January 2004

by Kevin Keating

In Dan Gifford’s article on South Africa (Oct. ’03, pg. 29), I was interested to read about the radios used by tour guides on safaris. We were shocked when we learned, ourselves, that this was an accepted routine on all safaris.

In a letter in the December ’03 issue, page 78, a reader was “shocked” to learn of Turkey’s $100 visa fee and thought to cancel her trip when she did learn of it. It is truly “penny wise and pound foolish” to miss a trip to one of the world’s interesting countries, one with nice people, because of $100.

The reader might consider how much the U.S. charges citizens of Turkey to enter our country. Yes, that’s right: $100!

Moreover, Turkey is not alone in this. Chile, for example, admits U.S. citizens for $100 paid at the airport. Reciprocity is not robbery.

My wife and I spent four days in Romania with a local guide at the end of October ’03. In addition to seeing Bucharest, we traveled into the mountains and saw the wonders of Sighisoara, Brasov and Sinaia, plus some wonderful villages still not overrun with tourists.

Our guide found us fantastic lodgings in bed-and-breakfast homes which averaged about $14 per night. Romania is still one of the cheapest places on Earth. Great meals could be had in Bucharest for under $20 a couple, including multiple courses and a bottle of wine.

My husband and I spent a week in Tuscany with our family group in June ’03. One feature of our stay was a guided tour of parts of the Chianti wine region not normally visited by tourists.

My husband, my parents and I departed on Dec. 16, ’02, for an 18-day trip to Egypt that included sightseeing around Islamic and Coptic Cairo; the Sakkara necropolis; the Giza pyramids; several days in Luxor to visit the temples and West Bank; a cruise down the Nile; the Aswan area; Abu Simbel, and diving in the Red Sea.

I found Istanbul as interesting as ever on my eighth trip to my favorite city. Istanbul is all about the people in the streets, both past and present. If you are not too timid, you should stay where the Turkish people are — bustling about the streets in the Sirkeci district (pronounced Sirkajee). From there you can walk anywhere you would want to visit.

In July-August ’03, my friend Carol and I traveled in Uganda and Ethiopia with arrangements we had found on the Internet and booked by e-mail. Making the arrangements was a real pleasure, especially remembering the difficulties of arranging travel to Africa even a few years ago using slow mail and poor phone/fax connections.

by William Schoenemann, Port Ludlow, WA

Latin America is so close to the U.S., but for some reason (mainly security) many international travelers shun countries other than Costa Rica. My wife and I decided we should visit some of our neighbors.

In the last few issues we’ve printed many letters from readers sharing advice on using Internet cafés while traveling. This is the last of four parts on the subject. We could not print all the mail we received, but we thank everyone who took the time to write. If there is something yet to add, send your remarks to Internet Cafés Info, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818, or e-mail editor@intltravelnews.com (please include your surface-mail address).