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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

We have a Berghaus Freeflow 23 kindly donated by Mike
of the YHA Shop in Ludgate Hill (10m from St Pauls Cathedral), London
to give away to the person with the correct answer to:

1. Ruahatu is the Polynesian god of what?

2. Gauguin’s intended patron, King Pomare
V, suddenly died, a victim of many years of excessive what?

3. What are known as “spat”?

4. What is the name of the International
airport in Papeete?

5. What is the French abbreviation for
the currency used in Tahiti?

Your email address:

During WWII, Frank of Alabama found himself in Samoa
and even today, he can still speak some Samoan. He paid a visit back in
1999 to Samoa and surprised a lady who called him something rude by returning
the compliment back in her own language! The woman’s 350 lb daughter was
not amused, but the mother laughed and said that she would watch her language
in future!

The Beetle spent some time beetling around in Zanzibar
last year and noted that unsuspecting travellers at the Dar es Salaam
port were being told by unscrupulous individuals that they had to pay
an additional $10 or $15 for port tax. This is completely untrue as port
tax is included in the price of the ticket. You now know what to say to
these vermin!

Bradt Guides have offered to give away a Bradt Guide
Book on Madagascar for the best travel story, tip or info. Contact Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

Karen from L.A found Bhutan to be interesting but a tad
expensive. She says she had to pay $225 a day per person to stay in substandard
hotels and eat substandard food. Although she feels it was not worth the
money, she is glad that she did it.

The beetle always carries a Maglite and stores lunchtime
or dinner paper serviettes in pockets as emergency paper for the bathroom.

Got any travel tips for the Beetle? Then e-mail them
to: Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

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!!

The Beetle can report back on the Palm House in the Burggaten,
the historic heart of Vienna. It is perfect for coffee and cake or brunch
~ whatever ~ good service, good food and you can loiter and
gossip with friends or just sit and read the papers.

Want to tell us about your favourite coffee corner
or watering hole? Then contact the Beetle: Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

This year, the US State department suggests that the
following destinations really aren’t such clever places to visit right
now: the Solomon Islands, Indonesia, Somalia, Yugoslavia, Haiti, Congo,
Israel, the West Bank and Gaza