Spotted on the Globetrotter's forum: http://milvetstravel.net/virtualtours.html is a website that allows you to take virtual tours of a whole host of places – check it out, it's pretty interesting!
Category Archives: enewsletter
Have you got a tale to tell?
If you have a travellers tale that your aching to tell. Then why not visit the “Travel Sized Bites” section of the Website and share it with the world. Travel Sized Bites
Almost Meeting the Fish in Bali by Iona Hill
I can totally understand why people rave about Bali – a truly wonderful place – loved it – so serene – and very quiet. I took a flight from London to Singapore that took 12 hours, then a 2 hour wait in Changi – could be far worse places to wait! And off to Bali, on a low cost airline, Australian Airlines. It only took 2 hrs 5 mins, so only a hop and a good airline experience.
We were met at Depensar airport around 10pm by a very good natured man from the resort I'd booked and we transferred in an air con'd jeep that had seen better days to the north part of Bali, cutting through the mountains, past dark reflective lakes and rice terraces, past lush rain forest and neat houses adjoining the road and the silhouettes of Hindu temple after temple. Even in the dark, it all looked very clean and fascinating. It took two and a half hours, but we were later to realise that this was a very good time to do the transfer as during the day, the roads are unbelievably congested with men on motorbikes, men and whole families concertina-d on motorbikes, men and women riding side saddle on motorbikes, small stall holders with their wares on motorbikes, ancient lorries dripping with all manner of contents churning to get up hills and the odd short mini bus, but no tourists.
Got to the hotel about 1am, full of beans and explored the grounds, saw the sign saying do not feed the monkeys, dipped my toes in one of many hot springs and was up early the next day to sort out diving.
The place we stayed in had several natural hot spring pools: some really, really hot, some just very hot and some varying between just right to cold – total bliss. After 2 nights of staying in a very nice room, with a semi open air bathroom surrounded by tropical plants, I came back from diving and was met by a very excited friend, Marian, who told me that we had been upgraded to our own villa with its own hot spring tub kind of thing. It was very posh, and we spent hours in our own little natural spring hot tub in our own courtyard surrounded by tropical flowers and banana, mango and papaya trees – total bliss!
Very good
diving, all drift diving, some strong currents, including down
currents – hhhmm – oh, and dynamite fishing whilst we were in the
water! This was a little scary. The previous day we'd been
out diving around Menjangen Island when we unexpectedly came
across several men diving along side us, breathing in compressed
air from an umbilical cord leading from a boat on the surface.
They had a couple of weights wrapped around their waist but no
other safety equipment, like a gauge to tell them how deep they
were or how long they'd been in the water.
This is extremely dangerous, as they were doing hideous dive profiles, see-sawing up and down is a great way to get air embolisms, not to mention the bends if you are in the water too long. Not only were they carrying spear guns, but they were stealing tiny baby colourful tropical fish – for sale in aquariums. The three pictures show a baby puffer fish and a clown anemone fish, both the type these pirates were trying to catch.
They had long metal rods and were poking around behind coral and in the crevices, they knew exactly what they were after – baby lion fish and butterfly fish, but very, very small ones. They coaxed or frightened them out from their hiding places, caught them in a butterfly kind of net and then put them into plastic bags and tied them to themselves. It was not a good sight.
This was not
quite in the protected WWF marine reserve where I mostly dived,
but they most definitely should not have been doing this. They
were no more pleased to see us than me and the dive instructor I
was with, were to see them. They knew they were 'in the
wrong' and it was a very awkward situation under water, a
little aggressive and certainly very threatening. When we got
back to our dive boat, and were returning to our hotel, the
Japanese instructor (a tiny little thing, with the strength of
Goliath) said in Indonesian (which I picked up a fair bit of!) to
the guys on the pirate boat that she was going to call the
police. They were not impressed.
The next day
we dived in a different part of the same marine sanctuary, when
we heard this massive boom. There is only one sound, that, even
under water sounds like that – explosives. I was rather scared,
to put it mildly! Someone close by was dynamite fishing. It was
not a good feeling, and I thought that maybe, just maybe, my time
was up, and this is how it was all going to end – making enemies
with Indonesians stealing tropical fish who dynamited us out of
the water for revenge. But, as you can see, they did not dynamite
us, but there were four explosions on that dive and they were
further away than I first thought, but it was still very scary,
the whole water and landscape seems to vibrate and shake, almost
as if it was crying.
Apart from the dynamite fishing, I can whole heartedly recommend the unvisited northern and north east part of Bali, it's beautiful, the people serene, friendly and a privilege to have spent time there.
Delta and Northwest Bankrupt
Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, the third and fourth-largest US air carriers, both declared bankruptcy in September citing rising oil prices and low-cost competition among their reasons.
Travel Writing Workshop
Saturday 12th November 2005, 10.30am – 4.00pm
Location:
The Newsroom, The Guardian
60 Farringdon Rd, London EC1R 3GA
Cost: £87.50
A day of two intensive workshops:
Travel writing and how to do it and how not to with Dea Birkett, the Guardian Travel columnist and author of Serpent in Paradise and Off the Beaten Track
Fact, fiction and creating a traveller's tale with Rory Maclean, author of Falling for Icarus and Stalin's Nose
The workshops include practical writing sessions. Participants should bring pen and paper – they will be expected to write! The emphasis is – whether you are a beginner or already have some writing experience – on developing skills which can be applied to both articles and books. Our aim is that, by the end of the day, each of you will have the tools to produce a publishable piece of travel writing.
We hope to build up a community of those interested in travel writing, by providing opportunities for participants to submit work they have completed after the course for further expert comment. You will also be able to move on to more advanced workshops, suiting the particular focus of your writing.
Participants will also be invited to exchange email details, in the hope that you may benefit from continued mutual support and positive criticism.
To apply for a place on the Travel Writing Workshop, see:
- www.deabirkett.com
- www.rorymaclean.com
- www.guardian.co.uk/newsroom
Mac's Travel Reminiscences – China Part 2
We are sorry
to say that Mac is not very well, but he is still e-mailing
strong and recently sent the Beetle a collection of travel
reminiscences about China.
Beijing, China. The Imperial Palace in the Forbidden City in Beijing has 9000 rooms. We agreed that if we got lost and separated from each other we would meet in the Hall of Heavenly Purity (if they would let us in.) At the time I was there, the military did not wear rank on their uniforms (don't know if this still applies or not.) You could kind of get an idea of who outranked who by the number of pockets they had on their blouse of uniform. Someone with four pockets would have their baggage carried by someone with one pocket or no pockets.
In the hotels the orchestras (In the Peace Hotel in Shanghai I think they had some of the members or orchestra from the 30s) would play songs they thought we would like. Oh Susannah from a couple of decades ago seemed to be making a comeback, as well as Turkey in the Straw and and Auld Lang Syne. At the end of each number the players would put down their instruments and applaud us in the audience. We could hardly wait for the Tuba player to unwind from his Tuba to applaud us.
Our Chinese guide in Wushi kind of had a high opinion of himself (unusual for Chinese) and thought he was hip in Western ways. He liked to show off and showed us how he was proficient in Tai Chai. Blonde vivacious Liza asked him to dance with her. He said that no he could not dance with a client but that he would arm wrestle her! He told long involved stories about the Kingdom of Wu and Dragons and such. George whispered: “I wonder what he would say if we told him we didn't want to hear any more dragon stories?”
In 1977 I got in on a deal on a trip to China. A western cruise ship had not gone into China in twenty seven years but suddenly a Swiss outfit got permission and an ad was in the LA paper one day only and participants had a very short time to get on trip. I had to fly to Singapore and get on Norwegian Rasa Sayang ship. Why it did not leave from Hong Kong I don't know. Everything about that trip was strange. On board we were arranged into 24 groups of 24 people and in each group they arbitrarily chose a responsible person. This was the person the Chinese dealt with to give us bad news to pass on to us others. Your tour has been cancelled. Unpaid thankless job. Our Chinese guides had names that phonetically sounded like Mr Shi, Mr Ee and Miss Ou. They met us at gangplank with Miss Ou carrying a banner with number 13 the number of our group. 24 buses were there to meet us. It was like a military operation although we were all supposed to be civilians. One Australian before we left ship asked if it was alright if he wore walking shorts. He was told “You are going to look so strange to the Chinese that is makes no difference what you wear”.
Our guide Miss Ou had pigtails, glasses no makeup and wore a bag like Mao suit. Most of our tour group dressed down, slacks etc but one lady in our group wore high heels and a different fancy outfit for each appearance as she said she wanted the Chinese to see her clothes and how they could dress.
There was no tipping but on the second day I gave Miss Ou some picture post cards of Washington, D. C. She then gave me a ten minute speech that she would accept hers as a signal of international friendship. I then became her pet and she would come to me on pronunciation of English. I, who have a speech defect, ha!
At the Pan His Restaurant No 15l Hsiang Yang Rd (Kissinger ate there,) Canton, where we ate one meal, Miss Ou would tell us what was in each dish. Duck, shrimp, vegetable and other materials. When she saw some smile at “other materials” she looked to me and I said other ingredients.
Wherever we went there would be Chinese on each side of sidewalk waiting for us to come out of antique stores, whatever and they would applaud us. I thought it was voluntary but was told that they had probably been ordered to do this and perhaps had been there since five o clock that morning waiting for us to arrive although they probably had no idea who we were or where we were from. I felt like Prince Philip viewing China and found myself walking with my arms behind my back. I bowed graciously to my fans. They have gotten so many tourists now that they no longer applaud us.
On my first trip to China they said that five of each 24 group of 24 could witness acupuncture which was new to me so I raised my hand. Most of us did not realize that this demonstration of acupuncture included watching five bloody operations in a hospital where they used acupuncture as an anaesthetic. One lady passed out immediately and they put one of the needles between her mouth and nose and she came right to. We were in a viewing area that looked down on the operating tables. One operation was to remove a goitre from an elderly lady. After they removed the goitre the size of a golf ball they passed it up to us on a tray much as if they were passing around something to eat at a cocktail party. After the fourth operation I felt woozy myself and so left room and climbed stairs to roof of hospital. Attendants came running after me. There was a church with a steeple nearby and I tried to act like I had just gone up there for the view and to see China as I wasn't seeing much of China in that operating room. I pointed to the church spire and said what is that building? I was told “It is where they store useless objects (religious statues, religious things). Just wait until I tell Father Murphy!
We were told that acupuncture did not work as anaesthetic unless you had faith in it. The advantage is that there were supposedly no after effects and one could eat after the operation. In fact before the operation which I don't think is usual practice. When the tumour was removed from the neck of the elderly lady, they wanted to show us that she could navigate on her own. She kind of slid off table looked up at us and waved and we waved back. She then kind of stumbled out of the room.
Would I submit to acupuncture in an operation? Only if I could have an anaesthetic as well.
I did later on another trip submit to this form a barefoot doctor. They call them barefoot doctor (not barefoot) but those that work helping those in communes and field. I paid something like fifteen cents. It was to cure a cold. They then gave me a certificate entitling me to free acupuncture care for a year.
2006 Total Eclipse
On Wednesday, 29th March 2006, the shadow of the Moon will sweep a band starting from Brazil, through Atlantic Ocean, Gold Coast of Africa, Saharan Desert, Mediterranean Sea, Turkey, Black Sea, Georgia, Russian Federation, northern shores of Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan; ending in Mongolia. The duration of totality will be less than 2 minutes near the sunrise and sunset limits, but will be as long as 4 minutes and 7 seconds in Libya, at the moment of greatest eclipse. The partial phases will be witnessed by all of Europe. All Asia west of Yakutsk, Mongolia, central China and Myanmar, and north of the line joining Bombay and Calcutta will see some of the Moon in front of the Sun. Also, only the south eastern parts of Africa will miss the partial eclipse.
Is Flying Safe?
We have seen four fatal plane crashes this month in Europe and South America claim the lives of hundreds of people. On 6 August at least 13 of 39 passengers and crew were killed after a Tunisian passenger plane made an emergency landing in the sea off the Italian island of Sicily. On 14 August, all 121 passengers and crew on a Cyprus airline flight bound for Prague died when it crashed into a mountainside near Athens. Two days later, a Colombian plane operated by West Caribbean Airways crashed in a remote region of Venezuela, killing all 160 people on board. In the latest crash, a passenger plane came down in Peru's Amazon jungle, causing the deaths of at least 40 of the 100 people on board. Investigations continue into what went wrong on these flights.
The Operations and Safety editor of Flight International magazine says that airline safety worldwide is now six times better than it was 25 years ago. In 1979 there were three fatal accidents per million flights, compared with one fatal accident per two million flights by last year, according to International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) figures. Safety improvements are due to better technology, compulsory industry audits and tougher competition, he said. When compared with all other modes of transport on a fatality per kilometre basis, air transport is the safest, insists the Civil Aviation Authority.
Our Friends Ryanair
British Airways whose tagline has been 'the world's favourite airline' has been overtaken by our friends Ryanair whom it has been recorded carried more passengers in August 2005 than the whole of BA. This could have something to do with the Gate Gourmet catering fiasco/strike and increasing competition. Ryanair's latest monthly figures for August show that BA carried 156,000 fewer passengers than the Irish airline which saw numbers soar by 27% to 3.257m. As usual, Ryanair's Chief Executive had something to say: 'It's official. Ryanair has today become the world's favourite airline. Last month, Ryanair's traffic exceeded BA's worldwide passengers across its entire network.'
Whilst the Beetle does not believe that just because Ryanair's figures exceed British Airways' Ryanair can take over British Airway's mantle of being the world's favourite airline. This seems a little excessive given that Ryanair does not fly long haul, nor has anything like BA's coverage, provides next to no in-flight service and benefited in passenger volume particularly as a result of BA's strike fiasco during the month of August. Ryanair's success was put down to growing passenger volumes due to Ryanair's guarantee of no fuel surcharges. And not forgetting that Michael O'Leary likes to have the last word, he went on to say: 'At least on Ryanair, customers can buy a sandwich with the £100 they have saved over BA's high fares and that's why BA are now officially just second choice'.
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51 holiday makers, mostly Belgians but including five Britons and fifteen Germans, were told that their flight from Carcassone to Charleroi airport, Brussels airport had been cancelled due to bad weather and would not be replaced. They were forced to hire a bus and drive 600 miles home after they were told that the next aircraft out of Carcassone would be in 10 days time. The 51 passengers led by a Belgian window cleaner, clubbed together to rent a vehicle for €4,000 (£2,700) to drive home to Charleroi in Belgium. “They abandoned us there as if we were dogs,” said Gauthier Renders, the 28-year-old window cleaner from Brussels. “There were children there and even an old woman with a walking stick. They didn't even give us a glass of water.” He continued: “At the Ryanair desk they said there were no available flights for ten days. Everything was fully booked. They said that some of us could get home via Gerona in Spain but that was 200 miles away and there were only 15 places available. They also said they wouldn't pay for us to get there. So I looked for a bus in the Yellow Pages and we were on the road by 9pm.” The bus company provided two drivers and after a 16-hour drive the coach arrived in Belgium, on Tuesday.
“That's a long trip and everyone was pretty frustrated when we got there. Ryanair said they would refund our return flight – half the price of the original ticket – but said that it would take three weeks for the money to arrive,” Mr Renders said. “They don't care about the bad publicity; they know they are a cheap airline and that people will use them again just because they are cheap. But not me: my wife and I will never fly Ryanair again.”
Good News for Nepali Women
In some parts of Nepal, particularly the western parts of the country, there is a tradition of keeping women in cow sheds during their menstrual cycle. Nepal's Supreme Court has ordered the government to declare the practice as evil and have given one month to stop the practice. Women's rights activists have said that this is a positive move but a change in the law alone is not enough, that people need to be educated against such a scourge of society.
London Palaces: Clarence House
Clarence House stands next to St James's Palace and was built between 1825 and 1827 to the designs of John Nash for Prince William Henry, Duke of Clarence. He lived there as King William IV from 1830 until 1837. During the second world war, the War Organisation of the British Red Cross and Order of St. John of Jerusalem for the duration of the war. Two hundred staff of the Foreign Relations Department maintained contact from Clarence House with British prisoners-of-war abroad, and administered the Red Cross Postal Message Scheme. In 1949 Clarence House was returned to Royal use, when it became the London home of Princess Elizabeth, elder daughter of George VI, following her marriage to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten on 20 November 1947. The couple could not move in straight away since the building needed complete refurbishment. Wartime restrictions on building work made progress slow. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, as they were then known, moved to their new home in June 1949.
It was the London home of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from 1953 until 2002. A story goes that she once (probably often) rang down to the butlers after getting no response from her bell pull and said in a very camp way: “I don't know what you old queens are doing down there but this old queen up here is dying for a glass of gin.” For a time Princess Margaret lived there too. After the death of the Queen Mother, Clarence House became the official London residence of The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. It is open to the public during the summer months each year.
Countries with the Most Billionaires
Countries with the Most Billionaires
|
Countries with the Most Billionaires |
||
|
Rank |
Country |
Number of billionaires |
| 1 | United States | 269 |
| 2 | Japan | 29 |
| 3 | Germany | 28 |
| 4 | Italy | 17 |
| 5 | Canada | 16 |
| 6 | Switzerland | 15 |
| 7 | France | 15 |
| 8 | Hong Kong | 14 |
| 9 | Mexico | 13 |
| 10 | United Kingdom | 12 |
| 11 | Russia | 8 |
| 11 | Saudi Arabia | 8 |
Source: http://www.aneki.com/billionaires.html
HK Disney Row
The latest in a series of setbacks for the $1.8bn (£1bn) Hong Kong Disneyland occurred after Health Inspectors were called in after three cases of food poisoning. The two health officials were asked to take off their uniforms to avoid scaring clients. Hong Kong officials, angered that food inspectors were asked to remove their uniforms told Disney it is “not above the law”. Disney has apologised and has promised to comply with local laws.
An editorial in the Ming Pao Daily News says Hong Kong residents suspect Disney “wants to engineer special rights and turn the theme park into an independent kingdom that Hong Kong laws can't reach”.
The park faced criticism from animal welfare groups in July, after reports local officials had been called in to destroy at least 40 dogs roaming the site. A month earlier, it withdrew shark fin soup from planned banquet menus after campaigners condemned the dish, a local luxury, as cruel and ecologically destructive.
Strange Facts
Strange Facts
- Swedes and Norweigans rank top 5 for both providing aid and exporting weapons.
- On the probability of not reaching 40 graph, the top 34 countries are all African.
- Former enemies, the Americans and Russians now have a great deal in common – they both lead the world in locking people up .
- English speaking kids are the biggest novel readers but are the least enthusiastic comics readers.
- Japanese and South Korean kids are the best at science and maths.
- Three quarters of Japanese kids read comics.
- Around 1992, Saudi Arabia overtook the United States as the world's largest oil producer.
- Danish workers strike 150 times more than their German neighbours.
- Many Americans live alone – America leads the world in one person households.
- Libya is the only country with a single-coloured flag.
Source:
Swaziland Tassel Burning Ceremony
Since 2001, in Swaziland, teenage girls have had to wear large woollen tassels as a sign of their chastity. Now news comes that Swaziland's King Mswati III has ended a five-year sex ban he imposed on the kingdom's teenage girls a year early and there is to be a ceremony where all tassels are burned. The sex ban was allegedly imposed to fight the spread of HIV/Aids.
The king fined himself a cow for breaking the ban by marrying again – he married a 17-year-old girl as his ninth wife just two months after imposing the sex-ban in September 2001, sparking unprecedented protests by Swazi women outside the royal palace. Swaziland has one of the world's highest HIV infection rates, at about 40% of the population. Meanwhile, the health ministry has released new figures which show that 29% of Swazis aged 15-19 are HIV positive and for pregnant women, the figures were 42%.
British airline bmi plans to launch daily services to Mumbai. Bmi, which hopes to compete with larger rivals British Airways and Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic, starts the four-times-a-week service from London to Mumbai this Saturday.
Kenya Airways will start direct flights to Istanbul in June 2005, hoping to serve an increasing number of African traders visiting Turkey. The twice weekly flights to Istanbul will make Kenya Airways the only airline from sub-Saharan Africa to fly to Turkey, the airline said.
Mexico's government is privatising top carriers Mexicana and Aeromexico, and has recently handed out concessions to low-cost airlines. A Mexican billionaire called Carlos Slim and broadcaster Televisa are joining forces in a new low-cost airline to be called Vuela. Vuela already has a concession to operate and expects to begin flights in the first half of next year from the international airport in Toluca, west of Mexico City. Earlier in July 2005, Brazilian airline Gol said it planned to launch a low-cost carrier in Mexico. Another new airline, ABC Aerolineas, also plans to begin service in the low-cost market, which has quickly grown in the United States and Europe with mixed results.
Yes, it is possible to tour one of the most famous television centres in the world. The tour lasts up to 2 hours. You'll see into the studios, visit BBC News, play in the interactive studio and be shown around by well-informed, entertaining guides.
Please note that Television Centre is a working building so no two tours are ever the same.
Pre-booking is essential. Regular tours Monday to Saturday. They are open to anyone over 9 years old.
Prices – Adult £8.95 Concession £7.95
Students £6.50
Children (over 9 years) – £6.50
Family ticket (2 adults & 2 children or 1 adult & 3 children) £25.00
Group rates available
Prices valid until 31st March 2006
To book tickets:
Please call: 0870 603 0304
Outside the UK call: +44 28 9053 5904
Textphone for hearing-impaired callers: 0870 903 0304
If you have any special interests or requirements please state them at the time of booking.
The Inka Porter Project has issued a new set of environmental guidelines for trekkers on the Inca Trail in Peru and other Andean hiking circuits. Visit their website at www.peruweb.org/porters for the full guidelines, which give advice on dealing with rubbish, washing with biodegradable soap, using refillable water bottles, toilet etiquette while trekking, and how best to respect flora and fauna.
Reunion Kingston London Sunday 11th Sept 2005 for any member of Globetrotters who travelled overland to India or on the rail tours organised by Butterfields. Please e-mail butterfieldashley@yahoo.co.uk
In a speech accusing the South African government of failing to make crime a priority issue, a South African politician claims that the murder rate in South Africa is roughly the same as the death rate from terror attacks on civilians in Iraq. “The murder rate in South Africa, at about 43 murders per 100 000 people, is roughly the same as the death rate from terror attacks on civilians in Iraq” were the figures quoted. “So, despite the government's claims that crime is 'stabilising', South Africans are still living in what amounts to a state of civil war between criminals and law-abiding residents.
According to the South African Law Commission, only 6% of violent crimes reported to police result in a conviction, and 75% do not even make it to court. South Africa's overcrowded prisons were described as “universities of crime”. and said they are not rehabilitating criminals. An alarming recent trend is the rise in crime involving youths. “Forty-four percent of the children under 14 who were taken to Durban mortuaries in 2004 had been shot dead, for example.” Young people are also, increasingly, the perpetrators of crime. “The number of children convicted of violent crime jumped by 5% from 2003 to 2004, according to the National Institution for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders.
Spotted by Webmaster Paul, here's a satellite photo from Google of the Lake District.
French President Jacques Chirac has again urged world leaders to impose a levy on airline tickets to finance extra aid for Africa. If accepted, the tax would be imposed on tickets of planes leaving from airports in participating countries.
Chirac, who told the World Economic Forum in January that a tax of USD$1 per airline ticket could raise USD$10 billion a year to fund campaigns against diseases in Africa, pressed his case in a letter he wrote to more than 140 world leaders.
“I offer you to associate yourselves with the establishment of an international solidarity contribution on plane tickets, aimed, particularly, at financing the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria”.
The Group of Eight industrialized nations have decided to consider imposing a levy on airline tickets to finance extra aid for Africa, a proposal which has run into opposition in Europe and the United States.
Chirac's idea has received support from Germany, but even though talks so far have centered on a voluntary tax, some other European governments, including tourist destinations Greece and Italy, have given the idea an icy reception.
Every September the annual Open House London event takes place and this year the dates are 17th & 18th September 2005. Over 600 buildings are opening their doors to everyone and turning the capital into a living architectural exhibition. And it's absolutely free!
Two former America West pilots have been convicted of operating a packed passenger plane while drunk and sent to prison on Thursday by a Florida judge, who called their crime “outrageous and horrendous.”
Judge David Young sentenced Thomas Cloyd, 47, to five years behind bars — the maximum term — and Christopher Hughes, 44, to 2-1/2 years in prison for trying to fly from Miami Airport on July 1, 2002, after a night of beer drinking.
The pilots' Airbus A319 aircraft was being towed to the runway for takeoff to Phoenix with 124 passengers and three flight attendants aboard when it was ordered back to the terminal. A security screener had reported that the pilots smelled of alcohol. They had spent the evening before playing pool and drinking at a Miami area bar. They left the bar around 5 a.m. after running up a tab for 14 jumbo glasses of beer — the equivalent of nearly 22 pints (10.5 litres) — and showed up late for the 10:30 a.m. flight. FAA rules bar pilots from consuming alcohol for eight hours before a flight.
Unusually high concentrations of jellyfish have appeared along Spain's Mediterranean coast this summer. The Red Cross said its lifeguards had treated almost 11,000 people for stings on beaches so far this season in the north eastern region of Catalonia alone, twice the number from the same period last year, when the jellyfish count had already begun to rise. Factors like drought, heat and over fishing contribute to a rising jellyfish count, according to the international environmental group Oceana.
France: water-rationing is in place across more than half of France, with the west particularly affected by drought. A plague of locusts in the south of France, around Aveyron, has been put down to the continuing dry, hot weather.
Spain: is suffering its worst drought since records began in 1947, with the east particularly badly hit. Temperatures have risen to 40C (104F) in parts of Andalusia, in the south. Water is also being rationed across half the country, including in major tourist centres.
Portugal: Portugal faces its worst dry spell since the 1940s. Some 97% of the country is suffering a severe or extreme drought, ministers say. Shortages are particularly acute in the Algarve region, where the population more than doubles during the peak tourist season.
Italy: the temperature has topped 35C (95F) in cities including Milan, Florence and Turin. Several people have died in northern Italy as a result of the intense heat.
According to the Nepal Tourism Bureau, in the first four months of this year, covering the peak spring tourist season, Nepal logged roughly 72,000 tourists, a reduction of 34 percent from the same period last year. The Tourism Board has also tried to lure back trekkers, slashing fees by half – to about $5,000 for a team of seven – for some prime peaks, including Kanchenjunga, which at 8,600 meters, or 28,200 feet, is the world's third-highest mountain. Government tourism officials have said that Nepal, after King Gyanendra's emergency proclamation, is safer than ever before.
The Maoist insurgents, who have been fighting the government since 1996, officially welcome foreign tourists. Well, they would – a significant part of their income is derived from charges or tolls extracted from individual tourists, lodges and other tourism-related industries.
Many foreigners have stayed away from Nepal. Peace Corps activities were suspended in September because the U.S. government lists the Maoist rebel group as a terrorist organization so American citizens are forbidden to contribute funds, goods or services to or for the benefit of the Maoists, according to the State Department.
Huge parts of the countryside are effectively no man's land, where the rebels or government troops may be found. On the Annapurna trail, there are plenty of rebels who try to collect their taxes from tourists and it is considered dangerous to refuse the demands of the guerrillas. The Mount Everest trail from Lukla onward remains untouched by fighting, according to trekking groups that organize tours to Everest.
Sometimes a tourist hotel is bombed, but it is said that this some of these attacks are staged because the hotel owner's payments to the guerrillas have been regarded as unsatisfactory. The latest incident came on May 20, when a hotel in Pokhara, in the foothills of the Himalayas and a stop on the Annapurna trail, was attacked with a homemade bomb, injuring two waiters.
Educational travel conference at York St John College in York, UK on Saturday 15th October 2005 from 9.30 am to 5.00 pm. Tickets cost £15 (£10 for students) including lunch and refreshments.
A practical day of advice and guidance to help prepare and support young travellers on their gap year travels.
Young travellers, educators and parents are
encouraged to attend this one day Educational Travel Conference
& Exhibition which will provide information & options on
how to get the maximum out of travel experiences whilst keeping
safe.
Full programme of experts including former BBC war correspondent and independent MP, Martin Bell and Deidre Bounds, founder of Leeds-based i-to-i the UK's largest company specialising in volunteer travel.
For further information, see:
www.carolinesrainbowfoundation.org
When the first modern humans evolved in Africa, they lived mainly on meat hunted from animals. Scientists had always thought the exodus from Africa around 70,000 years ago took place along a northern route into Europe and Asia. Now, according to a new genetic study, it seems that early modern humans followed the beach, possibly lured by a seafood diet. The study believes that humans quickly reached Australia but took much longer to settle in Europe. Dr Martin Richards of the University of Leeds, who took part in the study, says the first humans may have moved south in search of better fishing grounds when stocks in the Red Sea dwindled due to climate change. The new research suggests they moved along the coasts of the Arabian peninsula into India, Indonesia and Australia about 65,000 years ago. An offshoot later led to the settlement of the Middle East and Asia about 30 to 40,000 years ago.
Need to convert currency?
Take a look at The Globetrotters Currency Converter – get the exchange rates for 164 currencies The Globetrotters Currency Cheat Sheet – create and print a currency converter table for your next trip.
Potential good news for those wishing to travel to Spain. According to newspaper ABC, Spain's flag-carrier Iberia will launch a low-cost airline at the beginning of next year. The new airline may be called “Mediterranea” and will have its hub in the Mediterranean city of Barcelona, the paper said. An Iberia spokeswoman said it was still considering the option of a no-frills sibling, but nothing had been decided yet. “We still don't know whether we're going to do it or not,” the spokeswoman said. “It's something that will be covered in the strategic plan we'll unveil in September.”
Hiking in Sydney, Australia, by Susan Velasquez
Might you be the type that goes somewhere new and ends up only seeing the designated and well known tourist sites? There is, of course, nothing wrong with that , as it is actually a pretty good way to get acquainted with a place. But it’s also nice to experience the natural perspective; to get to know the origins of a place and see how it was, even before development. Sydney, the largest city in the Southern Hemisphere, is a superb place to do this, and all by using public transport to boot. Sydney is surrounded by incredible and historic National Parks, and wonderful walking trails right around the gorgeous harbour. You can spend 2 weeks hiking around Sydney and surrounds and not need a car to get to any of them.
Start in Sydney’s south at the Royal National
Park, the 2nd oldest national park in the world, after Yellowstone. On
Sunday’s you can take the train to Loftus station and then get a tram
right into the park. It’s a short walk from the tram to the visitor’s
centre, where maps and information about trails are provided.
There are 3-4 wonderful trails that lead right out from the visitor’s centre and take you along differing and beautiful vistas. Some of the views are breathtaking and at the same time let you imagine a Sydney before high-rises and a sprawling suburbia.
Some trails are challenging, but there is something for everyone and
you can spot many native animals in their natural habitat (just steps
from the visitor’s centre we spotted a Lyre bird, several rainbow
lorikeets and rosellas, white cockatoos as well as the more rare black
variety). It is quite calming listening to all the sounds of the bush
and to know that in one hour you can be back in the city centre and be
shopping in some of the best stores and eating in the best restaurants.
Available too are hire boats to row on the lake, picnic areas and a
place to buy a meat pie, should all that walking make you hungry for
some good Aussie tucker.
You can also get a train north of the city to Mt. Kuringah Chase National Park and walk to the trail from the local train station (we also saw several birds there and a very tame Kookaburra that came right up to us). Although rare, you should always be wary of snakes and spiders, but all the trails are well defined and often used.
It’s also good to know the Harbour foreshore and most beaches now have
wonderful walking trails as well. You can walk from Darling Harbour,
around The Rocks and Circular Quay and around to Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair
and Darlinghurst along one trail and take the ferry to Taronga Zoo on
the other side and walk still another trail there.
Or you can catch the ferry to Manly and get information at their visitor’s centre about several hikes in that area, including one to North Head.
The beaches on the south side of the city also have long walks that can take you past several other beaches. There is a famous one that starts at Bondi beach (accessible by bus and train) and goes south past several famous beaches with spectacular views. It even passes a famous and surprisingly impressive cemetery on the cliffs.
A train to Kogarah, a bus to Sans Souci and a walk along the coast of Botany Bay for several miles will take you to Rockdale and beyond.
Another can’t miss beach is Cronulla in the city’s south. It isn’t as well known as Bondi or Manly but many like it better and say it’s more beautiful. Take the train right there and walk south past more gorgeous beaches like Shelly Beach. From Cronulla, catch a ferry to Bundeena. There are several miles of trails there that go past breathtaking beaches, through incredible bush land, along awesome cliffs and even past Aboriginal rock carvings. You get the point. Along most of these walks you experience the incredible natural beauty of Sydney, see beautiful and unique wildlife, experience Australia’s rich history and get an amazing workout, all for the price of a bus, train or ferry ticket.
If you are willing to venture 2-3 hours out of the city you can visit the Blue Mountains National Park. There you take a train and then a local bus drops you off at the trail heads. You can spend all day walking the different trails here, taking in the truly delicious views, including the famous three sisters rock formation. Consider staying in Katoomba overnight and exploring more of the park the next day.
Everything is very easy to get to and there is ample information at visitor’s centres, tourist information centres or even the airport or hotels. Of course the Internet is a good way to print out trail and park maps or even bus and rail schedules.
So you can’t limit yourself in Sydney even if you wanted to. Sydney’s natural wonders are just as rewarding, enjoyable and accessible as are its traditional attractions. Happy hiking.
Direct Flights to Cuba
Virgin Atlantic Airways have started direct flights from the UK to Cuba that are expected to boost growing British tourism to the communist-run Caribbean island. “This is good for Cuba, because British tourism has become our second most-important market after Canada,” said Cuban Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero, at the airport to meet Branson on the inaugural flight. Tourism generates 40 percent of Cuba’s foreign currency earnings. Cuba hosted a record 2 million tourists last year.
Virgin Atlantic’s rival British Airways stopped flying to Havana three years ago. The number of British tourists visiting Cuba rose 35 percent in the first quarter of 2005, to 43,900 arrivals. British visitors have outnumbered Italian, French and German tourists this year, Cuban officials said.
Branson said Virgin Atlantic expects to carry 42,000 passengers to Cuba in the first year, flying a Boeing 747-400 twice a week from London’s Gatwick Airport to Havana. The airline could be flying 150,000 to 200,000 people a year to Cuba within three to four years, he estimated.
So You Think You're Well Travelled?
Here’s a little Beetle quiz based on currencies. See how many you get right! Go on, have a guess!
Where would you find the following currencies?
- Lek
- Loti
- Pula
- Ruble
- Cedi
For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.
Independent travel in Europe – Seven Secrets for Success by Karen Bryan
Independent travel in Europe – Seven Secrets for Success by Karen Bryan
One: Do not try to see and do too much.
You may end up actually seeing very little. I think it is better to see more of fewer countries/regions and see them properly. You may not want to stay in one location for your whole trip. However if you choose carefully it may be possible to do several day trips from one central location. If you do decide to tour, consider spending at least two nights in some of your destinations. It can be quite tiring being on the move every day, packing and unpacking.
Two: Decide on mode of transport.
Driving will give you more flexibility but can be daunting at times and is not recommended if you mainly wish to visit cities. You may decide to take your own car if you live in Europe. If you fly you can hire a car. Beware of extra charges for additional drivers, insurance excesses, airport charges, out of hours charges etc. I always book a hire car through a UK company, with no excess.
If you use a budget airline try to only book direct flights. If you book a two leg journey, the budget airlines will not assist you, as they only operate a point to point service. Public transport is pretty good in most of Europe. There are also several budget airlines you can use between countries e.g. Ryanair and Easyjet.
Three: Be aware of security of possessions.
Use a money belt, hotel safe etc. Do not have all your money/cards in one purse or wallet. If you lose it you are in trouble. This happened to me when I was in Milan: I was travelling alone and was left penniless. My credit card company did transfer funds to me but it took 24 hours! I had to borrow 10 euros from the hotel receptionist. Make sure you have travel insurance and if there is an incident get a written report from the local police station, to enable you to make a claim. Four: Try to learn at least a few words of the language.
This will be greatly appreciated. My French is what you might describe as school girl (that was 25 years ago) but I do try when in France. Often I receive the reply in English but at least I tried. I always apologise if I cannot speak the language. I don’t assume that the person I am talking to should speak English, I ask in their language if they speak English. As I do have a Scottish accent, I try to speak more slowly and clearly than usual, certainly not raising my voice.
Five: Don’t be too structured.
You should allow some time just to wander around, enjoy a leisurely lunch. You do have to plan an itinerary, or you can just waste a lot of time, but it doesn’t have to be written in stone! Allow yourself the opportunity to be spontaneous.
Six: Don’t just stick to tourist traps.
Try to visit some authentic local restaurants, markets, villages, etc. where you will meet local people, rather than just other tourists. Surely part of the reason for going abroad it to experience at least a little of the local flavour, not just spend all your time with other tourists.
Seven: Book your accommodation in advance.
This may mean that you miss out on a charming establishment you come across in your travels, (you could always stay there on your other trip). However it will mean that you don’t waste precious time going from hotel to hotel trying to find a room, having to arrive early enough at your next destination to look for accommodation. I am not even convinced that you save money by last minute searches.
Karen Bryan is an independent travel consultant and writer, specialising in less well known destinations in Europe. Her websites are: www.europealacarte.co.uk, www.europe-culture-activity-tours.com/
US Airport Screening
A US official has said that International travellers should get used to having their fingerprints taken or their irises scanned because traditional airport security tests are outdated and open to abuse.
“As a general principle, certainly in the area of international travel, biometrics is the way forward in virtually every respect,” said Michael Chertoff, US Homeland Security Secretary.
“When we screen based on names, we’re screening on the most primitive and least technological basis of identification — it’s the most susceptible to misspelling, or people changing their identity, or fraud. Biometrics is the way ahead.”
Mr Chertoff visited the Netherlands, which will pilot a scheme later this year to allow passengers flying between New York’s Kennedy airport and Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport to pass through border controls using a biometric card. If they produce the card, travellers will not be subjected to further questioning or screening.
The scheme is the first of its kind to be launched between the United States and a European country and, if it works, could be adopted elsewhere.
The United States hopes the use of biometric testing will help prevent potential terrorists entering the country and cut down confusion about who is allowed in and who is not.
The UK is one of 27 countries whose citizens do not need a visa to enter the United States if they intend to stay less than 90 days. Washington wants all 27 to issue new passports by October 26 this year containing a computer chip and a digital photograph of the holder.