Public Transportation

Dublin’s double-decker Hop-On/Hop-Off buses stop at 23 of the city’s major sites, including Trinity College and the Old Jameson Distillery.

A city bus was bombed on Jan. 25 in Manila, Philippines, killing five and wounding 13. The bomb used was similar to one that was used in 2009 on Mindanao and traced to Muslim separatists. The Philippines has had a long struggle with Islamic separatists and Maoist rebels in the southern islands, but it is rare for attacks to occur in Manila.

Traveling on a professional grant, I joined a group of five other educators for a June-July 2010 trip to Japan, where I experienced the warmth and beauty of Japanese culture in Tokyo, Oita, Hiroshima and Kyoto. A highlight was a visit to the tuna auction at the Tokyo Tsukiji Fish Market, also known as the Central Market, the world’s largest wholesale seafood market.

Tsukiji drives a thriving distribution system at the core of Japanese cuisine, delivering more than 2,000 tons of seafood daily to sushi counters and five-star restaurants.

Armenia has the world’s longest aerial tram,* as of October. With terminuses near Halidzor and Tatev Monastery and crossing the Vorotan River Gorge, Tatevi tever (Tatev wings) stretches 3½ miles.

Eurail announced new railpass benefits for 2010. This year, you can receive discounts…

1. on Finnlines ferries (www.finnlines.com) in Finland, Poland, Germany and Sweden,

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. Entries not chosen cannot be acknowledged.

This month’s winner is EDWARD PUSATERI of Chicago, IL:

My husband, Bob, and I spent five nights at hotelmüller München (Fliegenstrasse 4, D-80337, Munich, Germany; phone 0049 89 2323860) in May ’09. What a find!

In a perfect location, it’s just around the corner from all forms of mass transit and a 10-minute walk from the Marienplatz. We took the metro from the airport.

We booked through gtahotels.com (New York, NY; 888/210-2543). Our double room on the second floor cost $140 a night, with breakfast.

Instead of taking optional tours on our China trip with Grand Circle Travel, Nov. 12-Dec. 2, 2009, my wife, Anne, and I used our free time to explore the cities via their subways.

My two daughters and I traveled to Moscow in October ’08. Via the Internet, we had arranged for an apartment with Uncle Pasha, aka Paul or Pavel or Pasha Voytinsky (www.unclepasha.com). His website was attractive and he quickly answered our e-mails. We requested a room for three people, close to the metro, at $100 per night.

I have had an apartment in Paris for more than 25 years and spend about 20 weeks a year there, making several visits each year, most recently in September ’09. Lately, as I reported (June ’09, pg. 14 & Aug. ’09, pg. 57), the manned ticket counters for the Métro are being replaced by ticket-dispensing machines which, even for the locals, are difficult to understand.