Driving

Nancy Tan of Fresno, California, wrote (Sept. ’14, pg. 33), “While traveling in Spain with my husband and son in May 2014, we received a speeding ticket, but we didn’t even know we had been cited until at least two weeks later when the rental car company forwarded the ticket to us by email (charging us over €30 for this “service”). The ticket, a fine of €300 (near $403), had been given electronically. The ticket said we had been cited for going 20 kilometers per hour over the limit.

Along with two other couples, my husband, Scott, and I arranged to rent a van in Sydney, Australia, for a week, March 20-26, 2014. We would drive east to the Blue Mountains and then north as far as Port Macquarie before returning the van in Sydney.

We picked up the vehicle from East Coast Car Rental (200 O’Riordan St., Mascot, NSW 2020, Australia; phone +61 2 8338 9111, www.eastcoastcarrentals.com.au), located near the Sydney Airport.

To begin 10 weeks of travel in sub-Saharan Africa, my wife, Carolyn, and I wanted a place to stay near Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport. After seeing a subscriber’s recommendation in ITN (Aug. ’13, pg. 15), we chose Sunrock Guest House (11 Park Street, Kempton Park, Johannesburg, South Africa; phone +27 11 394 3772, www.sunrock.co.za). I recommend the Sunrock. While the surroundings are not great, it’s a wonderful place.

I read the item about the increase in traffic accidents in New Zealand involving foreign drivers (Dec. ’14, pg. 2). I would point out that the main problem for Americans driving in New Zealand is that New Zealanders drive on the left (“wrong”) side of the road.

Even if, intellectually, you know you’re supposed to be driving on the left-hand side, in an emergency your reflexes are liable to fail you and you may respond by driving on the right-hand side.

Following a barge trip in Burgundy, France, in celebration of my husband, Steve’s, 80th birthday, we flew to Istanbul, then to Antakya (ancient Antioch), located on southern Turkey’s easternmost Mediterranean coast, about 30 miles from the Syrian border.

What was to be a 3-week journey with two other couples turned out to be just the two of us with our wonderful new friend and fabulous, attentive guide, Ümit Dogan, owner of Treasures of Travel (Edmonds, WA; 800/572-0526, www.treasures oftravel.com).

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 466th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine. Within the last month, I’ve heard several subscribers describe this magazine as “real,” by which, they explain, they mean it’s full of candid accounts from travelers who write for the benefit of other international travelers.

You’ll see that as you flip through the pages. For now, I have the following to report.

by Donna Altes; Napa, CA

by John Graham; Granite Bay, CA