-
The Beetle
·
Airline News
While the Middle East conflict continues to hit air travel badly, Asian carriers are also feeling the effects of a mystery respiratory illness, similar to flu that originated in the region. Already some 50 deaths have occurred worldwide. The feeling is that the illness has been spread by air travel. Singapore Airlines has admitted it…
-
The Beetle
·
Meeting News from Ontario
The March meeting of the Ontario Globetrotters was held on March 21st. Jim Low presented “Chasing the Midnight Sun,” a slide documentary and personal commentary of his recent motor trip up the Dempster Highway through the Yukon and NWT to Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. For information on Ontario meetings, please contact: Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce…
-
The Beetle
·
Be Careful . Africa
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office have just updated its advice for Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti, referring to a high risk of terror attacks. The FCO website (www.fco.gov.uk/travel) warns visitors to the three countries to be highly vigilant in all areas frequented by foreign visitors, including hotels, nightclubs, shopping centres and restaurants. The website has…
-
The Beetle
·
Currency Conversion
A recent UK survey for the Department for Education found that of over 1,000 adults, 30% felt unable to compare rates in exchange bureaux. A similar proportion said they were not comfortable converting foreign currency into sterling. Over a fifth of those surveyed admitted they had wrongly calculated how much they spent on holiday, with…
-
The Beetle
·
A visit to Durban by Geoff Fairman
Today we will visit Durban which is a city situated on the east coast of South Africa. It has a sub tropical climate opposed to that of Cape Town, which is Mediterranean. What has Durban to offer the tourist or visitor? Along the beach front are many hotels and blocks of holiday flats. This area…
-
The Beetle
·
Low-cost London
A new booklet from the London Tourist Board gives suggestions on making your holiday budget go further and exploring the capital off the main tourist trail. “Go Further in London” is available free from British Tourist Authority offices overseas (in English, French, German and Italian), or look on the website: www.visitlondon.com
-
The Beetle
·
A Cautionary Tale: Trailfinders by Kevin Brackley
Globetrotters should be extra careful when booking flights with travel agents in the UK. High street budget travel agents, Trailfinders are, like most other companies, happy to sell you a ticket for any destination in the world and try to get you to cough up for their in-house insurance at the same time. They of…
-
The Beetle
·
Art at Schipol
If you find yourself at a loose end in Amsterdam’s Schipol airport, you can now visit a branch of the world renowned Rijskmuseum in the terminal after passport control on Holland Boulevard which connects Piers E and F. There is also a museum shop. The museum includes works by Rembrandt, Jan Steen, Peter de Hooch…
-
The Beetle
·
Mac’s Jottings: China
U. S. Soldiers Home Mac: during a century of travel (well 78 years!) both in and out of service I have travelled to over 150 countries (I count both North and South Dakota as countries) and for some reason have jotted signs and happenings that I thought funny at the time (and now wonder why).…
-
The Beetle
·
Take your pet to the UK
North Americans will be pleased to learn that the UK's tough animal quarantine regulations are being relaxed. From December 11, 2002 dogs and cats that meet requirements will be able to enter Britain without going into quarantine for six months. These requirements include having the animals microchipped and vaccinated by a veterinarian, together with a…
The Globetrotters Club
The travel club for independent travellers.