April 2006

by Jay Brunhouse

by Margaret and Roger Kinkle, Oro Valley, AZ

For 10 days in early October ’05 we visited friends in south-central Serbia & Montenegro, touring three historic sites in Serbia: Niš in south-central Serbia; Felix Romuliana at Gamzigrad near Zaječar in eastern Serbia, and Staro Selo (Old Village), south of Užice in western Serbia.

I read with great interest the various letters regarding driving internationally (August and September ’05 issues). I have had similar experiences in my travels in 70-plus countries. There is one bit of advice I would like to add. It has saved me on numerous occasions.

Take along a good, dash-mounted compass and use temporary double-faced tape to mount it on the dashboard of your rental car. You will be thrilled at the many times it will keep your tempers cool and your directions accurate. Good driving!

DON DUFEK
Maineville, OH

My wife and I find that the train system in Japan is really efficient. Their departures and arrivals are timed with precision; the cars are very clean, and the system gives wheelchair users very good service. Also, when you tell them your destination, the ticketing agent takes into account various station changes. That’s much easier than looking up the timetables.

I enjoyed Roger Canfield’s story on Macau in the February ’06 issue, but I should point something out. On page 40, he mentions seeing in a museum a boat used by Vietnamese people escaping the Communists. This particular boat was not “converted” from a basket but is of a type still in use today in a few areas of Vietnam.

In November and December ’04 I took a 23-day customized tour of Vietnam with Journeys International (Ann Arbor, MI; 800/255-8735) and saw these round boats in use.

Re the letter “Armenia’s Military Highway” (March ’06, pg. 19), actually the Military Highway and Mt. Kazbek are in Georgia, not Armenia. The highway follows the Terek River, which cuts an 8½-mile gorge, the Daryal Gorge. The route of the 1992 Russian exodus, the highway goes north from Tbilisi and terminates at the Russian border.

The scenery is stunning, and if one goes on a Sunday there are many fascinating Sunday markets straight out of the last century, as I found on a visit in September ’99.

MARY ANNE REARDON
Olathe, KS

I had a great trip to England along with four friends, July 23-Aug. 6, ’05. It was arranged through Midway Motor Travel (Southerwicks, Corsham, Wiltshire, England, SN13 9NH; phone from U.S. 800/214-8738 or e-mail admin@midwaymotortravel.com), and our driver/guide was Anton Prole.

Being loyal ITN subscribers, and packrats, we scanned several years of back issues as we researched our October-November ’05 trip to Turkey. We found a reader’s referral (May ’99, pg. 117) for a guide/tour operator, so we followed up and made contact with Mehmet Ozbalci of Turfantastik Tours & Travel (Millet cad. Inan Is Hani No: 5 / 610, Aksaray, Istanbul, Turkey; phone [90] [212] 589 33 25, fax [90] [212] 586 32 56, e-mail turfantastik@tnn.net or mehmetozbalci@tnn.net).

I’m a genealogist, and I wanted to explore the towns and villages in Lithuania where our parents and grandparents lived in the early 1900s. Through the Internet, I found Ms. Nijole Pakalniene of Lithuanian Holidays (Šeimyniškiu˛, St. 1a, LT-09312 Vilnius 5, Lithuania; phone +370 5 2636064 or visit www.lithuanianholidays.lt). I asked for a Jewish guide who spoke English, and she paired us with Chaim Bargman.

In 2004 when we decided to take a Russian riverboat cruise in September ’05 with Linwood Rotary (from the state of Washington), we noticed a letter from ITN reader Helene Eckstein (Nov. ’04, pg. 82). She mentioned a terrific guide in St. Petersburg and really sang her praises. We contacted Sveta Motovilovets (phone [812] 275-34 77 or e-mail svetasad@hotmail.com) and are now also on the list of people who sing her praises.