Boarding Pass

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 339th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine.

I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that the Transportation Security Administration has made a policy change and, on flights within the U.S., each passenger now can carry aboard an extra carry-on when that bag holds only photographic equipment.

The bad news is that the particular airline you’re flying on or the specific flight you’re taking still may not allow it.

See page 19.

Argonne National Laboratory, operated by the University of Chicago as part of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, has posted online its Anti-Jet-Lag Diet. And, for a fee, you can fill out a form and have an Anti-Jet-Lag-Diet plan tailored to your individual itinerary. It calculates time differences between departure and destination cities and specifies when your key meal times should be, helping you adjust quickly to the new time zone and “. . . eliminating or reducing feelings of irritability, insomnia, indigestion or general disorientation that may occur when your body’s inner clock is out of sync with time cues it receives from the environment.”

The results of a study published in the journal Military Medicine and involving 186 National Guard troops determined that soldiers who used the diet flying east were 7.5 times less likely to experience jet lag, while those using the diet returning west were 16.2 times less likely to have jet lag.

The fees for calculating your personal Anti-Jet-Lag-Diet plan online are $10.95 for a one-way trip and $16.95 for a round trip. Visit www.antijetlagdiet.com.

Also looking out for you are the good folks at the Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation’s Travel Medicine & Immunization Center (TMIC) in Chicago, Illinois. (How many words can you fit on a business card, anyway?) The nurses at TMIC want to help you avoid altitude sickness, which they say affects one in five people traveling to elevations more than 7,000 or 8,000 feet above sea level.

They point out that altitude sickness may develop in travelers who are physically fit and in previously excellent health, but those with underlying medical conditions such as congestive heart failure, myocardial ischemia (angina), sickle cell disease or any form of pulmonary insufficiency should consult a doctor familiar with high-altitude illness before undertaking such travel.

The primary symptoms of altitude sickness are headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, malaise, insomnia and loss of appetite. Severe cases may be complicated by fluid in the lungs (high-altitude pulmonary edema) or swelling of the brain (high-altitude cerebral edema).

If any symptoms of altitude sickness appear, it is essential not to ascend to a higher altitude. If the symptoms become worse or if there are signs of cerebral or pulmonary edema, it is essential to descend to a lower altitude.

So what can you do to avoid all of the above bad stuff?

Basically, the risk increases with faster ascents, higher altitudes and greater exertion, so, to prevent altitude sickness, ascend to higher altitudes gradually or by increments; avoid overexertion; eat light meals; avoid drinking alcohol, and take medications recommended by your doctor.

For more info, contact the TMIC at the NMFF (675 North Saint Clair St., 18th Floor, Ste. 250, Chicago, IL 60611; phone 312/695-1888, fax 312/695-1882 or visit www.nmff.org/travelmedicine).

And eat your vegetables.

Betty Thomas of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, recently returned from a Cornwall/Wales trip with Back-Roads Touring of London. She wrote, “This was my 16th trip with them. They do excellent small-group (max. 11) tours. I booked the tour with Alec Cross of International Travel Marketing (800/830-1083). Alec advertised in ITN’s MART classifieds — always a good sign.”

Mr. R.E. Lee of Deland, Florida, is just back from a trip to the Sea of Cortez with another ITN advertiser, Cruise West (888/851-2785). He wrote, “I discussed ITN with several passengers and they each would appreciate a complimentary copy. Really do enjoy the magazine. I might add that Cruise West is an outstanding and entirely satisfactory cruise line. This was our second trip with them and it certainly won’t be our last.”

Don Searles of San Diego, California, wrote, “A group of 32 of us recently returned from a rewarding Elderhostel (877/426-8056) program in Chile and Argentina led by a wonderful tour guide, Carlos Seguera. On the bus, I got on the P.A. system, described ITN and offered to send in a list of names of those who wanted free sample copies. Twenty-four participants took me up on the offer. The other eight people already subscribed!”

Wallace Spaulding of McLean, Virginia, has a request. Many of you may relate to his plaint.

“For years I’ve been traveling to European cities,” he wrote, “each time having booked a hotel as close to the railroad station as I could find, often blocks away, only to find upon arrival that there was a whole row of hotels right across the street or one right next door.”

Wallace would appreciate your writing in about hotels “that are at or very near (say, one block from) a rail station. This goes for the popular cities (Rome, Paris, the larger German cities, etc.) as well as smaller towns.”

If your next submission for Accommodations Worldwide includes a hotel within luggage-dragging distance of a rail station, don’t forget to point that out and we’ll get it into print for Wallace.

Marty Pollak of Zionsville, Indiana, sent in this note recently: “I have traveled for years and years and years and just love the ITN issue every month. Nothing gets done in this household when it arrives until I’ve looked at, read, digested and smiled about every article. A huge THANK YOU. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy ITN. Keep up the good work.”

We’re up a few pages from last month, too. More to digest!— D.T.