Travelers' Intercom
… two bits
My wife, Gail, and I were walking in a small village in the backwaters of Kerala, India, back in January ’07 when a pleasant barber beckoned me into his little shop and, using gestures, offered to trim my beard.
Cueva de la Pileta
A highlight of my two-month trip to Spain in February and March ’11 was a day trip from Ronda to Benaojan to see La Cueva de la Pileta, which contains some of the oldest cave paintings found in Europe. Amazingly, the public may view the original prehistoric paintings (not reproductions).
Travel album tip
When I assemble an album of photographs from a trip, I place on the cover a picture of my travel group and the tour guide. It helps in bringing back memories of the trip as a whole, in addition to the specific memories evoked by the pictures in the album. PHIL HUGILL Bethesda, MD
SE Asia with Green Papaya
My husband, John, and I found Green Papaya Travel (21B Lo Duc St., Hai Ba Trung Dist., Hanoi City, Vietnam; phone +84 391 323 4507) in ITN’s The MART classifieds and would recommend them to anyone who wants to see Southeast Asia. Green Papaya was great.
Three to see in Canada
I read with great interest Yvonne Michie Horn’s article on Kings Landing Historical Settlement (Dec. ’11, pg. 60). ITN readers may also like to know about the Acadian Historical Village (14311 Rte.
Road Scholar’s ‘great guides’
My wife, Ginny, and I went on a two-week cruise to Greece and Turkey, “Voyages to Antiquity: Athens to Athens,” Sept. 7-21, 2010, with Road Scholar (Boston, MA; 800/454-5768).
Chambres d’hôtes
My wife and I parlayed our SkyMiles into a trip to France and would like to recommend a few chambres d’hôtes which provided good accommodation and real contact with the local people.
Zichron Ya’akov in Israel
In Israel for only one week (Sept. 1-7, 2011) for a family wedding, I hadn’t planned on any sightseeing. However, a friend who had moved to the town of Zichron Ya’akov, a place I had not toured before, invited me to spend the day.
Fab flushers
Rick Steves’ piece on toilets (July ’11, pg. 59) brought to mind the new toilets my husband and I have run across in Asia on trips in 2005, 2009 and 2011.
‘Pampered’ on Rhine with Uniworld
I’ve cruised rivers in Europe, China and northern India with several companies, but my April 3-10, 2011, Rhine River cruise on Uniworld’s River Empress surpassed them all for style and elegance in an intimate and relaxed setting. Most of all, I loved being pampered!
Rewarding Amazon cruise
My partner and I had a truly stress-free, happy 10 days on the trip “Amazon River” with National Geographic Expeditions (Washington, DC; 888/966-8687), May 14-23, 2011.
Kindness in the Philippines
My wife, Jane, and I took a two-week private tour of the Philippines in May ’11 with Marsman Drysdale Travel (19F Robinsons Summit Center, 6783 Ayala Ave., Makati City 1227, Philippines; phone +632 8870000, ext.
Hotel Wallis, Munich
Whenever my husband, Bernie, and I go to Europe, we enjoy flying Lufthansa, and when we go to Germany, which most recently was in September ’10, we like to arrive in and depart from Munich.
Contract text trumps verbal assurance
In March 2010 I called Wholesale Flights and booked airfare for my husband and myself to South America.
Italy villa, France cruise
For our 50th anniversary, my wife, Judy, and I took our children and grandchildren (11 people in all) for a two-week vacation in Italy.
Coping with a train strike in Italy
During my Italy trip in May ’11 (Nov. ’11, pg. 15), I was set to travel by train from Riva del Garda to Varenna on Sunday, May 22, when I heard the ominous news: Trenitalia was on strike!
Timor-Leste visit
A friend and I visited Baucau, Timor-Leste (East Timor), May 27-June 4, 2011. Timor-Leste uses the US dollar as currency.
Airfare refund rules in Europe sometimes more strict
On July 29, 2011, my wife, Susann, was hit by a motorcycle while in a crosswalk in Paris. She sustained an injury to her leg that required surgery after we returned to the United States.
Car rental snag in Ireland
Our family of 20 was planning a June ’11 visit to Ireland, where we would rent six vehicles. Our son mentioned that Visa would not provide insurance coverage on his rental, though it normally does when he uses that credit card to rent a car.