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 would put pressure on the environment, local communities and the park’s capacity, which is already overstretched. In fact, rather than add extra beds in the existing lodges, it was suggested that the quality of the facilities and infrastructure be improved and perhaps more money charged.

In Vietnam, the Ministry of Health along with the World Health Organization launched a nationwide information campaign in November about the benefits of motorcyclists’ wearing helmets.

In that country — where motorbikes comprise 98% of traffic, safety training is minimal, traffic rules are ignored and drunk driving is common — 30 people a day die in traffic accidents. That’s nearly as many as die of infectious diseases there.

Unfortunately, in such a poor country, a helmet can cost someone half a month’s wages. Locals also object that it is too hot to wear a helmet and it can mess up one’s hair.

A couple of recent conversations I had confirm new survey results: 71% of U.S. adult air travelers don’t know that they can lock their checked baggage on commercial flights. Of course, Travel Sentry® Certified locks must be used.

The study was done by Harris Interactive and commissioned by Travel Sentry (www.travelsentry.org), the firm which, in partnership with the Transportation Security Administration, developed the special luggage locks which passengers can open using a combination and which all TSA agents in the U.S. (as well as U.K. Customs officials at London airports) can open with a standard key.

The combination locks, which each have a special red-diamond logo, are sold under various brand names at all travel stores.

On recent flights, I placed my film in lead-shield bags inside my suitcase locked with a “TSA lock.” After one flight, I found a note inside from the TSA saying they had inspected the bag. After another flight, I knew the lock had been opened because it had been put back on differently.

I did bring a spare lock in case, on a flight from an overseas airport, the lock had to be cut off to inspect the bag.

An article by Christopher Elliott in the Nov. 28th New York Times discussed the lament of laptop and cell phone users in airports: the shortage of power outlets. Travelers wishing to recharge, say, their DVD players during a stopover are lining up to use sparsely spaced wall outlets.

Elliott notes that people are reluctant to complain about the scarcity of outlets because they’re not sure if they’re allowed to use them. Passengers are permitted to use them at most airports, he points out. Some airports are adding new power outlets and even recharging stations, in fact, but it’s costly.

On board planes, some domestic business- and first-class seats have built-in power ports, but most seats in economy do not.

So how do you locate the nearest power outlet in an airport terminal? Elliott cited one frequent traveler: “Think like a cleaning lady. . . Where do they plug in the vacuum cleaner?

. . . Very often, it’s in a pillar or behind a row of seats on the wall.”

Elliott mentioned another traveler, a good Samaritan who carries a power strip extension cord that he plugs in, then invites others to use the extra outlets.

May as well bring a blender and mix some drinks.

Bill Suter of South Pasadena, California, read my December 2006 column and wrote, “Let me add a postscript to Mike Thiel’s warning to check the trunk for a spare tire when renting a car.

“In Mexico a few years ago I checked our Hertz rental car on delivery for a spare tire and jack. Later we had a flat, and when my fingers sank into the spare as I lifted it out, I knew I hadn’t checked closely enough. And then I found that the jack had no handle!”

Brenda Milum of Olympic Valley, California, wrote, “I saw the article on the ‘green flash’ in the October ’06 ‘The Cruising World’ column. With Clipper Cruise Line in November, we took a South Pacific cruise featuring the Leonid meteor showers. (We didn’t see them because the sky was overcast both nights that they were present.) Astronomer/lecturer Dan Benedict gave a short talk on the green flash, which he described, as does Lew Toulmin, as a short moment of green as the sun sets.

“We have lived on a sailboat for the last 18 years (six years full time and the last 12 years part-time) and have seen innumerable green flashes like that. But we described to Dan what we thought was the true green flash, a spike of brilliant green that shoots upward from the horizon, which we have been lucky enough to see three times. Dan said that this is known as a ‘green ray’ and is very rare; he has never seen one.

“My husband and I remember a magazine article that we read 20 to 30 years ago with great pictures of green rays, which we think the author called ‘green flashes.’ We thought it was in National Geographic, as that is likely the only magazine that we received at the time.

“We have searched National Geo’s index, both online and in the library, and can find no such article listed. We hope that an ITN reader will remember the article and tell us where we can find it.”

Anyone?

Grace Harison of Augusta, Georgia, wrote, “My friend Linda and I have been going to far-flung places of the world for the past 18 years, beginning in 1989 with a safari to Kenya. Bert du Plessis of Fish Eagle Safaris, out of Houston, will be planning our trip to Africa in 2007. He has planned two other wonderful journeys for us. Bert advertises in practically every issue of ITN, and that is where Linda and I found him.

“I can’t wait to receive each month’s issue of ITN. It is everything a travel magazine should be, and the ads are so interesting and informative. You are always making helpful updates to the format, and I have found the articles most enlightening when planning an excursion. I have corresponded with several of the subscribers and they are very polite and enthusiastic.

“Keep on being the success that you are. I just can’t survive without ITN.”

Thanks, Grace. Travelers with your enthusiasm make ITN what it is. Keep the reports coming!

— David Tykol, Editor