Vacation Dreams

Category: archive

  • Cycling Around the World

    For all those cyclists out there, the founder of the Globetrotters Club,
    Norman Ford is an avid cyclist and has a web site: www.ktc.com/~blodwen which urges
    readers to tour the world by bicycle on their own. To give some ideas,
    he lists reports on about a dozen bike tours or bike vacations he’s taken
    in the past 5 years.

    But the real heart of the site is the menu link to “Helpful Websites
    for Bicycle Touring” which links to just about every website for
    self-reliant bike tourists he could find and covers the world.

    Moreover, if you are interested in knowing a little more about the history
    of the Globetrotters Club, when you go to Norm’s web site, have a look
    at the link at the bottom called www.globetrotters.co.uk which gives you
    an idea of what he’s been up to since 1945! It’s great reading!

    Norm is happy to answer e-mail queries except during the fourth quarter
    of the year when he is away travelling the world by bicycle ~ now
    there’s an offer! Norm’ can be contacted via his web site.

  • Best Beach in the World

    Best beach in the world (3) is Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman. Situated
    (strangely enough) in the west part of the island, about a 15 minute drive
    from the capital, George Town. Driving is British style, in other words
    on the left, and it is preferable to hire a car as the local minibus service
    can be cramped and infrequent, although cheap. It’s a great place to take
    children as it is a reasonably safe place. The beach itself is golden
    yellow is flat and gently sloping ~ no rogue waves here. Activities
    include sunning, swimming, snorkelling and diving. Most of the hotels
    and timeshare apartments are also in this area. The only downside is that
    it can be quite expensive to lodge, eat and drink.

    Next month: The Beetle’s Top 3 Wreck Diving sites.

  • Did You Know…World Heritage Listed Sites for the US

    Arizona: Grand Canyon Nat Park, California: Redwood Nat Park,
    Yosemite

    Colorado: Anasazi Indian dwellings at Mesa Verde

    Florida: The Everglades Nat Park

    Kentucky: Mammoth Nat Park

    Missouri: Cahokia Mounds ~ pre Colombian civilisation ruins

    North Carolina and Tennessee: Great Smoky Mountains Nat Park

    New Mexico: remains of the Chaco culture (1020 to 1110), Carlsbad
    Caverns Nat Park now some 81 recognised caves!

    New York: the Statue of Liberty

    Pennsylvania: Independence Hall in Philadelphia

    Virginia: Monticelleo and the University of Virginia – architecture
    of Thomas Jefferson

    Washington State: Olympic Nat Park

    Wyoming: Yellowstone Nat Park

  • Fave Websites of the Month

    Bootsnall.com
    is an excellent website allowing access to a free travel club with members
    in 80 countries. There’s a newsletter, a chat forum and travel articles.
    Nice one!

    For more high quality links why not visit the recently
    updated links section of our website,
    as well as a free link page we now have over 250+ travel links sorted
    into over 40 categoies.

  • Help Needed in California and Australia!

    We have some people in the Bay Area of San Francisco,
    Los Angeles and Sacramento in the US and also in Sydney and Melbourne
    in Australia who are interested in starting a branch of the Globetrotters
    Club. But we need some help! Please contact our Branch Liaison
    Officer via our Website at Meeting FAQ

  • Be On T.V.! Don't Be Shy!

    Emma needs you!!! Only 8 people have replied to Emma
    so far and she needs 90 contestants!!! If you live in the UK, are knowledgeable
    about travel and countries, and would like to be a contestant on the Geo
    Quiz – it goes out on the National Geographic Cable Channel, then contact
    Emma: thomase@meridiantv.com or call her on 02380 712 118.

  • New York:

    April's meeting was cancelled due to Passover and Easter.

    Next, on May 5th, we have Bob Fisher.
    He is a contributing Editor to both Arthur Frommer's Budget
    Travel Online and Magazine and is a former Editor for Fodors. Bob is
    also an expert on Japan and Hong Kong.

    He will be speaking on both those topics and will be talking about
    getting work as a travel writer. He should know, he takes seminars on
    travel writing!

    We're looking forward to it!

    New York meetings
    are held at The Wings Theater, 154 Christopher Street (btw Greenwich
    St and Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness, in the Archive
    on the first Saturday of each month at 3.30pm.

  • You want to visit?..Sri Lanka

    You need to allow yourself at least two weeks to do this whistle
    stop tour! Arrive into Colombo and take a bus north east to Kandy a
    100km so not too far. Take time out to see the Temple of the Tooth,
    explore around the lake, visit the botanical gardens, the elephant
    orphanage etc.

    Then another bus to Nuwara Eliya, some 80km away, up in the hill
    station region of Sri Lanka. Great hikes here, visit tea plantations
    etc. Then by bus again to Dambulla, Visit the cave temple of Dambulla
    there are 5 caves containing 150 images of the Buddha you are going
    to be Budda'd out by the time you finish this!! Fantastic views
    from the top of the temple.

    Take a bus to nearby Sigiriya (19km north-east of Dambulla about
    half an hour) where there is an amazing fortress built into and on
    top of a mountain. It is quite steep and if you have problems with
    heights, you may not be able to go all the way up the Beetle
    couldn't. It started as a fortress, then turned into a monastery
    sort of retreat. There are fabulous frescos of dancing women inside
    the cave half way up.

    From here, go back to Dambulla and continue north by bus to
    Polonnaruwa. This takes about three hours. Visit the ruins of the
    ancient civilisation and see the enormous seated Buddha. After
    Polonnaruwa, take a bus up to Anuradhapura, (about four hours), the
    site of another ancient city, and there is a sacred Bo tree.

    You've done enough cultural stuff! So take the bus all the way
    back down to Colombo – about five hours. Don't hang around in
    Colombo – it's not a nice place, but if you have funds and want
    to go to the Maldives, try the big hotels and see if they have any
    special deals – they can be quite good value. From Colombo, take the
    train to Galle (around three hours) and a taxi to Unawatuna and relax
    on the beach before returning to Colombo by train.

    If you are interested in surfing, stop off at Hikkaduwa, a real
    hippy and surf place on the south west coast.

  • Did You Know World Heritage Listed Sites for the UK

    In London: Westminster Palace and Abbey and St Margaret's
    Church, Tower of London, Maritime Greenwich.

    Near London : Stonehenge and Avebury, Blenheim Palace, Bath,
    Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey and St Martin's
    church.

    England : Durham Castle and Cathedral, Ironbridge Gorge
    (Shropshire), Studley Royal Park, (Yorkshire) incl. the ruins of
    Fountains Abbey, Hadrians Wall.

    Wales : castles and town walls of King Edward in Gwynedd and
    Blaenarvon Industrial landscape (near Cardiff).

    Scotland : the island of St Kilda (Hebrides), Neolithic
    Orkney.

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

  • MEETING NEWS

    Meeting news from our branches around the world.