Travel Briefs

May 2008 issue

Paper tix nixed

As of June 1, 2008, the 240 airlines that are members of IATA (International Air Transport Association) will stop issuing paper tickets and switch to electronic tickets only.

Tickets and boarding passes will be issued either at kiosks or check-in counters at airports or can be printed out by anyone anywhere with Internet access. Some airlines now even allow mobile phone check-in and reticketing.

September 2008 issue

Langkawi sky bridge

In Langkawi, Malaysia, a 125-meter-long pedestrian-only sky bridge is suspended 2,300 feet above a valley between two mountains. It is curved to accentuate the view, and there is a platform at each end for viewing the surrounding rainforest, the Andaman Sea and Thailand’s Tarutao Island.

A system of cable cars lifts passengers to the top of the mountain for RM25 (near $7.60) adult or RM18 ($5.50) child. At the middle cable car station, a 20-minute hike can be made along the valley floor.

The cable car is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday; noon-6 Wednesday, and 9:30-7 Friday...

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August 2009 issue

Acropolis Museum, Athens

The new, 3-story Acropolis Museum, 1,000 feet southeast of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece, opened June 20. Hundreds of statues and artifacts from the old museum and around the Acropolis are displayed in one building for the first time.

The top floor holds the Athens fragments of the Parthenon Frieze, with white plaster copies in the spaces left for the rest of the fragments, the “Elgin Marbles,” currently and controversially in the British Museum in London.

Open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. (closed Monday). Entry, €1 till Dec. 31, 2009, and €5 thereafter. Main entrance is on Dionysiou...

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October 2009 issue

Walk Scilly

A series of guided walks showcasing the flora, fauna and history of the Isles of Scilly will be held March 29-April 4, 2010, on St. Mary’s Island. Local experts will lead over 20 walks, with topics such as archaeology, gardens, castles, beaches and birds. Isles of Scilly Tourist Office (St. Mary’s, Isles of Scilly, TR21 0LL, U.K.; phone 01720 422536, fax 424048, www.simplyscilly.co.uk or www.walkscilly.co.uk).

January 2009 issue

Magritte Museum

The Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte was inspired by the bizarre and absurd. The new Magritte Museum (Place Royale, 1-100 Brussels, Belgium; phone +32 2 508 31 11, www.montdesarts.be) is set to open in the Mont des Arts (Museum Quarter) of Brussels, June 2, 2009. It will hold 200 works — the largest collection of Magritte paintings, plus archival material, letters written by the painter, photographs and drawings. Open 10-5, Tuesday-Sunday. €5.

July 2009 issue

Darwin in Italy

The exhibition “Darwin 1809-2009,” celebrating the 200th anniversary of the naturalist’s birth, is being hosted through Oct. 25 in Milan at the museum Rotonda della Besana (Via Besana Enrico, 15-20122, Milan, Italy; phone 199 199 111 02 4335 3522, www.darwin2009.it/eng/Milan).

Among exhibits are original letters, maps and drawings from Charles Darwin’s 5-year voyage on HMS Beagle to South America and the South Pacific. Fossils and mounted animals Darwin sent back to England are displayed along with live animals representing some of the species that fascinated him. His study is re-...

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May 2009 issue

Don’t feed the baboons!

An estimated 350 chacma baboons, a protected species under South African law, live in and around Cape Town. After years of being fed by tourists and tour operators interested in photo ops, the baboons have become dangerously aggressive, snatching snacks from people and even breaking into cars to steal food. Park rangers have been forced to kill monkeys that became too aggressive.

City authorities now will impose a fine of up to ZAR1,500 (near $150) plus six months in jail on anyone caught feeding baboons.

December 2009 issue

Abraham’s Gate reopens

In northern Israel, the 4,000-year-old Abraham’s Gate at the Tel Dan Nature Reserve reopened to the public in March after extensive work by the Nature & National Parks Protection Authority.

Composed of sun-dried mud brick on a foundation of large basalt stones, the gate has been restored to its original height of 22 feet. It serves as a link between the two towers below its arches, the earliest complete arches ever found in the world.

The reserve (wheelchair accessible) is located on Route 99 near Kibbutz Dan. Visitors also can explore three hiking routes and the remains...

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