Travelers' Intercom | International Travel News

August 2005 issue

Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova

In the ’90s, my wife, Alice, and I three times hired a car and drove through the newly opened countries of Eastern Europe, but we had yet to visit the three countries that were former Soviet states: Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova. In May ’05 we made up for that omission.

If we were younger, we would have handled the trip totally independently, but we’re now in our mid-70s and the thought of arriving at airports and train stations and trying to sound out the Cyrillic alphabet (let alone understand the language) in places where few speak any English was daunting.

We turned to a...

November 2006 issue

Custom tour with MIR Corp.

I noticed while reading the letters submitted for the piece “The Good or Bad Tour Guide” (June ’06, pg. 50) as well as some comments printed in “Travelers’ Intercom” that many writers offered ways to augment their tour experiences.

For instance, “If a tour includes all meals, pass up some and find local eateries. We came across some excellent food away from the group choices.” One traveler carried personal guidebooks to read during the “eternal lecture.” Another urged tour flexibility such as changing a tour’s route to include a stave church which was not on the original itinerary...

September 2006 issue

Visiting Guayaquil

I would like to respond, if I may, to the letter from the reader who was told by a cruise line that Guayaquil was not the chosen port of entry in Ecuador because “Quito is a much safer city” (July ’06, pg. 38).

My husband grew up in Quito. It is the best-known Ecuadorian city and certainly is lovely, but, indeed, many people — including me — find the altitude difficult. So I take (most recently in April ’06) many of our charter groups to the Galápagos Islands via Guayaquil, for the following reasons.

Guayaquil has changed enormously over the past few years, due to excellent...

January 2006 issue

Indian and Greek in London

On our trip to London in May ’05, we enjoyed the following restaurants.

• For a good Indian meal in London, we would highly recommend the Punjab Restaurant (80 Neal St., Covent Garden, London WC2H 9PA, U.K.; tel. 020 7836 9787 or 020 7240 9979 or visit www.punjab.co.uk).

It has been in the same family since being founded in the 1940s and has been at the current location in the Covent Garden area since the 1950s. We had methi murga (chicken with fresh fenugreek), pudina gosht (lamb marinated in fresh mint and cooked with herbs and spices) and nowrattan korma (mixed vegetables...

May 2005 issue

Better rate for large bills

While my wife, Joan, and I were in Thailand in February ’05, our guide told us that as of that month, all Thai banks charge a fee of 33 baht (near 87¢ U.S.) for each travelers’ check cashed, so it’s cheaper to carry 100-dollar checks than 20-dollar checks.

For example, one bank with an exchange rate of 38.29 baht per dollar charged us a fee of 5 x 33 = 165 baht when we cashed five 20-dollar travelers’ checks. That’s a fee of 4.31%. If I had cashed one 100-dollar check instead, the 33-baht fee would have been only 0.86%.

You should carry larger denominations not only of...

August 2005 issue

TSA refund received

After returning from a trip to Chile on Nov. 21, ’04, I found that the TSA locks on my luggage had been cut instead of opened. I immediately filed the appropriate claim form with the TSA (Transportation Security Administration) reporting that two TSA-approved locks had been cut and requesting reimbursement for their value. Over a month later, having heard nothing from them, I wrote to ITN. My letter appears in the April ’05 issue, page 86.

I thought ITN readers might be interested in the outcome.

On Feb. 8 I received a form letter (dated Jan. 3) stating that they would begin...

September 2006 issue

May I spend money, please?

Prior to traveling in Mongolia and China in April ’05, I called Orchard Bank to tell them that I would be using their MasterCard while overseas. Even with that, it didn’t work in the ATM in Beijing nor anywhere else, for that matter! I also had a TJX Capital One Visa card and a debit card, however, and both worked fine.

The same MasterCard did not work on a trip to the “Stans” the following month, although, again, my Capital One Visa card did work. In fact, in the Sheraton in Tbilisi I got both local currency and U.S. dollars at an ATM which dispensed both. I also got money from the...

January 2006 issue

Confessions of an overpacker

I admit it. I am an overpacker. I used to read stories of how to pack light, but within a few paragraphs I would begin skimming the contents — looking not for helpful hints on how to slim my stack but for new items I might need to add.

I do not limit myself to logic or season. Even if I am flying to Switzerland in January, I take at least one summer dress. The sun seems to follow me and there is nothing more uncomfortable than roasting in a sweater on a hot day. I always take a swimsuit, too, because a Jacuzzi might display itself anywhere.

My feet do not like wearing the...