Travelers' Intercom
Thai food in India
In Delhi, India, I recommend the splendid Spice Route Restaurant in the Imperial Hotel (Janpath, New Delhi 110001, India; phone +91 11 2334 1234). The venue itself is like visiting an art gallery.
Won’t leave without me
The letter titled “Private Shore Tours” (April ’10, pg. 14) was written by a traveler with a preference for taking independently arranged excursions as opposed to ones purchased from a cruise ship.
Tended by Voyages of Discovery
I signed up for the April ’10 “Egypt & Eastern Mediterranean” cruise with Voyages of Discovery (Ft. Lauderdale, FL; 866/623-2689). It cost $6,238 including air from San Diego, two nights in London, one night in Istanbul and my single supplement.
Guide in Rio
My husband and I had 10 hours between disembarking a cruise ship in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a late flight to Miami on Dec. 10, 2009.
Tour options for super-senior travelers
For Barbara Johnson of Sierra Vista, Arizona, ITN printed her plea for names of companies offering overseas tours geared to active octogenarians and nonagenarians (Jan. ’10, pg. 56 & April ’10, pgs. 32 & 69).
Funniest Thing for July '10
Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the United States.) There are no restrictions on length. The ITN staff will choose each month’s winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN.
Viking and the volcano
My husband and I took the eight-day “Paris & the Heart of Normandy” cruise with Viking River Cruises (Woodland Hills, CA; 800/304-9616). Excluding air, we paid $5,211 for two plus, for a three-day pretour in Paris, $1,398.
CroTouring in Croatia
My husband, Carl, and I toured Croatia privately, Sept. 9-24, 2009. For the first part of our trip we used CroTouring (Milutina Baraèa 20, 51000 Rijeka, Hrvatska, Croatia; phone +385 51 277 086). Their guides made it not just a good trip but a great one.
Panama highlights
On a custom tour our family took to Panama in June-July ’09 (Oct. ’09, pg. 32 & Nov. ’09, pg 31), we stayed in BOQUETE at Finca Lérida (P.O.
Covered by using credit card
I did a feature article about my cruise on Elegant Cruises’ Monet (March ’03, pg. 22), so I was sad to read in the subscriber’s letter that the company is in such bad shape (“Awaiting Refund for Canceled Cruise,” May ’10, pg. 24).
Fined for being sold wrong tickets
Our family of six took a trip to Greece, Jan. 1-12, 2010, after which three members of our family left for home while our daughter, my husband and I extended our stay two more days.
Clothes clean on long trip
To keep clothing smelling fresh on a long trip, place opened bars of soap throughout your suitcase or intersperse scented fabric-softener sheets throughout the clothing items.
Luggage lashing, take two
I work for an airline in the baggage service office and would like to respond to the reader’s observations regarding lashing bags together to save on extra-bag fees (May ’10, pg. 16).
Grand Circle ‘stepped up’
I took the “Holland & Belgium in Springtime” cruise with Grand Circle Travel (Cambridge, MA; 800/959-0405), April 7-17, 2010. With air from Des Moines, the 11-day cruise plus a four-day precruise extension in Brugge cost $3,720.
Guide in Turkey
Thank you, Bruce Kerfoot (April ’06, pg. 83), for recommending Mehmet Ozbalci of Turfantastik Tours (Istanbul, Turkey; phone +90 212 589 33 25 or fax 589 32 56).
A special place — Dar Said in Sidi Bou Said
We couldn’t have picked a better place for our first four nights in Tunisia than the Dar Said (Rue Toumi, Sidi Bu Said, Tunisia; www.darsaid.com.tn), a small, elegant boutique hotel with rooms set around small courtyards.
More on foreign-transaction fee
After sending ITN my letter about the foreign-transaction fee (FTF) imposed when I bought tickets from Aer Lingus with my Visa card (May ’10, pg. 14), I pursued the matter with Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PFCU) and learned the following.
Into and on from Hong Kong
Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) is quite a distance out from both Kowloon and central Hong Kong. It is cheap and easy to take a regular bus to the city.
India travel tips
I spent six weeks traveling in India in February-March ’10 (June ’10, pg. 27). Here are some tips based on that experience.