Columns | International Travel News

April 2004 issue

Back to Bagan

By Julie Skurdenis

by Julie Skurdenis

I am standing atop Bulethi Pagoda in Bagan, Burma’s most important archaeological site. I’ve huffed and puffed up a steep staircase to the uppermost platform encircling the structure. The platform is narrow — only three feet wide — and I lean back against the stone to steady myself as I gaze out over the plain far below me.

No exaggeration — I am surrounded by an archaeological sea of stone temples and pagodas, literally hundreds of them dotting the eastern shore of Burma’s greatest river, the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy). But even those I see spread out below...

February 2011 issue

’Round the world in 72 days: India

By Philip Wagenaar

(Part six of a series)

In the January 2011 issue, I recounted how my wife, Flory, and I transited China on our way to India. This month, I continue with the India portion of our ’round-the-world tour. (As I mentioned, for India, Oman and the UAE our private touring and hotels were arranged through Original World [Mill Valley, CA].)

Our overnight in Bhubaneswar, capital of the ancient kingdom of Orissa, was at the sumptuous Mayfair Lagoon Hotel (8B Jaydev Vihar, Bhubaneswar - 751013, Orissa, India; phone +91 674 2360 101; F +91 674 2360 236) in a room so large, we could have...

October 2010 issue

A review of selected cruise lines

By Lew Toulmin

There are over 100 cruise lines, with more than 450 ships, listed in the bible of cruising, Kay Showker’s “The Unofficial Guide to Cruises,” 11th edition (2010. John Wiley & Sons. 690 pp., $23.99). And even Showker doesn’t list all the ships or lines, nor does she critically review some of the smaller ones of note.

To help you choose the right ocean or river cruise for your next vacation, I will give you my assessments and opinions of a few of the lines which may be of interest to typical ITN readers, those of you who are experienced travelers keen on culture and learning and...

October 2010 issue

’Round the world in 72 days: Australia

By Philip Wagenaar

by Philip Wagenaar (Part 3 of a series)

This month, I continue the discussion of our travels in Australia, the second country that my wife, Flory, and I visited on our 72-day, ’round-the-world trip, August-November ’09. The arrangements for the five-week tour that we took in Australia included lodging, breakfasts, dinners, SUV, driver and extensive sightseeing,

From Broken Hill, our last stop, it was on to Lake Mungo, part of the Willandra Lakes Region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lake Mungo dried up about 14,000 years ago and today is a great, crescent-shaped dune called...

November 2010 issue

Southern Wales with a Glasgow chaser

By Randy Keck

The impregnable, 13th-century Caerphilly Castle

I spent three hectic days in London in March 2010 as part of a small press contingent being hosted by Visit Britain and Ireland. The next stage of our journey began as we departed the city by rail from Paddington Station bound westward to Cardiff, capital of Wales. After a two-hour journey, we arrived in Cardiff and were immediately transferred to the waterfront for an extensive, behind-the-scenes tour of the state-of-the-art Millennium Centre, a truly world-class entertainment venue.

March 2011 issue

EU loosens carry-on restriction. Also, US allows more types of travelers to Cuba

By David Tykol

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 421st issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine, the place to share helpful trip-planning information.

Here are a few news items you may find of interest.

There’s good news for wine lovers flying through Europe.

Ever since 2006, when British police learned of and foiled a plot by three Britons to use liquid explosives in soft-drink bottles to blow up planes, airlines around the world have prohibited passengers from carrying through security checkpoints any liquids or gels in containers that can hold more than 100...

April 2004 issue

Far Horizons

By Randy Keck

The first air cruise to Antarctica

It is commonly known and accepted in the realm of international tourism that in order to experience Antarctica one must first conquer the dreaded Drake Passage, perhaps the most consistently rough ocean crossing in the world. Little did I ever dream that I would have the opportunity to tame this monster crossing in painless fashion, by avoiding it altogether.

In early December of 2003 I was fortunate enough to be invited to participate in the first-ever “air cruise” to Antarctica. This tour, in which we flew to Antarctica to...

February 2011 issue

Norway: A Viking chieftain’s home

By Julie Skurdenis

Around the year AD 500, long before the Viking era began in the second half of the eighth century, a chieftain on the island of Vestvågøy, in Norway’s Lofoten Islands above the Arctic Circle, built himself a house worthy of his status.

It was an enormous longhouse, 221 feet long, with turf walls and (probably) a wood-shingled roof. It stood on a hill with a sweeping view over the countryside. It could be seen from a distance, which is one of the reasons it was built where it was. It was meant to awe and impress visitors as they approached.

The longhouse survived four...