Category Archives: archive

Munich Explored

The Beetle recently visited Munich for shell repairing and discovered that it is a really nice, friendly, pretty and interesting city, easy to get around with some surprising touches – beautiful architecture, outdoor markets, fountains and sculptures.

How to get there: the airport at Munich is vast and well served. From London you can take Lufthansa and British Airways. It’s a short hop – around 1 ¾ hours. To get into the city centre, there are two S-Bahns – the slow one, the S1 and the faster S8. Either journey takes less than an hour. Tickets costs 9 euros and can be used on your next journey to complete your destination, e.g. the bus. You can buy tickets on the platform or from the airport information counter. The S-Bahns are excellent, cheap, clean, completely safe and frequent. Both go directly from the airport via many stations around the city to the central train station where you can make your connection with one of the other many S and U-Bahns.

When to go: well, the Octoberfest jumps out as a good time to visit Munich, which takes place over four weekends in September/October. Otherwise, any time, although July is very, very hot! There are good Christmas markets in November and December. There is almost always a large festival taking place in Munich during any given month.

What is there to see and do: lots and lots. You can stay in the city centre and easily spend a weekend prowling around the baroque churches, museums, art galleries, the town hall, theatres, outdoor fresh produce market, the Residenz, botanical gardens, the Olympic stadium and the English Gardens. One of the oddest sights was muscle-bound tanned men surfing on an artificially made wave of the Eisbach, about 5m wide in the English Garden. For major label shopping, all of the posh shops are rather conveniently concentrated on one street, Maximillian Strasse, otherwise, there’s plenty of high street shopping to do around Marienplaz and some wonderful off beat shops in Munich’s back streets.

Is there more to do than just a weekend? If you want! You can take self guided walking tours around the city, or join one of many walking tours, run in many different languages, or alternatively, there are a variety of day trips that you can do, solo or in an organised group, including one to Dachau, one of many Bavarian palaces, or even the Alps.

Food and Drink? Large portions seem to be the norm. If you like pork, you’ll be very happy here. There is a wide range of restaurants from the usual fast food outlets to upmarket French, Italian, Thai and local Bavarian speciality restaurants. The Hofbrauhaus may be a little touristy, but it’s well worth a visit for a beer and some local food if you are strolling around the English Garden.

Prices? Eating out is generally very reasonably priced, but hotels can be a little pricey. Search on the internet first and contact the tourism agency.

Language: don’t worry if you don’t speak German, a few basic words go a long way, but most people you will encounter speak some English, and menus written in English are widely available.

Free London Museums: Theatre Museum

The Theatre Museum has five galleries illustrating the history of the performing arts in the UK. The collection includes displays on theatre, ballet, dance, circus, puppetry, opera, musicals, rock and pop. There's usually a daily workshop on performing arts subjects, such as pantomime and making a play.

Where: Russell Street, Covent Garden.

Open: Tue-Sun, 10:00-18:00.
Tube: Covent Garden Enquiries: 020 7943 4700
Entrance: free admission for individuals.

No Nessie!

UK’s BBC recently undertook a special search for the Loch Ness Monster. Using sonar equipment and satellite navigation technology, they combed the entire lake of Loch Ness but found no proof of “Nessie’s” existence. Aaaah!

UK Government Asks Travel Operators to Boycott Burma

The UK Foreign Office has asked British tour operators to stop arranging holidays to Burma because of the ruling regime's record on human rights.

In a letter to ABTA, the Association of British Tour Agents, the UK’s Foreign Office minister, said that there were “compelling reasons” not to holiday in Burma.

He cited the use of forced labour by the Burmese Junta, who have been used to help build some of Burma’s tourism infrastructure and that some communities have been forcibly relocated to make way for tourism-related developments.

Recently, the military regime stepped up its actions against democracy groups in a campaign of violence and intimidation and has arrested the democratically elected Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy.

ABTA in its turn said that it left commercial and moral decisions on holiday destinations to its members: “It's up to our members to make that decision,” said an ABTA official. “It would be different if the Foreign Office were advising people not to go to Burma because it was dangerous.”

The Globetrotters e-news recently reported that award winning Kuoni, has withdrawn from Burma following the lobbying of Burma Campaign UK.

Do you have a view? Would you travel to Burma, or would boycott it? Write in and tell the Beetle your views: beetle@globetrotters.co.uk

Austravel Fair, London

Austravel, the Australia and New Zealand travel specialists are holding a fair in London Saturday 30th August 2003.

Lonely Planet will be at the Austravel Fair, where they’ll be offering advice on the top 10 most frequently asked questions they receive about Australia and New Zealand.

Where: London Commonwealth Institute, Kensington High Street, London When: Saturday 30 August 2003 More info: visit http://www.austravel.com

Luggage Complaints

The UK's Air Transport Users Council, the passenger watchdog organisation reports that complaints about baggage problems continue to increase more than in any other category. Almost a quarter of all complaints registered last year related to lost luggage. There was a 44 percent increase in written complaints, with mishandled baggage at the top of the list followed by complaints about delays, cancellations and ticketing problems.

Padmassana Travels To Japan . Part 2

Padmassana went travelling around Kyushu in June/July time. Here is the second of three extracts from his travel journal.

I left Beppu in more torrents of rain after a night of storms and went to Miyazaki. Miyazaki was a staging post on the way to Kagoshima and is famous for the Haniwa figures, clay statues that were found in burial mounds, similar to the Xian terracotta warriors. These were all items the Shogun would need to take with him to the other world. Some are funny, some threatening, some are mysterious, and include boats, carriages and horses. I found a local moggie asleep in one of the carriages, taking shelter from the rain!

After finding my nice hotel I decided to go to Heidawa Park and promptly got lost. There is a Peace Tower in he park, built in 1940. It started to hail so I ended up sheltering under a bridge. There was a Mini Mart near by so I went in for a sausage on a stick and found I was actually very near the park.

From Miyazaki, I did the 2 hour ride down to Kagoshima. I was immediately impressed with Kagoshima – it is a lovely city, has a very nice Ryokan, a KFC and a McDonalds all within a short walk, so I wont be starving!

It’s now lovely and warm and the sun occasionally comes out. The Nakazono Ryokan in Kagoshima was superb, tatami mat floor with futon. The owner is very knowledgeable about the city, such as knowing where the free internet cafes are and says the weather is going to be good for the next few days! Had lunch by the port looking towards the volcano Sakurajima.

I took the 24 hour ferry from Kagoshima, a 5 minute boat trip ($3.50, £2 return) across the sea between Sakurajima and the volcano. Once there, you take the tour bus that picks you up from where the ferry docks. It runs twice a day and costs 1,700 Yen, about £10 or $15. I did a tour, 10 Japanese people and me! The guide didn’t speak any English so she gave me a book with numbers. She would be gabbling away in Japanese, then she’d shout “Number 21” and I’d read the book while trying to look out of the window! Really enjoyed the island, where I saw all the different layers of lava and the lava fields which you can see from the viewing platforms is in wave shapes. The tour includes a village that has been buried and a ceramics workshop where you can buy pottery glazed with volcanic ash.

I also went to Ibusuki to try out sand bathing. You go upstairs, pay 900 yen about £6, and are given a big cotton bath robe and walk across the beach which is so hot on the feet to lie down in a body shaped hole already dug. You are then covered in this volcanic steaming sand for 20 minutes. After this, you feel nice and warm, but don’t do as I did and go and wash your toes in the sea, because it is too hot! Instead you wash yourself off under the tap carefully placed for visitors to clean off. It is supposed to be good for you!

If you would like to contact Padmassana to ask him about his time in Japan, he can be e-mailed on: Padmassana. A good web resource, says Padmassana is: http://www.seejapan.co.uk/fseedo.html

SARS

There is huge relief among Asian airlines after the World Health Organization declared that the SARS virus has now been contained in all affected countries.

Taiwan was the last area to be removed from WHO’s warning list.

Taiwan's tourist authorities are also planning a USD$8.72 million publicity drive to tempt tourists back to the island.

In Singapore, a TV channel dedicated to SARS information will close. In all, SARS was responsible for more than 800 deaths worldwide and there were a total of 8,400 cases in 30 countries.

The SARS virus started in China’s Guangdong province, on February 21 this year, when an infected medical doctor from Guangdong checked into a Hong Kong hotel. Other guests were infected and spread the virus when they travelled to their next destinations.

Bangladeshi Bus Bust

Police in Bangladesh have announced new measures to combat the organised gangs who are terrorising transport owners, workers and passengers into handing over money at many of the capital, Dhaka’s bus terminals. The Bangladesh Rifles have combined with a newly formed Rapid Action Team in an attempt to bring the practice to an end. 72 people have been arrested so far, accused of terrorising drivers and passengers into handing over money to criminal organisations.

LAX Airport

Los Angeles’ mayor, Jim Hahn has revealed plans to make LAX “the safest and most secure airport in America.” This involves knocking down three of the nine terminals and introducing radical transportation ideas.

If approved, the plan to rebuild the airport would be completed over 11 years and allow for an increase in passenger numbers of more than 20 million.

Amongst the proposals are a passenger check-in linked to the terminals by people mover trains.

So You Think You.re Well Travelled?

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

Which cities are served by airports with the following codes:

  1. MUC
  2. GOA
  3. YTZ
  4. SGN
  5. AEP

For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.

Gary Cycles Around the UK

Gary, from the US is planning to cycle 1,500 miles around the UK. He started his journey on the 16th of May 2003. Since that date he has travelled over 1,100 miles on a recumbent bike. At the time of writing, he has approximately 400 mile to go to complete the trip. Gary says: “The trip has been a real adventure. It's been absolutely fantastic!”

I had an interesting day today. I left Banff this morning around 9 am, and was heading for Elgin. It was raining, but not hard. Fifteen miles into my ride my rear tyre went flat. It was a good spot on the side of the road and the rain had stopped. I managed to get a new tube installed, but, evidently, I damaged the tube and the tyre immediately went flat – again. Well, I was on the edge of a village so I pushed the bike to town for help. There wasn't a bike shop or garage in town. The first person I met was a chap taking pictures of the bay. We started driving around in his car looking for help.

We came up to some workers working on the water mains. The boss wound up taking me to the next town five miles up the road to a bike shop. He wouldn’t hear of me compensating him for his troubles. He said he needed to do his part in increasing tourism. Luckily the bike shop was open. They are closed on Wednesday's. The fellow that owns the bike shop had his wife make me up a cup of tea. She also invited me in her home so that I could clean the grease off my hands. By this time it's three o'clock in the afternoon, so I decided to call it a day, and found a lovely four star B&B. People here are so friendly and generous here it's unbelievable.

One thing I've learned, it doesn't take much to survive. I'm on a seven week trip with roughly two of everything. I have to keep clothes in three groups – clean, only used one or two days, and definitely need to be washed. If I can't find anybody to wash them or too embarrassed to ask, I wash out a set in the sink with hand soap and hope they dry by morning. More than once, I had to put on wet clothes. I'm sure this isn't the kind of news you were waiting to hear, but that's the reality of the trip.

I've tried almost everything on the menu, but one of the things I haven't tried is black pudding. They tell me it's very good, but someone said it's fried pigs’ blood. I haven't been able to bring myself to trying it. Maybe it's something I'll never have the opportunity of experiencing.

I'm still slugging along. Today I was feeling so smug. I was ready to bestow expert map reader after my name till this afternoon. There were conflicting signals on the trail and I went left instead of right. The outcome was too bizarre to go into much detail. The upshot was I was lost and in the middle of a field that a farmer was cutting hay. The hill was steep and slippery. When I tried to apply the brakes, my feet snagged the cut grass and I was catapulted headfirst. Luckily, I had a soft landing. Well, I finally made it to my destination of Falkland at 6 pm. It's a real small town with a castle and huge cathedral. Yesterday I was talking to the sheep all day.

I was in Inverness. I don't know how everybody keeps putting up with me. I'm constantly asking for directions to somewhere- bike shop, streets, B&Bs', you name it. Everybody is so patient and willing to help in any way they can. I'm not shy when it comes to asking for directions. When you're on a bike you can kill a half hour real quickly going in circles. I met a couple of hikers around my age (nearing retirement) over breakfast at the last b&b I stayed at in Buckie called the Rosemount who are from the Orkney Islands. They looked at my map and it so happens I'll be passing within a half mile of their house. They asked me to stop by for a cup of tea. What a small world!

When I was eating dinner last night I noticed on the menu they were featuring lamb imported from New Zealand. Now, of all the things the Scotts need to import you would think the last thing would be sheep. Somebody said in a grocery store a couple of days ago, “You've seen more of the UK in the last four weeks than I've seen in my whole life”. I suspect that's true!

Fave Travel Website

The Beetle has a real soft spot for Spain – great food, good wine, friendly people, wonderful language, easy to get around and fabulous paradores to stay in. A paradore is a government owned hotel, but don’t let that you put you off. Paradores are frequently old converted forts, castles, convents and monasteries – large sized rooms, well appointed, great food! Take a look at: www.parador.es

Anyone visited a paradore? Write and tell the Beetle.

Our Friends Ryanair

European no-frills airline Ryanair says it is to stop accepting American Express charge cards. They say Amex makes higher charges than most other companies and that they will refuse to take bookings on the cards from the end of June 2003. Ryanair emphasized that it would continue to accept other credit cards.

Ryanair reported a big rise in net profits in its last financial year. Net profits of EUR239.4 million (USD$281.4 million) were 59 percent up on the previous year and the carrier says it expects to see passenger numbers in 2003/04 to soar to 24 million from the present 15.7 million. They are predicting that they will overtake both British Airways and Germany's Lufthansa within three years.

And finally here is a very sad website, for all those who would like to “virtually” fly a Ryanair plane. http://members.lycos.co.uk/virtualryanair/AboutVirtualRyanair.htm

Train from Alice to Darwin, Australia

Tickets are on sale for the inaugural journeys on the Alice Springs to Darwin extension of the Great Southern Railway’s (GSR) line between Adelaide and Alice. The journey will take 47 hours, and is 2,979km. The date for the first departure is still to be finalised but is expected to be some time in January 2004. The new A$1.3bn, 1,420km extension of the Ghan line is well ahead of schedule, 80% complete and will end Darwin’s isolation from the rest of Australia’s rail network.

The train service between Adelaide in South Australia and Alice Springs in the Northern Territory is known as the “Ghan,” in recognition of the early Afghan cameleers who pioneered the journey into Central Australia. This began in August 1929 and it was always intended to extend the line to Darwin, but it never happened.

On completion the line will make Australia the only country in the world to boast both north/south and east/west transcontinental rail journeys.

The Ghan will operate one weekly return service between Adelaide and Darwin and two weekly return services between Adelaide and Alice Springs.

For more info, see: greatsouthernrail.com.au

MEETING NEWS

Meeting news from our branches around the world.

Fact File: Oceans and Seas

Facts about the Oceans and Seas of the world

Ocean Pacific Atlantic Indian Southern Arctic
Area Sq Miles 60,060,700 29,637,900 26,469,500 7,848,300 5,427,000
Area Sq Km 155,557,000 76,762,000 68,556,000 20,327,000 14,056,000
Avge depth ft 13,215 12,880 13,002 14750 3,953
Avge depth m 4,028 3,926 3,963 4,500 1,205
Greatest depth ft 36,198 30,246 24,460 23,736 18,456
Greatest depth m 11,033 9,219 7,455 7,235 5,625
Place of greatest known depth Mariana Trench Puerto Rico Trench Sunda Trench South Sandwich Trench 77°45'N; 175°W

Airline News

Qantas began flying to Rome in 1948 but is suspending services because of SARS and the threat of terrorism.

Low cost UK based carrier bmibaby is to start services from Manchester to both Prague and Barcelona. Fares start from £32.49 one way

US regional carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines, which operates as both United Express and Delta Connection, has bought 150 defibrillators to deal with in-flight emergencies when passengers or crew suffer suspected heart for 148 of its aircraft.

The WHO has lifted travel bans to both Canada and Taiwan due to SARS. The travel ban on Kenya has also been lifted, Mombassa remains restricted to UK carriers until security at the coastal airport is increased but transport officials are optimistic that flights will be resumed at Kenya's busiest airport for tourists.

Meeting News from London

Globetrotters meeting 7th June 2003 by Padmassana

Simon Myers was our first speaker, who described part of his epic motorbike trip from Beijing across to the border of Pakistan. Simon had been living and working in China and was thus able to buy a very unreliable motorbike and set off with some companions and a Chinese mechanic on their trip, no licence or crash helmet required. Setting off from Beijing under the gaze of Chairman Mao, they were soon in the countryside and breaking down at regular intervals. But thanks to having their local mechanic along they were soon on their way again.

Their group was often the centre of attention in the places they went through and they were often fed along the way, one of Simon’s memorable photographs was of a breakfast consisting of all the bits of a chicken that you are unlikely to want to eat. Along the way he saw where the Great Wall of China is nothing but a ruin and the Dun Huang Buddhist grottos. Somehow they managed against the odds to cross the Taklamakan and Gobi deserts.

At Urumqi they said goodbye to their mechanic who flew back to Beijing. The final few weeks to the border they were on their own. They had tried to keep their trip a secret from officialdom so as not to attract attention and problems, but at the border the guards knew all about them from a photograph and piece in a newspaper. The guards were surprised to see them, as nobody in China believed they would make it!

Our second speaker was Globie committee member Jacqui Trotter. Jacqui took a year out to travel around South America, during which time most Globies were kept informed of her progress via regular e-mail bulletins.

Her talk covered only part of her trip, from Ecuador where she first arrived and tried to get to grips with the language down to Chile. Jacqui was part of an overland group, which left Ecuador in November 2001 heading south into Peru. She showed us some wonderful pictures of Peruvian beaches and the snow capped Andean peaks.

She braved a light aircraft flight in order to see the Nazca lines, bravely managing to take a photo before airsickness kicked in. Jacqui showed us Arequipa church being held up by scaffolding after one of the many earthquakes that the area is prone to. Her other highlights of Peru were seeing a condor after waiting a few hours and the more obvious sights of Cuzco and the spectacular ruins of Machu Picchu. Crossing the border into Bolivia she visited La Paz.

By this stage as she headed for Chile the rainy season was starting and her vehicle had to make a long journey to avoid the salt flats. Jacqui and her fellow travellers continued over the border and visited the Salar de Uyuni, where she showed us the salt hotel, where literally everything is made of salt including the furniture and fittings. At the end of this section of her trip Jacqui managed to take some superb photos of ice breaking from a glacier, right place, right time.

London meetings are held at The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, behind the Fortune Theatre in Covent Garden at 2.30pm the first Saturday of each month. There is no London meeting in August, but we will be back in September. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotters Info line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk