Travelers' Intercom

March 2013 issue

Public transport in rural China
By Joyce Bruck
This man was selling birds (probably canaries), cages, food and other items at a

After the local travel company I was using canceled the last six days of my prepaid tour of China in October ’11, I had no choice but to get myself from Guiyang, in rural Guizhou province, to the international airport in Guangzhou for my flight home. This was no easy task, since very few people in China speak English and almost all of the signs are in Chinese.

Fortunately, my hotels (which I had booked, myself) were 4- and 5-star establishments, so desk staff were able to assist me in getting to and from bus and train stations and to a few local sites.

Before leaving Guiyang...

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December 2013 issue

Denise’s in London
By Dee Poujade

When, after an absence of several years, I walked into my favorite London restaurant, Denise’s (79 Southampton Row, London, Greater London, WC1B 4ET, U.K.; phone +44 20 7436 1562), I was warmly greeted by the owner, who never forgets a face!

Denise asked about my family and proceeded to insure that my daughter and I enjoyed our meals.

The cuisine is French, the ambiance is cozy and bistro-like, and the food is wonderful and reasonably priced. My daughter had pork chops, I had calf’s liver, and we both had wine and shared a dessert for a total cost of £60 (near $95). 

...

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June 2013 issue

Meal in Bolzano

During my third visit to Bolzano, Italy, May 5-9, 2012, I discovered an organic (in Italy, “bio”) trattoria called Aretè (Piazza Parrocchia 22; phone 0471 05 45 44). You can find it behind the Duomo, the latter just off the main square of Piazza Walther.

Aretè is very modern but with lots of character, including a small live olive tree in the middle of the room. An al fresco dining area is out front. 

I had lunch there twice. One day I tried an excellent pasta made with farro, a wheat grain which can be ground into flour (€9), along with fresh selections for a “make your own...

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July 2013 issue

Tips for first-time visitors to Turkey
Hot-air balloons over Göreme. Photo: Stephen O. Addison, Jr.

After my wife, Paula, and I and another couple traveled in Turkey in September ’11, I compiled information and tips on some topics that weren’t addressed or I felt weren’t emphasized enough in the guidebooks and Internet resources we consulted prior to our trip. I also have some recommendations.

FOOD AND DRINK — We ate healthier meals on this trip than on any other trip we’d taken! Fresh vegetables, salads and fruits were abundant and delicious. The fish was fresh and tasty, while the meat (usually lamb, veal or chicken but, of course, no pork) was...

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November 2013 issue

Gorillas with ElderTreks
By Victor Block

My wife, Fyllis, and I took the 16-day “Uganda” tour with ElderTreks (Toronto, ON, Canada; 800/741-7956). Ten travelers were on the Sept. 20-Oct. 6, 2012, safari, most of whom were primarily interested in seeing mountain gorillas and big cats. 

At a price of $7,895 a person (not including air from the US), participants anticipated an intriguing itinerary, excellent guides and high-quality accommodations and food, and all expectations were met with flying colors.

Most accommodations were in luxury tents, with more emphasis on the first word than the second. They included very...

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February 2013 issue

An overview of Colombia
By Rick Marin

North of Ecuador, the Andes mountains split into three branches, dividing Colombia into western, central and eastern regions. On an 18-day tour of Colombia, March 19-April 9, 2012, our group observed the central and western areas, including three national parks.

We spent much more time on land travel than anticipated. We found that most highways in Colombia were heavily traveled and undergoing needed repairs, making our progress slow. The very windy and steep roads in the mountains added to travel time. On the main highway between Santa Marta and Bogotá, we counted over 150 large...

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August 2013 issue

OAT’s ‘Route of the Maya’
By Maria Dichov

I took a tour of El Salvador, Honduras, Belize and (mostly) Guatemala called “Route of the Maya” with Overseas Adventure Travel (Cambridge, MA; 800/955-1925), Jan. 2-18, 2012.

Our in-country guide was Ivania Sibrian. She was extraordinary, the best guide I have experienced in my travels — knowledgeable and not shy to talk about the problems facing the countries we visited.

Every stop we made on the road was documented by the tour leader, and we each got a copy, so it saved our making copious diary entries. We also each were given a CD Ivania made of photographs of the places...

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January 2014 issue

Proof of flu shot
By Joyce Bruck

I suggest every traveler, especially anyone who is older, get a flu shot for protection at home and while abroad. 

Keep the portion of the receipt that shows the date you were given the vaccine and pack it with your documents. This is valuable in a situation such as when an epidemic breaks out in a place like China. Without this proof of protection, there’s a possibility you could be quarantined and detained from leaving one country and entering another.

I got my vaccination at Walgreens. It took five to ten minutes. They used a quick retractable syringe that did not hurt....

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