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Kevin from the UK wrote in to say: “I think it depends also on whether you need a visa to actually set foot in a country e.g. when I came back through Saudi last Xmas, there were lots of people in transit from India, but you cannot get out of Jeddah airport without a Saudi visa. Whereas Changi airport in Singapore actually gives you a free city tour if time allows between connecting flights. So you will in my book have visited Singapore, even if it is only for 4 hours”.
Any more comments, anyone? E-mail to the Beetle
Win a Frommer’s guidebook on Seattle 2003. See www.frommers.com for info on Frommer’s guidebooks.
Some people have said the quiz is difficult, we say do some research; try google.com or Ask Jeeves, if you need help with the answers.
The winner of last month’s Moon guide is Andrew Hindley.
Some thoughts by Padmassana, likening travel to yoga – or the other way round!
He says: “When you travel you are thinking about what you are seeing, where you are going to stay, how you are going to get there, the people you are with. You are absorbed in where you are at that moment in time, not thinking about the past or far into the future. In yoga you are thinking about the practice, the breath, the foot positions and the bandhas. As with travelling, you have so much to think about, you are absorbed in that moment.
In both yoga and travel, you are enjoying being where you are at that time and the clarity of mind and general happiness; you leave behind all the daily worries. I think that yoga has become a substitute for travel for me, for the 48 weeks a year when I am at home”.
You can contact Padmassana by sending an email to padmassana@globetrotters.co.uk
The tourism industry has been heavily hit by the current conflict in Iraq. Holidaymakers are avoiding Turkey and Cyprus and indeed, the most of the Mediterranean. Muslim countries, such as Egypt and Turkey, or those that have suffered recent terrorist attacks, such as Kenya, are the worst affected.
Destinations as far away from the war zone as Spain are also suffering. It looks like family bookings are the hardest hit, with six out of ten who went abroad last summer not yet having booked for this year.
People who are travelling appear to be shortening their holidays. The number of fortnight breaks booked in the UK for this year has fallen by half while the number of one week stays is down by only 20 per cent. Travel Trade Gazette deputy editor Ian Taylor said: ‘It is clear Easter is likely to be poor by industry standards and family bookings probably won’t come back in large numbers until a ceasefire.
You can contact Padmassana at padmassana@globetrotters.co.uk
For the first time this spring, visitors will be able to walk the full length of what was the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire. Opening May 23, the 81-mile Hadrian’s Wall Path – one of 13 long-distance National Trails – is a signposted route from Wallsend (Newcastle upon Tyne) in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west, via the city of Carlisle.
Though ideal for a week-long walking holiday, 40 short walks have also been created for those with less time or energy.
Farmhouse and bed-and-breakfast accommodation is available near the trail. Tel: 01434 602 505 for more info or take a look at: http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/hadrians-wall-path
Source: britainexpress.com
Ever been to Mexico and Guatemala and looked at the wonderful remains of the Mayan culture? Climbed the pyramids and wondered what went wrong? New research indicates that climate change was largely to blame for the collapse of the Mayan Civilisation over 1,000 years ago.
At the height of the Mayan era, around the middle of the 8th Century, there were up to 13 million people, but within 200 years, it was all over, cities ruined and people gone.
Archaeologists have shown that the Mayans built sophisticated systems of canals and reservoirs to collect rainwater for drinking in the hot, dry summers. Now scientists are able to prove that in the 9th and 10th Centuries, probably just before the Mayan civilisation collapsed, there was a long period of dry weather and three intense droughts caused by climate change and this contributed to the fall of the Mayans.
Some 21 million Britons take a package holiday every year, with three-quarters travelling with the “big four” – Thomson (TUI), MyTravel, Thomas Cook (JMC) and First Choice.
The Consumers’ Association surveyed 30,000 of its members and asked them to rank UK tour operators for value for money and quality of service. Most customers of the “big four” tour operators said that they would not recommend the holiday to a friend, when asked by the Consumers’ Association.
Customers of smaller independent travel firms seem to enjoy their holidays the most. More than eight out of 10 customers of travel company Laskarina said that they would recommend their holiday to a friend, for example.
At the other end of the scale, Thomas Cook (JMC), the UK’s oldest travel operator, came last in the Consumers’ Association survey for the second year running.
Only one in five Thomas Cook (JMC) customers said that they would recommend their holiday to a friend.
TUI, which owns the Thomson brand, did the best of the big four – 47% of its customers were satisfied.
However, the average for all independent travel companies surveyed was 66%. “When it comes to quality of service, the smaller independent holiday companies are topping the ratings,” Which? editor Helen Parker said.
Source: bbcnews.co.uk
A major exhibition about the ill-fated transatlantic liner ‘Titanic’ will be on view at London’s Science Museum from May 16 to September.
“Titanic: the Artefact Exhibition” will take visitors on a chronological journey, from the design and construction of the vessel to its maiden voyage in 1912; and from its sinking after collision with an iceberg to the scientific recovery efforts made by RMS Titanic Inc. in the 1990s. These expeditions recovered 6,000 artefacts from the wreck, and hundreds of them – including jewellery, crockery, clothing and personal belongings – will be in the exhibition.
Visitors will be given the name of a passenger, and explore what it was like to be a first- or third-class passenger – and then discover if they were among the 1,523 who died, or the 705 who survived. Full-size recreations of some of Titanic’s interior spaces, including a first-class cabin, also feature. The tragic story comes alive in the iceberg room, where visitors will learn what it was like to be in the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. Admission prices have yet to be announced – entry to the rest of the Science Museum is free. Tel: 020 7938 8000. Website: The Science Museum
Source: Britain Express