Public Transportation

by Kimberly Edwards; Sacramento, CA

We asked subscribers to write in about any impressive or historical natural caves worth visiting that are outside of the USA. We asked for the cave’s name and location and when you were there. In addition to describing the place and telling what you found noteworthy about it, we wanted to know how accessible it was plus any visitor restrictions or requirements, the best time to visit, any entry fee, etc., and about interesting sights nearby. We printed a number of responses last month, and here are a few more.

In the wake of several well-publicized incidents of sexual assault against Indian nationals, on March 24 the president of India signed a bill that greatly expands the penalties for a range of crimes, many of them dealing with sexual assault and human trafficking.

I was pleased to see Carol Probst’s piece “Albania — Enjoying Europe without the Costs and Crowds” (Dec. ’12, pg. 36). I visited Albania in the fall of 2011 and found it an interesting destination, although one not ready for mainstream tourism. I was able to travel independently despite speaking no Albanian.

After the local travel company I was using canceled the last six days of my prepaid tour of China in October ’11, I had no choice but to get myself from Guiyang, in rural Guizhou province, to the international airport in Guangzhou for my flight home. This was no easy task, since very few people in China speak English and almost all of the signs are in Chinese.

My wife, Bune, and I took the 18-day “Ancient Persia – Modern Iran” trip from MIR Corporation (Seattle, WA; 800/424-7289), April 3-20, 2012. The land price was $5,895 per person, and internal airfare was $150. All meals were included as well as first-class accommodations (or best-available).

The first ferry service between the US mainland and The Bahamas is operating daily, except Wednesdays, with departure from Port Everglades Terminal 1 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, at 10 a.m. and from Freeport Harbour Terminal 1 in Grand Bahama at 7:30 p.m. The 463-passenger Baleària Bahamas Express’ ferry Pinar del Río makes the 76-mile crossing in 2½ hours.

My wife, Liz, and I were in France in August ’12 and visited Mont-Saint-Michel. Here are some tips for ITN readers planning to visit the Mont.

Delhi, India, is issuing 10,000 new permits for 3-wheeled rickshaw taxis. The city’s fleet of rickshaws was capped in 1997 at about 60,000 to cut down on pollution. Since then, many rickshaws have been replaced with those that run on compressed natural gas, and others have been converted to do so.