Meeting news from our branches around the world.
Category Archives: archive
Not to be Seen Dead In? The Ivory Coast
Cote d'Ivoire (a.k.a.Ivory Coast) is a developing country on the west coast of Africa. The Foreign & Commonwealth office advise against all holiday and other non-essential travel to Abidjan and against all travel to any other part of Cote d'Ivoire at this time. Abidjan is calm but tense. There is a curfew from 2000 to 0600, due to be reviewed on 30 September. The northern towns of Bouake and Korhogo are still held by rebels, but the government has begunmilitary operations to re-take them.
Click here for FCO website
Tourism Facts
 Less than one in 10 people are estimated to have been on an international flight
ÂÂ China is expected to unseat France as world’s most visited country by 2020
ÂÂ 16% of foreign trips are in East Asia – up from 1% in 1950
Sources: IATA, Worldwatch Institute
London:
7th September 2002 London meeting Review by Padmassana
We had two excellent speakers who both captured the essence of the countries they talked about with some fantastic photographs.
Our first speaker was Marion Bull who showed us the N’Afjer plateau in the Algerian Sahara. This area is the site of the world’s oldest rock paintings, some dating back 12,000 years. Marion explained that although UNESCO protects the paintings, many have been damaged over the last few years by Arabic graffiti, and as there have been few tourists to this area, the government has not protected them. The slides of the rock paintings Marion showed us depicted prehistoric scenes of long extinct animals, pastoral scenes of grazing cattle, newer pictures of what appeared to be a boat and fishermen and paintings of chariots being pulled by animals.
This area of Algeria is also the site of The Forest of Stones, which look like streets and stretch for 35 miles. These “streets” of rock have spectacular pinnacles, which Marion said were difficult to photograph due to the shadows cast by neighbouring towers of rock. But Marion did these wonderful formations justice with her colourful slides. We were lucky that Marion was able to show us these wonderful images, as when she was leaving the area her plane had a little mishap, and she had to spend another night in her sleeping bag on the runway tarmac.
Our second speaker was Julian Webster who treated us to some glorious images of India. These included pictures of the Ganges high in the Himalayas, right down to India’s southern tip, showing us a lifeguard complete with a pointy “Go Faster” swim hat! We saw colourful images of religious India including temples in Kerala, Buddhists in the north, Christian nuns and Oracles who treat the local people with their magic. Julian moved onto India at work, from the washing Ghats in Bombay (Mumbai), where we saw clothes being beaten clean on stones, Fish markets, Railway station bookshops with English sounding names and even the office of “The World Famous Sex Therapist”! Julian finished with some of the classical images of India such as holy cows and the Taj Mahal.
On Saturday 5th October, Eamonn Gearon will give a talk called “Walking to Siwa – and then staying there!” This features solo camel trekking in the Libyan desert and life in the Egyptian oasis of Siwa, past present and future. This is an extract from just one of Eamonn's expeditions in North Africa – he is already planning his next to Sudan/Liberia.
After the break, Tahir Shah will give a talk entitled “In search of King Solomon’s Mines.” Tahir is the third generation of his family to become obsessed with King Solomon's mines. He travelled to Ethiopia to a remote cliff face monastery where visitors are pulled up by rope, the ruined castles of Gondar, to rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, an illegal gold mine, and the hardest leg to the accursed mountain of Tullu Wallel, where legend says the shafts to the entrance to King Solomon's mines. All class competition for Rider Haggard's classic adventure novel!
London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. There is no London meeting in August, but we will be back on Saturday 1st September. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotter Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk
Free London Museums: The Bank of England Museum
The Museum is housed within the Bank of England, at the heart of the City of London. It traces the history of the Bank from its foundation by Royal Charter in 1694, to its role today as the nation's central bank. Displays include: gold, bank notes and a reconstruction of the 18th century office. In addition, inter-active systems allow visitors to look behind the doors of the central bank or to examine the intricacies of bank note design and production, and a computer-driven simulation gives visitors an idea of what it is like to deal on the US Dollar/Sterling spot market.
The museum is open Monday to Friday, 10.00 – 17.00 and admission is free.
Historical Bank of England Trivia
Ø The Bank of England was founded in 1694 by a Scotsman, William Paterson, and the Bank of Scotland in 1695 by an Englishman, John Holland.
Ø The monarch's portrait didnot appear on Bank of England notes until 1960.
Ø The highest value bank note issued by the Bank of England was the £1000 denomination. It was last issued in 1943.
Ø The fiver (£5) is the longest running denomination of Bank of England note: it was first issued in 1793.
Ø Bank of England notes were not wholly printed until 1853. Until that year they were still signed by one of the Bank's cashiers.
Ø Kenneth Grahame, the author of children's book, The wind in the Willows, was the Secretary of the Bank of England 1898 – 1908. The book was published in 1908, the year in which he retired from the Bank. It is possible that some of the characters in the book were based on those people he knew and worked with.
Mexican Airports
Mexican airports are returning to normal operations after Hurricane Isidore battered the country on the weekend. The airport authorities estimated that 89 flights at Cancun, were cancelled because of the hurricane, but no damage has been reported and the airport is now operating normally. One man died at Cancun Airport.
New York:
A change of date….on October 19th, we have yet, another interesting guest speaker!! Liz Ferber will be doing a picture show and presentation about some of her favorite exotic locations, with an in-depth look at some of their most special features. Highlights will include: India, Peru, Africa, and Thailand, specifically: Northern India, the Andes mountains and Cusco area, Senegal and the Gambia in West Africa, and the Andaman Sea, food in Chiang Mai, and the best chicken in Thailand!
Elizabeth Ferber is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, and several other publications. She is the author of ten books, is a graduate of Barnard College and received her Master's Degree in Education from New York University. She is the President of Design Alternatives, a firm specializing in environmentally-sustainable interior design. She currently lives in Katonah, New York with her husband and two children. Together, they travel to the ends of the earth as often as possible.
New York meetings are held at The Wings Theater, 154 Christopher Street (btw Greenwich St and Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness, in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month from 4pm -5:30pm. $8.00 for members, $10.00 for non-members.
Bond, James Bond
For true 007 fans this exhibition at the Science Museum in London will display a vast collection of objects, costume designs, storyboards and images. See Oddjob's killer bowler hat and Rose Klebb's flick-knife shoe. Visitors will have a real behind the scenes look at the work of the creative and technical teams of these world famous films. Special themed areas will allow fans of Bond to gain a sense of what its like to be the special agent. Visitors must embark on a 'death-defying stunt' and negotiate 'the mirrored maze in the villains lair' before they are granted secret agent status! The exhibition runs from 16 October 2002 – March 2003. For more info, visit:
London Events: Pearly Kings and Queens Harvest Festival
If you’ve never seen them, this is your chance: if you are in London 6th October, you will be able to see the Pearly Kings and Queens. They are traditional Cockney costermongers. The altar and the pulpit of St Martins in the Fields, Trafalgar Square are arrayed with the fruits of the earth, and a Pearly King or Queen reads one of the Lessons, while the congregation sings the hymns of the harvest season.
Date: 6 Oct 2002
Location: St Martin-in-the-Fields Church, Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 4JJ Tel: (020) 7766 1100
Website: St Martins in the Fields
Dead Sea Rescue Plan
The Dead Sea is falling by about one metre (3ft) a year due to declining rainfall, and an increase in the amount of irrigation water being taken from the River Jordan. Water flows in from the River Jordan and other sources, but there is no outflow – it simply evaporates, concentrating the salts in the water into brine. Environmentalists warn the salt lake could vanish by 2050 if nothing is done.
Israel and Jordan announced at the recent World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg that they have agreed on a plan to build an $800 million pipeline to pipe water north from the Gulf of Aqaba in Red Sea to the Dead Sea.
Ontario:
On September 20, Bruce Weber & Hoang Nguyen will talk about: “Impressions of Vietnam” (with slides). Bruce, the first-time visitor and Hong returned after 15 years. We will also have some Visiting medical students talking about: “Secrets of Bavaria”
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.
Try Real Ale!
It’s Real Beer Week in British pubs this autumn. 33 family run breweries that have each been in the business from 100 to 300 years want to encourage more people to try real ale. The 33 brewers, are staging the first ever Real Beer Week in British pubs this autumn (September 30 – October 6). If you are not sure you would like the beer on offer, many pubs will provide a no-obligation free taste on request. For more info, visit: Family Brewers
UK Air Passenger Complaints
The AUC (Air Transport Users Council– the UK airline watchdog) recently issued a list of the 20 most complained about airlines. They said there was “little evidence” that airlines were showing “any real concern about the impact on passengers of damaged, delayed or lost luggage”. Lost luggage, flight cancellations and problems with tickets – particularly for those booked over the internet and by telephone – were among the most common complaints.
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Top five written complaints |
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Delay: 19% Mishandled baggage: 15% Flight cancellations: 9% Reservations: 8% Overbooking: 7% |
The AUC said it was especially worried about budget airline Ryanair which, it claimed, often displayed a poor attitude towards its customers. Overall, Ryanair was the third most complained about airline – receiving 77 written complaints, compared with 117 for the biggest carrier, British Airways, and 110 for Air France.
The top 10 are as follows:
1) British Airways + subsidiaries: 117 2) Air France: 110 3) Ryanair: 77 4) KLM + subsidiaries: 53 5) Easyjet: 42 6) MyTravel (formerly Airtours):39 7) Britannia: 33 8=) Air 2000: 32 8=)Go: 32 10) BMI British Midland: 29
The Beetle says she is pleased to see Ryan air in the list, and is not surprised to see most of the other low cost carriers all represented.
New York:
HOLLAND BY BIKE! Rob Lewis, one of our own, will be giving a slide show and lecture about Holland and perhaps select areas of England and Ireland. Come join us for our Sept. kick off meeting! Should be amazing! Away from the tourist trail, the real Holland of dunes, rivers, dikes, canals, lowlands, windmills and castles can be reached via the Landelijk Fietsplatform (LF) routes – 3000 miles of long distance cycle routes. Robert will be giving a slide show and discussing the routes, sights, and stresses of trying to circle the Netherlands during a 7 day self guided tour. Robert Lewis is a recent arrival to NY, having spent 8 years living in Hong Kong working as an equity research analyst focusing on Asian technology companies. Robert has travelled extensively throughout Europe and Asia, and has taken his bicycle to Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
New York meetings are held at The Wings Theater, 154 Christopher Street (btw Greenwich St and Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness, in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month at 4 pm.
Travel Quiz
A big thank you to Moon Handbooks who have donated this months' huge and highly informative Moon handbook on the South Pacific, written by David Stanley as above. See www.moon.com for more details.
The winner of last month's Moon Handbook on Guatemala is Mike Shawcross.
Easter Island
If you are thinking of going to Santiago or Tahiti, did you know, you could take a flight to Easter Island? It's included in the famous Oneworld Explorer air pass. In addition, if you do plan a trip to Easter Island, David Stanley's piece on Easter Island is a good source of information to help you plan your trip. David's notes on Easter Island are taken from the Moon Handbook on the South Pacific.
Visit southpacific.org for full information on how to get there, what there is to see, how to get around, a brief history and other activities such as surfing and diving. David Stanley has earned his living from guidebook writing since 1979, producing guides to the South Pacific, Micronesia, Alaska-Yukon, Eastern Europe, and Cuba. His latest book, Lonely Planet Canada's Maritime Provinces, was released in July.
Ontario:
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.
Not to be Seen Dead In?
Whilst over eighty thousand British nationals visited Kenya last year, the vast majority enjoyed a trouble-free stay. Nevertheless, all visitors should be aware of potential risks and should exercise sensible precautions.
Muggings and armed attacks can occur at any time, particularly in Nairobi and Mombassa: be alert at all times. Do not accept food or drink from strangers, as there have been instances of it being drugged. Avoid travelling after dark in isolated places, particularly empty beaches. Do not carry valuables or wear jewellery in public places. Do not carry credit cards or cash cards unless you must, people have been forced by thieves to withdraw cash. Beware of thieves posing as police officers; always ask to see identification. Outbreaks of political violence are normally localised and rarely affect visitors. It is best to avoid political rallies or meetings, which are usually well publicised. These are likely to become more numerous in the run-up to general elections, widely expected to take place in December 2002, though the timing of the polls may be delayed into 2003. Incidents of armed car-hijackings are more prevalent in Nairobi and Mombassa but can occur in any area of the country. Do not attempt to escape from hijackers or resist their demands.
Game reserves and other tourist areas are generally trouble-free, but tourists wishing to visit reserves should use reputable tour operators and arrive at their destination in daylight hours. Visitors are strongly advised not to buy safari tours from touts but only through reputable agencies or from their hotel. There have been some fatalities when people have gone on foot in game parks and visitors should conform closely to park regulations and wardens' advice. Bathing in rivers and lakes is forbidden in National Parks and is best avoided elsewhere due to the dangers from both wildlife and water-borne disease.
For security reasons, and also because of the condition of the roads, visitors to Lamu Island are strongly advised to travel by air. Buses and other vehicles on the road to Lamu have been attacked by armed robbers and must travel in convoy on the Malindi/Garsen/Lamu section. Avoid the North-Eastern Province, in particular areas near the Somali border, the Tana River District of Coast Province and the Isiolo and Marsabit Districts of Eastern Province where cattle raids are frequent. Cattle raids have also occurred in Trans Nzoia district and armed robbery has affected the Kapenguria to Lokichokio road in Rift Valley Province.
Take care if driving, especially at night, as road conditions and driving standards are often poor. There have been a number of serious accidents involving Kenyan long-distance bus services. Vehicles are often poorly maintained, and driven at excessive speed even on poorly maintained roads. Visitors are advised to check with any bus operator on the standards they observe before using this form of transport. Another common form of public transport is the matatu, usually a minibus plying a specific route. Though very cheap to use, matatus are notorious for being poorly maintained, badly driven and in some instances do not have proper insurance cover. There are frequent reports of matatus being hijacked, or of passengers being robbed. Visitors are advised to think carefully before using matatus.
Source: www.fco.co.uk
Outbreak of Flu in Madagascar
You may want to reschedule your visit to Madagascar: according to news sources, an outbreak of flu has killed at least 374 people with another 5,000 and more infected. Health experts from the WHO are due to arrive to investigate the cause. The outbreaks are mostly blamed on poverty and have occurred in the southern highlands, Fianarantsoa and in the western port of Tulear, a place used by travellers to visit the national parks close by.
Add this to the last 7 months of civil unrest, this does not make Madagascar a very attractive place to visit – which is a great shame, as the Beetle can attest it is a fabulously interesting country, hard to get around, but worth the effort, to see the different kinds of forests, the lemurs, practice speaking French, the old French style of architecture and boulevards etc. The diving is not bad, either!
Texas:
Saturday August 10th, we had the fabulously informative Eric Dondero as speaker. His topic was: “How to Learn Any Language Fast”. Eric is a Multilingual Interpreter and Certified Language Instructor from Houston. He speaks over 20 languages and can communicate in another 20 more. His new book is the “Worldwide Multilingual Phrase Book; Survival Skills for Over 40 Languages”
This month (September 14) we will have two guest speakers. Our own traveling girl, Emily Naberhaus, will show us how to pack for long trips with just a backpack. Sue Howell, a new focused market Travel Agent, will discuss her decision to specialize.
Future meetings: October 12th and November 9th
A reminder that Texas meetings will start one hour earlier, at 2pm and not 3pm.
Meetings are held at 2pm at the New Braunfels Public Library, 700 E. Common Street in New Braunfels, Texas. The meeting ends at 5 p.m. If you would like to continue travel talk on a more informal basis, we plan to adjourn to the Hoity-Toit, a local New Braunfels establishment. If anybody would like to enquire about meetings or help Christina, please contact her on: texas@globetrotters.co.uk
Free London Museums: The Tate Britain
Overlooking the River Thames, Tate Britain was originally founded through the philanthropy of the sugar magnate Sir Henry Tate. The Tate legacy now encompasses three other galleries around the UK, including Tate Modern in London. Dedicated to showcasing Britain's artistic talent, Tate Britain is home to the greatest collection of British art from 1500 to the present day. Since it opened in 1897, the collection has expanded to include works from Blake, Rossetti, Spencer and Stubbs. Visitors will be treated to a visual feast in the Turner gallery, discover the ever-popular The Kiss by Rodin and be mesmerized by the visionary work of William Blake. The works have recently been re-arranged according to six core themes ranging from Literature and Fantasy to Public and Private. As a result, historic and modern paintings now hang together.
Opening hours: 10:00-17:50, closed 24-26 Dec.
Tube: Pimlico or Vauxhall. Enquiries: 020 7887 8000 Entrance:
FREE except for some special ex
hibitions.