Travel Briefs | International Travel News

June 2011 issue

Orangs with Orion

Along with primatologist Dr. Biruté Galdikas, up-close interactions with orangutans in Borneo are featured with three sailings to Indonesia by Orion Expedition Cruises (New York, NY; 877/674-6687).

Dr. Galdikas, who founded the Orangutan Foundation 40 years ago, is guest lecturer, and passengers may spend two days at her base in Tanjung Puting National Park.

The 10-night cruise departs Bali Sept. 30 and Dec. 29, 2011, and Jan. 8, 2012, visiting Kalimantan, Tanjung Puting and Gunung Palung national parks, Kuching and Sarawak, ending in Singapore. Cruise prices run $6,930-$13,...

October 2011 issue

Copenhagen bike maps

The website www.cyclecopenhagen.dk allows travelers to plan bike routes through Copenhagen and nearby Frederiksberg, Denmark. Users can select multiple stops, then choose the shortest route or the route with the most bike lanes or the route with the most green spaces visible. Also at no cost, maps may be printed out with turn-by-turn directions.

September 2011 issue

Goa, India, dress code

Goa is a popular beach resort area in India known for its relaxed atmosphere, but some tourists have been sightseeing at nearby churches and temples inappropriately dressed (some women even in bikinis). Priests, monks and some worshipers have protested the lack of respect for the sanctity of the religious sites.

The Basilica of Bom Jesus contains the remains of St. Francis Xavier (one of the founders of the Jesuits) and is a well-known pilgrimage location. As of September 2011, it is enforcing a dress code. Women showing too much skin will be loaned a shawl. Two Hindu temples in Goa...

August 2011 issue

Bermuda tee times

Bermuda features seven golf courses, six of championship caliber, and now tee times can be booked in advance, online, through Bermuda Premier Golf. Golfers can select a course, tee times and the number of players and pay securely online (Visa, MasterCard or AmEx).

A tee time voucher, sent by e-mail, is encoded with a unique bar code to eliminate fraud. Each voucher is presented to the golf course on the day of play. The site provides course descriptions, pictures and videos.

Also make reservations through Premier Golf’s call center (877/450-6412), based in Bermuda.

July 2011 issue

Roman houses restored

The restored remains of ancient Roman houses uncovered beneath the 16th-century Palazzo Valentini in Rome are now on permanent display.

Le Domus Romane di Palazzo Valentini (Via IV Novembre 119/A; phone +39 06 32810) features mosaics, decorated walls and polychrome floors.

In addition, there is a multimedia museum (offering a “virtual tour” of re-created rooms, peristyles, baths, salons and kitchens) and a large model of the area as it would have appeared at the time.

Open 9:30-5 daily except Tuesdays and some holidays. €6 ($8.80) adult or €4 for ages 6-25 and over 65...

December 2011 issue

Backpacker Cheatsheets

Downloadable “Backpacker Cheatsheets” for 11 countries, including many in SE Asia plus Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand, are available free from GuideGecko (www.guidegecko.com).

Each two-page PDF has a country map with travel routes and information on flights, places to stay, dining, sights, activities, nightlife, shopping, the currency exchange rate, phone numbers and more.

June 2011 issue

Vienna’s MuseumsQuartier

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Vienna’s MuseumsQuartier, the art complex near the Imperial Palace, has special exhibits and cultural activities till Oct. 31, 2011.

For one installation, “Klanghimmel," June through Oct. 1, transparent speakers over the main courtyard will project whispers, sound clips and sound compositions as the wind blows and in response to the people moving below.

March 2007 issue

The trend towards not smoking in Europe

The list below shows the current and planned policies regarding smoking in public in various countries in Europe. Note that in many, various versions of legislation are still being debated and challenged in courts. In general, however, most countries in Europe still allow smoking in bars and restaurants but require separate smoking and nonsmoking sections.

Currently, smokers will be most at home in Austria, Germany, Greece and Portugal because their laws do not yet entirely ban smoking inside restaurants. In the Netherlands, enforcement is lax. Throughout Europe, smoking is still...