Travelers' Intercom | International Travel News

May 2006 issue

Impressive waterfalls of the world

The following is a list of notable waterfalls overseas that I have visited over the years. Each is worth seeing. If you’re traveling to any of these areas, you might want to plan a stop.

• Iguazú Falls (I visited in 1995 and 2001), on the border of Brazil and Argentina — one of the greatest sites on Earth and, as someone said, “like sailing off the edge of the world.”

• Victoria Falls (1972), on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe — purely spectacular. There were no rails and no concrete walkways, just water, sound and mist. One more step and you are into it.

• Kaieteur...

June 2005 issue

Private arrangements in Vietnam

My wife, Carol, and I wanted a custom tour of Vietnam so we could include five days on our own in the Mekong Delta city of Vinh Long where I had taught English a couple of years ago. We also wanted a tour that would emphasize contact with people rather than visits to temples and monuments. Although it was already mid-November ’04, we insisted that our visit had to conclude before the Tet holiday on Feb. 9, ’05.

Responding to an ad in ITN, we turned this project over to Vietnam Orient Tours (4109 Peralta Blvd., Freemont, CA 94536; phone 510/794-8989 or visit www.vietnamorienttours....

September 2005 issue

Little things tainted great river cruise

After deliberately leaving some time to pass for reflection, I have a few comments about our Eastern Europe river cruise in August ’04. Grand Circle Travel (GCT) was the operator, and our flights were arranged on Lufthansa by GCT.

When I saw where our assigned seats were for our Aug. 3 flight from New York’s JFK, I called Lufthansa and had the seats changed. Arriving for the flight, we discovered that the changes had not been done; we wound up in the 3-seat row immediately behind the last 4-seat row. Tray tables came down between our seats instead of in front of them, and our feet...

November 2005 issue

Typical food in Morocco & Tunisia

We experienced similar cuisine in both Morocco and Tunisia during a trip in July ’02. In both countries, we stayed in 2- or 3-star hotels which had adjoining or nearby restaurants. The evening menus uniformly offered two or three dishes, usually including one or two tajines, usually chicken, beef or lamb.

Tajines are similar to our “boiled dinner”— potatoes, vegetables and meat all together in the bottom of a large baking bowl. The funnel-shaped top is placed over the bowl and the combination is set over a charcoal fire. Tajine food was uniformly appetizing and tasty, but after two...

March 2006 issue

Warsaw Camera Market

We visited the camera market in Warsaw, Poland, in June ’05. With new and used cameras, computer equipment, cell phones, etc., it’s open only on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Ask the taxi driver for Gielda Fotograficzna (Photographic Market), located in the Centrum neighborhood at the Stodola Students Club (ulica Batorego 10, Warsaw 02-591, Poland). There is a small admission fee to the building. A flea market of related equipment is adjacent; there’s free admission to that.

NANCY BUBEL Camp Hill, PA

December 2006 issue

Driving and Buying Gas Overseas

We asked the independent self-drive travelers among you to share any tips on buying gas overseas (outside of North America and the Caribbean), including choosing which establishments to patronize, which gas to buy, etc., plus any warnings relating to the mechanical, economical or logistical aspects of automobiles, fuel, repairs, rescue, etc. Responses appear below. If you have anything to add, write to Driving and Buying Gas Overseas, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818, or e-mail editor@intltravelnews.com (include the address at which you receive ITN). Please be specific about...

October 2006 issue

To London on MAXjet

In July ’06 I had the opportunity to try out a relatively new airline called MAXjet (888/435-9629, www.maxjet.com), which started up in November ’05 and currently operates from New York’s JFK Airport and Washington’s Dulles Airport to London’s Stansted Airport, though new destinations are planned.

The MAXjet difference is that it features a single class: business. Flying the long-range Boeing 767, a plane that normally carries some 300 passengers, MAXjet has configured it with just 102 seats, each on an aisle or window. Wonder of wonders, there are no middle seats.

MAXjet’s...

April 2006 issue

Military Highway in Georgia

Re the letter “Armenia’s Military Highway” (March ’06, pg. 19), actually the Military Highway and Mt. Kazbek are in Georgia, not Armenia. The highway follows the Terek River, which cuts an 8½-mile gorge, the Daryal Gorge. The route of the 1992 Russian exodus, the highway goes north from Tbilisi and terminates at the Russian border.

The scenery is stunning, and if one goes on a Sunday there are many fascinating Sunday markets straight out of the last century, as I found on a visit in September ’99.

MARY ANNE REARDON Olathe, KS