Category: archive

Travel industry researchers estimate that demand for
independently booked travel is set to rise by 80% in the next
five years. Both Yahoo! and AOL recently announced that
they were improving their travel offerings and setting up as
online travel agents. Both companies are developing
specialised travel search engines (due to go live in early
2005) that will allow users to compare prices from a range of
different travel agents, airlines, hotel groups, resorts and
hire car companies. The difference between these offerings
and sites such as Lastminute.com or Travelocity is that the
Yahoo and AOL travel site will include fares offered by
budget airlines. At the moment, other companies do not
include listings of many of the budget airlines as most
refuse to pay a commission to list their services.

Everyone at the Globetrotters Club would like to pass their
condolences and sympathies to all those affected by the
tsunami on Boxing Day.

If you are thinking of going to Thailand, here is some up to
date news on various resorts. The people in Thailand
still need the support of the visiting tourists and are
hoping that everyone will not stop coming to their country in
their time of need.

Koh
Samui, Koh Tao, Koh Samed, Pattaya
and all other resorts in the Gulf of Thailand have been
unaffected, and tourists are being routed there instead of
visiting the West coast.

Koh
Ngai has escaped unscathed.

Karon and Kata beaches are not badly affected. Along Karon
beach you can hardly see any sign of damage, and the beach is
full of people.

Patong beach will probably only take a couple of weeks to get
back to normal.

If you are a diver, there are live aboard boats out in the Similan
Islands area.

Ao Nang and Krabi
only slightly affected.

Khao
Lak and
Koh Phi Phi totally levelled – thousands dead.

Koh
Lanta damaged but not as badly as
Phuket, Khao
Lak and
Koh Phi Phi.

Need to convert currency?

Take a look at The
Globetrotters Currency Converter — get the exchange
rates for 164 currencies The
Globetrotters Currency Cheat Sheet — create and
print a currency converter table for your next trip.

This is what the UK
Foreign & Commonwealth Office say about travel to Sri
Lanka: Information for families affected by the tsunami can
be found at
Sri Lanka: Information for Families.

We advise against all but essential travel to the north or
east (other than Trincomalee, Nilaveli and Arugam Bay, but
travellers should be aware that most hotels in these areas
are closed because of damage from the tsunami). Much of the
north and east of Sri Lanka remains heavily mined,
particularly around the A9 road to Jaffna.

The recent tsunami resulted in extensive damage and large
numbers of casualties on the south-western, southern and
eastern coasts of Sri Lanka. A number of hotels and resorts
on the southern and south-western coasts have now reopened.
Anyone planning to travel to these areas should check with
their tour operators and/or hotel before departing to ensure
their hotel is operating normally. Most hotels in the eastern
towns of Trincomalee, Nilaveli and Arugam Bay have yet to
reopen. (For further details please refer to the Natural
Disasters section of this Travel Advice).

There is a threat from domestic terrorism in Sri Lanka.

Carole from San Diego would like some help planning a trip to
new Zealand. I am travelling to the south island of New
Zealand in March and would love some suggestions from other
members. We have our itinerary set-landing in Dunedin and
going south and back up-crossing at Arthur's Pass to and
leaving from Christchurch.

We are also planning to take a cruise into Milford Sound and
from what we’ve read, the only company that has a
cruise without a naturalist aboard is Fiordland Travel.

Are there others and if so, which is the best. Also, we
are interested in doing some hiking in the area-but nothing
strenuous.

The Kepler Track was recommended, but in reading about it, it
appears that to go in for a few hours would only take us
along the lake. Is there a walk w/more
interesting/spectacular scenery?

Thank you in advance for your response.

Cmeredith1@aol.com

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

In December 2004 Virgin Atlantic introduced 20 limited
edition sickbags designed by artists from around the globe on
its first flight from Hong Kong to Sydney. The sickbags will
be in the seatbacks of all Virgin Atlantic flights for up to
six months with a potential audience of over two million
people. Co-collaborator Oz Dean started the 'Design
for Chunks' project four years ago inviting talented
designers to produce artwork for sick bags and submit them to
the 'Design for Chunks' annual competition. The
competition has been running for the past four years online
at www.designforchunks.com

Lysette Gauna, Head of Media for Virgin Atlantic, commented,
'We felt that the ubiquitous sickbag was long overdue a
makeover and when we came across 'Design for Chunks'
it was the perfect opportunity. Sickbags are a mandatory
requirement but rarely get used – so we thought we would
brighten them up and turn them into a talking point.
We're really excited about bringing art from around the
world to such a huge number of people via our sickbags.
It's a first in the industry and we're sure these
bags will soon become a collectors' item.'

Here’s a little Beetle quiz based on capital cities.
See how many you get right! Go on, have a guess!

What is the capital city of the following countries:

1. Congo
2. Madagascar
3. Oman
4. Azerbaijan
5. Bangladesh

For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.

India has decided to open Srinagar airport in disputed
Kashmir to international flights to entice more tourists to
the Himalayan region. Kashmir has been involved in a 15
year dispute involving soldiers and Muslim militants who
don’t want Indian rule in the region. Estimates
say that around 360,000 people visited Kashmir last year,
most of the them Indians, up from 191,000 in the previous
year, although the figure was small compared with the
millions who travelled to the region before the revolt in
1989. Israelis topped the list of foreign tourists
visiting the Muslim-majority region last year followed by
Chinese.

Wilderness First Aid is different from the Red Cross or urban
first aid. Focus is on initial and prolonged care for a
patient in the back country. Participants will receive
a two year certification with the Wilderness Medicine
Institute of NOLS (http://wmi.nols.edu).

WMI of NOLS courses are for folks who recognises the
importance of having first aid skills if you spend time in
the outdoors. We have climbers, trekkers, paddlers,
blueberry-pickers, parents, teachers, outdoor guides, scout
leaders, fishermen and hunters – all learning about how to
care for an injured or sick friend.

Below is the schedule for the Wilderness Medicine Institute
of NOLS courses that Crossing Latitudes is hosting in Europe
2005.

WILDERNESS FIRST AID COURSES & WILDERNESS FIRST RESPONDER
RECERTIFICATION COURSES (16-24 hours)

London, The Castle Climbing Centre, UK January 17-18, 2005
Course fee: US $160.00 / GBP 90.00 per person. Course taught
in English.

Malmö, Sweden, January 21-23, 2005 Course fee: SEK
2100:- per person. Course taught in Swedish. Start Friday
evening. CPR included.

Bozeman, Montana, USA at Lindley Park Center April 30 – May
1st, 2005 Cost: $150.00 per person. Course taught in English.

Göteborg, Sweden, 13-15 of May, 2005 Course fee: SEK
2100:- per person. Course taught in Swedish. Start Friday
evening. CPR included.

Stockholm, Sweden 20-22 of May, 2005 Course fee: SEK 2100:-
per person. Course taught in Swedish. Start Friday evening.
CPR included.

Narvik, Arctic Norway 17-19 of June 2005 Cost: SEK 2500:- per
person. Course taught in English & Swedish. This course
is part of Crossing Latitudes Sea Kayaking Guide course. The
first aid course is open to all.

If you are interested in having a course just for your staff
or organization please contact Lena Conlan at: info@crossinglatitudes.com
or call our office in the USA +1-406-585-5356 or our office
in Sweden +46-70-670 11 53.

For more info, please contact: info@crossinglatitudes.com
www.crossinglatitudes.com
USA: 1-800-572-8747 / Fax: +1-406-585-5356 Europe: +46-70-670
1153 Sweden: 070-670 1153