The Beetle would like to apologise profusely for the absence of the Globetrotter e-newsletter. Excuses range from being trapped in a snowy Antarctica station, captured by Grand Master Slave Beetles, and getting lost in outer Mongolia, but unfortunately, none of these would be true. Work pressures led to the Beetle in not having enough Beetle…

Terrific Tofino: the Esowista Peninsula is perched in the edge of the North America Continent. Next stop Japan! At the north end of the Peninsula is the town of Tofino, located in a protected harbour. Just to the North, you will also find protected waters, and directly offshore is the Wild West Coast. Photo, left,…

Conde Nast Traveler ran its 18th annual Readers’ Choice Awards. Nearly 28,000 travellers voted and many familiar favourites still top the list. Singapore Airlines is again the 2005 #1 International Route Airline, and has led this category for 17 of the past 18 years (in 1994 Swissair took the top spot). San Francisco, the #1…

Early on in our Mexico experience, we still had not learned much Spanish. In fact, when we arrived, our huge Spanish vocabulary consisted of about two words: si and no. We were in Villahermosa for about a month before we felt comfortable in most situations and that was only because we were experiencing full immersion…

Three years or so ago I tried to visit Bali to do practice, but then the first bombings happened and it became impossible to get travel insurance, putting the kybosh on my trip. This year I was luckier. Despite last years' bombing and some countries still having a travel warning against visiting Indonesia, I was…

The World's Ten Most Corrupt Leaders Name Position Funds embezzled 1. Mohamed Suharto President of Indonesia (1967-1998) $15-35 billion 2. Ferdinand Marcos President of the Philippines (1972-1986) 5-10 billion 3. Mobutu Sese Seko President of Zaire (1965-1997) 5 billion 4. Sani Abacha President of Nigeria (1993-1998) 2-5 billion 5. Slobodan Milosevic President of Serbia/Yugoslavia (1989-2000)…

If you are going to go on budget holidays, but you’re well past using Greyhound as a single mean of travelling, finding good, but inexpensive lodging on the course of your travels may become a problem. Those who found themselves sleeping in creepy dark closets that were advertised as “sunny inexpensive apartments” know that problem…

Mac has not been very well but is still e-mailing strong. Here are some of Mac's post war reminiscences about Guam. But first, here are some pictures paying homage to Mac, recognising all the e-mails he has sent the Beetle and how much he has contributed to the Globetrotter e-newsletter. From top left, going clock…

You've heard it before, whether on a bus or a train, you'll soon be able to hear “hi, I'm on the plane” as people shout into their mobile phones; our friends Ryanair have announced a deal with communications joint venture OnAir to fit its aircraft with technology to allow passengers to use their mobile phones…

July Meeting News from London by Padmassana As is our custom the July meeting was given over to club members to take us around the world in 90 minutes. Africa was our first port of call as Sylvia Pullen took us to Ghana, with its Atlantic coast, old slave castles and fishing boats. We hopped…