Category: Main article

Meeting news from our branches around the world.

Charlie Loram, the intrepid trekker/philosopher first visited
India in 1992 and visits the Himalayas almost every year. Who else is
so well qualified to talk about trekking in Ladakh and to talk about life
and the people there. Charlie showed us some superb slides of the area,
interspersed with maps of his routes and some of his own philosophy about
eco-tourism and the quality of life. You can order a copy of Charlie’s
book, Trekking in Ladakh (Trailblazer) online from www.trailblazer-guides.com.Fantastic,
Charlie, and we look forward to seeing you again!

Just when you thought things could not continue on such a high, Paul
Grogan took over the gauntlet in the second half and entertained us
with some of the highs and lows of his adventures kayaking across Siberia
with his babe magnet friend. Paul amazed us using slide and video footage
(well done to Webmaster Paul!) starting with his moments of getting stuck
in mud on the way to the source of the river Amur, flat calm days, sinister
watch towers, political bureaucracy, gorgeous girls (!) and getting sozzled
on a Chinese boat and waking up finding a very nasty plastic watch strapped
to his wrist in exchange for his nice one! Brill!

Next, in London on 3rd November, Tim Burford will look at the
varying styles of architecture in his talk on the Castles and Churches
of Romania. Tim is a regular at the various London travel shows (along
with the Beetle) and has impeccable guide book writing credentials and
is author of both Bradt’s Hiking Guide to Romania and the Rough
Guide to Romania.

Sebastian Hope will be talking about the Sea Gypsies of South
East Asia, finding and travelling with the maritime nomads travelling
the coasts of Borneo, Burma, Thailand, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Sulu Archipelago
before returning to Sabah to search for Sarani a sea-gypsy chief and his
friend. Another author, he has written Outcasts of the Islands
about the sea gypsies of SE Asia published b by HarperCollins.

London meetings are held
at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in
Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. For more information,
you can contact the Globetrotter Info.line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or
visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk

As soon as we get information on the annual barbecue we will let you know what happened! For information on Ontario meetings, please contact: Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.

Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.

True to her word, Christina in Texas held a slide show on a weird and
wacky take on Americana over the ages at the New Braunfels Public Library.
Thanks to Jon and Beth for sharing their great slides and stories. A magnificent
12 people attended and to start the theme, Christina organized a door
prize of a “classic” US Travel Atlas. Trish has loved Globetrotters
for 9 years, and won, so congratulations to Trish! The show was thoroughly
enjoyed by all – and all that was missing was the popcorn!

Susan and Christina met at the first Globetrotters TX Branch meeting
in July 2001. They have become good friends and will be travelling together
to the Grand Canyon in November. Christina visits a National Park every
year and Susan is ready to start the same tradition. They are doing budget
travel together – exploring their options and having a trip to talk about.
They’ll report on their trip at the December meeting.

The next Globetrotter meeting will be held at the New Braunfels Public
Library, 700 E. Common Street in New Braunfels, Texas. From 3 – 5 p.m.
on Saturday, November 10th, 2001.

Christina’s advice is to come early so you won’t be late! The Beetle’s
is – come early and eat all the cookies! Handouts and refreshments
will be available. Anybody want to help Christina or enquire about meetings,
please contact her on: texas@globetrotters.co.uk

The Beetle has just come back from a diving expedition to Bermuda and
can share all the do’s and don’ts. Bermuda is without doubt a beautiful
green and lush island in the Atlantic, some 775 miles off New York. It
is very pretty with some great caves, lovely secluded little sandy bays,
nice walks (although walking anywhere other than the beach and the disused
railway tracks is very much discouraged – there are very few pavements)
and lots of history.

First off, tourists are not allowed to hire cars. To get around, you
have two options. You can pay $36 for a 7 day bus pass (which includes
the use of the ferry) or you can hire a scooter for about $175 a week.
The buses are clean and the network is reasonably extensive, but don’t
rely on them at night. Taxis are expensive – very expensive. Scooters,
on the other hand are just plain dangerous. The roads in Bermuda are for
the most part narrow, hilly and windy – and don’t forget, they drive
on the left! Scooter accidents are frequent. The speed limit is 35 kph,
but you cannot tell how fast you are going because all of the speedos
are disconnected – for obvious reasons!

If you are planning to sit by the sea and sun and swim, it is advisable
to stay somewhere on the north coast because the sea is calm enough to
swim without any worry on this side of the island. The sea has large waves
that sometimes preclude swimming on the south coast.

Bermuda is very expensive in terms of accommodation and eating out.
Both are poor value for money. In fact, it is cheaper to both eat and
stay in New York, comparing like for like. Take some basic essentials
with you, like ground coffee for your coffee maker, cookies etc.

The diving, quite frankly, is very mediocre. This is a great pity as
there are over 400 documented shipwrecks off the coast of Bermuda. The
dive boats resemble cattle trucks with up to 20 divers on them and the
wrecks are disappointing. It is also not possible to dive to depths greater
than 10 metres because the bottom of the ocean around the reef of Bermuda
is seldom deeper than 10 metres.

It is not a destination the Beetle would whole heartedly recommend to
anyone when there are so many other places in the world with similar activities
on offer at a fraction of the price with considerably less hassle. A final
warning, if you plan on staying at a certain guesthouse in Salt Kettle
– do not turnover your valuables for safekeeping. Somehow, somewhere
on the way, the Beetle’s wallet was $20 lighter.

If anyone would like to comment on an over rated travel destination
or share a disappointing experience – e-mail the Beetle on: Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

Attempt no 1: booked seat on tourist bus departing Pokara for the border
at 6.30 am last Sat 24 Mar. Woke at 3 am with violent diarrhoea and vomiting
so no way could I even leave the hotel, so attempt no 1 aborted.

Attempt no 2: felt better on Sunday so booked seat on tourist bus leaving
6.30 am Monday as last time. No bus at 6.30 as only 60% full, but we were
not told this until the 7.30 bus arrived which was only 60% full. Result
120% people for 100% seats, but I had a seat and I wasn’t moving for anybody.

Ensuing argument caused an hours delay, so effectively I was 2 hours
late. The bus left at 8.30 with everybody frazzled. One hour out of Pokara,
the driver attempted to overtake another vehicle on a narrow road, the
offside wheels dug into the soft verge and the driver lost control.

The bus rolled sideways down a 30 metre embankment, turning over three
times, and ended up sideways in a river. My side was in the water, and
I was up to my neck in water. My first instinct was to get out as I didn’t
know how deep the river was, and as I was opposite the door this was fairly
easy. Then others and myself not injured helped the rest get out and up
the embankment. Incredibly only four were injured, and only one could
have been other than broken limbs (since found out it was internal injury
to the liver with internal bleeding). The local villagers were great in
helping us get people to the top of the bank and rescuing our waterlogged
luggage. I was not injured except for bruises and scratches all over.
But all my belongings were under water for some time, so all books (including
LP guides), papers, photos, etc. were a mess, and everything was totally
wet. I lost my distance glasses and a pair of reading glasses, and of
course my camera, plus a few other comparatively minor items. Looking
back, we were incredibly lucky, as there were banana trees growing on
the bank that broke the fall of the bus, and the bank was only 30 metres
high. The road winds through the mountains, with some vertical drops of
100’s of metres. After the police had arrived and the ambulances had departed,
I got a local bus back to the hotel in Pokara, to get all my clothes laundered
and clean up myself.

Attempt no 3. After enquiring about flying and finding out the cost
and little saving in time, I booked on a local express (i.e. limited stops)
bus departing 9.30 am on Tuesday. The travel agent put me in a taxi and
told the driver where to go, but somehow I was put down in the wrong place
to catch the bus, which left without me!

Attempt no 4. Back to the travel agent, who personally conducted me
to and put me on the next bus at 11 am, and so I left Pokara eventually.
The journey to the border was good and getting through Nepali and Indian
Immigration was easy and quick. The trip on the Indian bus from the border
to Ghoraphur railway station was like all trips on Indian buses – a rattling
boneshaker, radio full blast with Indian music, the man next to me raving
on about how India had beaten Australia in the cricket etc. So to Ghorakphur,
where I managed to get a second class sleeper to Delhi on the train leaving
at midnight. But the train was 2 hours late, so I sat on my backpack on
the platform with two other travellers until the train arrived at 2 am.
Train eventually arrived in Delhi 5 hours late at 7 pm Wednesday night.
All a bit of a test of stamina, but then that’s Asia.

Next month: Tibet and how Harry Potter caused a stir
at the Indian/Nepal border by Kevin Brackley! Also, part 2 of David’s
adventure to be continued.

If you would like to get in touch with David, who is currently
studying Italian in Perugia and has several other stories we will be including
in future editions of the E-Newsletter, please contact Beetle@staging.globetrotters.co.uk/

The idea behind courier flights is that they are cheap economy (coach)
class flight tickets because the person flying has to accompany a parcel,
letter or some other item to hand over at the particular destination.
Why do courier flights exist? Many companies will send a courier because
it is cheaper than shipping freight by air cargo and also quicker as there
are fewer customs delays. What is sent as freight? Often the items that
are accompanied are time sensitive items such as weekly magazines or newspapers.
Courier companies have overnight shipments to cities such as London, Rome,
Hong Kong, Sydney, Tokyo, Singapore, Caracas, Stockholm, Jamaica, Madrid,
Bangkok, Milan, Frankfurt, Rio De Janeiro, Paris, Melbourne, and several
other locations in Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia.

How does it work? The courier company buys an economy (coach) class
airfare. They then resell the ticket to you and, in exchange for your
luggage space, give you a discount on the airfare. The courier company
uses your luggage space for the material it is shipping. A representative
from the courier company will meet you at the departing airport. They
will give you the manifest and all the shipping instructions. On arrival
at your destination, another courier representative will meet you. You
have to give them the manifest and that’s it! You are not usually allowed
to have contact with the luggage and may not actually see the packages
they are shipping.

They can be used by budget travellers as a cheap way of getting from
A to B. You are treated as a normal passenger on the plane and there is
no special designation that marks you out. You must be over 18 at the
time of travel to take advantage of a courier flight. There are often
restrictions on the amount of luggage you may take with you on your journey,
as the courier company usually uses your allocated luggage space to pack
their goods in, so it is best to ask. It is usually not possible to arrange
a courier flight with a friend, as courier flights tend to be one off
events on a given plane.

You can book several months in advance or, if you are flexible in your
destination, you can leave it quite late when deals will be cheaper. Your
length of stay is determined by the day of departure however, most tickets
are for at least 7 days. Others allow 10 days, 14 days, 21 days, and up
to 6 months – you must ask.

The pros? Well, you can get make substantial savings on the cost of
air tickets and you can go to a wide range of destinations. The cons:
you must usually travel alone, you are often restricted in the amount
of luggage you can take and can also be restricted in the amount of time
you can spend in your arrival destination. There are a number of websites
advocating courier flights. The majority sells courier flight information
or listings for anything between $5 and $10. Useful websites include:

• http://www.aircourier.org/
• http://beatthemonkey.com/cheaptickets/
• http://www.courierlist.com/

If anyone has experience – good or bad using courier flights,
then please write in and tell the Beetle: Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

New Zealand is such a fantastic (nuclear free) country, with some of
the friendliest people on this earth, wonderful outdoor life, good wine,
glaciers, fjords, beaches, lakes, caves, geysers, mountains, you can ski,
trek, hike, white water rafting, bungee jumping, diving, surfing and ?;?;?;?;.Get
the idea! The first to thing to understand about New Zealand is that there
are two islands connected by ferry and air and Auckland, Wellington (the
capital) and Christchurch are the three largest cities. If New Zealand
takes Beetles, this is where a Beetle would retire to!

The following itinerary is a very general route and aimed at “taking
in” the best of both islands in a relatively short time from Auckland
to Christchurch. It is incredibly easy to travel around New Zealand. The
Beetle used the bus, which are plentiful and comfortable and there’s also
a rail network. You can buy discounted books of tickets and hop on-hop
off, or you can do it in an organized way on something like the Kiwi Experience
if you are under 25, can get by on 3 hours of sleep a night and enjoy
partying or you can hire a car. It would be a total waste of time to pay
for a package tour to visit New Zealand, and anyone thinking of doing
this must report immediately to the Beetle!

Arrive in Auckland – there is lots of accommodation ranging from
the ubiquitous 5 stars, to boutique hotels to hostels. Do any shopping
you may need, there are several excellent outdoor shops selling waterproofs,
sleeping bags, stoves, sleeping bags etc. If you have plenty of time,
head north up to Kohukohu and stay at the Tree House Lodge – a truly
wonderful place, go walking, fishing, relax and chill out. From here you
can continue north still to Kaitaia where you can take trips to 90 mile
beach, do the 9 km Kaitaia Walkway, then head east to Russell which has
to be one of the world’s prettiest spots by the sea. Divers can dive the
Rainbow Warrior from Pahaia or you can swim with the dolphins.

If you have time, detour to Waitomo Caves (amazing!) en route to Rotorua
via Hamilton. They are slightly south and west of Rotorua and then on
to Rotorua where you must visit the geysers and boiling mud pools and
inhale the malodorous school lab smells of hydrogen sulphide. Lake Taupo
is a short bus ride away – there’s lots to do and see here, the
lake itself, Huka Falls where you can take a speed boat and experience
death defying handbrake type turns under the Falls, another several other
infrequently visited geothermal park called Craters of the Moon and Orakei
Korako. Don’t forget a night time Maori concert – amazing!

Then head south for Wellington (not called the windy City for nothing!),
enjoy the cafes, see the sights: take the cable car, visit the botanical
gardens and the zoo, go mountain biking, check out the talent rollerblading
on the waterfront, the museums and when you are through, take the ferry
to Picton on the south island. ON both sides, there is a free bus service
to the bus and railway stations as they are a way out of town. From here
you really should explore the Abel Tasman National Park. You can walk
the 58 km long Abel Tasman Track, or do part of it, or you can take organized
sea kayaking tours of the Marlborough Sounds.

Bring your rain coat – it always seems to rain on the south island
– and head south and west and stop at Punakaiki and rest, walk through
the beautiful forests or admire the rock foundations on the beaches, then
head down the west coast to the two glaciers, Franz Josef and Fox. You
can take helicopter rides and land on the top, or you can climb up part
of them or you can stand and admire them at their base. Continue down
to Milford and take a boat trip on the Sound and see the beautiful glaciated
valleys and if you are a hiker, do the four day Milford Track. If you
are into all things that make the adrenalin pump, head straight up to
Queenstown and enlist in bungee jumping or whatever is your thing. Otherwise,
head south to the small lake town of Te Anau, known for its beauty and
calm. Do visit the caves with a glow worm grotto – mystical! It’s
time to head back, so either head form Queenstown and stay at Wanaka,
just north of Queenstown, a gorgeous small town with vineyards by the
lake and head back to Christchurch. Or alternatively, from Te Anau, head
east to Dunedin and then back to Christchurch.

Next month: the best of Argentina and surrounds.

Please contact Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk
for your suggested country itinerary