11
In response to the editor’s request for info on acceptable budget accommodations (Aug. ’12, pg. 67), I have three companies to suggest. There are no luxuries at any of their lodgings, but the locations are very good and the prices are great. I would gladly stay at any of them again.
I was checking in for my Air China flight from San Francisco to Mongolia — the only Westerner in line — and the reservation clerk seemed very concerned about my beat-up passport and lack of a visa (which is not required for US citizens in Mongolia).
After waiting through several consultations, I finally succeeded in getting my boarding pass. This was the start of the June 29-July 13, 2011, journey that took me to Chinggis Khan country.
I strongly recommend the services of Midway Motor Travel (Southerwicks, Corsham, Wiltshire, England, SN13 9NH, U.K.; phone, from the US or Canada, 800/214-8738 or, in Britain, +44 [0] 1249 71657).
My husband and I were to depart on a trip to England and Scotland on June 13, 2011. The primary goal was to explore the Orkney Islands, home to my ancestors. I personally made all the reservations, mostly via the Internet, including flights, accommodations, Orkney Island ferries and car rental. Some of these reservations were classified as “nonrefundable.”
I saw the subscriber’s letter “On the Tarmac with Qatar Airways” (April ’12, pg. 26), regarding this airline and the long waits she endured on the tarmac. My wife, Margaret, and I have had a generally good experience with Qatar Air, with one exception.
I made reservations through Spiekermann Travel on Sept. 23, 2011, for a special Gulf Air bus to take me, on Dec. 3, from Dammam, Saudi Arabia, over the causeway to Bahrain to catch the airline’s flight 707 that afternoon to Addis Ababa. The cost for the bus and the plane together was $320.
These arrangements were confirmed in November by Spiekermann Travel via e-mail.
by Bill Altaffer; San Diego, CA
As ITN went to press, the State Department had travel warnings on 32 destinations: Afghanistan, Algeria, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Israel / West Bank / Gaza, Kenya, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Republic of South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Sept. 18 issued a Global Alert and Response regarding an outbreak of ebola haemorrhagic fever in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At that time, 46 cases and 19 deaths were reported in Province Orientale. WHO did not recommend any travel restrictions to the DRC.
In South Africa, a clash between striking miners and police at the Lonmin platinum mine on Aug. 16 resulted in at least 34 dead and triggered a wave of strikes in the platinum, gold and chromite mines throughout the country.