relaxing place on Earth, Noboribetsu Hot Spring Onsen (Spa). My last trip there was in April ’04.
After getting the current train station schedule and buying an “S” ticket (about ¥4,040, [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
I spent 15 days in a very remarkable country, the kingdom of Bhutan, which is located in the eastern Himalayas and is one of the last bastions of the Tibetan Buddhist culture and religion. It is often referred to as the Land of the Peaceful Dragon and is regarded as one of the last “Shangri-las” [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
I visited Bhutan Nov. 4-15, ’01, fly-fishing with a guide and driver. I saw beautiful streams, few fish, beautiful country and a unique, most interesting culture and delightful people, but Shangri-la it ain’t!
Poverty exists countrywide, you cannot drink the tap water and there is no road or rail travel to the outside. The only potential [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
In the article “Rewards of Winter Travel” (Sept. ’04, pg. 46), the author begged to differ with those who shun winter travel. Well, I beg to differ with her.
Yes, one can travel prepared with layering, proper footwear and raingear, but rain, even prepared for, can put a damper on any trip. We had rain eight [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
Randy Keck’s article on long-haul, single-destination group tours, or “LHSDGT” (Sept. ’04, pg. 106), really hit home with me. For 25 years, when working in the corporate world, I was lucky to be able to go away for a whole week. Now that I am retired, I want to travel for long periods (at least [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
I enjoyed the article on LHSDGT (Sept. ’04, pg. 106). My idea of a great time is one location for two to three weeks with day trips out from a single location. Commonly known as the “hub and spoke” concept, it is much easier on an older population and allows for choices. One age group [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
I used the special Transportation Security Administration locks on my luggage for flights from Seattle to Dulles to Vilnius, Lithuania, and then home from St. Petersburg, Russia, through Dulles to Seattle in June ’04. The locks were not cut, but the red symbol came off. The store would not exchange them.
I used them again in [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
I obtained through the TravelSmith catalog (800/950-1600 or www.travelsmith.com) two TSA-approved luggage locks with the red TSA-approved logo plainly visible on them. On Nov. 20, ’04, at the end of a trip, I boarded LanChile flight No. 500 from Santiago to Miami. Since I had been forewarned that many foreign countries were not familiar with [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
In response to the request for suggestions on how to make airport security lines move along quicker (Nov. ’04, pg. 4), here are some that I have found useful:
Think about what you will need to do in advance. Arriving at the checkpoint and then acting surprised at the security requests is unnecessary unless you are [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
I found out that many brands of shoes have a steel plate in them which sets off the alarm at airport security stations. I now wear shoes with no plates. At the end of 2004 I went through three airports in one month with no problems!
JEAN CATER
Dover, NJ
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
Did you know that prescription drugs are sometimes less expensive than over-the-counter versions?
As I searched in the pharmacy for Imodium® 2mg, an over-the-counter antidiarrheal agent that every traveler carries, I was flabbergasted by its cost. Not only would I have to pay its inflated price, I also would have to fork over the 8.8% sales [...]
Travelers' Intercom, April 2005 issue
A friend and I were in Rome for a few days during October ’04, and we want to add our recommendation for a guide to that of Dorothy Smith (Sept. ’04, pg. 94).
Katie Parla (e-mail katieparla@yahoo.com) did an excellent job of guiding us through the sights we wanted to see in Rome. We avoided long [...]
Columns, April 2005 issue
I often get asked which is the best ship afloat, in terms of its food. I would love to be able to give a simple answer and award a prize. However, after reviewing my experiences afloat, communicating with ITN readers and interviewing seagoing chefs, I don’t think the answer is that easy.
There are so many [...]
