International Travel News articles from August 2002

International Travel News archives from August 2002

Boarding pass.(Editorial)
August 1, 2002... Dear Globetrotter: "Some months ago I saw where you were thanking someone who had given their local public library a gift subscription to ITN," writes Don Calhoun of Moses Lake, WA. "I thought, 'Great idea,' except I didn't follow through....

Report cards: on-the-spot reports from around the globe.
August 1, 2002... The following is a sampling of reports received from ITN readers around the. globe. ITN invites you to join our corps of reporters -- just drop a card in the mail while your travel impressions are fresh in your mind. To obtain your ITN Report...

Central Europe independently -- by air, water, rail and auto.
August 1, 2002... It had been more than 10 years since the reunification of the east and west of Europe and we thought it would be a good time to visit some "Eastern Bloc" countries to see what had transpired during that period. In late August 2001, my wife and...

Travelers' intercom: readers' opinions, tips & recommendations.
August 1, 2002... Fined for snacks When they found these items, we were humiliated as if we were criminals. I told them to keep the snacks. In the end, everything was put back in our bags except the beef jerky. We were fined US$110 and warned, "Let this be...

Funniest thing.
August 1, 2002... Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. There are no restrictions on length. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the U.S., Canada or Mexico.) The ITN staff will choose. each month's...

Peru demonstrations. (News Watch).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... On June 13, demonstrations broke out in Arequipa, Peru's second-largest city, in protest of the planned privatization of two state-owned electric utilities. These demonstrations became violent on June 15. Many were injured and there was at...

Risks remain in Bosnia-Herzegovina. (News Watch).
August 1, 2002... While the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina has largely stabilized since the Dayton Peace Accords halted the war there in 1995, risks remain. There were outbreaks of mob violence in reaction to a financial crisis in Bosnia in 2001....

Entering Venezuela. (News Watch).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Venezuelan immigration officers have recently begun requiring citizens of the United States and certain other countries to have at least six months validity remaining on their passports to enter Venezuela. While this law has not been uniformly...

Current warnings. (News Watch).(United States Department of State)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... As ITN went to press, the State Department had travel warnings on 27 destinations: India, Pakistan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia (Former. Yugoslav Republic of), Liberia, Lebanon, Madagascar, Israel/the West Bank and Gaza, Yemen, Afghanistan,...

2 for 1 on SWISS. (Travel Briefs).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Purchase an economy-class ticket on SWISS Air Lines from any U.S. gateway 'to any SWISS destination worldwide using your MasterCard and bring a companion along for free! You must purchase your tickets and commence travel by Dec. 31, 2002. ...

LanChile Internet check-in. (Travel Briefs).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... LanChile, through its subsidiary LanExpress, has launched an innovative check-in system via the Internet. Once a ticket is purchased for LanChile or LanExpress flights within Chile, passengers simply connect to www.lanchile.com, enter their...

Lufthansa business-class-only service. (Travel Briefs).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... On June 17, Lufthansa inaugurated the world's first intercontinental business-class-only scheduled airline service, flying from Dusseldorf to New York/Newark (NJ). Instead of the usual Airbus A-340 or Boeing 767200, Lufthansa is leasing a...

Renaissance ceramics in Florence. (Travel Brief).(exhibit "Masterpieces of Renaissance Ceramics, Montelupo 'fabbrica' di Firenze 1400-1630")(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The exhibition "Masterpieces of Renaissance Ceramics, Montelupo 'fabbrica' di Firenze 1400-1630" will run until Oct. 27, 2002, in the exposition area of Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence, Italy. The exhibition is the result of 30 years...

Custom tailoring on HAL cruises. (Travel Brief).(Holland America Line)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Holland America Line guests soon will be able to select from hundreds of fine fabrics and be fitted for custom-tailored garments while enjoying a premium cruise. The service was available first on the line's flagship, ms Rotterdam, with the...

Churches of Romania. (Travel Brief).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... They may be Orthodox Christian, Roman Catholic or Greek Orthodox; however, throughout Romania, in virtually every city, town or village there is a church (often more than one) or a monastery. Among them, there are the 17th- and 18th-century...

Discovering the people, slights and culture of China plus a Yangtze River cruise.
August 1, 2002... Aboard the Victoria III, I was floating down a turquoise river so clear that I could see the rocks below; we passed lush, terraced hillsides and rock formations so unique they must have been dreamt up by Walt Disney himself. The weather was...

Spain and Morocco -- a wonderful celebration.
August 1, 2002... A trip of a lifetime to Morocco and Spain to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary got off to a bad start. My wife, Donna, and I were about to board a ship in Algeciras, Spain, bound for Morocco when I stepped into a mudhole and sank to my...

Accommodations worldwide.
August 1, 2002... Hotels * b&bs * homedays * apartments The following is a listing of some of the hotels, B&Bs, etc., in which ITN readers have stayed over the past year or so plus restaurants or sights nearby. Prices are those paid at the time of the visit...

Tours in review: candid appraisals of group tours.
August 1, 2002... The following are candid appraisals of some of the tours ITN readers have taken in the last year or so. Where possible, for comparison's sake, different readers' appraisals of a particular tour company are presented in tandem. When writing...

Canal transit a highlight of a Caribbean cruise.(Column)
August 1, 2002... Readers know, because of my "All Aboard!" column, that I enjoy independent travel on the trains of Europe. But when I received an invitation to cruise the Caribbean from Aruba to Panama City aboard the Radisson Diamond cruise ship while...

Tours: a selection of escorted tours.
August 1, 2002... "BEST' OF POLAND" -7-day tour. Through Oct. 14, '02. Highlights: In Warsaw Old Town Square, Jewish Ghetto Memorial, Royal Castle/the Black Madonna of the Jasna Gora monastery/the alpine resort of Zakopane in the Tatra...

Cruise cavalcade: upcoming ocean, sea, river or canal cruises.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Rhine and Moselle one-day passes KD River Cruises of Europe is offering one-day cruise passes for travel on the Rhine and Moselle rivers at a price of $25. KD's excursion ships sail in both directions between Koln (Cologne) and Koblenz and...

Reviewers' corner: the latest travel-book reviews.(Monuments of Central Asia; The New Zealand Bed & Breakfast Book; Celtic Britain; Mysterious Britain; Traveling Light: New Paths for International Tourism)
August 1, 2002... Here are a couple of the latest travel-book reviews written by ITN readers. "Monuments of Central Asia" by Edgar Knoblock (2001, I.B. Tauris & Co., Ltd., 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010:; visit www.Ibtauris.com. ISBN 1860645909 -- 246...

Tips for the solo -- traveler.(Brief Article)(Column)
August 1, 2002... QUESTION: I was planning a trip to Israel this fall, but my children convinced me to postpone the trip because of all of the violence. My daughter actually said she was told that our government was warning people not to visit Israel because of...

Croatia: a jewel of natural beauty. (The Discerning Traveler).(Plitvice National Park)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Last month I described our visit to Krka National Park in Croatia; This month. I will continue to relate our travels in this delightful country. (Third of three parts) Plitvice National Park Another paradise of waterfalls, lying...

'Volunteer vacations guide'. (Discerning Traveler).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The "Volunteer Vacations Guide" by Nicki and Harold Chodnoff includes nearly 140 organizations worldwide looking for domestic and international volunteers. The guide lays out the ins and outs of volunteering, noting projects, length of...

Around the Caribbean.(Hilton Tobago opened new PGA championship-designed Plantations Golf and Country Club)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Golf Tobago Hilton Tobago has opened the new PGA championship-designed Plantations Golf & Country Club. On the windward side of the island's southwestern coast, the 7,000-yard, par-72 course features 18 holes in a tropical setting...

Golf and whisky tasting in Scotland. (Brit Bits).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Dewar's World of Whisky and the Taymouth Castle Golf Course in Kenmore, Scotland; are offering a golf and-whisky day package. Private parties booking their tee times at the 18-hole, par-69 course (phone. 01887 830765) can, by quoting...

Historic Royal Palaces gifts. (Brit Bits).(registered charity brochure)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Historic Royal Palaces, a registered charity responsible for the care of The Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace, among other sites, offers the brochure "Gifts by Post." The brochure is full of gifts, including jewelry; enamel boxes,...

Tripping the light fantastic...through a century. (Britain).(Blackpool, England)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... In England, all roads lead to Blackpool. Drive the main roads, use BritRail or fly into nearby Manchester. It doesn't matter how you get there. just don't miss it! Seaside resort As Europe's biggest seaside resort, the 7-mile beach at...

Savvy seniors. (Rick Steves' Europe).(travel tips)
August 1, 2002... More people than ever are hocking their rockers and buying plane tickets. Many senior adventurers are proclaiming, "Age matters only if you're a cheese." Travel is their fountain of youth. I'm not a senior -- yet -- so I put an appeal on...

Guatemala -- much more than Mayan ruins. (Latin America).
August 1, 2002... One of Guatemala's top tourism centers, Chichicastenango is renowned for its crafts market which draws buyers and sellers from far and wide. "Chichi," as it was named by Mexican interpreters who accompanied Spaniards in their conquest of...

The Umayyad Great Mosque in Damascus. (Timeless Roads of the Mideast & Mediterranean).
August 1, 2002... Moreen and vividly remember our first visit to a mosque; it was the Ummayad Great Mosque in Damascus, Syria, in 1982. The Middle East was aflame. Our wonderful Syrian guide, Akram Siam, then educated two novices, who were traveling...

Tokyo museum.(Bridgestone Museum of Art closed for repairs)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The Bridgestone Museum of Art in Tokyo, Japan, has closed its doors until Jan. 4, 2003, for extensive structural upgrades. The museum features Impressionist and modern European art; Japanese Western-style paintings, and ancient art. For more...

Traveling without reservations. (Far Horizons).(trusting yourself and others with traveling)(Column)
August 1, 2002... Sometimes writing is a lot more fun than at other times. Even the above title of this column is fun, since it can be read, and interpreted in more than one way. It's always something of an effort for me to write about places I've been because...

Darkest Africa. (Kilroy was Here!).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Veteran travelers who have been "just about everywhere" rate African safaris among the most memorable trips they've taken. A friend just back from the Masai Mara said, "We lived in tents. But very good tents. With showers and bathrooms. And in...

Former astronaut on Australia eclipse tour. (Travel Briefs).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Former U.S. astronaut Dr. Samuel Durrance will accompany 'Space Adventures' December 2002 "Australian Outback Eclipse Expedition" as a specialist. Dr. Durrance flew on two Space Shuttle missions and is currently Executive Director of the...

Help study giant otters in Guyana. (Travel Briefs).(Oceanic Society Expeditions)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The nonprofit Oceanic Society invites conservation-minded travelers to participate in a long-term monitoring program to help protect the endangered giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) in southwestern Guyana. The Otters have a total population...

CenterParcs 'holiday villages' in No. Europe. (Travel Briefs).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... CenterParcs is a chain of 13 "holiday villages" in Northern Europe targeted primarily at families. Each CenterParc location has a large recreational setting, always inland, with combinations of woodland and water. Each holiday village has about...

CenterParcs in France. (Travel Briefs).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Europe Express has unique family vacations at two French CenterParcs: Les Bois-Francs and Les Hauts de Bruyeres. At Les-Bois Francs, highlights include horseback riding school, Aqua Mundo (water park), golf, bowling and Aqua Sauna. Nearby...

'A taste of Sweden'. (Travel Briefs).(A Taste of Sweden brochure)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... The 18-page brochure "A Taste of Sweden" is loaded with all the information a visitor could need, covering currency, rail travel, hotels, camping, discount cards, tipping, public holidays and much more. A list of North American companies...

Berlin's cold war bunkers, tunnels. (Travel Briefs).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2002... Visitors to Berlin can join a special tour, "Bunkers, Tunnels and Cold War," which takes them into the cramped and cold spaces of two bunkers and the Cold War civil defense facility at the Gesundbrunnen Underground Station, a bunker that is...

Person to person: reader-to-reader info exchange.
August 1, 2002... Planning a trip overseas and need specific info? Let your fellow ITN readers provide the answers. Send your question to Person to Person, c/o ITN, 2120 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818. Please indicate if you do NOT want your complete address...