International Travel News

Travelers' Intercom

September 2009 issue | Appears on page 0

Crime victims in BA

My sister and I have traveled the world extensively for the past 25 years, including to several third-world countries, and have not personally encountered the same degree of crime as we did in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on a week’s visit starting July 3, 2009.

My sister had her wallet stolen in the Modena Café, which is situated behind the National Museum of Fine Arts. It was taken from a purse on a chair while we were taking a quick photo of a nearby wall decoration.

In the time...

September 2009 issue | Appears on page 0

Kerala backwater beauty

While in southern India in March ’09, my companion, Frank, and I traveled to the town of Alappuzha, formerly known as Alleppey. We had read about an exquisite estuary of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets where fresh water meets seawater from the Arabian Sea. Backwater tours originate from Alappuzha, three hours from Trivandrum, accessible by air and train.

We had planned an overnight on a kettuvallam, a floating cottage with a wooden hull and a thatched roof. We...

September 2009 issue | Appears on page 0

Outrageous CDW costs in Ireland

For the past 14 years, my wife, Roberta, and I have made at least one annual trip to Ireland. We always rent a car at the Shannon or Dublin airport and tour extensively.

In past years, I relied upon the international auto rental insurance provided by MasterCard, declining the expensive collision damage waiver (CDW) and theft insurance offered by the rental agencies. Then I received this statement from MasterCard: “Effective Sept. 1, 2006, US consumer cardholders no longer have core...

September 2009 issue | Appears on page 0

Temporarily left in the desert

I took a tour to Mongolia with Spirit of India, July 8-23, 2008. The tour cost $3,340, excluding international airfare.

On July 20 we had a day in the Gobi desert. Our group of six travelers was split into two vehicles. In the car I was in, we did not have a guide, just a driver, who did not speak English.

At one point our driver seemed to be lost, and the car that our guide, Pugi, was in was nowhere in sight. Later our driver left our vehicle, found a local man with a...

September 2009 issue | Appears on page 0

Russia train + St. Petersburg guide

My two daughters and I took a train from Moscow, Russia, to Riga, Latvia, with Russian Railways in October ’08. We had a sleeper car and it was great. The cost of $170 per person included a room for four persons, and we received tea and biscuits for breakfast.

In Riga we stayed at Hotel Konventa Seta (Kaleju Str. 9/11, Riga, LV 1050; phone +371 67087501, www.konventa.lv). This was a wonderful hotel in a great location and very nicely priced; we paid about $100 a night.

The next...

September 2009 issue | Appears on page 0

Kandersteg apartment

My husband, Mike, and son, Scott, and I stayed in a 2-bedroom apartment in the house Roduner-Hus (Dorf, CH-3718 Kandersteg, SWITZERLAND; phone + 41 [0] 33 675 1053, www.adamsalpineeden.com/roduner), Sept. 18-26, 2008.

The location was perfect, just a 5-minute walk from the co-op for groceries and a 10-minute walk from the train station. The owner, Franziska Ryter, was a real delight and speaks English. She picked us up from the train station, took us to the apartment and explained...

September 2009 issue | Appears on page 0

France trip’s best B&B

Le Petit Versailles (Route du Château, 24220 Beynac et Cazenac, FRANCE; phone +33 [0]6 71 88 59 72, www.lepetit versailles.fr) was our favorite accommodation on our 7-week trip to France in the fall of 2008. Beynac is in the Dordogne region of France.

My husband, Bill, and I had a double room with a pretty view of the countryside. A fantastic multicourse breakfast was included in the price of €60 ($79) per night.

We travel to Europe a lot and prefer to stay in economical B&...

September 2009 issue | Appears on page 0

Ubud restaurant

In Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, Restaurant Bali Yoga — located on the left side of Jalan Kajeng a 3- to 5-minute walk up from Jalan Raya — seems like a curious name for this little jewel of a place. The husband and wife who own it told me they named it after their first child, a son, Yoga.

I had asked them about the name of the restaurant. In Bali, there is a system of naming each child according to caste and the order of birth and often regardless of gender (Wayan and Putu are typical...