Sort clothes together and put them in different coloured plastic bags – helps you to find your socks as opposed to your T-shirts and also keeps them clean and dry when your back pack is accidentally dropped in the river/sea or when it rains and it is stored on top of a bus.
Category Archives: archive
New York:
The November New York meeting was cancelled due to clashing with the New York marathon.
Laurie, our New York Chair says “Hello Globies! and Happy
Thanksgiving!” Due to holiday parties, travel and cheer, we
will not be holding a December Globies meeting.
We WILL resume in January with what promises to be a
great line up of speakers!
More to come on that later.
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.
Funny Signs Again….
Ontario:
As soon as we get information on the annual barbecue we will let you know what happened! For information on Ontario meetings, please contact: Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.
Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.
Scams
Paying by credit card? Check the currency you think you’ve just paid in! Ensure that the currency you have paid in is clearly marked on the credit card slip and don’t forget to match it to your credit card statement when you get home – you may be in for a surprise!
Got any scam experiences you’d like to share with the Beetle? Then e-mail them to: the Beetle
Texas:
The Globetrotters Texas branch held their fifth meeting on Saturday, November 10. Attendence continues to grow, with 19 happy people at the meeting. Brad and Mamie spoke and shared slides from their travels to Afghanistan in the early 70’s. Their separate stories were fascinating. The group discussed favourite travel websites and travel magazines. Most everyone learned about something new.
The door prize was a two volume Encyclopedia of World Travel – a classic from 1973. How appropriate that Mamie was the winner, as her presentation was based on her travels in 1973! Following the meeting, 11 people adjourned to the Hoity-Toit, a local beer joint for refreshments and fellowship.
The next meeting will be December 8. Everyone is invited! Christina’s advice is to come early so you won’t be late! Handouts and refreshments will be available. Anybody want to help Christina or enquire about meetings, please contact her on: texas@globetrotters.co.uk
Mutual Aid
Need help? Want a travelling buddy or advice about a place or country – want to share something with us – why not visit our Mutual Aid section of the Website: Mutual Aid
Italian Food… Rome
Rob from New York (yes, he of hiking in Grand Canyon) recommends the L’Hosteria da Isidoro near the Coliseum in Rome. He says that you sit down and ask for the tastings and basically they just keep bringing trays of pasta to your table until you say uncle. The pasta and risottos are excellent and have a great variety. If your table can eat 15 of these trays, then you get your meal free. The most he has been able to eat is 9.
Want to tell us about your favourite coffee corner or watering hole? Then contact the Beetle: Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk
MEETING NEWS
Meeting news from our branches around the world.
Travelling up the Northern Californian Coast
Peggy from San Francisco wrote in to tell us about travelling in Northern California: it’s a terrific time and the crowds have vanished and the summer fog replaced by mild weather. A trip up the Northern California coast is a journey into forests of giant redwood trees and along a beautiful wild coast. Take a soothing walk through the Roosevelt Forest. This forest of 800+ year old giant redwoods is the largest remaining old-growth redwood forest and a truly magical place. A little further north you can hunt for agates, jasper and jadeite on Agate Beach in Patrick’s Point State Park. In Redwood National Park you may have eagles, osprey, hawks or ravens soaring just over your head and see Roosevelt elk from less than 15 feet away. A Native American museum tucked among the trees is just one of the hidden treasures of this area. The North Coast of California has many inns and, for the adventurous, there’s lots of public parks among the trees and along the coast for camping. This wild and lovely side of California is only a 4 to 6 hour drive north of San Francisco.
Peggy has kindly offered to give advice to anyone interested in exploring the North California Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. If you would like to take up Peggy’s offer, please contact her at: peggy.werner@gte.net
New York:
James Greenwood, a British 30-something, gave up his job and travelled the world by horse for 10 years! His journey brought him through South America, the Far East, Europe, and the Middle East. Part of journey was in Afghanistan where he spent 6 months. The NY Globetrotters loved James and his dynamic slide show! He was informative, entertaining and fun! James featured highlights of his trip, as well as a close look at the land and the people of Afghanistan. He even went so far as to explain what inspired him to take this trip (you’ll have to hear him speak to find out!) as well as interesting facts, i.e., how he found and cared for his horses, what he ate and some magical things that happened along the way. The meeting went so well (ran an hour past our scheduled time, because fellow Globies had so many questions for James!) that a small group, including James went on from the meeting to dinner and (quite a few) drinks that did not finish up til 3 am!
The November speaker is in the process of being organized.
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.
Reader's Information/Fave Website
From Ben and Elfriede from Texas would like to share with us their experiences with the 5W Group that is HQ’d in England. They have just got back from a 2-month vacation in Europe. “We stayed primarily with members of “Women Welcome Women World Wide“. What a great way to travel and meet new people! If you’re doing genealogy research, they can usually direct you to the libraries, etc. All of our hosts provided excellent accommodations, food, and also advised us or showed us the best sights to see in their communities.
Usually husbands and/or children are welcome too. We highly recommend the 5-W Group. We stayed with couples that included a lawyer, a civil court judge, a criminal court judge, a home economics teacher, a deep sea diver, a professor of Russian literature whose husband is a professor of Russian history, a doctor of chemistry, a young couple who are both dentists, and also an owner of a travel agency. The 5-W Group sends a booklet listing the name, e-mail address, home address, phone#, age, profession, type of accommodations, religion, and interests (some of which include genealogy) of over 3,000 women world wide.”
The Beetle say thanks a lot, Elfriede Ben – sounds like you had a great time! Has anyone got any other info and good experiences they would like to share? If so, contact the Beetle on: Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk
London.
Charlie Loram, the intrepid trekker/philosopher first visited India in 1992 and visits the Himalayas almost every year. Who else is so well qualified to talk about trekking in Ladakh and to talk about life and the people there. Charlie showed us some superb slides of the area, interspersed with maps of his routes and some of his own philosophy about eco-tourism and the quality of life. You can order a copy of Charlie’s book, Trekking in Ladakh (Trailblazer) online from www.trailblazer-guides.com.Fantastic, Charlie, and we look forward to seeing you again!
Just when you thought things could not continue on such a high, Paul Grogan took over the gauntlet in the second half and entertained us with some of the highs and lows of his adventures kayaking across Siberia with his babe magnet friend. Paul amazed us using slide and video footage (well done to Webmaster Paul!) starting with his moments of getting stuck in mud on the way to the source of the river Amur, flat calm days, sinister watch towers, political bureaucracy, gorgeous girls (!) and getting sozzled on a Chinese boat and waking up finding a very nasty plastic watch strapped to his wrist in exchange for his nice one! Brill!
Next, in London on 3rd November, Tim Burford will look at the varying styles of architecture in his talk on the Castles and Churches of Romania. Tim is a regular at the various London travel shows (along with the Beetle) and has impeccable guide book writing credentials and is author of both Bradt’s Hiking Guide to Romania and the Rough Guide to Romania.
Sebastian Hope will be talking about the Sea Gypsies of South East Asia, finding and travelling with the maritime nomads travelling the coasts of Borneo, Burma, Thailand, Sumatra, Sulawesi and Sulu Archipelago before returning to Sabah to search for Sarani a sea-gypsy chief and his friend. Another author, he has written Outcasts of the Islands about the sea gypsies of SE Asia published b by HarperCollins.
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. For more information, you can contact the Globetrotter Info.line on +44 (0) 20 8674 6229, or visit the website: www.globetrotters.co.uk
Globetrotter Travel Award
Under 24? 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!!
Ontario:
As soon as we get information on the annual barbecue we will let you know what happened! For information on Ontario meetings, please contact: Svatka Hermanek: shermanek@schulich.yorku.ca or Bruce Weber: tel. 416-203-0911 or Paul Webb: tel. 416-694-8259.
Meetings are held on the third Friday of January, March, May, September and November. Usually at the Woodsworth Co-op, Penthouse, 133, Wilton Street in downtown Toronto at 8.00 p.m.
Travel Tips
Mike from the UK says: if you’re desperate for a toilet and can’t find a handy McDonalds, the more luxurious hotels always have toilets in their lobbies – walk straight past reception and you should find them 🙂
Texas:
True to her word, Christina in Texas held a slide show on a weird and wacky take on Americana over the ages at the New Braunfels Public Library. Thanks to Jon and Beth for sharing their great slides and stories. A magnificent 12 people attended and to start the theme, Christina organized a door prize of a “classic” US Travel Atlas. Trish has loved Globetrotters for 9 years, and won, so congratulations to Trish! The show was thoroughly enjoyed by all – and all that was missing was the popcorn!
Funny Signs Again!
Shirley from Kent in the UK saw the following in Bali:
If you have any loose baboons in your pocket, you might want to visit the “monkey exchange” for something smaller! Also, did you know in Bali you can have “antiques made to order”?
Janelle from Roseville, MN saw in a street in Hong Kong at a tailors shop?;…”ladies, have fits upstairs.”
Dee from the UK was in Japan when she saw a vending machine selling cans of “Sweat”. Although it was hot, and the cans were cold – she decided not to buy one!
Testimonial
Susan and Christina met at the first Globetrotters TX Branch meeting in July 2001. They have become good friends and will be travelling together to the Grand Canyon in November. Christina visits a National Park every year and Susan is ready to start the same tradition. They are doing budget travel together – exploring their options and having a trip to talk about. They’ll report on their trip at the December meeting.
The next Globetrotter meeting will be held at the New Braunfels Public Library, 700 E. Common Street in New Braunfels, Texas. From 3 – 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 10th, 2001.
Christina’s advice is to come early so you won’t be late! The Beetle’s is – come early and eat all the cookies! Handouts and refreshments will be available. Anybody want to help Christina or enquire about meetings, please contact her on: texas@globetrotters.co.uk
Scams – the "homeless mother scam"
Tom from North Carolina wrote in to tell us his experience in Rome. He saw a woman ostensibly carrying a baby in her arms (all he saw was a rolled up blanket) and a child about 10 years old approached me begging in a very confined sidewalk area. The pitiful expression on her face would make an old grown man cry. He suddenly remembered warnings he had read – while the tourist digs in his pocket for some coins the kid circles around and slits the backpack or pocket. Fortunately he was carrying his daypack with camera, etc. in front and his
Got any scam experiences you’d like to share with the Beetle? Then e-mail them to: Beetle@globetrotters.co.uk