Informing the international traveler since 1976.
Feb 2006 issue.
Boarding Pass
Dear Globetrotter: Welcome to the 360th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine. 360! We’ve come full circle. Well, it’s a full 30 years, anyway. Congratulations on keeping this travel forum going strong with your letters, articles and suggestions. Nancy Stott of Walnutport, Pennsylvania, wrote to ITN, “First, I would like to thank you for publishing my request [...]Travel Tidbits
Sitting high above the Danube in Austria is the 900-year-old, baroque Melk Abbey. As we walked into its library, we were struck by the fact that, at the whim of a bygone archbishop, all the books have the same binding. The building features 365 windows, a magnificent carved pulpit and exquisite ceiling frescoes. — CARROLL [...]Walking Norway’s western fjords
—by Yvonne Michie Horn, Santa Rosa, CA The stones were rough cut — some much larger than others, some demanding a bit of a stretch to get to the next — but each had a worn spot where one’s foot just wanted to go. The stones meandered in a sort of staircase, and indeed that is [...]No mailboxes at JFK
On our way to Africa on Sept. 24, ’05, and with a long layover at New York’s JFK, I tried to find a mailbox in the airport to mail some bills that would come due while we were gone. Lo and behold, I found out that all of the mailboxes had been removed after 9/11. When [...]‘Golden weeks’ in China
My wife and I returned on Oct. 16, ’05, from an 18-day tour of China and Hong Kong. The trip, called “Yangtze River Splendors,” was operated by Orient Flexi-Pax Tours (New York, NY; 800/545-5540 or www.orientflexipax.com) and booked for us by our local travel agent. Our departure was from San Francisco on Sept. 29, with [...]Lessons in shipping goods home
In Ho Chi Minh City in August ’05, we returned to a shop that sells embroidered pictures, XQ Silk Hand Embroidery (52B Pham Hong Thai St., Dist. 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet-Nam; phone [84 8] 8246144 or visit www.xqhandembroidery.com). We had been in Viet-Nam four years earlier and were so struck by these wonderful pictures [...]Xtreme Bolivia
In September ’05, after staying in La Paz, Bolivia, at 12,600 feet, I spent two days at the Esmeralda Hotel (phone in Bolivia 010-221-36017, fax 36041 [from the U.S., phone ++591-221-36017] or visit www.hotelesmeralda.com) in Coroico, elevation 4,800 feet, to get warm and recover from the altitude. My old guidebooks warned that the La Paz-Coroico highway [...]Drove in Greece
Renting a car in Greece seems the best way to travel, as public transportation is limited. For our trip, our car rental was from Budget through Auto Europe (888-223-5555 or visit www.autoeurope.com). Driving was very easy and we never encountered traffic congestion except in leaving Athens and at the ferry crossings. From the town of Rio, [...]Funniest Thing for February
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 [...]Turin — one of Italy’s best-kept secrets
by Jim Sajo, Polcenigo, Italy Italy’s Piedmont region hides anonymously in the extreme northwest, nestled against France. Anonymity will be lost in February, however, when the capital and most important city, Turin (Torino), hosts the 2006 Winter Olympics. The Games give Turin an opportunity to shake its less-than-accurate “motor city” image. During many stops there over [...]Grand Circle’s new policy re departure date changes
I read International Travel News as soon as it arrives on my desk every month. Because of the open forum it offers its readers, ITN helps me stay tuned into what seasoned travelers want and expect from foreign travel and what they bring to the experience themselves. ITN also offers us at Grand Circle another channel [...]Suggestions for a perfect QM2 cruise
Following a “QM2” cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, for which he paid $3,984 for a deluxe balcony cabin for two on deck B-2, a reader mailed to ITN a copy of the letter he sent to Cunard Line, as follows: My wife, Helen, and I just completed a 7-day cruise on the Queen Mary 2. [...]Black Watch improved
I am writing because, although Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines in Ipswich was given the opportunity to reply to the specific complaints of one couple (“Black Watch Cruise Appraisal,” Jan. ’06, pg. 73), we, the North American representatives — and closest to the rest of the customers — were never given a chance to provide input. [...]HAL’s ‘Voyage of the Vikings’
Holland America Line’s ms Maasdam does an annual summer round trip from Boston to Rotterdam: “Voyage of the Vikings.” While it is possible to take only half the cruise, most passengers go for the full 35 nights. My wife and I took the 2005 cruise, July 16-Aug. 20, at a cost of approximately $8,000 per [...]Minerva II on the Black Sea
Beth Habian’s article “Spain… plus Italy and Corsica — Cruising the Mediterranean with Swan Hellenic” (Nov. ’05, pg. 6) was right on target. The Minerva II offers a unique cruise experience. My 15-day Black Sea cruise, Aug. 20-Sept. 3, ’05, greatly exceeded my expectations. We had six excellent guest speakers who greatly enhanced our ability to [...]Tourist farms in Slovenia
My wife and I drove a rental car through Slovenia, May 20-28, ’05. We traveled from Venice and drove most of the interesting roads in Slovenia, which is full of beauty in all varieties and can be visited at a very reasonable cost. We contacted the Slovenian Tourist Office (2929 East Commercial Blvd., Ste. 201, Ft. [...]Notes on England visit
On our visit to England, April 30-May 9, ’05, it was full spring with lovely weather. The exchange rate was the only chilling factor of the trip! The Grange Blooms Hotel in Bloomsbury is in an excellent, convenient location behind the British Museum. Very comfortable, it’s part of a group of renovated townhouses, the Grange Bloomsbury [...]Taquile Island observations
Charles Treadgold’s letter about taking maps to Peru’s Taquile Island (Nov. ’05, pg. 44) got me thinking about other things that would be most appreciated by the people there. I visited in 1992, but from what I have read about the place it seems not to have changed much. First of all, fruit would be very [...]Airport-pier options in Japan
In ITN’s October ’05 “Person to Person” section, on page 126 Mr. William Suter asked for information on reasonably priced ways to get to the cruise ship pier near Osaka, Japan, from Kansai International Airport (KIX). I would like to give some suggestions. First, be aware that near Osaka, which is farther inland, there are two [...]Venice airport-city transfer
Clean, modern and well-equipped, Venice, Italy’s, Marco Polo Airport (www.veniceairport.it) provides a convenient gateway to the city, but the transfer between the airport and your hotel certainly won’t be the highlight of your visit. Any good, recent guidebook should detail the choices and direct you to the websites of the various service providers. During an October [...]Sentiments of hope
My wife, Mary, and I were in Cairo in January ’05 when we learned that our daughter Julie, back in Arizona, had been diagnosed with breast cancer. We became frequent customers in the Cairo Marriott gift shop, where they sold phone cards. The problem with the phone cards was that they each lasted only three [...]Macau — where cultures merge and the past mingles with the present
by Roger Canfield, Contributing Editor Seeing Macau’s more than 400-year-old European-style buildings is time travel accented by a 13-hour flight from Los Angeles. I saw newly restored evidence of Macau’s Portuguese and Chinese pasts: gothic, baroque, neoclassical and Chinese architecture plus modern and ancient art and exquisite exhibitions in many museums. Preserved are architectural landmarks of [...]Eye on Travel Insurance » Rejected claims
Purchasers of travel insurance are frequently disappointed (and/or irate) when a claim is denied, often swearing never to use that insurance company again and writing to ITN suggesting that its readers do the same. In such cases, the policy holder usually receives a form letter from the insurance company stating, “We regret that we are unable [...]A novel approach to travel
What books or movies inspired you to travel to another country (outside of North America and the Caribbean)? ITN asked that question and received many responses, which were printed in the June through September 2005 issues. Here are a few more. If you have suggestions to share, write to A Novel Approach to Travel, c/o ITN, [...]Minsk — exploring Belarus’ capital
—by Carol Coverly, South Yarmouth, MA Mid-August seemed like a good time of year to visit friends in Minsk. The weather was perfect during our 5-day stay in 2005. Lufthansa was the only commercial airline with a daily flight into Minsk International Airport. The terminal, a half hour’s drive from the capital city, was undergoing renovations, which [...]Villa les Lauriers in France
Sixty kilometers south of Ajaccio in the seaside village of Propriano, Corsica, FRANCE, my wife, Christine, and I stayed in a wonderful apartment owned and operated by Marie-Francoise and Jean-Pierre Dereani, Villa les Lauriers (20110 Propriano, Corse du Sud, Corsica, France; phone/fax 00 39 04-95-76-29-60 or visit www.dereani.com). We rented this 2-bedroom, ocean-view, fully equipped apartment [...]Les Gains, Les Trois Collines and Mas Shamrock in France
I had the pleasure of traveling with my son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter by car through the countryside of FRANCE in June ’05. We stayed in the following delightful homes. • Les Gains (61310 Survie, Exmes, Normandy, France; phone 0033 [0] 2 33 36 05 56 or visit www. lesgains.tk). Near Argentan in Normandy, this is the “hard [...]Guest houses in Germany, Austria, and Slovenia
A group of five of us traveled by car through Germany, Austria and Slovenia in May ’05. Most of our accommodations during the trip — guest houses, “Zimmers,” “sobe” (in Slovenia) or hostels — combined our double and triple rooms and gave us a per-person rate. All prices listed here include tax and breakfast. I [...]Hotel Husa Chamartin in Spain
We were looking for a hotel that would be close to the train station in Madrid, SPAIN, with easy access to downtown and also reasonably close to the airport. We eventually found a hotel on the Internet which seemed to come pretty close to our criteria. Hotel Husa Chamartin (Agustin de Foxá s/n, 28036 Madrid, Spain; [...]India’s Clarks Shiraz hotel
On our month-long trip to INDIA in November-December ’04, we found the Clarks Shiraz (54, Taj Road, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, INDIA; phone +91 05622 222 6121 or visit www.hotelclarksshiraz.com) to be a fine and efficient hotel, far better equipped to accommodate travelers than several of the other hotels we stayed in. But somehow it gave [...]Bed and breakfasts in New Zealand
Here are two lovely B&Bs from our April ’05 trip to NEW ZEALAND. • The Croft (Te Anau/Milford Sound Highway, No. 1 Rd. Te Anau, New Zealand; phone/fax 64 [0] 3 249 7393, e-mail jane@thecroft.co.nz or visit www.thecroft.co.nz). Jane and Ross McEwan have built two modern, well-equipped, extremely comfortable and private cottages behind their lovely home with [...]Historical Malta
—by Vernon Hoium, Minneapolis, MN When the temperature in Minneapolis reached 14 degrees below zero, it was time to think of visiting a warmer climate. In January ’05, my wife and I flew from Minneapolis to Malta via London. We purchased two separate tickets for the trip, traveling to London on Northwest Airlines and from London [...]Malaysia with Eldertreks
Eldertreks (597 Markham St., Toronto, ON M6G 2L7, Canada; phone 800/741-7956 or visit www.eldertreks.com) hosted my 20-day trip to BORNEO, Malaysia. It cost $2,195, not including international air; my total airfare from Denver was $1,461. I traveled in October ’04, which was in the dry season, so it rained only in the mornings (in monsoon season [...]Lebanon, Syria and Jordan with Explore Worldwide
The tour was labeled “Grand Tour of the Middle East” and that it was. Offered by the British company Explore Worldwide (in the U.S., book through Adventure Center,1311 63rd St., Ste. 200, Emeryville, CA 94608; phone 800/227-8747 or visit www.adventurecenter.com), it also was offered as three separate one-week tours in each country, but I took [...]Athens, Delphi, Macedonia and Thrace with OPA Tours Greece
Greece Joyce Helfand of OPA Tours Greece (137 Genoa St., Ste. B, Arcadia, CA 91006; phone 800/672-7155 or visit www.greecetravel.com/opa) usually conducts only two tours a year, one in May and one in October, and limits her tours to 20 people or fewer. (Note: in 2006 there is also a tour in July.) We toured with [...]India with Overseas Adventure Travel
We’ve wandered much of the world since retirement, usually independently and on a modest budget. We decided to take the “Heart of India” tour from Overseas Adventure Travel (One Broadway, Ste. 600, Cambridge, MA 02142; phone 800/955-1925 or visit www.oattravel.com), Sept. 29-Oct.15, ’05. We’re glad we did! India is indeed incredible. The historic buildings are magnificent, [...]Turkey with Pacha Tours
On our “Mini Tour 1” of Turkey with Pacha Tours (5757 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 645, Los Angeles, CA 90036; phone 800/722-4288 or visit www.pachatours.com), we flew from London to Istanbul on April 15, ’05, and returned April 25. The land price was $620 per person plus $50 per person extra to stay in the Erboy Hotel [...]Panama — Look at you now!
by Jim Simpson, Wilmington, DE She was there waiting for us when we landed at Panama’s Tocumen International Airport. Maria was no longer the 22-year-old newly minted schoolteacher who visited us 35 years before as part of an exchange program; she was now a 57-year-old woman with a husband and three grown children. In 1970, Maria stayed [...]Three unusual islands
My friend Edith Ann Pazmino and I took an adventure that included three unusual islands between Asia and Australia, July 6-25, ’05. Our 20-day trip took us from San Francisco to Hong Kong, Hainan Island (in the South China Sea), Singapore, Perth and, in the Indian Ocean, Christmas and Cocos islands. The trip would not have [...]Three unusual islands
My friend Edith Ann Pazmino and I took an adventure that included three unusual islands between Asia and Australia, July 6-25, ’05. Our 20-day trip took us from San Francisco to Hong Kong, Hainan Island (in the South China Sea), Singapore, Perth and, in the Indian Ocean, Christmas and Cocos islands. The trip would not have [...]Confounded by Coptic community of Cairo
Having made several past visits to tourist areas of Egypt and the Sinai, on our March ’05 trip my husband and I decided to explore the Coptic aspect of Cairo. The Copts are the only Egyptian Christians. They believe that St. Mark established their church at Alexandria. The official “birth” of the Coptic church was in [...]Provence dining and more
We had a 2-week stay in Provence, Oct. 5-19, ’05, with Idyll, Ltd. (Box 405, Media, PA 19063; phone 888/868-6871 or visit www.untours.com). We stayed in Velorgues, France, in the Oasis 2 apartment, a luxurious 2-bedroom rental with dishwasher, washing machine, patio and lots of privacy. The cost was $2,169 for apartment, car rental and [...]Dining in Brittany
After a tour of Greece in late June ’05, my wife, Dorothy, and I stopped in Brittany, France, to visit our daughter who resides in the small city of Douarnenez, which at one time was the sardine capital of Europe. We had the opportunity to try a few restaurants there. • On the waterfront at the [...]Pad of greenbacks
Before I leave on an extended tour, I stop at a bank and get a pack of new one-dollar bills. They come 100 to a bundle a little over an inch thick. I then take this pack to a local print shop which prepares business forms and ask them to cut a piece of cardboard the [...]Trusting merchant in B.A.
My wife, Barbara, and I have been traveling the world for over 30 years, and I thought I had heard and seen it all. On our visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in September ’05, we wandered into a classy leather shop in the San Telmo district, Art Design Leather (Defensa 1170, Sala 2, La Candelaria; phone [...]Rubbing elbows with the locals
Digital photography beats film in lots of ways. Still, there’s “lag time,” that delay after you press the digital camera’s shutter button but before the picture is recorded. On my camera, the recording process takes five seconds — and during those seconds the electronic through-the-lens viewfinder leaves me “blind.” I see only the image being [...]The Cruising World » Happy cruising ahead for 2006 and 2007
Cruising is looking good for 2006 and 2007. The cruise industry appears set to boom over the next two years, due to continuing economic prosperity worldwide; the aging of the world population and the resultant disposable income and time, and the creativity of the cruise lines in developing new, attractive ships and shipboard attractions. I will [...]Ask Steve » Minimize jet lag, travel in France and Prague
Q STEVE, what have you found to be the best way to minimize the effects of jet lag? — Henry Ebbets, Prescott, AZ A DEAR HENRY, I plan a full day’s worth of activities in advance for my first day. Also, I sleep on the plane, eat little, avoid booze and drink lots of water. When I get [...]The Discerning Traveler » Medical websites
Where to look for authoritative medical information “I have been bleeding from the gums for the past few days,” my friend Audrey blurted out when I telephoned her. “You know I am taking the blood thinner warfarin, and my INR (a test to evaluate the effectiveness of blood-thinning medications) was normal a week ago. I am [...]Latin America » Destination: Lima
by Deanna Palic When I arrived in Peru in mid-September 2005 for the Latin America Travel Mart, Lima was in the last throes of winter. Spring was just one week away and temperatures were in the high 60s day, mid-50s evening. Limeños boast that rainfall there is “less than a tear a year” and that there isn’t [...]Mideast and Mediterranean » Beautiful, historical Córdoba, Spain
by Ed Kinney First impressions set the tenor of an adventure. The sky may have been overcast that day in April 2004, but I was immediately charmed by Córdoba, Spain, a historic city of three cultures. Our small van entered by crossing the Rio Guadalquivir via the 2,000-year-old Roman bridge (Puente Romano), built following Caesar’s victory over [...]Adventure Travel » The most luxurious train in the world
by Wayne Wirtanen (Second of three parts, jump to part 1, part 2, part 3) The luxury train Of the world’s few “luxury trains,” two are in South Africa and they follow similar itineraries. The Blue Train promises the pleasures of a modern 5-star hotel. In contrast, Rovos Rail claims to run the “most luxurious train in [...]Far Horizons » China adventure, Shanghai surprises and beyond
by Randy Keck (First of three parts, jump to part 1, part 2, part 3) Since I had done some advance research, it is a fact that I had expected a lot from my initial exposure to Shanghai on my first visit to China, in November 2005. It is also a fact that my expectations were [...]Report Cards
FIRST, FAST & FURIOUS ? The following is a sampling of reports received from ITN readers around the globe. ITN invites you to join our corps of reporters ? just drop a card in the mail while the travel impressions are fresh in your mind. To obtain your ITN Report Cards, send a self-addressed, stamped, [...]
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