Travelers' Intercom
KLM delivered!
On May 30, 2018, a friend and I flew overnight on Delta Air Lines from Seattle, Washington, to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, where we were to catch a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines connection to Bristol, England.
China with Chamber of Commerce
I was not interested in visiting China until a very affordable opportunity presented itself through my hometown chamber of commerce. As a veteran of a couple of these 10-day trips, I now can attest that they're a great way to see the cultural highlights of China at low cost. This opportunity started back in 2008, when the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) set up an agreement with a wholesaler, sponsoring trips to China to raise funds for chambers all over the country. Up to 10,000 people now take this trip each spring and fall. On my first trip, in April 2010, it cost a mere $2,000 for a 10-day trip that hit the majority of the places I wanted to see, starting in Beijing with Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs plus lunch with a local family.
Escher exhibit in The Hague
Did you know that Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972), usually known as M.C. Escher, was Dutch?
Cycling from Saigon to Bangkok
This epic trip, organized by SpiceRoads Cycling (45 [Sub Soi Pannee] Soi Pridi Banomyong 26, Sukhumvit Soi 71 Klongtan Nua, Wattana, Bangkok, Thailand; phone +66 2 381 7490, www.spiceroads.com), had three segments, and we had different guides/leaders, money, border-crossing formalities, bikes and even helmets in each of the three countries. The trip started in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam, on Jan. 14. The first four days, we cycled through Vietnam's flat and lush Mekong River Delta. The following week, we pedaled in Cambodia, including in its dynamic capital, Phnom Penh, and spent three days in Siem Reap, where we cycled to the Angkor Wat ruins. The final two days found us along Thailand's coastal beachfront areas, and our tour ended in Bangkok on Jan. 27.
Affordable international cell service
My wife, Karen, and I have often read about getting cell phones or SIM cards for overseas travel, but, as my wife and I have found, there is no need to do that due to affordable and universally useable cell service from Google's Project Fi (fi.google.com).*
Know your rights in the EU
Another reader's letter reminded me of an experience of my own. Heading home from Frankfurt, Germany, in September or October 2016, my wife and I boarded a United Airlines flight to Chicago, but the plane then sat on the ground hour after hour due to mechanical problems.
Swiss Rhine & Moselle with Vantage
When I signed up for "Switzerland, the Heart of the Rhine & Moselle" with Vantage Deluxe World Travel (Boston, MA; 888/514-1845, www.vantagetravel.com), the cost of the trip, including air (Miami-Basel, Amsterdam-Miami), insurance and an optional Luxembourg excursion, wa
Trip to the Netherlands
Trip to the Netherlands My husband, Bernie, and I decided that, after we took a 24-day cruise aboard the Seven Seas Voyager and stayed a few days in the United Arab Emirates, we would go west to make it an "around-the-world" trip.
Boutique hotel in Berlin
I created a Berlin opera festival for myself. I was in Berlin, Germany, for six nights in May 2018 and attended four operas.
Island visits with Chilean Special Journeys
Have you ever wanted to travel to a very remote place but thought it was a good idea to have someone help with the plans? Well, my husband, Fred, and I did. Our desired destinations were Robinson Crusoe Island and Easter Island.
The three Guianas
A trip my wife, Susan, and I made to Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana got us to within one country of having visited all of South America, with only Bolivia left.
Getting a 52-page passport
My husband, Clyde, and I had to renew our passports in June 2018, and we vaguely remembered reading something in ITN about a new procedure ("Extra Passport Pages Nixed," June '15, pg. 4). We found the Travel Brief through a search on the website.
East India tribes with Original World
A trip to the tribal regions of Odisha (formerly Orissa until 2011) and Chhattisgarh states in eastern India, Jan.
The indoor Ski Dubai
During a trip to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in June 2018, my husband, George, and I flew to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where we spent the night before continuing on to Azerbaijan.
‘REAL Guernsey Tour’ + cruise
Our first stop during a May 2018 cruise around the British Isles was St. Peter Port on Guernsey. Online, we had booked a tour there with Tour Guernsey (Barnabe Ltd., Market St., St.
Morocco for first-time visitors
You're finally going to Morocco. That's great! So what do you need to know that might not be prominent in your guidebook?
AirBolt luggage lock
As the years pass, I find my eyesight is not as it used to be. Do you, like me, have trouble using luggage locks that feature small numbered wheels, usually four of them? I sure do, especially in dim light.
Bellejour in April
My husband, George, and I took Value World Tours’ Holland and Belgium “Tulip Cruise,” April 21-28, 2017, on the river ship Bellejour.
Quinta do Vallado + Paleolithic art
My husband and I stayed at a quinta (villa) in Portugal that I think ITN readers would be interested in knowing about.