In Seoul, Korea, the “Yellow Bus” runs a circular route, stopping at nine major tourist sites: Daehan Cinema, Toegyero 5 (oh)-ga, Dongguk University entrance, National Theater of Korea, North Seoul Tower, Namsan Library, Mt. Namsan Walkway, Seoul Animation Center and Toegyero 3 (sam)-ga.
It runs 8 a.m. to midnight. The fare is 550 won (46¢) for 10 kilometers (then 100 won/5 km). Bus stop signs are round and yellow and picture a bus.
Chechen rebels claimed responsibility for the March 29 suicide bombings of the Moscow subway system. Thirty-eight people were killed and more than 90 injured when the stations at Lubyanka and Park Kultury were hit during morning rush hour.
The mainly Muslim, economically poor North Caucasus republics in Russia, including Chechnya, have seen a rise in militant violence lately.
The website www.ihatetaxis.com gives tips on how to pick the right taxi, avoid taxi scams and arrive at your hotel safely. The website covers more than 300 international airports, train stations and ports in 85 countries.
by Marv and Carole Feldman; Jacksonville, Florida
Starting in early 2014 at select subway stations in Beijing, China, the city began instituting airport-like security measures, including metal detectors, x-ray machines and pat-downs, causing long wait times at the busiest stations. Antiterrorism security procedures were upgraded in three more stations in May, bringing the total up to nine.
Beijing’s subway system comprises nearly 200 stations.
Although experiencing other cultures throughout the world is a priority, the people I meet in my travels are just as important, and Rita Martins was outstanding as our tour director on a tour of Portugal in September 2013 with Globus (Littleton, CO; 866/755-8581).
I was part of a group of 44 people, all of whom were very pleasant and contributed to the enjoyment of my vacation.
A ferry traveling from Incheon in northwest South Korea to the resort island of Jeju in the south capsized on April 16. Of the 476 on board the MV Sewol, 174 passengers and crew were rescued as the ship tilted and sank. At press time, more than 244 bodies had been removed from the wreck, with about 58 passengers still missing.
Most of the passengers were high school students and teachers on a school trip. It was the worst maritime disaster in South Korea in 21 years.
My wife and I and two other couples arrived in Naples, where we were to spend one day prior to joining an escorted tour of southern Italy in October ’12. To pass our time, we had decided on a day trip from Naples to the island of Capri, so, after dropping our luggage off at our hotel, we boarded a busy bus that took us from the train station to the pier from which the ferry to Capri sailed.
My wife and I try to do a world cruise every year. Rather than take each ship’s shore tours, we usually hire local taxis, asking the drivers to show us what they are “proud of” in their city. We can never predict the results but are almost always pleasantly surprised.
On our world cruise aboard the MS Amsterdam in 2013, we encountered a taxi driver in Cape Town, South Africa, who was particularly noteworthy.
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 459th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine.