Informing the international traveler since 1976.
February 2007 issue.
Articles are displayed in the order they appear in the magazine.
Boarding Pass
Dear Globetrotter: Welcome to the 372nd issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine. Kenya’s Tourism and Wildlife Minister announced in November that, despite an expected increase in the number of tourists, the government will not license any new developments within the Maasai Mara Game Reserve until a “general master plan” is in place. Adding new lodges or camps [...]Travel Tidbits
A “must visit” in Lithuania is Trakai, a restored 12th-century castle 28 kilometers east of Vilnius on an island in Lake Galve. In the mid-June we were there, a ballet and opera performance were held in the courtyard; these are, however, summertime events. (The sun rises at 3 a.m. and sets at 10 p.m. here [...]Nepal — hiking the Annapurna Circuit
by Steven Cole, Lowell, MI (First of two parts, jump to part 2) “It seems like yesterday. . .” is a phrase older folks find themselves saying quite often. For me, it seems like yesterday that I was taking stairs two at a time. Now I avoid stairs whenever I can. But in January ’06 I [...]Menu translators
For some years I have watched travelers in restaurants in central and southern France, northern Italy and the islands of Corsica, Sicily and Sardinia both struggling with menus in a mysterious foreign language and failing to use any of a series of little paperbacks on eating and drinking in the country they are visiting. When [...]Telestial cell phone
I am sharing with ITN readers my satisfaction with Telestial, Inc. (1804 Garnet Ave., Ste. 385, San Diego, CA 92109; phone 858/274-2686, fax 2757 or visit www.telestial.com), the international cell phone and prepaid phone card company. I’d say Telestial rates a 10 out of 10 for continuing customer support after purchase. Knowledgeable humans (!) assist [...]Minimizing transaction fees
Julee Roth raises an important issue about the recent changes in banks, credit cards, ATMs and foreign currency transactions and the new fees (Dec. ’06, pg. 12). Regarding currency transactions, two bad things happened on our visit to Tuscany in September-October ’04. Hertz processed our Italian rental car transaction in U.S. dollars instead of euros, at [...]For the most euros per dollar
I think I have found the best way to get the most for our dollar as it continually declines against the euro. On a trip my wife and I took to Italy, Austria and Germany in October-November ’06, I carried a credit card, a debit card and just a few hundred euros in my pocket. The debit [...]Shipping wine in checked baggage
The recently created prohibitions for carrying liquid substances in carry-ons aboard airplanes makes shipping wine in hold baggage an exercise in creativity to prevent breakage, leakage or other calamities. On a November ’06 trip to the Mediterranean, I managed to get a bottle of wine home safely in hold baggage, but I held my breath [...]Complejo Tango
My husband Don, and I attended a marvelous “tango lesson/dinner show” called Complejo Tango Cena-Show (Escuela de Baile-Canto-Musica, Av. Belgrano 2608, C1096AAQ, Buenos Aires, Argentina; phone [54] [0] 11 4941 1119, fax 43082106 or visit www.complejo tango.com.ar) in Buenos Aires in January ’06. It was one of the best events of our 24-day trip to [...]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 [...]An inspired journey on horseback through Australia’s Snowy Mountains
by Rosemary McDaniel, Trenton, FL If you are a horseman or woman looking for a true adventure, you just can’t beat Australia’s Snowy Mountains. When I saw the film “The Man from Snowy River,” I knew that that was an area I wanted to see from horseback. In March ’06 I realized that dream. A few details The [...]Facets of tour not as expected
Following is a letter sent by a reader to Pacific Delight Tours (formerly Pacific Delight World Tours), a copy of which was mailed to ITN. It concerns a 15-day tour of Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, April 4-19, 2006. The cost without airfare was $1,843 per person. Five years ago a friend and I took a [...]Disappointed on QM2
This letter deals with a cruise to Mexico and Hawaii, areas that ITN does not cover, however the ports are not at matter but the ship itself, which makes voyages around the world. — Editor My wife, Marge, and I took two back-to-back cruises on Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2: Los Angeles-Ensenada-Los Angeles, Feb. 22-25, 2006, [...]Regatta Med cruise
We took an 18-day sojourn to the Mediterranean. Before boarding the Regatta of Oceania Cruises (Miami, FL; 800/531-5658, www.oceaniacruises.com), we spent three nights in Barcelona. What a great city! We used the “bus touristic” for two days — a wonderful way to see the city. It went right by our hotel so was an easy [...]Barging in France
My traveling companion, Pat, and I spent 12 days on a barging trip on the Burgundy Canal in France, June 23-July 6, 2006. On a trip like this, what counts is the beauty of the tree-lined canal and the countryside, the good food, and the pampering. For quality of life, it is hard to beat. It [...]Santiago de Compostela
My husband, Karl, and I took a long weekend trip to Santiago de Compostela in the far northwest corner of Spain, April 29-May 2, ’06. Santiago is a wonderful city, filled with red-faced and sweaty pilgrims from all over Europe. They come alone sometimes or in groups of 30 sometimes, singing and chanting as they walk, [...]Museums in Amsterdam
On a trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands, in July ’05, we took canal boats to some of the city’s many famous museums. Some of these watercraft, in fact, are dubbed “museum boats,” linking the city’s cultural centers. The Mecca for many is the Rijksmuseum. This voluminous gallery features one of the world’s most renowned collections of Dutch [...]Two Quito museums of special mention
There are several museums in Quito, Ecuador, but two that my wife, Barbara, and I visited in January ’06 deserve special mention. The Museo de la Ciudad can be found in Old Town, through the arch at Moreno and Rocafuerte. This cleverly designed museum offers depictions of city life by century, starting with the 16th. Each [...]Scenic Japan
Sagano, on the outskirts of Kyoto, is where many Japanese go to view the fall colors. When my husband, Don, and I, were there in October ’05 it was too early for leaf viewing. The Tenruyji Temple complex, with its gate, moat and walls, is a favorite sight in this ancient city where time seems to [...]Doctor visit in London
While staying with friends just outside London in May ’06, I woke up one morning with a sore throat and a husky voice. I told my friends I had better catch the next flight back to California in case I was coming down with something. They suggested I see a doctor first, but, it being Sunday, [...]Sculpture park, Lithuania
Close by the spa town of Druskininkai, Lithuania, is the strange but compelling museum Gruto Parkas Grutas (www.grutoparkas.lt). The brainchild of Viliumas Malinauskas, this fabulous sculpture park is littered with several “Stalins” and “Lenins.” You can gaze upon row after row of Communist sculptures from all over Lithuania. Near the entrance is an exhibition in memory [...]Learning to cook like an Italian in Florence
Story by Dana McMahan, Photos by Dana & Brian McMahan and Holly Maynard. I traveled to Italy with my husband, Brian, and another couple in March ’06, staying at a rented villa in Tuscany for a week. A highlight of the trip was a market tour and a hands-on cooking class in Florence at Divina Cucina [...]Learning another language
What have you found to be the best, easiest or most efficient way or simply a sufficient way to learn a foreign language? Language tapes? iPod? Book? Online learning guide? Total-immersion course overseas? We asked you to write in with whatever advice or info you could provide, including details such as titles, sources, contact info [...]The North Pole — an experience like no other
by Gordon Kilgore, Sharpsburg, GA A trip to the Geographic North Pole is not a trip for everyone. It is not a trip for those on a tight budget. It is not a trip for those who must always have the trappings of civilization within easy reach. However, a trip to one of the most remote [...]Spain with Alto Aragón
“Basque Hills and Coast” was a wonderful guided hiking holiday in Spain that my husband and I took with Alto Aragón (31 Heathside, Esher, Surrey, KT10 9TD, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 1869 337 339 or visit www.altoaragon.co.uk). Our tour, Sept. 17-24, 2006, began and ended in Bilbao. The cost of approximately £875 (near $1,696) per person [...]Mountain highlights of Iceland with Borton Overseas
My friend Kathleen and I traveled to Iceland with the Colorado Mountain Club on a hiking/walking tour, “Mountain Highlights,” with Borton Overseas (5412 Lyndale Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55419; 800/843-0602, www.bortonoverseas.com). The land price for the 12-day tour was $3,200, and airfare on Icelandair from Baltimore-Washington International Airport was $1,178. This excellent tour, June 24-July 6, [...]Ancient Macedonia with Explore
My goal was to visit all of the old Yugoslav republics. I had been to Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia before, so from Sept. 10 to 24, 2006, I took Explore’s “Ancient Macedonia” tour (booked through Adventure Center, 1311 63rd St., Ste. 200, Emeryville, CA 94608; 800/227-8747, www.adventurecenter.com). The 15-day tour took the group of 20, mostly [...]Australia, New Zealand, & Fiji with GCT
Since my wife, Mary, and I both retired in 2000, we have been traveling abroad at least twice a year. More and more of our friends expressed an interest in traveling with us, so we started doing organized group tours. For the last few years we have used Grand Circle Travel, or GCT (347 Congress St., [...]Kenya and Tanzania with Njewa Safaris
My husband, Allan, always looks for the best travel for our dollar, shopping via the Internet. For a Feb. 4-17, 2006, safari in Kenya and Tanzania, we used a small company based in Nairobi: Njewa Safaris (Box 2009-01000, Thika, Kenya; phone/fax +254-20-210531, mobile +254-722-752520 or visit www.njewasafaris.com). The land price for our tour was $2,700 [...]Eastern Turkey with Turfantastik
Six of us toured western Turkey in 2004 with Mehmet Ozbalci of Turfantastik (Milet cas. Inan Is Hani No:5/610, Aksaray, Istanbul, Turkey; phone [90] 212-589 33 25, fax 586 32 56 or visit www.turfantastik.com) and committed to another journey with him in 2005. Our eastern Turkey trip took place May 23-June 9, 2005, and to [...]A night on Lake Titicaca
by Andrea Granahan, Bodega, CA Several times while in Peru, I felt as though I had reached the end of the world. Upon reaching the island of Amantani on Lake Titicaca, I felt that way again. Not only had we traveled far into the Andes to get to the lake, we had been riding for hours [...]For first-time travelers to Slovenia
At the conclusion of our October ’05 trip to Slovenia, my wife, Paula, and I felt that it was the most beautiful and photogenic of the 18 countries we had visited. Here are some resources and tips we would like to share from that trip. PLANNING — Guidebooks we used included “Lonely Planet Slovenia” and “Rick [...]Hotel + guides in Russia
With a Viking River Cruises trip in Russia planned to start on Oct. 1, 2006, my husband and I decided to arrive a day early in St. Petersburg and also stay an extra night in Moscow after the cruise. My first job was to secure hotel reservations, which proved to be very difficult mainly because [...]Guides in Russia
In planning our trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg in July ’06, I noted three private guides recommended by ITN readers and, after a series of e-mails, selected Alexei Fetisov (Oct. ’05, pg. 122) from Palladium Travel Agency (Artilleriyskaya St. #1, Office 160, St. Petersburg, Russia; phone 7-812 579 6644, fax 6584 or visit [...]Literary London
We often stay in the Bloomsbury section of London (the last time in November ’05) and enjoy visiting the sights of “literary London.” Charles Dickens’ house is easy to find. It’s right there in Bloomsbury and is now the Charles Dickens Museum (48 Doughty St., London, WC1N 2LX, U.K.; phone +44 [0] 20 7405 2127 or [...]Termite pointers
As a minor amplification to the picture on page 74 in the December ’06 edition of ITN, on a 1998 trip to Australia we found lots of termite mounds all over the central area, especially around Alice. Of interest is that the mounds are known in many parts as “magnetic mounds.” The reference is not [...]Leave only footprints
On a mountain in Austria several years ago, my wife, Flory, and I became tired from walking and stopped at the top at a café. We draped our sweaters over the backs of the chairs and ordered two espressos. After paying, we continued our walk. Five minutes later we realized we had forgotten the sweaters. Since [...]Drying clothes in hotel room
I thoroughly enjoyed Bill Kizorek’s article, “One Shirt, 40,000 Miles. . .” (Dec. ’06, pg. 6). I have the solution to his wet socks problem. If he is staying in a room that has an overhead fan, he can just clothespin the socks to the fan and run the fan. It works just like a dryer. [...]All Aboard » Visit Malaysia Year 2007
by Jay Brunhouse When I arrived in Kuala Lumpur for 2006’s Citrawarna Malaysia (Colors of Malaysia) bash, I was happy to see that the grand old “Arabian Nights” train station was still standing. Moreover, it had a recent coat of white paint. It was undeniably dusty but glistening with architectural charm. Everyone, except for the tourist [...]Cruising World » Star Princess rises like a phoenix
by Lew Toulmin After suffering a fire in the Bahamas in March 2006, Star Princess recovered in amazing time and is now “the safest ship afloat.” I was on board Star Princess for her first voyage after the repair, and I can report that there is no evidence of fire damage, service is excellent, and safety [...]Reviewers’ Corner
Here are a few of the latest travel-book reviews written by ITN readers. “Fodor’s Paris 2006,” edited by Andrew Collins and Jennifer Paul (2005, Fodor’s, LLC. ISBN 140015480 — 372 pp., $17.95 paperback). This guidebook has a layout similar to that of most, with chapters on essentials, eating, hotels and what to see and do. One of the [...]Ask Steve » Passports, 3-1-1 rules, Norway small-ship cruising
Dear reader, the most common question I’m receiving these days is “Will I need a passport?” The government policy on this varies depending upon the destination and has changed several times within the last year, but the simple answer is this: if you are interested in traveling to any of the places mentioned in ITN, you [...]Travel & Health » Malaria update
Malaria just doesn’t get respect. Until, that is, someone catches it. It is a wicked disease which infects between 300- and 550-million people (yes, that is one-third to one-half billion people — about 10 times the number of those suffering from AIDS) and kills between one to three million annually. It is spread by mosquitoes and [...]The Discerning Traveler » The stunning Faroe Islands
by Philip Wagenaar, M.D. It was Friday, August 25th, 2006. Our Holland America cruise ship, the MS Amsterdam, had docked an hour before in Tórshavn, the capital of the 18-island Faroe archipelago, under a deep fog cover. Our tour Dressed warmly against the cold, my wife, Flory, and I snuggled down in our toasty tour bus as we [...]Far Horizons » Mendoza — wine and more
I had the opportunity to travel to Mendoza, the attractive city of 100,000-plus in the heart of northern Argentina’s booming viticulture region, in April ’06. While the city is a thriving regional commercial center, it is the huge wine industry — featuring literally scores of wineries (bodegas) in Mendoza and the surrounding districts — that [...]
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