Boarding Pass

Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 368th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine.

In two incidents this year near Sabana Park in San José, Costa Rica, robbers forcibly stole laptop computers, once from a European man walking along and once from an American, who was shot twice in the leg and clubbed on the head when he resisted.

Keep your laptop computer hidden. It’s valuable and easy to steal — in any city anywhere, including in the U.S., where in some cities the laptops of café patrons have become targets.

60,000 travel insurance claims were reviewed by the British insurance firm Norwich Union, and it was discovered that during 2005 the most incidents of pickpocketing occurred in the Czech Republic. Thailand was second with about half as many, although that country was named most often in claims for traffic accidents, food poisoning and theft.
Ireland, Belgium, Holland, Germany and France were deemed the “safest” countries.

Watch out for the “turkey drop” in tourist areas of Ukraine.
Cash wrapped in plastic or a wallet with money is placed at the feet of a target person. A con artist picks it up and tries to get the victim to hold or touch it, after which another person accuses the visitor of stealing. Both threaten to call the police unless they’re paid not to — or they ask to see the visitor’s cash to prove it’s not theirs, then they grab it and run.
I don’t understand the logic in showing my wallet, but I guess it works in a ruckus. Don’t fall for this.

The folks at American Express have some advice for you: trim the fat in your bulky, everyday wallet before traveling.
They say the ideal “travel wallet” should include only a credit card or cards, a photo I.D., a small amount of cash, your health insurance card and, naturally, travelers’ checks. Your social security number should not be stored in your wallet.
And I would hope that you’re carrying those things in a hidden pouch and not in your back pocket.

In response to ITN Contributing Editor Wayne Wirtanen’s August ’06 “Eye on Insurance” feature, in which he advised travelers to consider the odds of ever needing to file a claim, Phyllis Raulerson of Leonia, New Jersey, wrote, “I’m 84 now and still traveling the third world without travel insurance. In Zimbabwe in 2000 I broke my ‘good’ arm (I’m partially handicapped in the other). X-rays and setting in Victoria Falls were charged to my credit card as was the flight to Harare and the overnight in a hospital where I had the bone set under x-ray and anesthesia. $400 in cash went to the orthopedic surgeon as well.

“The overall cost was around $1,000, which was WELL under what annual insurance would have accumulated to over 20 years of travel. At my age, my trips continue to be strenuous and I’m still not insuring!”

Commenting on the same article, Carl Dachs of Sun City West, Arizona, wrote to Wayne, “Sir, thank you for the best article I’ve ever read in ITN. I am 82 years old, a world traveler. I worked for Aetna for 30 years and taught property and casualty insurance at the college level, but it wasn’t until after seeing your article that I finally read and reviewed the travel policy which we have purchased on every one of our 28 trips overseas.

“I’m ashamed to say that the preexisting conditions contained therein make both my wife and myself ineligible for practically any contingency except the cost of evacuation. As a retired employee of Aetna, all my medical costs are covered anyplace in the world, with the exception of evacuation costs. You may have disturbed my travel agent, but you have educated every reader of ITN, including yours truly.

“We are looking into a policy that covers evacuation only, as per your suggestion. For all professors of insurance who never read between the lines entitled ‘preexisting conditions,’ thanks once again.”

Howard Payne of Pacheco, California, read the letter by Jack Carroll titled “Tips for a London Visit” (Aug. ’06, pg. 19) and wrote to ITN, “It was everything you ask for in a submission and exactly what I look for even after having been to London 10 to 12 times in the last 15 years. It had DETAILS about transportation, hotels, pubs and restaurants to bring us up to date about what a visitor needs to know. The costs of things were outlined in every instance. What a great job!”

Norine Matteson of Vacaville, California, e-mailed, “I’d like to take this opportunity to let you know of the wonderful response I received from readers to my ‘Person to Person’ inquiry (July ’06, pg. 120) regarding travel for the disabled. Unfortunately, the consensus of everyone was that travel to Pompeii, Italy, is difficult to impossible for the handicapped. I have personally thanked all of the respondents.”

Suzy Provost of Huntington Beach, California, says she’s discouraged from answering information requests in “Person to Person.” She called one reader to offer help, then spent several hours on the computer typing up tips and printing maps and schedules. She mailed it all to the reader and after a month still hadn’t received a reply, let alone a “Thank you.”
Diana Barrows of San Diego, California, is equally offput: “I just wrote a long and detailed e-mail to a reader who requested information about a destination. As soon as I sent it, it was returned. She doesn’t accept e-mails from people not on her approved list. Please remind people posting questions in ITN to turn off their e-mail filters.”
Taking the time to help was the right thing to do, nevertheless. Thank you, Suzy and Diana, for your efforts.

In this issue, readers list words and phrases that are most often helpful to know in a foreign language.
There’s one phrase that may come in handy. The website www.shabir.com/romance/bday.html lists, in 161 different languages, how to say “Happy birthday.”
Adios. — David Tykol, Editor