Boarding Pass

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 377th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine.

In Russia, foreigners checking into hotels often have to leave their passports there for a period of time to be registered with the authorities, and yet police can detain for several hours any traveler not carrying a passport.

Some police have taken advantage of this to extort bribes from visitors, telling the visitors that they can either visit the local police station to pay the “fine” (as much as 2,000 rubles, or $74) or pay the officer directly. It has led Moscow’s Association of Guides & Tour Managers to file a protest with the government.

To avoid this scam, you could 1) get your visa registered in Moscow and carry a photocopy of your passport and visa [rather than hand over your passport], 2) pull out your cell phone and say you’re calling the U.S. Embassy [have the number handy], 3) ask the policeman to write out the ticket for you [it is likely he will want to avoid any paperwork] or 4) before handing over your documents, write down the officer’s 7-digit I.D. number.

Do all of this without an attitude; one guidebook recommended acting as stupid as possible.

In central London, ATM scams often involve the victim’s being distracted — by a tap on the shoulder, someone offering a free newspaper, a child asking for money for charity, etc. — after he enters his PIN.

If anyone talks to you during a transaction, cancel it immediately and remove your card. Also, avoid ATMs in isolated locations plus any ATM that appears unusual or has a suspicious-looking device attached.

In and around Galway City, Ireland, since March several people have suffered cases of diarrhea due to a parasite (cryptosporidiosis) in the water supply. While further tests at the local water treatment plant are being run and the suspect plant is being replaced, authorities are telling people to boil water before drinking it or to drink bottled water only.

A study conducted recently on 100 patients with cardiac implantable pacemakers found that, about half of the time, there was some electrical interference with their pacemakers when an iPod was held two inches from each person’s chest for five to 10 seconds.

The study was done at Michigan State University and instigated by a 17-year-old high school student, who presented the results at a meeting of heart specialists in Denver.

As further research is done to see if the problem occurs with other portable media players, mp3 players and DAPs, travelers with pacemakers might want to err on the side of caution and keep museum audio guides, iPods, etc., fastened to their hips rather than hanging in front on their chests.

Sometimes trying to save a buck backfires.

Ms. C. McCrady of Oklahoma phoned a travel agency and purchased round-trip tickets from Dallas to London on American Airlines. She asked the agent if she would get frequent-flyer miles and was told, “Yes.” She even phoned the airline the next day and asked if her mileage account number was listed. It was. However, after her return, the miles were never credited to her account.

In her letter to ITN, she wrote, “I called American and asked why the miles had not been posted. I almost fell off my chair when told there would be no miles as I had purchased a ‘Q’ class ticket. It was explained to me that the ticket was so cheap, American could not give frequent-flyer miles for it.

“The difference between my buying a ticket through the travel agency and buying one direct from the airline was $54. I would never give up 10,000 miles for $54. Miles are important to me.

“I asked the travel agent about the mixup, but she had no answer for me and nothing more was done.”

ITN wrote to American Airlines (Box 619047, MD 1302, DFW Airport, TX 75261), specifically asking, “What letters or symbols on an air ticket indicate that it does not qualify for frequent-flyer miles?”

A reply came from a Debra A. Shaffer: “Your question is not a simple one. There are many different types of fares in the marketplace today. Some of the fares themselves are what we term ‘published,’ those available to the general pubic. These types of fares will earn mileage when traveling.

“However, there are an equal amount of fares that can be obtained through contracted rates with the airlines or ‘bulk fares’ issued by wholesalers or travel agencies. These fares are less likely to earn AAdvantage miles.

“We can only suggest that customers ask informative questions about the types of discounted fares they are purchasing from the booking agents themselves, as oftentimes our personnel would not be able to determine this information without actually seeing the ticket itself.”

Lesson up — you can’t ask too many questions. Also, let the booking agent know what’s more important to you: cheaper airfare or more frequent-flyer miles.

With ITN, people can benefit from the travel advice and recommendations of other travelers. Sometimes the rewards are greater than expected.

Jane B. Holt of Hinesburg, Vermont, wrote, “Another reader, Esther Perica of Arlington Heights, Illinois, and I ‘met’ in 2000 by way of a ‘Person to Person’ query in ITN. We continued to correspond by snail and e-mail, giving each other recommendations on hotels and travel companies and exchanging travel journals. Eventually, our letters became more personal and a true friendship developed.

“In November 2006 Esther and I compared our upcoming itineraries and found we both would be in India in February ’07. My husband, Clyde, and I were traveling independently and Esther was traveling in a group. Mirable dictu, our paths would cross for three days in Kolkata, during the beginning of her trip and in the middle of ours.

“Clyde had researched authentic Bengali restaurants in Kolkata and discovered Kewpie’s, so we took Esther there for dinner. It was like reuniting with an old friend, not meeting someone for the first time.

“We talked nightly on the phone, in addition to trying to meet one more time, and on the day we had to part ways, Clyde and I walked to her hotel to leave a good-bye note and found her in the lobby with her group. We were able to say good-bye with lots of hugs and well wishes.

“Thank you, ITN, for my friend Esther.”

Folks, ITN is written by and for travelers. It only exists and persists because of people who want to help others. I read most of the letters that come in, and, I gotta tell ya, there are a lot of ITN readers who seem like really neat people, people I would like to hang out with and get to know. I’m glad that a couple of you were able to get together.

A heads up — the post office is raising the mailing rates of periodicals soon (the figures have not yet been announced), so ITN regretfully must increase subscription prices. Anyone who has been receiving the magazine for years knows that this is something we put off doing for as long as possible.

You still have time to renew your subscription or purchase gift subscriptions at the old rates (except people outside of the U.S.). Take advantage of the bargain.