Travelers' Intercom | International Travel News

September 2006 issue

Heathrow-London transport

I saw the reader’s letter “Tips for a London Visit” (Aug. ’06, pg. 19), which mentioned traveling from Heathrow Airport to London on the underground.

The tube may be the cheapest, but unless you’re traveling with only a briefcase, what do you do with your luggage? I can’t tell you the number of times I have seen people who have tried that method and have had to struggle with their luggage down the stairs when they changed lines to get to their hotels.

For the average traveler with the average amount of luggage, by far the best way to reach London is taking the train to...

May 2005 issue

Anticipating death overseas

I don’t know when I have been so moved by an article in ITN as I was by the one penned by Betty Patterson concerning the death of her husband (Feb. ’05, pg. 16). Not only did my feelings go out to this lady who had to confront all of the European bureaucracy, but I also became introspective wondering what would have happened had I died in Europe in 2004. In October, I was a single on an Elderhostel trip to Central Europe. I then, as a loner, took a train trip with stopovers from Budapest to Paris, also spending three nights in Venice viewing the sights by day and prowling the alleys by...

May 2005 issue

Insured for medical evacuation

I was deeply moved when I read the letter titled “Coping With the Red Tape of an Overseas Death.” It was incredible to read about the obstacles Mrs. Patterson had to overcome after her husband’s sudden demise. I offer my sincerest condolence.

I would like to add the following to Mrs. Patterson’s recommendations.

Be sure you know the appropriate country’s emergency phone numbers for medical emergencies and police. Having an operational telephone card is a sine qua non, although usually you can access emergency numbers from any phone without a telephone card.

To summon...

February 2006 issue

Xtreme Bolivia

In September ’05, after staying in La Paz, Bolivia, at 12,600 feet, I spent two days at the Esmeralda Hotel (phone in Bolivia 010-221-36017, fax 36041 [from the U.S., phone ++591-221-36017] or visit www.hotelesmeralda.com) in Coroico, elevation 4,800 feet, to get warm and recover from the altitude.

My old guidebooks warned that the La Paz-Coroico highway was too dangerous for tourists, but I had read that the road had recently been widened and paved and was safer.

The new highway is not complete, and just as it reaches the exciting part of the descent, traffic is diverted...

August 2006 issue

Dazzling Antarctica

At midnight on New Year’s Eve, the orchestra was playing “Auld Lang Syne” as we sailed the South Atlantic on our way to the White Continent aboard M.V. Discovery.

Antarctica is truly magnificent, with mountains, sea, snow, icebergs, glaciers and ice packs but not a bit of green. It is a land of breathtaking beauty, where we experienced unexpected howling winds, snowstorms, sea lanes blocked by ice, and dazzling sunlit panoramas. The only settlements are small, isolated scientific stations and penguin colonies, both of which we visited on 12-man Zodiacs (rubber rafts).

We...

January 2006 issue

Springing a young hawker

At the base of a pyramid near Cairo, Egypt, in January ’05, a young boy approached my wife, Mary, and me and asked if we would buy souvenirs. We smiled and said “No.” He thanked us for not ignoring him, gave Mary a small turquoise beetle and said, “You have a nice day. Smile at everyone you meet. This is for you for good luck. Good-bye.”

A little later we decided we hadn’t bought quite enough junk for one day, so we sought out this nice young fellow and made a purchase from him. It was a very harmonious transaction.

Suddenly some big guys were hauling the kid off. They...

October 2005 issue

Virgin Air’s ‘suites’

On a flight from Newark, New Jersey, to England on Virgin Airlines in late April ’05, we had an opportunity to try out the new upper-class suites.

Each suite is a small cubicle with high sides and a very comfortable seat that converts to a bed at the touch of a button. Your back is to the window, your feet to the center. There are duvets and pillows behind each seat.

Seats that are upright but reclined can stay reclined during takeoff and landing — very comfortable.

If you are traveling on flights of 19 to 22 hours, these are lifesavers. If you are working and want no...

March 2006 issue

Mobal GSM phone

A recent television program listed things one should have for traveling, including the best shoes, the best white shirt, the best go-everywhere black pants, the best backpack, etc. What was omitted was something I consider essential: a Mobal GSM phone (Mobal Communications, 171 Madison Ave., Ste. 300, New York, NY 10016; phone 888/888-9162 or visit www.mobalrental.com — offices in the U.K. and Japan too).

The Mobal GSM dual-band phone, which costs about $52, works in over 140 countries. There is no contract to be signed, and there are no roaming charges. In fact, to my knowledge,...