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.
Mr Kishore Sinh Parmar of Milestone Holidays kindly wrote this piece
as a general guide to India. It is a huge and diverse country so this
quick guide is helpful to give the uninitiated a taster of where to visit.
Gujarat, situated on the western coast of India, in
between Mumbai (Bombay) and Rajasthan, is a very interesting state. If
you want to go beyond history than the temple of Somnath was there to
witness the creation of the Universe and Lord Krishna too has many events
in his life in the state. Amongst the Fairs and Festivals Gujarat has
many in its Temple towns and small villages. They offer a chance to see
religious festivals and celebrations and also provide an opportunity to
see the finest examples of local handicrafts. For the pilgrims you have
temples such as Somnath and Dwarka, amongst the most sacred for the Hindus,
besides the Girnar and the architectural grandeur of Palitana. The navratri
festival is the most colourful and eagerly awaited and girls & boys
dance all through the night in colourful attires. The Tarnetar fair too
is a very colourful fair usually celebrated in the first week of September.
The Kite Festival on 14th January every year too is usually eagerly looked
forward to. The State has a colourful heritage of Handicrafts. The finest
handicrafts come of course from the Kutch region. The embroidery work
is the most well known. The state is home to a large number of Rajput
Royalties, with some of the most beautiful Palaces at Baroda, Jamnagar,
Bhavnagar, Bhuj, Mandvi, Morvi, Dhangadra, Palitana,Chotta Udepur, Jambughoda,
Bansda, Bala Sinor, Utelia, Poshina etc.
A large number of them have been converted to Heritage Hotels. It is
also the home to India's largest wildlife sanctuary with an area of
over 5,000 square metres of the Indian Wild Ass. The Sasan Gir Lion Sanctuary
is the last habitat of the Asiatic lion-a species that had become almost
extinct at the beginning of the century. The Rabari tribe here still pursue
a pastoral lifestyle-much in the same way as they did eons ago. It is
perhaps the most colourful sate in India
Rajasthan, is India's ambassador of Art, Craft,
Culture and Heritage, Rajasthan sheds its topography of lean and dry sketches
of sand dunes to the golden hues of ancient citadels and a taut landscape
dotted by people dressed in blazing colours. Throughout Rajasthan the
forts, palaces and temples have been abundant. Lacquered brassware holds
pride of place in Rajasthan handicrafts. Rajasthan jewellery is almost
synonymous with precious stones and Jaipur, the capital of the state is
considered the largest lapidary centre in the world. Jaipur the capital
was built in 1727 and popularly known as the Pink City in reference to
the pink coloured walls and roofs on the main streets in the ancient city.
Among its architectural feats are the City Palace and the Palace Museum.
Jodhpur belonged to the largest princely state of Rajasthan and founded
in 1459. It is a sightseer’s paradise with the Mehrangadh Fort.
The Umaid Bhawan is one of the grandest palaces in the country. Udaipur
is better known as the City of Lakes is studded with well preserved palaces,
beautiful gardens and placed blue lakes. The State offers an ” enjoy-our-royal
past” experience unmatched anywhere in the world. The State has amazing
palaces, havelis and forts most of which have been converted into luxury
hotels. The Palace On Wheels takes you on a splendid and enchanting royal
journey through the state to a bygone era of the erstwhile Maharajas.
The Seven Night-Eight Day journey cruises along in a Royal style. Rajasthan
is one of India's prime tourist destination, offering the travellers
a potpourri of visual, culinary, spiritual and cultural experiences
Kerala,the land of green magic, is a narrow fertile
strip on the southwest coast of India, sandwiched between the Lakshadweep
Sea and the Western Ghats. Rice fields, mango and cashew nut trees and
especially coconut palms all dominate landscape. The ” National Geographic
Traveller ” after two years of research chose it as one of the 50
places of a lifetime. Kerala was listed as one of the ten destinations
in the ” Paradise Found ” category. Truly Kerala is the stuff
that dreams are made of. Over 5 million tourists from all over the world
visited the State last year. Thanks to the 600 km long coastline that
extends its entire length, 11 of the 14 districts have a beach to flaunt.
Serene beaches, Emerald backwaters. Lush hill stations and exotic wildlife,
breathtaking waterfalls, Ayurvedic health holidays, enchanting Art Forms,
Magical Festivals, Historical and Cultural monuments, an exotic cuisine
all making Kerala a unique experience. An experience that lasts a lifetime.
So pack your bags and head for “God’s Own Country”.
Goa, has long been renowned for its natural beauty,
palm-fringed beaches, paddy fields and dense coconut groves that form
the basis of a landscape rich in variety and colour. Here you will find
a State unlike any in India, where four centuries of Portuguese rule have
left their mark in the form of imposing coastal forts, grand houses and
whitewashed baroque churches. It is basically divided into North Goa and
South Goa. Goa is a shopper’s paradise. Goa is your gastronomic
oyster: Goa has enjoyed a prominent place in the travellers' lexicon
for many many years
Contact : Mr Kishore Sinh Parmar, Milestone Holidays, 216
Centre Point, 2nd Floor, R C Dutt Road, Alkapuri, Baroda 390005 ( Gujarat-India
) Tel–91–265-2333366-2355383 Fax –91–265–2355383 milestoneholidays@yahoo.co.in
or kishoresinhparmar@yahoo.co.in
The first meeting of 2003 for the Texas branch of the Globetrotters
Club had 8 new people in attendance. What a way to start the new year
off! It was especially exciting as it was a cold and rainy day, not what
Texans are accustomed to.
The scheduled presenter was unable to attend, which meant lots of time
for travel talk and networking. The time was very well spent. The 10 “regulars”
and the 8 “newbies” all had a swell time sharing stories and
getting to know each other.
Saturday February 8th, 2003, 2pm-4pm
PLEASE NOTE DIFFERENT LOCATION
We will meet at the VFW Hall on Peace Street instead of the library
on Common St.
The hall is across from the entrance to Cypress Bend Park where the April
2002 picnic was held.
Peace Street is between the library and the river off Common St. Turn
on Peace Street – the Fairgrounds are across the street so you can only
turn one way. There is a sign for the VFW hall on the corner. Go to the
dead end (cemeteries on both sides) and turn right into the parking lot
for the VFW hall. Any Questions please feel free to call: 830-620-5482
We are excited to welcome this month’s speaker, Norman Ford. The
founder of the Globetrotters Club and an avid cyclist and will present
slides from one of his bike trips. Plans for the Copper Canyon trip will
also be discussed.
Enjoy Handouts, free stuff, informative speakers, useful demonstrations,
travel talk time, slide shows of exotic locales, and door prizes!
As always, the meeting will begin promptly at 2:00 p.m.
Mark your calendars – Dates of future meetings: March 8th,
April 12th,
The VFW folks will open their bar so we will not go to the Hoity Toit
after the meeting. If you like, bring some nibbles to share for conversation
time following the meeting – since we will miss the peanuts from the Toit.
See you Sat. Feb. 8 at 2 p.m.
For more information about the Texas Branch: please Contact texas@globetrotters.co.uk
or register for email updates at our website (click here)
or call Christina at 830-620-5482
PLEASE NOTE DIFFERENT LOCATION
If anybody would like to enquire about meetings or help Christina, please
contact her on: texas@globetrotters.co.uk
UK low-cost airline Ryanair announced recently that it has put in an
offer to buy smaller rival Buzz for £15.6m; $25.7m. Buzz is currently
owned by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, flying to 21 destinations in France,
Germany, Holland and Spain, and, like Ryanair, who currently operate a
network of 100 routes across 15 European countries is based at Stansted
airport, north of London.
It looks like the UK low cost carriers are beginning to consolidate.
Last year, we saw Easyjet buy Go, the British Airways owned low cost airline.
So now it seems that there will only be two main low cost carriers in
the UK, as opposed to the four we had last year.
The deal is expected to be completed by April 1. Details of new timetables,
fares and new routes and frequencies will be announced before the end
of February. If the deal is successful, Ryanair said that it would cut
a number of Buzz's unprofitable routes, while increasing the frequency
on 11 of its existing services from Stansted, including Frankfurt, Milan
and Barcelona and reducing the cost of other routes.
Ryanair is on a bit of a high recently, as it recently announced it
was to open its ninth European base at Stockholm's Skavsta airport.
They also announced five new routes from London, starting at the end of
April that are to include Reims and Pau in France, Maastricht in Holland,
Haugesund in Norway and Dusseldorf in Germany. In addition, Ryanair are
about to buy 22 Boeing 737 planes and had taken out options on a further
78 in order to meet its expansion plans.
The Beetle liked Buzz. They were the last low cost airline that had
not sunk to the usual low cost “standard” of pile ‘em
in, give ‘em no service. Anyone interested in starting a Save Buzz
protest?