Travelers' Intercom
Self-service check-in snag
Airport self-service check-in kiosks look great and sound great; unfortunately, they are of no value to someone like me because they cannot verify my age.
Escaping unwanted noise
Flents Ear Stopples, which have been my trusted companion during 50 years of travel, have come in handy whenever loud noise has kept me awake.
Night of tango
Tango shows are still alive and well in Buenos Aires (April ’06, pg 16 & June ’06, pg. 15). I saw a great one at El Viejo Almacen (Balcarce e Independencia [c1064AAO], San Telmo, Buenos Aires, Argentina; www.viejoalmacen.com) on Jan. 12, ’06.
Advice for Americans visiting Iran
Based on my April ’06 trip to Iran, I’d like to share three practical tips with ITN readers who are thinking of going there.
Viña del Mar, Chile
My wife and I spent four days in Viña del Mar, Chile, in March ’06 prior to embarking the Rotterdam in Valparaiso for a cruise. Having been to Santiago before, we decided to try the seaside resort of Viña. The weather was perfect and the crowds were gone, since the “summer” school holidays ended early in March.
Camel racing meets technology
I visited several countries in the Arabian Peninsula, including the United Arab Emirates, in early December ’05. One day in the northern emirate of Ras al Khaimah (locally known as RAK), I was traveling around in my hired car with driver when I spotted what looked like a racetrack near the community of Diqdaqa.
FUNDESIN in the Amazon
We took the trip “The Amazon Basin & the Galápagos,” Nov. 2-12, ’05, with Overseas Adventure Travel (Cambridge, MA; 800/955-1925 or www.oattravel.com).
Plan your own Kruger safari for less
Kruger National Park in South Africa is a premier game park with thousands of animals living in the wild. It’s the size of our state of Massachusetts. Kruger is one of our very favorite places in the world. We have been there six times, most recently in September ’04.
Month in Mongolia
For our extended visit to Mongolia in June-July ’04, we asked Tim Todd of T.E.I. Tours & Travel (Box 23784, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523; 800/435-4334 or 925/825-6104 or www.teiglobal.com) to arrange our largely custom, 29-day tour.
Lisbon security
Returning to the U.S. from Portugal, my husband and I flew from Lisbon to London on Oct. 13, ’05. While going through security at the Lisbon airport, I had with me two metal circular knitting needles and a crochet hook, along with part of a baby’s sweater on bamboo circular needles.
Traditional tango
On a South American trip in November ’04, we attended a tango show at El Querandi (Perú 302 [C1067AAH] Buenos Aires, Argentina; phone/fax [54/11] 5199-1770 or visit www.querandi.com.ar). It was arranged through our hotel and cost $40-$50 for the show and dinner.
Hands-on Bled Castle
While in Bled, Slovenia, you should definitely spend a couple of hours in Bled Castle. In addition to touring the museum and chapel, be sure to stop by the print shop where, with the help of a friendly, traditionally garbed printer, you can print a souvenir certificate for yourself for a small fee.
Berlin guide
We were five days in Berlin in August ’05. On three of those days we were guided privately by Markus Mueller-Tenckhoff (Markgrafenstr. 39, 10117 Berlin, Germany; phone 0049 [0] 160 80 88 011, www.markusmuellertenckhoff.de or www.guidesinberlin.de/markus).
Helping clothes dry
Erhart Demand wrote about traveling with carry-on luggage only, washing clothes by hand and using a salad spinner to extract water from his laundry so it would dry faster (March ’06, pg. 102). He’s a man after my own heart, and creative as well!
Long travel days on India tour
I took a month-long tour to both North and South India with Adventures Abroad in February ’06. The basic cost of the tour was $4,870, but my total of $6,203 included single accommodation and an extra night in New Delhi pre-tour.
Mongolia plus the Gobi
A customized, private tour to Mongolia was created for my wife, Darlene, and me for Aug 1-17, ’05.
Medical info online
I read Dr. Wagenaar’s excellent summary of medical websites in the February ’06 issue (pg. 93).
Tango in BA
I just finished reading Raymond Kisch’s letter regarding Buenos Aires tango shows (April ’06, pg. 16) and deeply regret that he did not go to La Ventana (Balcarce 431, San Telmo, Buenos Aires, Argentina; tel.