Travelers' Intercom
CPAP machines on Virgin Atlantic and British Air
My family and I had boarded a Virgin Atlantic plane for a flight from London to Nairobi on Dec. 26, 2007.
Inconsiderate behavior
Most of my travel is done with one travel partner or in a group of four, but I realize many travelers prefer the large-group experience and the camaraderie within the group.
Foldable hiking stick
Usually there are only a few times on a trip when I need my hiking pole, but when I need one I REALLY need it, i.e., when fording a rocky stream or climbing down steps of uneven heights.
Pros and cons of tour group audio systems
I suspect that many ITN subscribers have had some experience with the relatively new audio systems used by tour groups to allow better communication between guides and group members. I believe it might be worthwhile to exchange some thoughts on this subject.
Antarctica & Chile with Smithsonian
We took a magnificent 14-day tour of Antarctica and the Chilean fjords with Smithsonian Journeys (Box 23182, Washington, D.C. 20077-0843; 877/338-8687, www.smithsonianjourneys.org), Jan. 9-23, 2008.
NEXUS US/Canada pass
ITN readers who often travel between Canada and the USA before continuing overseas might wish to invest $50 for a 5-year NEXUS (866/639-8726, www.nexus.gc.ca) border pass, which facilitates travel between those two countries.
The standby list
William Lewis of Johns Island, South Carolina, and his wife missed their US Airways flight out of Los Angeles after their Thai Airways flight arrived late from Bangkok.
Traveling to Bali
Tourism in Bali, Indonesia, continues to make strides toward normalcy, but there are still peaks and valleys with bookings.
Wheelchair traveler
I like to travel. As a full-time wheelchair occupant, having had a stroke 10 years ago, I want to pass along a few observations for handicapped travelers.
In lieu of loo
We did the tour “Unforgettable Spain and Portugal” with Grand European Tours, Oct. 3-17, 2007. The tour itself, starting in Madrid and ending in Lisbon, was very good (I just looked at the pictures again) but for one thing.
Aboard Peter Deilmann’s Heidelberg
Together with four couples, my wife, Ana Maria, and I traveled through the rivers and channels of the Netherlands and Belgium, May 10-17, 2008, on a cruise aboard MS Heidelberg booked with Peter Deilmann Cruises, or Deilmann Cruises Europamerica (Alexandria, VA; 800/348 8287,
Insurance came through — fast
After 50 years of traveling, my wife, Alma, and I, both 82, had our first experience with the need for medical insurance on April 17, 2008.
A visit to Madeira
I spent seven days in Madeira, starting May 22, 2008. This trip was offered by Sun Holidays (7932 W. Sand Lake Rd., Ste. 302, Orlando, FL 32819; 800/422-8000 or 407/345-0100, www.sunholidaytours.com). Kristen Molloy handled my reservations and did a superb job.
Good Samaritans still need ID
I was on a United Airlines flight from Washington Dulles to Frankfurt, Germany, in June ’07 when the call came out for medical personnel to identify themselves. A passenger had fainted and fallen and remained unconscious.
Some disappointments on tour
I took a trip with Grand Circle Travel (GCT), Oct. 6-29, 2007. Along with a “Russian Waterways” cruise-tour I booked two optional extensions: the 5-night “Baltic Capitals: Tallinn, Estonia, and Helsinki, Finland” ($645) and the 3-night “Kiev, Ukraine” ($445).
Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Towers
On a trip to Malaysia, my significant other, Frank, and I spent a night in Kuala Lumpur where, if a visitor does nothing else, seeing the Petronas Twin Towers is a must.
Daintree, granddad of rainforests
We tend to think of the Amazon as the granddaddy of all rainforests, but, at a mere 10 million years old, the Amazon is really like a grandchild to the Daintree Rainforest on Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia. Daintree is a unique ecological gem, parts of it being as much as 140 million years old.
Affordable rooms in Greece
While I enjoyed the article “A Modern Greek Odyssey” by Henry Lee (July ’08, pg. 6) and found his travel experiences and tips interesting, I am concerned about an impression on the cost of hotel rooms that may have been created.