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August 2007 issue

Funniest Thing for August

Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. There are no restrictions on length. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.) The ITN staff will choose each month’s winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Entries not chosen cannot be acknowledged.

This month’s winner is LOIS HALUNEN of Livermore, California:

After arriving at our hotel in Beijing, a couple whom we met while coming from the airport wanted to go out and find a bottle of wine to have with their...

January 2007 issue

Peruvian fare

On a trip to Lima, Peru, in May ’06, we took a day trip to Chosica, a weekend retreat 25 miles east of Lima. Our friends had recommended Fuego Restaurante (Jr. Trujillo sur 406, Chosica; phone 360-2425), and our meal there was the best that we had in all of Peru.

It was typical Peruvian food presented in a manner that would delight Americans. Between us we had a chicken dish, a cuy (Guinea pig) dish, a liter of beer and a mixed drink for a total of 63.70 soles (near $20).

The owners are Jim and Fiorell Gillette (he is a transplant from Ludlow, Vermont).

LOUIS GAUTIER...

July 2007 issue

Inside Japan Tours

My husband, R.C., and I cannot speak highly enough for Inside Japan Tours (Lewins House, Lewins Mead, Bristol, BS1 2NN, U.K.; phone ++ 44 [0] 870 120 5600, fax 870 746 1047) and the trip we took with them in October ’06.

As is our custom for destinations on our wish list, we saved ITN readers’ recommendations for travel in Japan over a period of about five years. When it came time to plan, we checked them all out. It took only a few hours to be certain that IJT was the right company for us.

Planning was easy and the IJT staff very responsive. We did everything by...

May 2007 issue

Frequent-flyer-miles Catch 22

An impossible situation occurred in September ’06 while I was booking a February ’07 air trip. My wife, Tina, and I would fly Delta from New York to Amsterdam, then take KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Hong Kong, take a cruise, then fly out of Bangkok to Amsterdam and back to New York.

After much difficulty, we were able to hold two business-class tickets through Delta’s SkyMile program using KLM. However, we were short 78,000 frequent-flyer miles, so we wished to transfer 78,000 Starpoints from our Starwood American Express program.

The Delta program cancels the hold after 48...

February 2007 issue

Termite pointers

As a minor amplification to the picture on page 74 in the December ’06 edition of ITN, on a 1998 trip to Australia we found lots of termite mounds all over the central area, especially around Alice. Of interest is that the mounds are known in many parts as “magnetic mounds.” The reference is not to any magnetism.

Rather, in most cases the mounds are slab-sided, and the termites apparently prefer to spend the morning in the sun on the east side of the mound and then move to the west side for the afternoon sun. As a result, the axis of the mound is always north-south, with the flat...

August 2008 issue

Paris bargain

I really liked Richard Berner’s story “Apartment in Paris” (May ’08, pg. 6). Ironically, when I read it we had just returned from a week in Paris, where we, too, had rented an apartment.

One point needs correction. Berner mentions that a Carte Orange transit pass is one of “Paris’ best bargains.” True, but it is a bargain that is in the process of being changed.

By the end of 2008, the Paris regional transit system will complete its phaseout of the magnetic Carte Orange card that could be obtained at any Métro station if you had a passport-sized photo. The Carte Orange tarif...

November 2008 issue

New tour brochure prices retroactive

Three of us from California went on a “Discover New Zealand” trip with Explore, March 2-30, 2008. We booked through Adventure Center in June ’07 based on the published brochure and website price.

In October ’07 we were advised that the cost would be an additional $750, a 15% increase. We already had secured our airfare and paid our deposit as well as bought insurance and felt we had no choice but to pay it.

Our guide was the owner of the local tour company, Antipodean Explorer, that contracts with Explore for this trip. He (told us that) he hadn’t raised the price on this...

January 2008 issue

Fun in Antarctica

I took an unforgettable 11-day “Classic Antarctica” cruise with Big Five Tours & Expeditions (Stuart, FL; 800/244-3483, www.bigfive.com).

The small size of our 48-passenger ship, Quark Expeditions’ Professor Molchanov, allowed us to bond with each other from the onset of the cruise. I have difficulty walking and I was spontaneously and cheerfully assisted by passengers; I made many new friends.

Among highlights of this incredible and unique voyage were delicious meals, including a barbecue on the snow-covered stern; sighting whales; observing penguins feeding their young...