Travelers' Intercom
Syria arrangements
I’ve taken six trips to Syria, most recently in March ’08 (Oct. ’08, pg. 17), and recommend the guide Nabil Mallah, who works with the travel agency Omayad Tours & Travel in Damascus (P.O.
Keep numbers at hand
Returning from a trip to England in May ’08, my husband and I were in Philadelphia trying to get home to Las Vegas; however, Delta had delayed all their flights due to inclement weather in Philadelphia. People were camped out in long lines everywhere, and no one knew what the weather would be like in the morning.
Trekking NZ’s Queen Charlotte Track
My wife, Eva, and I took the 4-day/3-night “Queen Charlotte Track” tour from Marlborough Sounds Adventure Company (London Quay, Picton, New Zealand; phone +64 3 573 6078, fax 573 8827, www.marlboroughsounds.co.nz), and we highly recommend this company.
Tips for Papua New Guinea
I had the pleasure of taking an outstanding 20-day tour of Papua New Guinea with ElderTreks (Toronto, Ontario, Canada; 800/741-7956, www.eldertreks.com), Sept. 3-23, 2008. The land price was $8,995.
In Portugal, ask a teen
Rick Steves, in his September ’08 article on Portugal, missed an important point when he commented on the country’s changes and the improvements in roads and road travel.
Frequent-flyer seats sparse
We redeemed 120,000 Chase Flexible Rewards points for 100,000 frequent-flyer miles on United Airlines recently. Since 100,000 miles per year was the limit for any one frequent-flyer number, we put 50,000 on my wife’s number and 50,000 on mine.
Coping with and fighting poverty during travels
When my husband, Frank, and I planned our trip to India, we wondered how we would react to seeing people living in third-world slums or on the street, and to beggars, especially children. Would we feel so guilty about having the money to travel that we couldn’t enjoy our trip?
Credit card purchases
Responding to a reader’s request (Oct. ’08, pg. 94), I know of a credit card with NO 3% foreign exchange fee. Any card from CapitalOne.com has this feature. My choice is the “No Hassle Cash Rewards Credit Card.”
A few steps to savings
Istanbul, Turkey, is a wonderful city with many beautiful mosques. When our family disembarked from a cruise ship at Istanbul in July ’08, in a large lot at the base of the gangway there was a sea of taxi cabs.
Oman’s transformation
Oman is an incredible country, the creation of one man, Sultan Qaboos, who took control of the country in 1970 at age 30.
The HK shuttle shuffle
At the completion of an April ’08 Silk Road tour in China, I traveled on my own from Shanghai to Hong Kong for my 15th visit since 1961. While Hong Kong has changed since the British left and is now rather expensive, it is still one of my favorite cities.
Roommate or single supplement
Judy Puckett requested comments from readers as to how they’ve located suitable travel partners (Oct. ’08, pg. 18). I am very glad that she asked for this information. I have a related request.
The Beijing Olympics
Well over a year before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, my wife, Margi, and I discussed the possibility of attending. Never having attended any Olympic event but having some familiarity with China, we felt this might be a unique opportunity.
High conversion fee
My husband, Alan, and I took a cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest, July 22-Aug. 6, 2008, with Vantage Deluxe World Travel (Boston, MA; 800/322-6677). All in all, it was a super trip and we highly recommend it.
Southern Africa with Vantage Deluxe
My wife, our 23-year-old daughter and I took the tour “Best of Africa: Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia & South Africa,” June 5-22, 2008, with Vantage Deluxe World Travel (Boston, MA; 800/322-6677).
Gobustan petroglyphs
About 70 kilometers south of Baku, Azerbaijan, the settlement of Gobustan and the Gobustan State Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are worthwhile places to visit.
Currency exchange in Bali
Upon arriving in Bali, Indonesia, Americans, Canadians and Europeans are required to pay $25 for a Visa On Arrival (VOA). The visa will be applied to a page in your passport. Most travelers from Asian countries are spared this expense.
Club ABC to Canaries
Spanish Heritage Tours, now part of Club ABC Tours (Bloomfield, NJ; 800/456-5050, www.clubabc.com), offers an 8-day trip to Spain’s Canary Islands which I took March 30-April 7, 2008.