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I read the subscriber’s article about driving to Everest Base Camp, “To Mt. Everest and Beyond” (Dec. ’14, pg. 44). He and his wife went to the northern side of the mountain in Tibet, China. The route they took was similar to one we drove in Tibet in 2000, and a lot of it was neither scenic nor historic.
In the fall of 2009, I visited the southern base area of Everest, in Nepal, and I felt that the flight to Lukla, Namche and Tengboche was the best part of the trip.
My husband and I took the “10-day Classic Baltics & Warsaw” tour with Gate 1 Travel (Fort Washington, PA; 800/682-3333, www.gate1travel.com), April 29-May 8, 2014.
I’m a travel agent, but this was not a discounted tour in any way, as we paid full rate, so my review is as a traveler with an eye on what I would recommend to my clients.
We were so pleased with the 4-star hotels and their locations in Old Town squares, where most of the historical sites were.
While my husband and I were on a “Black Sea Treasures” cruise with Oceania Cruises in May 2014, a fellow passenger we met through Cruisecritic.com organized a day trip to Constant¸a, Romania.
The cost was $85 per person for our group of 10, which did not include tips for the driver and our guide, Ecaterina (Caterina) Patrichi (phone 407 248 72518, ecaterina.patrichi@gmail.com).
My wife and I traveled with Road Scholar (Boston, MA; 800/454-5768, www.roadscholar.org), June 10-23, 2014, on the first departure of their new tour “The Best of England & Wales: Shakespeare to Snowdonia, Castles to Colleges.”
It cost $4,996 each, including airfare from New York City. There were 24 in the group. We spent two nights in Windsor and three nights each in Stratford-upon-Avon, Wales and Keswick plus a night in Manchester.
Ireland and Scotland were on the list of places my husband, Ed, and I wanted to go. Early in 2014, David McGuffin’s Exploring Europe (Middleburg, FL; 800/570-1351, www.davidmcguffin.com) ran ads in ITN for small-group tours (12 people or fewer), including an “Ireland & Scotland” tour. A small group sounded good, so we signed up.
My wife and I enjoy attending classical music concerts when traveling internationally. Purchasing tickets for these events can be problematic, however.
In early 2009 I ordered, through a ticket agency, two tickets to a year-end ballet at the Vienna State Opera. They promised delivery in November. When that date arrived, they stated that they had been awarded an insufficient number of tickets; they refunded my money. When I wrote an email to the Austrian Consul in Washington, DC, I was told that I should have dealt directly with the Vienna State Opera.
To begin 10 weeks of travel in sub-Saharan Africa, my wife, Carolyn, and I wanted a place to stay near Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport. After seeing a subscriber’s recommendation in ITN (Aug. ’13, pg. 15), we chose Sunrock Guest House (11 Park Street, Kempton Park, Johannesburg, South Africa; phone +27 11 394 3772, www.sunrock.co.za). I recommend the Sunrock. While the surroundings are not great, it’s a wonderful place.
As part of a March 2014 South American adventure, which included several days in Santiago, Chile, and a cruise from the city of Valparaíso to Los Angeles, my wife, Judy, and I spent six nights on Easter Island (called Rapa Nui by its residents and Isla de Pascua by Chileans).
The US Department of State warns of the risks of travel to northern Mali and along its northern border with Mauritania because of ongoing military operations and stepped-up threats of attacks and kidnappings targeting Westerners. Both armed rebels and violent Islamist extremists are present in northern Mali.
On Dec. 15, Man Haron Monis, a man claiming to be allied with the Islamic State (ISIL), took 18 people hostage at a Lindt Chocolate Café in Sydney’s business district. Monis told authorities that Australia was under attack from ISIL and that he had planted bombs throughout Sydney. Both claims were found to be false.