Compression bags are amazing things. They can compress bulky items such as sleeping bags and fleeces into small and manageable packages. So take that fleece with you for cooler evenings but compress it!
Got any travel tips for the Beetle? Then e-mail them to: the Beetle!
The pass is available to Brazilians and non Brazilians living outside Brazil when you buy an international ticket. It costs the same amount no matter what time of year you travel. It is valid for 21 days starting on the day of the first flight and can be used for flights in up to 9 cities throughout Brazil. Packages vary from US $530 to US $930.
Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website:Mutual Aid
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
Review of Lonely Planet book:
Buddhist Stupas in Asia – the shape of perfection by Padmassana
This hardback pictorial book explains the origins of Stupas, the living embodiment of Buddhist teachings.
Its 170 pages contain beautiful colour photographs of the many types of Stupa found in Asia. From the bell shaped ones in India and Sri Lanka, to the Chortens of Nepal and Tibet to the Pagoda styles of China and Japan.
At £24.99 ( $34.99) it is not cheap, but to anyone with an interest in these wonderful structures it is a must have on the bookshelf.
Madagascar travel advice by the FCO: we advise against all holiday and other non-essential travel to Madagascar for the time being. The demonstrations and strike, which followed the presidential elections on 16 December 2001, have stopped.
However, there are still outbreaks of violence around the country. Martial law was declared in Antananarivo on 28 February, and a curfew was imposed from 2100-0500.
Curfews have also been imposed in other cities around the country. Barricades are still in place at points around the capital and those situated on the main roads linking Antananarivo to the provinces have been strengthened. This has made road travel around the country dangerous and difficult.
Air Madagascar is not offering flights to Europe and Asia at the moment. Air France is providing one flight per week. Flights to and from South Africa are severely disrupted. Flights around the country are also subject to disruption. There is no aviation fuel for commercial use at Ivato, the main airport in the capital.
There have been cases of armed robbery in some National Parks. All independent travellers intending to visit National Parks should seek advice from a tour operator, or from the park administration.
There has been an increase in the number of travellers being pick-pocketed at the airport. Visitors should exercise caution on arrival and departure and should not leave bags unattended. Keep money and passports separate.
There is a danger of mugging in urban areas. Do not carry excessive money or wear prominent jewellery. Take sensible precautions in crowded areas such as markets. It is wise to avoid walking at night in city centres. Visitors are advised to carry a copy of their passport and to keep the original safe (e.g. a hotel deposit box).
Avoid travelling outside urban areas at night, if at all possible.
Visitors are advised not to wear military style clothing. It is disapproved of locally and could lead to detention.
Medical supplies are becoming increasingly scarce in Antananarivo and around the country. The shortage of medical supplies together with lack of fuel is limiting the medical evacuation services available.
If you were in London on March 12th, you may have joined the Tibet Vigil for prayers and speeches from 5pm to 7pm opposite the Chinese Embassy in Portland Place.
This special vigil was in memory of 3,000 women who met in Lhasa in 1959 and the many thousands of women including nuns who are still suffering or in prison for declaring that Tibet should be free and refusing to denounce the Dalai Lama.
There are regular weekly meetings in London to protest on behalf of Tibetans. For details, call +44 (0) 208 771 1822 ore-mail or see the web site:www.tibet-vigil.org.uk
Have you got £15 million to spare? There have been two space tourists so far: 61-year-old American businessman Dennis Tito paid to go into space on a Russian space vessel. Mark Shuttleworth the South African business tycoon has just finished his week's training and is set to become the world's second paying space traveller when he visits the International Space Station aboard a Russian ship in April.
Up until now, NASA has opposed private individuals paying to go into space. Until now, that is. NASA has now published a set of rules which all potential space travellers must meet before being allowed into a spacecraft.
NASA's chief astronaut, Charles Precourt, who helped draw up the rules, said: 'We don't want to embarrass our space partners by having [a tourist] who would be so controversial that it would be an insult to the other partners to fly them because of some behavioural background that was considered distasteful.”
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
The United Nations last week identified Chernobyl as being an eco-tourism venue of the future. Wildlife has started to come back to the area after the terrible radioactive contamination. Moose, red deer, beavers and lynx have all been spotted in the woods along with flowers and birds. Would you go?