Category Archives: archive

Learning Spanish in Ecuador

I am in New York and I opened Adelante Spanish School (http://spanishamerica.com) with my Partner, Monica Guerra, who manages day-to-day affairs in Quito. For free help in planning a Ecuador trip, arranging a room in Quito and especially to plan Spanish lessons please contact us (lee@spanishamerica.com in English or monica@spanishamerica.com in Spanish)

In my opinion Quito, Ecuador and Antigua, Guatemala are the best places in the world for a traveller to learn Spanish quickly and affordably and with a great deal of fun. There are hundreds of schools in either city and the competition keeps the quality high and the cost low. The cost of language instruction can be under US$5/hr for one to one instruction and you can experience room and board with a local family for about $15/day. Having experienced both I chose to start my venture in Ecuador.

Quito’s many schools are excellent and the instructors are experienced. You will find relatively few people who speak English inQuito but all are patient with foreigners making it very conducive to learning. You should have no problem mastering Spanish as long as you study. You don’t need to do or study anything before you go. There is a lot to distract in Quito. If you take classes for 4-5 hours a day, try to study for three hours or so either over lunch or at dinner. It is a great place and you will find the most difficult thing about studying is that there are many wonderful things to do in Ecuador.

Ecuador is a place where you can do a lot and don't need a formal plan, reservations, etc. It is very easy to decide to do something (visit: jungle, mountain, hike, colonial, market, coast) on a Thursday night, to get on a bus Friday afternoon and to find a hotel when you arrive. It is the best way to meet people and to make sure that your experience is the best possible. Furthermore, Spanish schools tend to be flexible and accommodating for the spontaneous traveller.

Small schools are less expensive and tend to offer more personal attention and a better immersion experience while more costly larger schools offer the opportunity to socialize with more American students and English speakers. If you want a large number of peers visit a large school as well as a smaller school.

Most schools specialize in one-to-one Spanish instruction. One to one immersion training offers the best way to rapidly develop your language skills. Most professors are skilled and experienced in engaging in interesting conversation with students that is gauged to their level and challengs them to improve at their best ability. Your professor should be able to tell where you need assistance and focus on that aspect of your language training. Discusssion in English can be a welcome relief but they do not often further the goal of learning Spanish nearly so well as struggling with Spanish. That is what immersion is all about. There are volunteer opportunities available in and around Quito. Schools work with organisations to arrange volunteer opportunities

Please contact lee@spanishamerica.com or monica@spanishamerica.com for information or look at their web site http://spanishamerica.com. We can pick you up at the airport even if you later decide not to study with us. We are also happy to discuss your plans and assist in arrangements without any fees.

One Off Ivory Sale

The United Nations agreed last month to allow Botswana to have a one off sale of approximately 20,000 kilogrammes of ivory from elephant tusks, expected to be stockpiled by 2004. Similar bids have also been approved to take place in Namibia (who have 10,000kg of elephant tusk ivory) and South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe have also asked to do the same. Some environmental and conservation groups have reacted angrily to the news, saying the decision could “spell doom” for elephants and will encourage poaching. The African elephant population has fallen from 1.3 million in 1980 to between 300,000 and 450,000 today.

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. CPT

2. NBO

3. VCE

4. ORD

5. PRG

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

Storm Chasing

Believe it or not, storm chasing has become something of a hobby. So when the weather is bad, throw away that jigsaw, that book, that piece of embroidery or the TV guide, get your waterproofs on, grab a map and jump into your car! Oh, and don’t forget your camera or camcorder and mobile (cell) phone! The real storm “techies” fit thermometers, barometers, hygrometers and even anemometers in their cars.

Why do this? It’s a lot of fun – generated heart churning adrenaline levels and can involve you in some of the most beautiful sky scenes. According to the UK storm chasers club, people who actively chase tend to have “a sound meteorological knowledge of the atmosphere and storms including their behaviour and dynamics. It is this knowledge that keeps them safe: storm chasing can be dangerous if undertaken by inexperienced individuals both for themselves and others. In the UK the danger is even greater due to our busy and congested road networks. When you encounter a local storm these already bad road conditions will rapidly deteriorate with copious amounts of standing rain water, flash flooding and sometimes even a hail covering.

So how do you do it? Again, according to the British club, the trick is to attempt to forecast where thunderstorms may develop and then head to a favourable area. There are hundreds and hundreds of people including storm chasers who attempt their own forecasts using internet data. There are lots of websites with information including Westwind.ch they make surface pressure charts and upper air charts freely available. You can also get various lightning detection products (often called sferics products) and you can now get free hourly radar images on the BBC Weather pages. If you wish there is also data available on line but at cost. For example there is a better radar picture now offered by Avbrief but there is a fee. “The majority of us are TORRO members which means images we capture and information we gather is gratefully received and put to good use,” says a storm chaser from Holland.

There are storm chasing groups in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, all over the United States and Australia. The Dutch Storm Chase Team formed last year when the guys got together for a one-off chase that ended up so much fun they decided to make a regular thing of it. “We started that afternoon,” says Bernard Hulshof, a meteorologist with Holland Weather Services, “and drove to the west near Schiphol Airport where we saw numerous showers, beautiful showers, large rainbows and deep blue skies. It was heaven for us and later on we followed the storm to the province of Flevoland, in the centre of The Netherlands. By then it had become dark, the sun was setting and the storm was producing lightning. It was all very exciting and very successful for us.”

In the US, there is a region known as Tornado Alley that stretches from Texas northward to the Dakotas. More tornados occur there than anywhere else on earth, so this is naturally something of a mecca for storm chasers. “I can't think of any other place on earth which would be more exciting for storms than Tornado Alley,” says Harald of the Netherlands’ club. “The situation in America is perfect for storm development, it's unique in the world. You can get any type of storm if you have time for it. But of course,” he adds, without even a hint of irony, “it all depends on the weather.”

The Beetle found a couple of companies that specialise in storm chasing “tours” – if this interests you, you might want to check out Silver Lining Tours, owned by David Gold, a meteorologist and self proclaimed outstanding storm chaser. He says he will take customers to watch incredible super cells, awesome tornadoes, huge hail and wild lightning.

Texas-based Tempest Tours are taking bookings now for Storm Chasing Expeditions in the 2003 spring season. The company, headed by three veteran storm chasers (with more than 50 years of storm chasing experience), will lead six tours into Tornado Alley in search of nature's most spectacular weather. The tours take place in May and June, the peak of tornado activity in the United States. Tours will depart from Oklahoma City and in minivans. Veteran storm chasers typically drive 100-400 miles a day to reach their targets.

Stormchasing.com say“if you're looking for adventure, you'll love this thrilling storm chasing holiday in America. We offer “10-Day” and “5-Day” tours where you'll travel across a number of states. One of our vans is the most highly equipped chase van in Tornado Alley — unlike any other storm chasing van on the road.” They go on to say that they are the only storm chasing company that has “real-time” weather information 100% of the time, delivered by satellite technology to our storm chasing van. You will get to ride in that van and be part of the action as we chase down severe storms and tornados in America's Tornado Alley!!

Orang-utans Found

Orang-utans, like gorillas and chimpanzees, are often described as the closest relatives of humans. They are in grave danger of extinction, because their habitat is under threat from illegal logging, forest fires and gold mining. According to a report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the annual 5% loss of habitat means there will be virtually no intact forest left for them by 2030. Wild orang-utans exist only on two southeast Asian islands, Borneo and Sumatra.

A secret population of orang-utans has been discovered in the forests of the island of Borneo. Conservationists believe about 2,000 rare apes are living out of sight in a remote lowland region of East Kalimantan. The find, if confirmed, will raise the number of known orang-utans in the world by about 10% and represents hope of saving the endangered primate from extinction in the wild. Primate experts have predicted that the apes will be found only in zoos by the year 2020 unless immediate steps are taken to protect them.

Source: BBC

Sunrise and a ray of hope by Andy Brouwer

It was 8.30am and I was waiting for Rosanna White in the early morning sunshine, sheltered in the shade of a palm tree in front of the Independence Monument. Rosanna is the volunteer co-ordinator for the Sunrise Children's Village, a Phnom Penh orphanage with a high profile, due in no small part to the extraordinary efforts of its founder and patron, Geraldine Cox. Described by some as 'larger than life', Geraldine was on one of her regular trips abroad seeking out funds to keep the orphanage afloat and the day to day administration was in the capable hands of Rosanna. I'd been in e-mail contact with both of them for a few months before my trip and they'd kindly invited me to visit the orphanage, temporarily located in Takhmau, some fifteen kilometres south of Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

Geraldine's high profile – she's written a book, there's an award-winning documentary about her life and a feature film in the offing – and her tireless work go towards providing a home for around fifty disadvantaged Cambodian children between the ages of 3 and 18. Most are orphans, all have sad tales to tell, but the orphanage provides them with love, food and shelter as well as regular schooling and extra English, computer, sewing, music and dance classes, designed to give them the chance of a brighter future. It’s a worthy cause that many Australians support with individual and corporate sponsorship. However, as Rosanna explained on our drive out to Takhmau, a great deal of extra funding, as much as $600,000, is needed to fulfil the Sunrise dream envisioned when Prime Minister Hun Sen donated ten hectares of rent-free land to the orphanage. It's certainly an ambitious project and the publicity created by the support of some very famous Hollywood names is currently giving it real momentum, while Geraldine's powers of persuasion continue to play their part in making the dream come true.

A toot of the horn and the gates of a nondescript villa opened up as Sopheun, the orphanage’s housemother, welcomed us. Rosanna received an update on the latest batch of cuts and bruises, tantrums and colds (and the theft of a bicycle) since her last visit a couple of days earlier before giving me a guided tour of the tidy, but cramped house and grounds. On the ground floor were the girls’ dormitories (the boys sleep upstairs), with hammocks and mattresses taking up most of the space and a few of the girls busily drawing pictures with coloured crayons. Outside, the more boisterous boys were playing games of tag and marbles and I joined in a game of football with Chanry and Sin Long, two eight year olds, who were obviously best of friends and who hammed it up for my camera. I also showed my skills, or lack of them, with another group who were playing 'tot sey' (foot shuttlecock).

Nearby was the well-stocked computer room, where Phalla, the computer teacher, was fixing a PC on his day off with the help of a couple of the older teenagers. He showed me how the recent rains had flooded the room and damaged the wooden computer stands and was very keen to hear about my website devoted to my travels in Cambodia. Outside, I met Sok An, the head cook, who was preparing vegetables for the children's lunch with some of the older girls under an awning in the concrete yard, when Sary and her wheelchair (she's the only disabled child in the orphanage) whizzed past and came to a halt at the water tap, where she began washing some clothes. Rosanna explained that Sary, a polio sufferer, is now learning to walk with the aid of callipers and a brace and is fiercely independent, but an absolute sweetie.

Upstairs, we visited the volunteers’ room, which also houses the medicine cabinet and is where Geraldine, the patron, sleeps when she's in town. Next door, the dance and music practice was already in full swing. The children are working hard in preparation for a once in a lifetime visit to Australia for an arts festival, and rehearsals form a key part of each day for those lucky enough to be going. The orphanage is home to about fifty children and over half of them will be making the trip to Adelaide in March. Today was a Sunday, so no school meant extra practice sessions for the dancers and musicians. In a cramped room, I grabbed a seat to watch the dance teacher, Monitha, guiding a group of the youngest girls – six to eight year olds – through their traditional Khmer dance routine. They were delightful and were followed by the youngest boys who danced and banged their coconut shells in harmony as Srey Mao, the youngest of the girls with a smile and a nature guaranteed to melt any heart, sat on my knee to watch her friends perform.

At the back of the room, some of the children were playing traditional Khmer instruments to accompany the dances and were being tutored by 70-something year old Mr Chea and his daughter Thierry, both outstanding musicians in their own right. Next on the dance floor were the teenage girls and particularly 17 year old Srey Mich, the orphanage's leading dancer who glided across the floor with grace and poise in abundance. Following them, as the tempo increased, were a mixed group of four boys and four girls who moved in well-rehearsed unison and who rounded off a thoroughly enjoyable hour watching the children perform. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I forgot to take any photos until near the end. I was mightily impressed. This wasn't a performance staged for visiting guests but a daily practice session, yet the timing and elegance of all the dancers, whatever their age, was a joy to watch. They'd worn their normal clothes for the practice, so I'm sure they'll look even more professional when they wear their hand-sewn costumes for the real thing.

I had another quick kick-about in the courtyard with Chanry and Sin Long as Rosanna did her final rounds of the villa with most of the children giving her a goodbye hug. Then it was back in the 4WD and out into the busy back streets of Takhmau and our return to Phnom Penh. My visit to the orphanage had been a brief but thoroughly enjoyable one. The children I met were happy, the level of laughter and their playful nature made that abundantly clear, but their temporary premises are simply too small. It’s a stopgap until the Sunrise Children's Village and the dreams of Geraldine, Rosanna and the children themselves become a reality. I sincerely hope that's sooner rather than later.

To visit the Sunrise Children's Village website, click here.

For more information on Andy’s travels, visit his website which has lots of travelogue stories with pictures: http://www.btinternet.com/~andy.brouwer/index.htm

Tourism Based Economies Will Suffer

Tourism revenues are a major and important earner for many countries in South East Asia. Consider, then, the effect of government travel warnings. We have already seen the deserted beaches in Bali, after more than 190 people were killed on October 12th.

The US State Department recently issued a warning specifically mentioning Malaysia as a country where US nationals could be at risk of attack by the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist network, blamed for the Bali bombing.

A Malaysian senior minister says: “Our forecast of visitors is now between one to 1.1 million (tourists every month) compared with 1.3 million before, which is 100,000 to 300,000 less that what we'd hoped for,” …..”if not for the travel advisory and the Bali bombing tragedy, the situation might have been better. Now everyone thinks the entire (Southeast Asian) region is affected,” he said.

San Ramón in Costa Rica by Helene

Costa Rica, a tiny country that forms part of the land bridge between North and South America, is almost too good to believe. It has more species of mammals and birds than the continental United States and Canada combined, unmatched flora that includes over 3,000 species of wild orchids alone and a world famous national park system.

It is a land of natural treasures: lush green jungles and forests, steaming volcanoes, mountains, Caribbean beaches, and Pacific surf. You can explore miles of nature trails that access a variety of unique natural habitats, drive to the edge of a volcanic crater or through the deep, rich mountain jungle, or soak up the rays on a magnificent tree-lined beach.

Costa Rica is a paradise for orchids, butterflies and hummingbirds. Near San Ramón you can visit a beautiful Orchid garden full of the national orchid – La Guaria. On Sunday you observe the families hanging around and playing with their children. San Ramón and its surroundings offer a lot of fun and entertainment with adventure, beautiful nature and also culture.

Where are we talking about? Costa Rica's Central Valley is noted for its eternal spring like weather. The district San Ramón de Alajuela is the biggest district of Costa Rica and is situated on the end of the Central Valley just in the heart of Costa Rica. San Ramón is a pleasant small town about halfway between the capital San José and Puntarenas, just off the Carretera Interamericana that joins San José with the Pacific coast. When you leave the airport and take the autoroute to Puntarenas the first sign you see is the sign to San Ramón and takes about 45 minutes.

San Ramón is situated on the tenth degree of latitude and 3,280 feet above sea level. This provides one of the best climates in the world with all year long average temperature of 77 º F (25 º C). The perfect climate to promote or maintain your health and to relax.

San Ramón is known locally as the city of presidents and poets because several of them were born or lived here. It is a clear, green and safe area and offers a lot of activities like sightseeing to the museum and to the beautiful church. The museum has interesting exhibits of local history and culture. The church looks very similar to European churches and is a combination of gothic and roman styles. It was designed by a German architect and construction started in 1925. The altar was built in Italy, the tiles from Germany and the bells from France. Artisans from around the world and many Costa Rican artists contributed to its creation. The construction was finished in 1954.

So, where to eat? A new restaurant has opened which is excellent by any standards. The owner of Alirass is a native of San Ramon who has also travelled. Her fusion Costa Rican food is a must. Try the fish with avocado and cheese and save room for the excellent home-made desserts. The owner/chef Ligia has contributed a gem to her hometown.

What to do? Life runs slowly in this part of the world and you can relax and enjoy. Visit the central market, the weekly market, the park in the centre of San Ramón and watch the people talking in the street and hear the loudspeakers from a passing car announcing good shopping offers or activities for the next weekend. There is no hurry.

You find around San Ramón big waterfalls, bungee jumping, canopy tours, hot air ballooning, hiking in rainforest, bird watching, and horseback riding, tours with mountain bikes and a beautiful Spa. From this central position you can travel very easily to most of the volcanoes or beaches. Near San Ramón you can visit the “Reservado Alberto Manuel Brenes”, a large area with an incredible variety of fauna and flora.

Getting around: it is best that you don't expect perfect roads but you will see this as a part of the adventure. You drive slowly and have time to look around. Of course you always need more time than you expected. But there is no reason to hurry. You will be rewarded with unforgettable occurrences. You will see animals and plants you never have seen before in your life. Guides are always available to take you around and to explain the nature of the area that is new and eye opening.

Come join us in what is still a relatively undiscovered part of Costa Rica, a very special country in these turbulent times.

Where to stay to chill out: I run the Hotel and Spa Casaelena that is 6 miles from town at 3000 ft. altitude with a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean. We have 24 acres of landscaped grounds with a large pool with a steam room and solar heated jacuzzi. Spa services such as massage and pedicures are available. It’s a great place for peace and quiet, for couples who want a romantic get away or for groups who want a real spa experience: yoga, meditation, nutrition advice, massage, beauty treatments, acupuncture and chiropractor services. For more information, contact me, Helene on: casaelena@racsa.co.cr or visit our website:

www.costaricarelax.com

E-Bookers

Europe's biggest online travel agency, Ebookers, (which sells package holidays, flights and car rentals over the Internet in 11 European countries) has just announced its financial results.

The company said that its losses after tax for the three months to September 2002 came in at £2m, ($2.9m) down from £3.5m during the same period one year earlier, while sales jumped 58% on the year to £77.9m and is firmly on track to start turning a profit after tax.

They have kept costs under control by moving their ticket and payment processing operation to India, where running costs are lower. The firm estimates that having its back office operation in India rather than Europe saves it about £1m every three months.

Ebookers' strong growth in sales partly reflected growing demand for package holidays, car rentals, and hotel bookings, the company said. It added that it had benefited from the success of no-frills airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet, saying they had encouraged more people to go on holidays, and had helped popularise online travel bookings.

World Facts: the US and the UK

The planet has 6.157 billion people, of whom, 4.5% are in the US, and 1% in the UK.

  • 30% of the world’s population is less than 15 years old, but in the US this is 21% and 19% in the UK.
  • The world’s birth rate of 21 per 1,000 people is higher than the US rate of 14 and the UK’s 12.
  • 7% of the world’s population is at least 65 years old, compared to
  • 13% in the US and 16% in the UK
  • Life expectancy at birth is 64 years, compared to 77 in the US and 78 in the UK.
  • Of the 407 million internet users, 36% are in the US and 5% are in the UK. (Don’t forget, the US has c.250 m people, compared to 64m in the UK.)

Source: Simon Briscoe, The Financial Times, 27/7/02

Colombia and Drugs

There are several reasons why travellers do not visit Colombia, but perhaps they come down to the same thing: the cocaine industry and the people who control it. Even the Colombian government acknowledge that 80% of the world's supply of the drug comes from Colombia, and 70% of this was now grown in the Amazon region.

Colombia is without doubt a very beautiful country with mountains, forests, beaches, colonial towns and cities, but it is just not safe. Everyone, from people who live in the towns and cities to the countryside, including tourists are at risk. It is one of the few countries in the world that the Beetle would not visit herself. The Beetle’s former Spanish teacher, a London based Colombian was herself viciously mugged within minutes of arriving in her hometown of Medellín.

The new Colombian government have just announced a policy called Trees for Drugs, under which poor farmers would be paid to protect the forest instead of growing coca and are appealing for international funding from the international community to help fund a scheme to pay poor farmers to protect trees instead of cutting them down to grow drug crops.

Cocaine-users across the world are helping to destroy the Amazon rainforest, Colombian Environment Minister Cecilia Rodriguez has warned. Dr Rodriguez said the message to the world's drug users was clear: “I should call the attention of all consumers of cocaine that they're are harming dramatically the tropical rainforest of the world, because this is what the world needs for its oxygen.”

Ryanair Pilot Recruitment Blunder

Spotted by our eagle-eyed Webmaster: The only way a pilot can apply for a job at Ryanair is via the internet. The recruitment data contains credit card information because Ryanair refuses to consider applications unless a £50 fee is paid.

Sensitive personal information, such as credit card details, health records and career history, is collected by the unsecured site and sent in unencrypted email to the company's back office.

Ryanair admits that its online recruitment website has a serious security flaw which exposes job seekers' details to the eyes of crackers and unencrypted emails could breach Data Protection Act.

Phil Robinson, managing consultant at Information Risk Management, pointed out that the inclusion of credit card details made the vulnerability “very serious”. Unlike personal data, credit card details can easily be turned into money.

Embarrassingly for the airline, this vulnerability is easy and cheap to avoid. Secure socket layer (SSL) security, the encryption feature in the software, should be switched on and the company then has only to spend a few hundred pounds on a digital certificate to ensure that data is sent to the correct party instead of to a rogue server.

Ryanair's recruitment site states explicitly that applicants' information will remain confidential. “That is clearly incorrect,” said Robinson. “The way the data is submitted is totally unconfidential.”
Source: By Liesbeth Evers, Network News [31-10-2001]

London Tube Closures

Those of you who are planning to come to London should be aware that because of a firemen’s strike, some of London’s deeper tube stations are closed where safety officials feel that the use of lifts may cause safety issues. To find a list of the closed tube stations, take a look at the London Transport website:

LondonTransport

First Impressions of Mikindani by Richard Densham

Richard was a volunteer working in Mikindani, Tanzania for a charity, Trade aid.

My first impressions of Mikindani were what an improvement it was on my initial reaction to Dar-es-Salaam, [probably influenced by jet lag and the uncomfortable heat]. After the long journey it was a relief to get into Mikindani, and all I really wanted to do was sleep, however we had to prepare for the long awaited home stay. It was initially a shock, and various words were running through my head, which I shall not repeat. I found my home stay family to be extremely helpful and tolerant towards my bad Swahili, and repeatedly getting the wrong end of the stick.

Home stay was initially difficult, but once you have settled in you learn to ignore the screaming kids “watoto”, and you get on with things. However there is one thing I never got used to, Ugali (Cornmeal Porridge). It’s foul, and each meal was a bit of a trial, with Mama Asha encouraging me to eat more, and me desperately and as politely as possible trying to convey the message that “as much as a like Ugali I’m really actually very ill”.

So it was with some relief that I left my home stay and settled into the base house. I do still go back to my home stay family, just never at meal times.

It was now time to start on the project [bee keeping], and things seemed to get rolling pretty quickly with the help of Mr Thomas and Fabian, the ex-government beekeeper from Mtwara. It took some time to actually get the hive built and it is only now complete, all we need now are the bees. The bees will either come from a feral colony behind the Boma [a natural colony], or they will come from Mtwara. If we get them from behind the Boma we will wait for the bees to naturally colonise the hive, which is baited with bees wax [very much the lazy mans option]. If we use the bait hive then we are going to use some strange and mysterious Tanzanian method of catching bees, which Fabian has yet to reveal to me, should be interesting.

Teaching is something else that I have started since home stay. Teaching the staff has been particularly successful and enjoyable. Computer lessons, swimming lessons and English lessons seem to be the order of the day, and several of the staff seem to be making good ground in some of these areas. However, different things can be said about teaching at the schools. I have come to the conclusion that to get yourself, a head teacher, children, a classroom together at the same time requires an act of divine intervention, to be fair there are usually good excuses, however it is still infuriating.

I have found that a laid back attitude is required when working out here, and that flexitime is essential i.e. “so what time tomorrow morning?” “In the morning” “yes but when?” “Sometime”.

I know that when I get back to the England it is going to be difficult not being famous anymore, it’s quite strange when you walk around Mikindani and several thousand people all know your name. It really would be too easy to get delusions of grandeur.

It has been quite entertaining to watch some of the guests who have never been to Africa before, let alone Mikindani. In a place that feels, not exactly like home, but somewhere that I have got used to, the sight of a large group of Europeans clustered together and meekly discussing how different everything is, seems quite odd. But then I think back to my first reaction to Tanzania and Mikindani, and I realise I was the same.

It has been strange in the way that Africa seems to bend time, the pace of life is extremely slow, and for some reason it doesn’t seem like I’ve been here six weeks.

For more information about Trade Aid, volunteers and their work, please visit their website www.mikindani.com or e-mail Sherie on tradeaid@netcomuk.co.uk

Canadians warned about visiting US

The Canadian Government has issued a travel advisory to its citizens about visiting the United States.

Because of tightened border controls in America, Canadians born in some Middle Eastern countries should now think carefully before entering the United States, Ottawa says.

American border regulations introduced last month require that people born in Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan or Syria be photographed and fingerprinted as they enter the US – even if they are now full citizens of other countries, including Canada.

That has prompted the travel warning from the Canadian Government.

This week it advised its citizens who were born in any of the five countries to “consider carefully whether they should attempt to enter the US for any reason, including transit to or from third countries”.

In the Canadian parliament on Wednesday, politicians accused Washington of harassing Arab-Canadians.

One Syrian-born member of parliament said the American rules make him a second-class Canadian.

Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham says he has already registered his strongest disapproval to US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

He added that he believes changes will be made to the American move when common sense prevails.

The American regulations come as a convenient target for Canadian politicians who sense growing unease amongst Canadians with US policy in the Middle East.

Many Canadians also worry about increased administration and delays at the border, which can be expensive for their export businesses.

Meeting News from London.

Globetrotters meeting Saturday 2nd November 2002 By Padmassana

Our first talk was from James Greenwood and was entitled Globetrot on Horseback. James’ round the world journey took him ten years to complete. His slides began in Argentina and then north into Bolivia, where hostel (or should that be hostile?) owners lock their guests in their rooms at night, not to protect them, but to ensure that they pay for their accommodation the next morning. And in James’ case without shooing out the various sheep, chickens and cats that were already in the room. James was introduced to Horse soup that is actually made of beef, but which gets its name from the way the meat is transported and preserved. James’ photos of Potosi included stalls selling dynamite and other explosives, he told us how he had bought some and gone up the hill to “blow up” a rock, which resulted in the taxi that had taken him up there being showered with rock from his explosion!

Fitting such a long journey into a 45-minute talk is not easy so we jumped across the Pacific to Japan. The Japanese authorities had actively tried to discourage James’ project, but with some help from a local Mr Big James obtained a horse in the shadow of Mt Fuji and was able to explore Japan. We crossed to India where James’ bought a black horse with an even blacker temperament. The horse spent the first 3 days trying to injure James, but once it worked out James was on his side he became very protective of James, to the extent that when James was struck down with heat stroke, the horse wouldn’t let anyone through the door to attend to him and resulted in his rescuers having to break into to the back of the building. After India it was into Pakistan and into munition strewn Afghanistan, where he had to travel with a Kalashnikov carrying guard. The fantastic mountain views making up for the inconvenience. James’ Iranian visa was only for 2 days, but he managed to string this out to 6 months! James’ story continued westwards into Turkey and southern Europe. His ride through the Champagne region of France was reminiscent of Afghanistan, but this time he and his horse were trying to avoid munitions from the first world war, that had been unearthed by local farmers and dumped on roadside verges. After ten years James arrived back to Gloucester and his waiting family.

Our second speaker was Peter Hutchison whose talk was entitled– Across the great South American watershed. Peter’s journey to the previously unexplored Parapeti river in southern Bolivia was funded by a grant from the Winston Churchill Trust. When Peter and his group reached the river they found large areas of it were only navigable by pulling the canoes along. It was too shallow to paddle; on day one disaster struck as one canoe hit a tree stump and was so badly damaged they had to return to the nearest town for repairs. To compound the early bad luck their expedition medic became ill and had to return home. But they battled on, having to rely on a GPS for navigation as the maps they had were found to be wildly inaccurate. The river wound its way in places through deep undergrowth, hard work chopping their way though. They also had to contend with mosquitoes and tarantulas; they were forced to dress as for a winter trip covering every piece of exposed flesh to avoid being bitten.

Peter and his team managed to paddle their canoes to the to the Kaa Iya del Gran Chaco National Park and to their final destination of Quimome. The trip took two months to complete and they were the first people to descend the Parapeti river, a tributary of the Amazon. While in Quimome Peter hired a light aircraft to get an aerial view of the trip they had just completed. A hard trip that won’t be featuring in any travel agents’ brochures in the near future!

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

Laos by Mike Dodd

Mike is the winner of the Globetrotter Club £1,000 legacy available to members under 30 years of age for the best independent travel plan. Our £1000 travel prize is available to anyone in the world, as long as they are a member, have a great plan for independent travel and are under the age of 30. So, visit our legacy page and get those plans in!!

Mike is using his travel award to visit Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Here’s Part 2 of his travels:

I am now in Luang Prabang in Laos and have been for the last few days. I believe Tha-ton was the last place I e-mailed so I’ll try and update you on the progress. I took the boat down to Chiang Rai where I visited the Hill Tribe museum and pottered about. Chiang Rai is a very prosperous city with large shops and a very large number of four by fours.

I left the next morning to make it up to Chiang Sean further north on the Mekong which allowed me hire a motor bike to head up to the Golden Triangle and to the boarder crossing with Burma. The motorbike allowed a great deal of freedom and the chance to take back roads and see farms and local industries.

From Chiang Sean I set off early for the slow boat into Laos leaving from Chaing Kong. The trip took two days. We spent the night in a little village called Pakbeng roughly half way along the route. The scenery was amazing, mile after mile of hills covered in vegetation the whole way down. A snake came aboard for a while and water was being bailed for the whole of the second day but we made it into Luang Prabang without sinking!

I've found an incredible difference between Thailand and what I have so far seen in Laos. There are many obvious changes like they drive on the opposite side to Thailand (though in both countries no one seems to stick to anyone side for very long!). The money also is almost comical. The exchange rate is about 10,800 kip to one US dollar so when I changed a 100 dollar travellers cheque I was an instant kip millionaire! This alone is not the crazy thing – the largest current kip note is 5,000 or around 50 cents so my 100 dollars brought me literally a rucksack full of cash I guess it must be easier to weigh it then to count it out. The kip also goes down in denominations down to a 1 kip note! The greatest difference that I have found is the people. In Laos they are so friendly – in my experience I have never come across such genuine friendliness – everyone smiles and wants to chat, everyone always waves as you go past and the children especially want to see you and play.

There has been none of the hassle which you can get – especially in Bangkok – everyone just seems happier and contented and it is definitely noticeable. Luang Prabang is exactly as I hoped it would be. The town is beautiful and very small and you can easily walk across it. The atmosphere is very relaxed and slow moving you can sense the French influence all around and I’m going to be sad to leave. Around the city there is lots to do including many incredible waterfalls where you can walk right onto them and swim at the bottom. I went to the Royal Theatre last night in the grounds of the old Royal Palace – for a traditional Lao night – so culture is being thrown at me from all angles.

Globetrotter Travel Award

Under 30? 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!!

Meeting News from New York.

There was no November New York meeting, but Laurie plans a December meeting on 7th December. Details will be sent out to all those on the mailing list. However, Laurie is looking for co-leader to help out!…Anyone interested?! E-mail Laurie on newyork@globetrotters.co.uk.

New York meetings are held at The Wings Theater, 154 Christopher Street (btw Greenwich St and Washington St), to the right of Crunch Fitness, in the Archive on the first Saturday of each month at 4 pm.