Travelers' Intercom | International Travel News

January 2007 issue

Across the Russian Federation by train

My wife, Darlene, and I, following a private tour in Mongolia (June ’06, pg. 85), were among a group of 96 people from all over the world who made an incredible private train trip across the Russian Federation along the legendary Trans-Siberian Railway, Aug. 19-31, ’05. We took the railroad’s classic route, westbound from Vladivostok to Moscow. The trip covered eight time zones and 10,405 kilometers (6,466 miles).

We traveled with nine different railway companies. We had stops of up to 20 minutes or so twice a day for locomotive changes and/or servicing of the train. Most of...

July 2007 issue

Economy class syndrome

If you’ve recently been on a long plane trip more than five hours and have shortness of breath, you could easily have pulmonary embolisms (blood clots in the lungs). This potentially fatal condition was diagnosed in my husband, John, during a one-week interval after a flight from Shannon, Ireland, to Newark, New Jersey, in March ’07.

No, the sudden shortness of breath in this daily 2-mile jogger for 40 years was not caused by flu (which cleared up) or by heart problems (identical EKG from six months previous), and he had a clear echocardiogram. However, he failed the stress test...

February 2007 issue

Doctor visit in London

While staying with friends just outside London in May ’06, I woke up one morning with a sore throat and a husky voice. I told my friends I had better catch the next flight back to California in case I was coming down with something.

They suggested I see a doctor first, but, it being Sunday, I imagined that, like in the U.S., that meant a trip to the E.R. in a hospital, a wait of two or three hours and a bill for three or four hundred dollars. My friend insisted it was no problem; the National Health Service had a Sunday clinic nearby.

When we arrived, I was asked to fill out...

August 2007 issue

Guide in Morocco

My husband, Shayne, and I had a very enjoyable 3-week trip to Morocco with Overseas Adventure Travel (Cambridge, MA; 800/221-0814, www.oattravel.com) in October ’06. We took their “Morocco Sahara Odyssey” plus the Essaouira and Casablanca extension.

We paid approximately $2,700 each for the main trip, which included economy air from New York (JFK), plus $700 each for the 5-night pretrip to Essaouira and Casablanca.

The main trip included 10 nights in hotels, three nights in private tented camps in the Sahara, one internal flight from Marrakesh to Casablanca, all land...

September 2008 issue

Good Samaritans still need ID

I was on a United Airlines flight from Washington Dulles to Frankfurt, Germany, in June ’07 when the call came out for medical personnel to identify themselves. A passenger had fainted and fallen and remained unconscious.

A neurologist on board was unable to directly assist the patient since she did not have her medical license with her. Another doctor and I (an R.N.) treated the passenger, taking vital signs and checking her pupils for reactivity.

I asked the airline staff if a flat bed was available in first class and, luckily, there was one. When the passenger could walk,...

January 2008 issue

Heathrow overflowing

On a trip from San Francisco to Bologna, Italy, on May 23, 2007, I changed planes at Heathrow airport. It was a Wednesday morning.

After getting off the airport bus at the terminal, l had to wait in a narrow hall before going through a security checkpoint. Then l had to wait again before going up an escalator because the waiting area at the top of the escalator was too small to hold the crowd waiting to go through another security checkpoint. After walking what seemed like a mile to my departure gate, I had to go through another security check.

I am not complaining about the...

March 2007 issue

Lhasa dining oasis

Having traveled to Lhasa, Tibet, Oct. 10-17, 2006, I can recommend very highly the Lhasa Namaste Restaurant (Yutoklu No 30; phone 0891-6324669 or e-mail jampa22@hotmail.com). It’s on the second floor, near the theater hall and at the opposite end of Jokhang Temple within the Barkhor market.

The owner is the charming, young Mr. Jampa. The staff speaks English well and is very, very friendly. With good views overlooking the Barkhor market, the restaurant is very clean and serves excellent food, with a great variety of offerings. One dinner for all three of us would cost less than $20...

July 2007 issue

Hyena Man in Harar

On a trip to Ethiopia with Elderhostel (Boston, MA; 877/426-8056, www.elderhostel.org) in October ’06, I had the opportunity to feed a wild hyena.

One of the most enduring popular attractions in the city of Harar is the Hyena Man. At about 7 p.m. he starts calling the wild hyenas by name. After 10 minutes or so, the animals appear from the shadows. The hyena is Africa’s second-largest predator and is potentially very dangerous.

I held a stick with meat on its end and one of the hyenas jumped up and got it. The Hyena Man uses throwaway meat from the butcher. As you can see...