Category Archives: archive

Our Friends Ryanair

Back in September last year, you may recall us reporting that Ryanair were proposing to make in-flight entertainment available on its flights. Passengers were to be charged £5 ($9.48) to access films, cartoons and tv shows on portable lap top type units. Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary who said in September the units would become “as common as the in-flight magazine”. These have been on trial since November and are about to be abandoned. “It was lack of demand. They decided not to follow it any further,” a Ryanair spokeswoman said. Ryanair said it had not lost any money on the system, which was on trial in only five planes before making a significant investment. The latest money making wheeze is to have in-flight gambling. Watch this space!

News comes of Ryanair selling a brand of water called Blue Rock water, which costs £1.85 for a 500 ml. Reports state that this special Ryanair water isn't from a pure mountain stream or highland spring – it is just carbonated tap water. To purchase the same water from Thames Water i.e. turn on the tap costs 0.06p per litre. The only difference between turning on the tap in any London home and Ryanair's Blue Rock is that the sparkling version has been carbonated at a water treatment works in Beckton, East London, before being bottled and labelled. While the label does not claim to be genuine spring water, neither does it make it clear that it is tap water. Britvic, which 'makes' Blue Rock, made exclusively for Ryanair, claimed the brand was about to be replaced by a new product called Pennine Spring, sourced from a natural spring in Huddersfield.

Kashmir Buses

Two new bus services linking Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Kashmir for Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir. The new service has been hailed as a major boost to India and Pakistan’s developing peace process. The inaugural service on 7 April was the first in nearly 60 years. Before you get too excited, it is still dangerous to visit this region and there is heavy security all along the route including decoy buses, escorted by the police and parafamilies forces. The historic bus services has been welcomed by most Kashmiris, many of whom have been divided by the decades-long conflict. Many of them have defied the militants’ call to avoid boarding the bus. “The desire to meet separated relatives is proving stronger than the fear of death,” a trader in Srinagar, Zaffar Ahmed, told the BBC News.

Meeting News from Texas

Due to bereavement in Christina's family, we regret to say that Texas meetings have stopped pending further notice. If you have time to spare and would like to take over Texas meetings, please contact the Beetle on: beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

Being Careful: Thailand

This is the latest advice from the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Thailand: there is a high threat from terrorism throughout Thailand, particularly in the far southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla. We recommend against all but essential travel to these four provinces where, since January 2004, there have been regular attacks including bombings and shootings. On 3 April, three bombs exploded in Songkhla Province, one at Hat Yai International Airport, one at a hotel and one in a shopping centre. Further attacks against places frequented by foreigners, including tourist resorts, could occur at any time.

Watch out for crimes of opportunity. Theft of passports and credit cards is a problem. Passport fraud is high and penalties are severe.

Penalties for possession, distribution or manufacture of drugs are severe and can include the death penalty.

There has been an increase since January 2005 in the number of reported cases of Dengue Fever, in particular in Southern Thailand and the area near the border with Malaysia. In a very small number of cases, Dengue Fever can be fatal if left untreated. If you suffer from a fever whilst (or shortly after) visiting Thailand, you should consult a doctor.

Fave Website

Spotted by Mac, a new travel website: http://www.travelpost.com/

London's Open House

Every September the annual Open House London event takes place and this year the dates are 17th & 18th September 2005. Over 500 buildings are opening their doors to everyone and turning the capital into a living architectural exhibition. And it's absolutely free! Last year, the Beetle and Padmassana braved the cold autumn air and set off to see if we could get to go inside the famous Gherkin – the tall, glass clad bullet shaped building. It could have been the early hour, or the lack of copious amounts of coffee, but coffee, we could see the gherkin but could we find it? It took an age to get there! By the time we got there, around 9.45am, the queues were breathtakingly long, as Padmassana's photos show.

So, instead, we went to the Bank of England and we joined a guided tour there. It was excellent! Believe it or not, the site of the Bank of England, which has been located in Threadneedle Street since 1734, covers a massive 3 ½ acres – who would have thought it! We moved down a very majestic staircase to some beautiful state rooms downstairs and through the gardens and up again to the rooms that are used to hold meetings with visiting officials to discuss monetary policy. The tour ended in the Bank's museum which is fascinating and includes a gold bullion bar, encased in bullet proof glass, of course, which Padmassana had a go at lifting through the specially designed hole for people to touch the bar. You can visit the museum any time and it is free of charge. The museum is open Monday to Friday, 10.00 – 17.00, Christmas Eve, 10.00 – 13.00 but is closed at weekends and on Public and Bank Holidays.

After the Bank of England tour, we visited one of the livery companies near Smithfield market and after a fry up at the Beetle's favourite 24/7 greasy spoon café, we headed up to St Pancras and joined a tour run by Arups, the consulting engineers responsible for building the new ST Pancras train staton which is to be the new home of the Eurostar as well as a new and upgraded train station for regional trains.

All photos are by Padmassana. We are looking forward to this year's Open House and maybe this time we'll be better organised to go and visit the Gherkin!

If you'd like more information about this years' event, then take a look at the official website, which also runs other architectural tours during the year: https://www.openhouselondon.org.uk/

Exploding Toads

Thousands of toads in an area of northern Germany are exploding. Seriously, this is not a late April Fool’s joke. Scientists do not yet know why the toads are exploding, but they are contracting some type of disease that causes their body to expand to three and a half times their normal body size – to bursting point. The BBC news report that the toads’ entrails are being propelled up to a metre (3.2ft), in scenes that have been likened to science fiction.

Sounds of Mikindani by Tim Crouch

Trade Aid is a UK based charity aimed at poverty alleviation in Southern Tanzania by creating educational and employment opportunities for the local community and assisting in the development of a sustainable tourist industry in Mikindani. As part of this, Trade Aid take on volunteers to work with the local community. Tim Crouch is one of these volunteers and her he writes about his experiences in the beautiful coastal town of Mikindani. For more information on the work that Trade carries out, see: http://www.tradeaiduk.org/

As the sun sets over Mikindani, the smoke sits in the valley and the sounds rise; after another day in paradise I can't help thinking about the overload heaped upon my senses whilst in Tanzania. The sights can always be captured by camera and many of the most delicious smells can be recreated in the kitchen buts it's the sounds that make Mikindani so special and it's the noises that will stick most in the mind. Words can only scratch the surface of the overload Mikindani places upon the sense of hearing.

The day always starts early in Mikindani and with it so do the sounds. At first light you hear the scraping, scratching noise of women sweeping, invariably just out side your door, a sound that rarely stops before it has accomplished its two aims of cleaning the street and waking Mikindani's inhabitants. Only after this sweeping has woken them up, do the cockerels start to crow. Being in Mikindani, you are never far away from some livestock, be it cows, goats or chicken and so you never feel far away from the farmyard. There is a theory circulating Trade Aid in Tanzania that animals in Tanzania are bred not for their meat (there can be none more gristly on earth) but for their capacity to break eardrums.

The first real human voices come following the early morning school bell, a rock hit against the redundant rim of an old car wheel signifies the children's long and noisy walk up the hill to school. During the day office work is accompanied by the dulcet tones of the women next door calling their various kids for various reasons from various corners of Mikindani. When the children finish school in the afternoon, again accompanied by a ring of the school “bell”, the noise starts off as a distant cheer and culminates in a crescendo of young voices shouting their delight at returning home after a hard day in the classroom. This shouting just puts them in the mood for some more shouting when the games start during the afternoon, a din that doesn't stop until early evening when again the various mamas call their various offspring this time purely for the reason of feeding time.

As you walk out to the road you are hit by the same diesel fumes encountered the world over but the amount of noise produced by such a tiny volume of traffic is a phenomenon unique to East Africa. The combination of decrepit engines and wildly elaborate horns produces a sound that will eclipse anything produced in a New York traffic jam.

As we sit down to dinner the call to prayer from the mosque chimes in for the fourth and therefore penultimate time that day. After dinner we walk down the hill with the food for the dog, the fourth resident of the Trade Aid house to the sound of his whimpering at the smell of the leftovers we are carrying. Just as we lay in bed trying to get to sleep the women of Mikindani have one last blast this time to round up the men of the town before allowing all of us to slip off until the next day when the sensory overload will start all over again. I for one will miss it like crazy.

Great Wall of China

Last year China’s first person in space disappointed the nation when he said he could not see the Great Wall of China from space. However, photographs taken from space appear to confirm that China’s Great Wall can be spotted by the naked eye after all. So China’s schoolchildren who are taught that the Great Wall is one of the only man-made structures you can see can breathe easy again.

So You Think You're Well Travelled?

So You Think You’re Well Travelled?

Here’s a little Beetle quiz based on capital cities. See how many you get right! Go on, have a guess!

What is the capital city of the following countries:

  1. Chile
  2. Finland
  3. Kiribati
  4. Israel
  5. Comoros

For the answers, see at the end of the eNewsletter.

Traveller's Diseases: Bird Flu

What is it: there are believed to be at least 15 different types of avian flu that routinely infect birds around the world. The current outbreak is caused by a strain known as H5N1, which is highly contagious among birds and rapidly fatal. Unfortunately, unlike many other strains of avian flu, it can be transmitted to humans, causing severe illness and death.

How do I get it: human cases have been blamed on direct contact with infected chickens and their droppings. People who catch the virus from birds can pass it on to other humans, although the disease is generally milder in those who caught it from an infected person rather than from birds.

What happens if I get it: bird flu can cause a range of symptoms in humans – some patients report fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches. Others suffer from eye infections, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress and other severe and life-threatening complications.

Diagnose and treatment: flu drugs exist that may be used both to prevent people from catching bird flu and to treat those who have it. Currently there is no vaccine, although scientists are working to develop one.

How can I avoid contracting rabies: the World Health Organization recommends that infected or exposed flocks of chickens and other birds be killed in order to help prevent further spread of the virus and reduce opportunities for human infection. However, the agency warns that safety measures must be taken to prevent exposure to the virus among workers involved in culling.

10 Interesting Facts

10 Interesting Facts

  1. The United States has the most money, power, airports, cell

    phones, radios and ISP's.

  2. The United States consumes more energy than India, the Middle East, South America, Africa, South East Asia and Oceania combined – which means more than 3.1 billion people.
  3. The top 5 energy consumers are all cold countries. The next 6 are mostly oil producers.
  4. Top per capita importing and exporting nations tend to be a little small.
  5. In Australia, there's plenty of open road. Which is just as well, because you wouldn't want to park your car.
  6. You're 66 times more likely to be prosecuted in the USA as in France.
  7. Nearly 1% of Montserrat ions are police.
  8. Most Zambians don't live to see their 40th birthday.
  9. Want your kids to stay in school? Send them to Norway.
  10. Mexico has the most Jehovah's Witnesses per capita in the OECD.

Source: www.nationmaster.com

Globetrotters Travel Award

A member of Globetrotters Club? Interested in a £1,000 travel award?

Know someone who is? We have £1,000 to award each year for five years for the best submitted independent travel plan. Interested?

Then see our legacy page on our Website, where you can apply with your plans for a totally independent travel trip and we'll take a look at it. Get those plans in!!

First Impressions by Sue Button

From 25,000 feet the view of the Tanzanian coastline with its coral reefs, long sandy bays and azure blue sea looks like a classic glossy travel brochure. And the 15-minute drive from Mtwara airport reveals tantalising glimpses of the Indian Ocean between the exotic display of palm and baobab trees. But as we enter Mikindani village I'm looking more carefully at the scenery – for me this isn't an exotic holiday destination; this is to be my home.

I've already been advised that the first two weeks will be in 'Homestay' i.e. living with a local family, so I'm interested to see what the local homes look like. I know that I won't be staying in one of the daub and wattle huts, but in one of the old stone houses. Sounds good. But the first stone houses that we pass, although inhabited, appear to be in total ruin..?

Becky introduces me to my host, Mr Sijaona. He is a small wiry man with a purposeful stride. He welcomes me into his house. I gaze around at the crumbling walls and the total lack of comfort. But then he says in halting English that his other house is better, (two wives, therefore two houses) – so I pick up my suitcase and follow him down the dusty street.

His other house is in a rather worse state of disrepair. The ceiling of the front room is in a pile behind the door. I can't see much detail, as the inside of the house is inky black after the bright sunshine outside. He pulls aside an old piece of cloth to show me to my quarters. I have arrived.

I can't deny that during that first evening I wonder what on earth I'm doing. Waves of panic alternate with interest, and frustration. I want to ask a hundred questions; which is your wife and who are all the other girls, children and women; what are we going to eat for dinner and how is it prepared, how does the family get water, how many people live in this house,…. but I can't seem to make myself understood, or at least the answers in halting English don't match my questions. I'm clutching my 'Teach Yourself Swahili' but at this stage it might as well be 'Astrophysics for Beginners'.

By Day Four I'm beginning to make a bit more sense of my surroundings. I've wandered around the Boma and its grounds, visited a couple of schools, explored the village, the waterfront and the yacht club, but more importantly had time to watch and chat to local people. 'Chatting' takes the form of sign language, my pathetic attempts at Swahili greetings, and local people's various standards of English. Mr Sijaona and his family are being wonderfully patient and helpful. I went with him yesterday to water his garden and help him plant sweet potatoes. Yesterday morning wife number 2 (you see, I am beginning to find things out) sat with me for over an hour teaching me how to plait grasses into a tape which forms the basis of a mat. And this morning Mr Sijaona showed me how to weave a basket from palm leaves.

They are delighted to teach me these things and are willing me to absorb the Swahili they keep throwing my way. If only I could absorb it all quickly. But it's “Pole pole catchy monkey”. I'll get there!

Qantas Man in Camel Suit

A baggage handler wearing a camel suit taken from a passenger's luggage has lead to Qantas Airways installing cameras in the baggage handling areas.

Passenger David Cox complained after he saw a baggage handler driving across the Sydney airport tarmac on Wednesday wearing the camel suit that had been packed into the baggage he had checked in only minutes earlier. Mr Cox, a marketing manager, had checked the camel suit and a crocodile costume onto Qantas flight 425 from Sydney to Melbourne in a large bag marked saying it was carrying animal costumes.

He said he was standing near his boarding gate and at first thought nothing when a child said “there's a guy with a moose head”. But then he looked up and saw his camel costume. Mr Cox later told ABC radio: “I obviously was flabbergasted.

Mac's Travel Reminiscences

We are sorry to say that Mac is not very well, but he is still e-mailing strong and recently sent the Beetle a collection of travel reminiscences about Australia, camels which takes us to India and then back to Australia.

In Alice Springs Australia I stayed in an Anglican (Church) Hostel. I was pleased but surprised that they sold beer in this church hostel. Nothing wrong with this especially since it was Australia but something different. When we arrived in Alice Springs the bus driver got a broom and swept off the dust from our suitcases. I guess the Coober Pedy, where the author of article below stared his safari from was that town, that was mostly underground as it was so hot. Even the chapel or church was underground where I went to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. They dug and searched for emeralds underground. You paid a few dollars and you could dig for same.

I think maybe they planted inferior or cheap emeralds so tourist could discover them but maybe it was genuine. On our bus going to the outback there were two drivers, double springs, double air conditioning and one tub full of ice in aisle way where people put beer (it was the Holidays). We stopped at one out of the way shack and it was full of grizzled natives.

We had a British lady with us that was dressed as if she was going to a party at Buckingham Palace and she carried a dainty parasol. The grizzled natives decided they would have some fun with this British lady. They said. You know when Prince Philip was in Australia he went with a native girl. The lady replied “Good for him!” It turned out she was a journalist and had been around and could pass out the repartee too. I used the term Safari which in Africa means any kind of journey I am told, but don't know if they call them that in Australia.

I am reminded of camels. One of the reasons I did not enjoy a camel safari in Rajasthan was because we did not have an entertaining fun group of people and we did not see much except sand dunes. I am a sightseer and want to see things. Ha! It was kind of boring but another time I might have enjoyed it. I really did enjoy the cities with their castles and their colourful people in colourful garb in Rajasthan and it was kind of medieval or something. It was just that I was kind of out of sorts on that day of camel riding. Sometimes on a lengthy trip you need to stop travelling and just sleep or rest for a day or two (kind of a vacation within a vacation) and then continue on. I was trying to see all of India in one trip. I later returned two more times and by then I was more adjusted to India and really enjoyed it. I only recommend India though to people that can kind of rough it and don't get too upset by poverty. Poverty in warm countries where they have large family support does not bother me as much as poverty in cold countries. I saw a lady in Nepal sitting on the ground trying to sell six peanuts. Come to think of it, tourists were giving her money so maybe she knew what she was doing.

Back to Australia: there is an article in the January 2001 Smithsonian Magazine titled For Dromedary Trekkers in Australia's outback its Camelot in the Desert by Derek Grzelewski, photographs by Mark S Wesler. The Author had seen a sign earlier on a camel farm “For those of you who have never ridden a camel we have camels that have never been ridden before”. Here is a condensation of the rather lengthy but interesting article.

It was a 150 mile desert trek on two dozen dromedaries from Archaring Hills north of Coober Pedy toward Witjaira National Park. The camels go in single file with three weeks of provisions (swags (sleeping rolls) and 100 gallons of water). The human participants would ride only an average of two hours a day taking turns sharing the two camels that were not carrying supplies and equipment. The rest of the time they walked beside the camels. (Me/Mac speaking now: I one time took about a two hour safari on camel out of Rajasthan India. Maybe it was a half day. I had forgotten about it until I read this article. The camels and their keepers in Australia originally came from Rajasthan, India or Northern India and Pakistan. The five seasoned cameleers and eight adventurers in Australia might have been on camels that were ancestors of the camel I tried to ride.

The author describes the trip as a gentle rocking motion that one could read a book while riding. (Me, I remember my ride as mildly uncomfortable. My camel was smelly and had bad breath worse than mine. In Egypt outside Pyramids the touts will tell you if you are an American that your camels name is Coca Cola. If you are Canadian they will tell you that your camels name is Canadian Club, if German your name is Heineken. Same camel. I disliked the camel I rode in Rajasthan so much that I did not ask its name.

All I could think of was I want to get back to civilization and get a cold beer. We had no beer with us. Perhaps it was forbidden. Drunken tourists and drunken camels would have been more fun. Camels can do without water for weeks but I couldn't go a couple of hours without beer. Camels can travel 600 miles without drinking if food is succulent (plants) and the air cool. These camels and handlers (known as Afghans or simply Ghans) brought from India many years ago were used to haul supplies to remote mines and sheep stations. Also sleepers for the Transcontinental Railway and the first piano arrived in Alice Springs lashed to the hump of a camel. Between 10,000 and 20,000 were released to the desert to fend for themselves when the Ghans became unemployed and could not feed their camels. The camels thrived in the desert and doubled their population every six to ten years.

There are now as many as 40,000 out in the desert. “The once unsurpassed beast of burden became simply a beast and a burden.” Now the Australians find camel meat lean and tasty and the fur and hides are used for crafts and clothing. The author did not say how much trip cost. Mine out of Rajasthan was reasonable and I got it from one of their Government sponsored hotels in Rajasthan. Now for a quiz for my generation: was the Arab on the package of Camel cigarettes riding the camel, standing beside the camel or leading the camel? Answer: he was not sitting on the camel, standing beside the camel or leading the camel. He was behind the pyramid in the picture taking a sh_t.

Happy Camel Riding. Mac

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