Like many travelers, my wife, Patti, and I had been to only a couple of the seven countries in Central America. We had been hesitant to go on our own after hearing all the reports of crime and gangs, not to mention, most recently, the Zika outbreak in many tropical countries.
Many travelers return home annoyed or furious with their recent airline experiences, but I have to share with you my very positive experience with British Airways (800/247-9297, www.britishairways.com).
In taking the reverse itinerary of the river cruise “Eastern Europe to the Black Sea” with Grand Circle Travel (Boston, MA; 800/221-2610, www.gct.com), April 2-18, 2016, I flew to Bucharest, Romania, the day before the cruise-tour began and, following the cruise, disembarked in Budapest, Hungary.
My wife and I take frequent trips to foreign locations. We regularly travel business class because the additional room and services we receive are worth the extra cost. We also value the fact that, when taking an international flight in business class, we can use the business-class lounge before departure.
It was therefore a considerable surprise to learn, when we checked in at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport for a flight to Fiji via Los Angeles in January 2016, that we would not be allowed to use the American Airlines Admirals Club lounge there.
Despite the 101-degree temperatures during our visit, my husband, Ray, and I packed everything feasible into a 3-day pre-cruise visit to Florence, Italy, Aug. 7-9, 2015.
The World Health Organization (WHO) advises that, despite the presence of the Zika virus in the Rio de Janeiro area, the virus will not pose a significant health risk at the Summer Olympic Games.
According to WHO, as the games will be held during Brazil’s winter months, the population of the vector of Zika, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, will be small. WHO also recommends that all visitors stay inside whenever possible and, if outside, to wear clothing that covers much of the body, to use insect repellent and to avoid areas of Rio with standing pools of water.
A 22-year-old tourist from the Netherlands was convicted by a Qatari court on June 14 of having sex outside of marriage after reporting to the police that she had been drugged and raped. She was fined $824 and deported, while her assailant was given 140 lashes (100 for sex outside of marriage and 40 for consuming alcohol).
In 2013, a Norwegian woman similarly was arrested and convicted of sex outside of marriage in the UAE after reporting being raped. She was given a 16-month prison sentence but later was pardoned and deported.
In eastern China, a man at Shanghai Pudong International Airport threw a glass bottle containing explosives at a check-in counter on June 13, injuring himself and four others when it detonated. After throwing the bomb, the man attempted to commit suicide with a knife. Chinese authorities reported that the attacker was motivated by extreme gambling debts.
After more than three years of negotiations, the government of Colombia and FARC, a militant communist rebel group considered a terrorist organization by the US, signed a cease-fire on June 24, ending 50 years of civil war. The cease-fire precedes an actual peace accord, which at press time was anticipated to be finalized and signed in late July. It is estimated that more than 200,000 people have been killed in Colombia’s war with FARC.
Papua New Guinea police fired on students from the University of Papua New Guinea who were gathered in the capital city of Port Moresby on June 9, injuring 23 people. The student protesters were calling for the prime minister, Peter O’Neill, to resign his position and answer to corruption charges. A warrant was issued for Mr. O’Neill’s arrest in 2014, but he has yet to be arrested or tried.
Police were accused by the Kenya National Commission of Human Rights of beating subdued protesters in the capital city of Nairobi on May 17. Protesters had gathered to call for electoral reform.
On June 6, two people were killed and five people were wounded, including a 5-year-old, when police opened fire on people protesting perceived electoral fraud in the city of Kisumu in western Kenya. However, a protest in Nairobi that same day was peaceful.