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Young, a Korean American, living in California saw Globetrotter Kevin’s
Korean itinerary in March’s Globetrotter e-newsletter whilst visiting
Korea for a week with his wife and daughter after a trip to Tibet and
Sichuan, China.

Young has a few hints and tips he’d like to pass on to us, particularly
more interesting as Korea will see a massive influx of tourists as a result
of co-hosting the next Football (Soccer) World Cup with Japan in a few
weeks’ time:

1) Gyeongbokgung is a fine introduction to Korean “old palaces”,
a significant part of Korean cultural heritage. An advantage is that there
are museums on the grounds as you say. But if I were to pick a single
palace for someone with limited time, it would be Changdukgung Palace,
which is a beautiful place, especially the Piwon (Secret Garden) part.
There are also regularly scheduled guided tours in English. 2) In Gyeongju,
most Koreans would consider Sokuram (Stone Grotto) a must see. Last year
I had a privilege of seeing it up close (beyond the glass barrier) thorough
some contact, and it was a great experience to see the details of the
stone carvings. Certainly not as extensive or imposing as the relief in
Angkor Wat which came later, but they offer subtle and balanced beauty
that you see commonly in Korean art.

3) We took a 3-day side trip from Seoul to Busuksa Temple and Andong
in Kyungsangbuk-Do (the province where Gyeongju and also Taegu, one of
the World cup sites are located), made easier with the recent opening
of “Central Highway”. Busuksa is an old Buddhist temple dating
back to the 7th century, and contains the second oldest wooden structure
in Korea. Some people consider this temple to be in the most beautiful
mountainside setting in Korea. Andong is a traditional town with well-preserved
Korean style houses. At the nearby hamlet of Hahoe, we attended the annual
festival commemorating the visit by Queen Elizabeth II 3 years ago. The
highlight is the mask dance that started as a parody on the ruling class
600 years ago. From spring to fall, there is a performance of the dance
every Saturday and Sunday. We also visited the most celebrated of the
old private schools for Confucian scholars, Dosan Seowon, dating back
to 16th century.

4) For me, the fascination of the Korean landscape and culture can be
found in one setting – Buddhist temples. They are typically located
deep in mountains, and many of them have survived the ravage of war throughout
centuries. They are still the central repository of Korean Buddhistic
practice where meditation in the serene setting is an integral part. Try
to visit at least one Korean temple – it is vastly different from a Thai
temple, typically gaudy and metropolitan. The most famous is Bulkuksa
(often overrun with tourists), mentioned in Kevin's itinerary, not
far from Daegu and Ulsan where World Cup matches are to be held. Haeinsa
and Tongdosa in Kyonsangnamdo, near Busan are also well-known.

5) Visitors will find it difficult to communicate in English in Korea,
especially in the countryside, even though we saw the whole country gearing
up for co-hosting of the World Cup. Organized tours will be convenient
but expensive. Independent travellers will need patience and spirit of
adventure, but rewarded with memories of a unique culture, neither Chinese
nor Japanese. Korea is much cheaper than Japan, but significantly more
expensive than most third-world countries, especially in the world-class
city of Seoul.

In early April I took a Eurail/backpacking trip solo through Western
Europe. I had the opportunity to travel throughout Switzerland. I gained
a great deal of knowledge about Swiss bank accounts and procedures for
securing greater financial privacy. I also passed through the tiny independent
Principality of Monaco on the French coast near the Italian border.

While in Spain I visited the Andorra Tourist Office in Barcelona. It
is located in the mall area of a prominent office complex at the Port
of Barcelona. Andorra is located at the very top of the Pyrenees Mountains
between Spain and France. It recently won its independence from France
and Spain and has since become a tax haven for many Spaniards and other
Europeans. Tourists often make a trek to Andorra, 2 hours by train from
Barcelona, to purchase duty free goods.

But it was the discovery of yet another tiny tax haven on the Swiss/Italian
border that really caught my attention.

Anyone who has ever flown into the Airport at Omaha, Nebraska has had
the experience of having to pass through a tiny strip of Iowa after they
leave the airport, to get to the city of Omaha. Carter Lakes, Iowa is
a geographic anomaly. The town is completely isolated from the rest of
the State of Iowa, surrounded by a lake on one side and Nebraska on the
other.

Like Iowa, Italy has its own Carter Lakes anomaly in the Alps. Campione
D'Italia is completely surrounded by the Lake of Lugano on one side,
and the Italian-speaking Swiss Canton of Ticino on the other. The closest
point on the Italian border is 11 kilometres away. But the Village has
been a part of the Italian State of Lombardy (also home to nearby Milan),
for over 7 Centuries.

It is relatively easy to get to Campione. Just take one of the wonderful
Swiss trains from Geneva, Basel, or Zurich to Lugano. From Lugano it's
just a ten minute ride in a taxi or a rent-a-car to Campione. Or, it's
a 45 minute ride – all highway – from Milan.

Its isolation from Italy has given it a very unique status. It is almost
like being in another country. It is similar to Monaco in that the town
sits on a very narrow strip of coastline surrounded by cliffs. It even
looks like Monaco with a Casino, boat docks, and a small palm-lined beach.
The population of the town is just over 3,000. The total area is 1.7 square
kilometres. Italy administers local governmental functions. However, Campione
uses the Swiss banking system, currency, and post office.

It is their system of taxation that outsiders, particularly for those
who are interested in financial privacy, may find of greatest interest.
Basically, there are no taxes. Campione's only Casino makes enough
revenue to support the town. Residents do not pay local municipal taxes,
Italian income or VAT (Value Added) taxes, nor are they subject to the
onerous taxation from Switzerland.

What's the catch?

Establishing residency in Campione is a little difficult. I speak fluent
Italian. So, I was able to converse with some of the locals. They are
a little suspicious of outsiders, with the exception of visitors to the
Casino. They even seem to be a bit secretive about Campione and it's
unique status. They have a good deal and they want to keep it that way.
For example, it is not easy to purchase land in Campione or even an apartment,
which is the only way to gain residency. Real estate is quite expensive.
Though, if you are able to purchase a little land you will receive automatic
residency. They say that about 1,000 foreigners now live in Campione taking
advantage of its unique opportunities for avoiding taxes and corporate
protections.

Libertarians and other financial privacy seekers have searched the world
for attractive havens such as Campione. Purchasing a plot of land in the
town could prove quite pricey. But this could be a very attractive option
for a joint venture?

Note – Eric Dondero R. is the author of the “Worldwide Multilingual
Phrase Book” – www.portsidelanguages.com. He is an interpreter in
Houston and speaks over 20 languages. He is also active in libertarian
politics and is an avid proponent of global freedom.

There were five low cost airline carriers in the UK: Easyjet, Go, Buzz
(owned by KLM), Ryan Air and BMIBaby. Easyjet has just announced that
it is paying £374m ($524m) for its rival, Go, (which used to belong
to British Airways before they sold it to a Venture Capital fund).

The consolidated airline will still be called Easyjet and all Go planes
will be resprayed with the orange Easyjet livery and logo. The Chief Executive
says that prices will not rise and they expect to face more intense competition
from traditional airlines such as British Airways and Air France.

Both companies are still operating exactly as they did before the deal
was announced. They will continue to accept bookings over the phone and
via their websites. Go and Easyjet will probably continue with their separate
bookings systems until at least the end of October 2002. Between them
they fly 78 routes. Easyjet says there is little overlap and they have
no intention of dropping any of the destinations. They will also continue
to operate from their all their existing UK bases.

“We must make people everywhere understand that the AIDS crisis
is not over; that this is not about a few foreign countries, far away.
This is a threat to an entire generation, that it is a threat to an entire
civilization….” United Nations Secretary, General Kofi Annan

On May 19th, 2002, thousands of individuals in over 500 communities in
75 countries will participate in the world's largest and oldest annual
grassroots HIV/AIDS event. The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial
is designed to honour the memory of those lost to HIV/AIDS, show support
for those living with HIV/AIDS, raise awareness of HIV/AIDS, and mobilize
community involvement in the fight against HIV/AIDS. There are at least
three ways you can become involved in the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial.
We invite you to consider participating in one or more of the following
ways:

• Organize a Candlelight Memorial
• Become a Sponsor or Partner
• Attend a Candlelight Memorial

DVT poses a threat to some airline travellers. In the UK, DVT used to
be called economy (or coach) class syndrome, but this is very much a misnomer.
DVT can happen to any one of us, whatever our style of air travel.

It is now possible to take a blood test to determine your vulnerability
for blood to clot.

This test examines the number, type, form of your red and white blood
cells, platelets and includes the genetic (inherited) tests including
Factor V Leiden. It is estimated that 2 million people in the UK alone
are at risk through the Leiden V Factor.

By identifying travellers who are predisposed to thrombosis they can
be given pre-travel advice or treatment in order to reduce the risks of
clot formation and it's consequences.

This is a letter from Nicola telling us about her time as a volunteer
for Trade Aid in Mikindani, in southern Tanzania.

After eight months in Mikindani I am preparing to depart with a mild
sense of apprehension about returning to cold and grey Old Blighty, finding
work and somewhere to live and dealing with the fact that the Little Chef
breakfast I’ll be treated to on the journey back to Norfolk will
cost the same as a week’s wages here. Oh well, Qué sera sera.
Homeless and jobless, but plenty of tales to tell the girls over a few
glasses of wine and a pizza.

I think they’ll be surprised to learn that despite the daily toil
required of rural women in Tanzania they do not appear to allow themselves
to be overcome by any negative spirit of bondage. Life is incredibly hard,
no doubt about it, but the ‘fairer sex’ dominates hardship
by accepting it as necessary for survival and embracing friendship and
humour as a way of enriching their lives.

It has been with a rather embarrassed awkwardness, so typically English,
that I have donned my kanga and flip-flops and taken part in women-only
activities.

Despite this, the fact that my Kiswahili is still appallingly bad and
that their encouragement was largely for the entertainment value of seeing
a ‘mzungu’ woman display her incompetence in performing basic
tasks I definitely experienced a deeper sense of what is called ‘female
bonding’.

I have learnt to cook chapattis, mandazi, ugali and coconut rice and
to prepare an exquisite dish of pilau rice under the patient guidance
of Mama Mohamedi, Mama Abuba and her 13-year-old daughter Fikira. Standing
outside in the midday sun stirring a pot of sizzling oil over red-hot
charcoal left me light-headed and parched, but whilst I fussed about the
heat the others just wiped the sweat from their faces with a corner of
their kangas and laughed and gossiped.

I have been to a couple of funerals, but visiting Mama Abuba as she lay
swathed in a kanga in a darkened room grieving for her father on the day
of his burial was an especially significant occasion as my own grandmother
had died just a week earlier. Many women resplendent in a myriad of colourful
kangas lined the street where the deceased had lived. Most were just chatting
or reminiscing, but a group of about 12 women were standing and swaying
in time to the deep, guttural mourning chant redolent of primeval times.
It was International Women’s Day and being one of them felt hugely
symbolic.

A morning’s work at Zainabu’s shamba caused much hilarity
amongst our neighbours, but left me tired and my hands blistered. Five
of us walked a kilometre to the shamba, hoed out the weeds between the
maize and picked cassava leaves and pumpkins whilst being attacked by
armies of ferocious ants. Zainabu had lent me her boots, but they were
so badly split that my feet were filthy. So, before we headed back to
the village she brought me some water and washed my feet for me, not out
of deference, but friendship. Walking back we shared the load of the fruit
of our morning’s work and carrying firewood on my head I (almost)
felt part of one of the hundreds of thousands of small groups of women
on whose labours so many people depend.

More recently I finally plucked up the courage to get my hair braided.
I sat on the stone seat of a crumbling colonial house and as Mama Fatuma
meticulously braided each strand of hair three or four other women took
turns to hold down the rest of my unruly locks. While I enjoyed the chat
of the women as they gossiped about what they’d done the night before
and commented on every passer-by I realised that this was not so dissimilar
from a visit to the hairdressers at home!

At the risk of seeming naïve and sentimental I have to say that
I am happy to have been able to break through some of the cynicism about
cultural barriers with which I arrived in Mikindani and shall leave with
an enduring respect for the resilience and strength of spirit of the women
of Tanzania.

Thanks to Sherie at Trade Aid. For more information on the work carried
out by Trade Aid in Tanzania, see their website www.mikindani.com

The morning was cool and fresh and immediately I knew the rest of the
day would turn out perfect. From the lodge, we were looking down over
the Tari Valley in Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. It was an incredible
feeling. I mean, how many places on earth give you the unique opportunity
of looking down on cloud formations. It was like looking down over the
pages of National Geographic. The clouds looked like flat-lying cobwebs,
occasionally punctuated in places by protruding mountain summits. Normally,
you would be looking up to the sky and across the horizon to see incredible
cloud formations in the mornings or evenings.

It was December 2001 and I was on this early morning bird watching trip
with three American bird watchers, husband and wife, Bob and Penny and
Sharyl, a lone traveller who later turned out to be a cross between a
bird watcher and a diver. Reason – apart from being excited about seeing
the birds in the wild, she couldn't stop talking about diving at her
next destination – Alotau in Milne Bay Province, situated south of Port
Moresby and an hour's plane ride away.

Our starting point was world famous, Ambua Lodge, a luxury bush material
accommodation in the form of village huts, set on a hillside of flowering
gardens with panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and rainforest.

The design of the huts is based on traditional architecture. Just being
here is an experience in itself. The crisp mountain air is perfect for
taking advantage of the many guided tours, especially bird watching. You
can also take moderate walks along rainforest tracks to go bird watching,
see the waterfalls cascade into crystal-clear pools or drive to one of
the local villages and watch a traditional singsing (group dancing and
singing).

Back to birds, the rule is to set out to the forests as early as you
can, in time for the morning choruses and courtship displays on tree branches
and tree tops. Too, for birds in the wild like Papua New Guinea's
bird of paradise species, they perch on tree tops in the morning when
it's cool and where they can drink water drops from leaves and tree
branches. When the sun is up, it gets a little bit hot for them, their
sources of drinking water dry up and they are gone and it can be a difficult
waiting game. Out of the 43 known bird of paradise species, Papua New
Guinea has 38 species and Tari has ten species including the most exotic
species, Brown and Black Sicklebill, Superb Bird of Paradise, Blue Bird
of Paradise and its close cousins, the bower birds. After driving for
about twenty minutes, our tour bus came to a stop and the guide, Joseph
told us to get out. He was first out with his tripod and a pair of binoculars.
Hardly had Joseph set up his tripod when Menzies, the driver jumped out
of his driver's set. He looked towards us, did a hand sign, gesturing
us to come to him while whispering in some English that I hardly understood.
He pointed in the direction of some tall trees and said, “Look, there!.”

Without the aid of his binoculars, Joseph, being the expert that he was,
looked in the same direction, nodded in agreement and said, “Yes,
Princess Stephanie! Three of them”. Bob took no time catching the
bird in his binoculars while Penny and Sharyl struggled. Penny, with her
own pair of binoculars pointed in the same direction, slowly whispered,
“I can't see anything. Can you see anything Bob?” “Mmm,
mm”, came the reply. “Maybe it's my eyes or maybe it's
my binoculars,” said Penny. “Stay focused, you'll see 'em.
Wait until they jump,” said Bob, almost in angry tone.

Sharyl, closely following Joseph the bird guide, was having the same
difficulty spotting the birds. “I can't see either.” “There,
look, it's on the tree,” said Joseph. “Which tree?”
“There, on the right, under the tall tree,” said Joseph, and
by this time, Sharyl was about to give up, saying, “There's an
awful lot of tall trees out there Joseph. What have you got double vision?”
No reply from Joseph, obviously not understanding the remark. Even I was
confused and it took me a while before I saw the birds.

We had left the lodge at 6.30 am and an hour later, the sun had risen
and it was time to go back to the lodge. We had seen three different species
of the bird of paradise and three species of parrots. It was only an hour
and the observed bird list was not long enough, but for Bob, Penny and
Sharyl, they had seen the exotic birds in the wild, and that was all that
mattered.

Penny said to me back at the lodge, “I am satisfied seeing only
three species. My God, they are wonderful creatures. Up till now, I have
only seen them on books. This is why I came and I like birds. There's
something special about them that I can't explain. They are such lovely
creatures and they should be protected.”

I thought I would give the last word to Sharyl. She said to me over watercress
soup at dinner time, “I would have loved to have seen them closer
but then again, I shouldn't complain. They were where they should
be, in the wild and on tree tops. At least I didn't see them in a
zoo and that's the beauty of coming to a place like Papua New Guinea.
You have rainforests that are still pristine. You should not let logging
to come here because they destroy a lot of the habitat.

“You have such a lovely country and you still practice your culture
which is great. I am really looking forward to dive in Alotau – at least
there, I can see the fish and lovely corals right in front of my eyes.”

ABOUT TARI:

Tari is in fact a Basin and situated in the Centre of the island of New
Guinea. Clans in the Southern Highlands have a strong and intricate social
system little affected by change. The Southern Highlands is a land of
lush, high valleys wedged between impressive limestone peaks.

Tari is one of the few places in Papua New Guinea where the traditional
way of life can be seen in everyday living. Ceremonial rituals are strongly
observed. Men and women can still be seen wearing traditional dress, tending
their gardens and pigs and building their bush material huts.

Visitors to the tribal wonderland of the Southern Highlands can stay
in a variety of accommodation from basic guest houses to luxurious mountain
lodges.

Tari is known all over the world for its Huli Wigmen, famous for their
elaborate and colourful traditional dress, body decorations and facial
paintings in vivid colours.

These proud warriors have great reverence for birds, especially the bird
of paradise. They imitate the birds in ceremonial dances and decorate
their mushroom-shaped human hair wigs with bird feathers, flowers and
cuscus furs.

The wigs, woven from human hair, are donated by wives and children. Everlasting
daisies are especially cultivated for use in the wigs, while their faces
are painted with yellow and ochre. The women, by contrast wear black for
their wedding and coat themselves with blue-grey clay when mourning. The
women's traditional dress, like those of their men folk, has not changed
over the years.

Many travellers have their own tale to tell about Aeroflot. The Beetle
has a vivid and scary memory flying from Dublin to Havana via Gander in
Canada. It was December, and so cold and wintry in Gander. On final approach
to Gander to refuel, the pilot decided to go around twice, which was worrying,
then he decided to give landing a go, and the plane somehow missed landing
on the runway and instead landed on some uncleared snow and drove the
left wing through two huge snow piles. The entire Irish contingent of
passengers were making signs of the cross and praying loudly.

Even Fidel Castro is said to have jokingly responded to a question asking
about the most dangerous moment of his life, that it might have been one
of the many CIA attempts on his life, but then again, it might have been
flying Aeroflot!

According to a recent PR release, Aeroflot has hired a UK brand consultancy
to give its image a lift. The consultancy are said to have remarked: the
problem is one of perception….people think of Aeroflot as dangerous
and unreliable, but it has one of the best safety records in the world
and is value for money”

Let’s forget about the time when a pilot handed the controls to
his 13 year old son, or the incident when the pilots put the plane on
automatic pilot, went for a walk then realised they had accidentally locked
themselves out and had to force their way back in with an axe, or the
times when stewardesses served vodka actually on take off, or when a passenger
cooked up a meal on his own portable gas camping stove at the back of
the plane…………………

Good luck to them!

Greetings from Guatemala! Yes, the South Amercing Circuit is finished
and our overland is finished. Hopefully everyone who left Caracas over
the past few days got home to their various destinations and I just wanted
to let you know that I got to mine. The last two weeks of the trip were
very relaxed, except for the aquaplaning outside Maturin and the theft
of my lovely hammock from a beach camp. We (passengers, drivers and truck)
suffered minimal damage from the first event and the second was sheer
stupidity on my part as I had been warned. Apart from these excitements
the last days were spent on beaches, packing (and re-packing) my bags,
getting a little sunburnt and wondering where the time had flown to. It
seems no time since I was excitedly joining the truck in Quito, and 31,203kms
and many tears and laughs later, I was in Caracas and waving the truck
goodbye.

Moping, however, is not allowed so…yesterday I flew off to Guatemala,
via Panama, and got here in one piece, tired, hungry and really excited
to be on my own again. (that doesn't mean I don't miss you all!)
Found a nice hotel and am spending a couple of days getting my bearings
before I start some more Spanish lessons. I am hoping to go out to Lake
Atitlán to do these and will let you know what I decide. Antigua
is gorgeous and a real gem, if a lot touristy. As I will be here a number
of times over the next couple of months I am trying not to go shopping
and be sensible with the spending. Difficult for me!

So, that's the state of things. All is well and I am just enjoying
being here. Get back to me if you get the chance – email is cheap and
easy here.

Thanks Jacqui and keep us posted! If anyone would like to contact Jacqui,
her e-mail is: jacquitrotter@yahoo.com

What have you seen on your travels? Drop a line to the Beetle!

This is East London's famous Sunday morning market that has been
trading for more than two centuries. In Elizabethan times, the market
was called Hog Lane, because this is where pigs were sold. The Sunday
market grew out of observance of the Jewish Sabbath on Saturday. Amongst
the bargains hanging up on the rails were second hand goods, hence the
expression 'hand me downs'.

The name of todays’ market is derived from the petticoats that
French immigrants used to sell in the area, but in 1846, the horrified
Victorian authorities renamed the street Middlesex Street as it was deemed
improper to have a street named after ladies underwear. However, it was
too late and the original name stuck.

Prices are rarely shown, so you should bargain with the trader for the
best price, particularly if you're paying with cash. There is said
to be over a thousand stalls spread over Middlesex Street, Wentworth Street
and surrounding roads. The market is known for its cut-price fashion clothes,
fabrics, jewellery, china, toys, textiles, household gadgets and electrical
items. At the Aldgate East end of the market, there is a large area devoted
to leather jackets. Frying Pan Alley', is at the opposite end of 'The
Lane' close to Liverpool Street. It got its name from the ironmongers
who used frying pans to identify their premises.

The founder of the AMSTRAD Computer business and Chairman of the Tottenham
Hotspur Football Club, Sir Alan Sugar began his career as a Petticoat
Lane Trader. His earnings in 1999 totalled some £9.45 million.

Middlesex St, E1. Open Sunday 9am to 2pm Wentworth Street also open Monday
to Friday 10am 2.30pm Nearest Underground Stations – Liverpool Street
& Aldgate East.

Next month: Portobello Rd