Under 24? A member of Globetrotters Club? Interested
in a £1,000 travel award?
Know someone who is? We have £1,000 to award each
year for five years for the best submitted independent travel plan. Interested?
Then see our legacy page on our Website,
where you can apply with your plans for a totally independent travel trip
and we'll take a look at it. Get those plans in!!
This web site provides links to a very
wide range of information – everything you might need to plan a
trip: links to the latest travel warnings for British, American, Australian
and Canadian citizens, lists of travel agents in each of these countries
and Pacific Asia, info on cruise lines around the world, national parks,
internet cafes, embassies around the world, world time zones, restaurants,
exchange rates – you name it!
Things to take on your Travels – Padmassana’s rules
As well as the usual Lonely Planet guide and phrasebook
here are a few other essentials.
1. Half the luggage you originally put out to take!
2. A sense of humour for when you just miss that boat,
plane or train.
3. A sixth sense to keep you safe.
4. A rucksack cover gives an extra level of security
and stops straps being mangled on airport luggage conveyor belts.
5. Combination padlocks, saves carrying/losing keys.
6. A good compass and map, particularly for places (Japan,
China etc) where you cannot read the local alphabet and where there are
a definite lack of street names and building numbers.
7. A bite Zapper, tiny almost weightless electric pulse
to relieve those nasty bites and stings, worth it’s weight in gold!
8. Little presents to repay good turns, like postcards
of home.
9. And when it’s time to go home be a responsible
tourist, leave nothing but footprints and take nothing but photographs.
Got any travel tips for the Beetle? Then e-mail them
to: the Beetle!
Plans for the first new bus service in central London
for over a decade have been unveiled. The route to be known as Riverside
1 (RVS1) will link together more than 40 arts and tourist attractions,
five underground stations, three national rail stations and five river
piers. It will go from the Tate Modern and the London Eye to the Tower
of London and Covent Garden. The Beetle can vouch for the fact that this
service has started.
Since December 2001 we have chosen to dedicate our overland
bicycle expedition to help raising funds for the Gray Cancer Institute.
Many people know of someone who has been affected by
cancer and there does not appear to be any discrimination. The Gray Cancer
Institute is one of the leading centres for research applied to cancer
treatment, working in close collaboration with clinicians at Mount Vernon
Hospital. It was originally a radiobiology research unit with its focus
on radiotherapy, but research in tumour physiology has led to new initiatives
in cancer chemotherapy and it is introducing new ways of exploiting modern
molecular biology.
We would like to raise £1 per mile cycled but at
the moment we do not appear to be doing very well.
Our website is financially maintained solely by Kiwisonbikes
and the generous donation of time by Mike Fisher. If you have been enjoying
the website and to date we have had over 16,900 hits, please help us achieve
our goal by donating some money to Gray Cancer Institute.
It's simple. All you have to do is send a
cheque or money order to: Gray Cancer Institute PO Box 100 Mount Vernon
Hospital Northwood Middlesex HA6 2JR United Kingdom
Please mark Kiwisonbikes clearly
on the back of the payment.
Or if you would like to donate online then Gray Cancer
Institute uses the Charity Card system. Please then email
us or Grays to say the donation was on behalf of Kiwisonbikes.
£1, £5, $10 or even more. Please give today
and help make a difference. kiwisonbikes.net
South African millionaire Mark Shuttleworth has landed
safely back on Earth after a 10-day journey into space. The Russian Soyuz
space capsule carrying the South African millionaire and two crewmembers
touched down near Arkalyk in the steppes of Kazakhstan at 0351 GMT on
Sunday 28th April. As he was carried away from the capsule, a grinning
Mr Shuttleworth said: “Every second will be imprinted and will be
with me for the rest of my life.” He had spent some of his time carrying
out scientific work on the ISS, including experiments on the virus responsible
for Aids, and examinations of ocean life. Mr Shuttleworth, a 28-year-old
internet magnate, was rumoured to have paid $20m for his trip to the International
Space Station (ISS). Mr Shuttleworth, who lives in London, is the world's
second holidaymaker in space.
He follows in the footsteps of Dennis Tito, a US businessman
and former American space agency (NASA) employee, who rode into orbit
last year. The South African is reported to have bought the Soyuz capsule
and his space suit as a souvenir of his trip. We hear Tom Cruise is queuing
up for his chance to do something similar!
Source: bbc.co.uk
Ingredients: For four people
4 portions of Sea Bass, ½ Kilo diced tomato, 1 teaspoon
of salt, 100 grams diced Parsley , 100g diced Coriander, 4 medium diced
whole onions, 3 tablespoons of Olive Oil, ½ tablespoon of sweet Paprika
Preparation:
The fish is cleaned and put in a bowl with a little salt
and the juice of one Lemon. Then leave to marinate for at least an hour.
In a Ceramic Pot if a Panela de Barro is not available, with the Olive
Oil at the bottom of the pot. Next add the Paprika and mix. The rest of
the ingredients are then mixed and divided into two parts. One half of
the mixture goes in the pot, then by a layer of fish, followed by the
rest of the ingredients. The pot is put on a medium hob for 30-40 minutes.
Gentle rocking of the pot from time to time. Do not add water.
Serve with white rice: then, just enjoy.
GERMANY: A Berlin man claims that handling 10-euro banknotes
has made him impotent. Mr Wolfang Fritz (55) spent hours last January
counting money his girlfriend inherited after the couple withdrew it all
in 10-euro notes. Mr Fritz says he hasn't had an erection since handling
the money. He is demanding the German government supply him with the erectile
disfunction-drug, Viagra.
“The euro notes made me sick. It just won't
go up anymore,” he told Berlin tabloid BZ. Mr Fritz has engaged a
lawyer to fight his case, blaming the impotence on the chemical Tributyl-Zinn
found in the 10-euro notes.
Each note contains 740 mcg of the chemical that, in sufficient
quantity, can affect the human hormone system. “The amount in euro
notes cannot lead to acute hormonal disturbances,” said hormone specialist
Prof Dietrich Klingmüller.
© The Irish Times
Tokyo hotel's rules and regulations:
GUESTS ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SMOKE OR DO OTHER DISGUSTING BEHAVIOURS IN
BED.
On the menu of a Swiss restaurant:
OUR WINES LEAVE YOU NOTHING TO HOPE FOR.
In a Tokyo bar:
SPECIAL COCKTAILS FOR THE LADIES WITH NUTS.
In a Bangkok temple:
IT IS FORBIDDEN TO ENTER A WOMAN EVEN A FOREIGNER IF DRESSED AS A MAN.
Hotel room notice, Chiang-Mai, Thailand: PLEASE DO NOT
BRING SOLICITORS INTO YOUR ROOM.
Write in and tell us your funny sign! Drop a line to
the Beetle!
Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a
place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our
Mutual Aid section of the Website:Mutual Aid
Can anyone help Jane? She is a retired college teacher
with extensive international experience looking for a short-term volunteer
opportunity in East Africa. (Her website is www.mystudybuddy.org) and she says she has no
idea where to look, and would be grateful for your suggestions. If you
can help, or have any suggestions, please contact
Jane.
Can anyone help Mike, who has not heard from his friend
for four months? His friend is sailing from the UK to Australia, and his
last letter was from Fatu Hiva. He was looking for crew to sail to Fanning
island. Can anyone suggest a web-site to help Mike find his friend? If
you have any suggestions, please contact Mike Thorneloe:
Thomas from Munich offers up to date advice for anyone
planning on going to Kazakhstan, as he has just returned. To contact Thomas,
e-mail him