Qantas began flying to Rome in 1948 but is suspending
services because of SARS and the threat of terrorism.
Low cost UK based carrier bmibaby is to start
services from Manchester to both Prague and Barcelona. Fares start from
£32.49 one way
US regional carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines,
which operates as both United Express and Delta Connection, has bought
150 defibrillators to deal with in-flight emergencies when passengers
or crew suffer suspected heart for 148 of its aircraft.
The WHO has lifted travel bans to both Canada and Taiwan
due to SARS. The travel ban on Kenya has also been lifted, Mombassa remains
restricted to UK carriers until security at the coastal airport is increased
but transport officials are optimistic that flights will be resumed at
Kenya's busiest airport for tourists.
The Texas branch will celebrate their 2 year anniversary – 24 months
of meetings – in July! Their monthly meeting participation averages around
20. People come and go. Since their first meeting in 2001, close to 200
people have attended. Thanks to Christina for keeping the meetings on
track and Mary Jane for spreading the information about the meetings,
the Texas branch is a definite success.
The Texas Branch of the Globetrotters Club will meet July 12th 2003
at the New Braunfels Public Library – note back to old location.
Dan and Jensie will present the July program. The topic is China. As always,
there will be time for sharing and networking.
If you like independent, adventuresome, fun, daring, exciting, “off
the beaten path” travel, this club is for you. Our meeting begins
at 2 P.M. Come early so you won't be late! Enjoy handouts, travel
talk time, and door prizes!
Dates of future meetings: August 9th and September 13
For more information about the Texas Branch or if you would like to
help Christina, please contact texas@globetrotters.co.uk
or register for e-mail updates at our website (click
here) or call Christina at 830-620-5482.
U. S. Soldiers Home, Washington: during a century of travel (well
78 years!) both in and out of service I have travelled to over 150 countries
(I count both North and South Dakota as countries) and for some reason
have jotted signs and happenings that I thought funny at the time (and
now wonder why). So here is the perfect opportunity to share some of my
anecdotes.
In the Bangkok post office two Scandinavian girls came in with backpacks
the size of a Volvo Auto on their backs. They were wearing dresses and
proceeded to take them off in the middle of post office and stood there
in their panties while they looked in their backpacks for jeans and blouse.
Naturally, I volunteered my help. Patrons were dropping their mail at
the sight of this goings on. You don’t have to go to the strip shows.
You can just go to the Post Office.
Elephant School Chiang Mai, Thailand: Elephants go to school for seven
years and live to be around 80. An American military retired man living
in Chiang Mai, with his Thai wife told me that the elephant’s pregnancy
lasts 2 years and he compared it to a U.S. Senator’s two year term
of office. It is high level, there is lots of noise and it takes two years
to get any results. Someone has asked me what elephants learn in their
school. They learn potty training, basket weaving and how to pick up logs.
I was given some bananas to feed the elephants at the elephant training
school. I gave my elephant one and ate the rest myself. He has never forgotten
this. I rode this elephant for an hour over mountainous hills sometimes
so steep that I feared I might fall off and down he cliff with the elephant
on top of me. The ride costs 480 bahts ($16.00) I kind of got roped into
taking the elephant trip. A Thai girl told me that she and her husband
would get a free ride on the elephant if they got eleven other people
to sign up for the trip. They had just gotten married and the elephant
trip was their honeymoon. (Don’t ask!) Elephants don’t eat
after midday and monks don’t either. However, the elephant I was
on ate everything his trunk could pull up along the road and it was about
1230 noon. Monks smoke but do not touch alcohol. If I understand correctly,
Buddhism does not tell others how to live but it is within oneself to
better yourself, treat others how to live and don’t steal bananas
from elephants.
I met a British retired military that spends his time living in monastery
guest houses in Thailand. He gives them a donation of $80 a month, which
pleases them. He married a Japanese girl while in India (I don’t
know what she was doing there) but she got homesick so left Thailand to
return to Japan. He believes in reincarnation. He thinks it is the only
way to handle the thousands of people that have died before us. He unfortunately
had a stroke while revisiting England but returned here to spend out the
last days of his life. He reads a book a day he rents from library in
Chiang Mai, sees the sites and eats tomatoes.
A lady in a tailor shop (“our materials are the sheapest”)
in Banglampor (the budget hotel section) of Bangkok claimed she knew me
from when I was stationed there and said I should buy a suit from her
for old times sake and the wonderful times we had together. I was never
stationed in Thailand.
Next month, Mac discusses clothing.
If you would like to contact Mac, he can be e-mailed on: macsan400@yahoo.com
The Globetrotters Club has just teamed up with Oanda.com
to provide people with information about currency conversions and cheat
sheets. To translate currency or make a cheat sheet, visit:
If you enjoy writing, enjoy travelling, why not write for the free monthly
Globetrotters e-newsletter! The Beetle would love to hear from you: your
travel stories, anecdotes, jokes, questions, hints and tips, or your hometown
or somewhere of special interest to you. Over 7,500 people subscribe to
the Globetrotters e-news.
To see your story in cyber print, e-mail the Beetle with your travel
experiences, hints and tips or questions up to 750 words, together with
a couple of sentences about yourself and a contact e-mail address to Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk
Due to popular demand, we have included the answers to last month’s
Travel Quiz. We are inundated each month by people entering the quiz,
and receive many correct submission answers. Our webmaster collates all
of the correct answers into a draw, and the Beetle selects a number. We
notice that some people are sending multiple entries – if we notice
this happening, we will restrict their entry to one.
1. How many states are there in Australia? Answer: 6: New South Wales,
Queensland, Victoria, Southern Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.
2. In which valley in New South Wales can you visit famous vineyards?
Answer: The Hunter Valley.
3. Which gorge named after a woman’s name is found in the Top
End? Answer: the Katharine Gorge
4. The Great Barrier Reef stretches for more than 2,000 kms (1,240 miles)
along Queens land’s coast and ends at which place 384km (238 miles)
north of Brisbane? Answer: Bundaberg
5. By which alternative name is Ayers Rock also known? Answer: Uluru.
Can anyone give Sue some itinerary advice about 3 weeks
in Australia in July 2004 and also the Bungle Bungles? Please contact
her on : sue.learoyd@btinternet.com
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
Tokyo Haneda airport is the largest and the busiest airport in Japan
– over 300 flights take off and same number of flights land each
day and around half are Japanese domestic flights.
There are two railways connecting the airport terminal building (Haneda
Kuko station) and Tokyo city center. The Tokyo Monorail line from Hamamatsu-cho
on the JR Yamanote line is a circular line connecting to major places
in Tokyo. The monorail runs every 4 or 5 minutes and takes 24 minutes
journey from Hamamatsu-cho into the town centre, costing 470yen (US$4
or £3).
The other train is the Keihin Kyuko (Keikyu) line from Shinagawa also
on the Yamanote line. There is a direct service every 10 minutes, although
you must change train at Kamata station in the early mornings and late
at night. The journey takes between 30 and 35 minutes from Shinagawa,
and costs 400yen (US$3.50 or £2.50).
There is also a direct train to and from Narita every 80 minutes, taking
105 minutes journey. There is also a bus service between the terminal
building and major places and hotels in the Tokyo area.
According to figures from the UK’s Government’s
Office for National Statistics, Spain was the most popular destination
for residents of the UK in 2002.
British people made 12.6m visits to Spain, up 7% on
2001, compared with the 11.7m (down 2%) people who visited France –
in second place. Third most visited country by the British was the Republic
of Ireland with 4m UK visitors, followed by the US with 3.7m.
Receiving visitors, the UK received most visitors from
the US with 3.7m visits to the UK, followed by France with 3m; Germany,
2.5m; the Republic of Ireland, 2.3m and the Netherlands with 1.4m.
The survey also showed that tourist numbers in the last
quarter of 2002 have returned to similar levels in the same period of
2000.
