Travellers to Kenya will know that a ride in a matatu (minibus) can be a hair raising experience. The last time the Beetle was in Kenya, a fellow traveller reported that he was on a matatu that crashed, because the driver was drunk and there were so many people on board that two occupants died. In response to a law published last year by the Kenyan government to fit in safety belts and speed governors as a measure to curb increasing road accidents, Kenyan matatu (minibus) operators are rushing to beat a government deadline to fit safety equipment on their vehicles. But the chairman of the Matatu operators Association Simon Kimutai says only 10% of the vehicles have complied with the new rules. Commentators say that Kenya's public transport system is heading for a crisis when the new laws become effective this month because so few matatu owners have complied. The new law requires the matatus to sport one colour and have a yellow strip and matatu drivers and conductors will have to wear uniforms and badges. Let’s hope that this does bring some safety to Kenya’s roads.
Category Archives: Sidebar
Mutual Aid
This is my first request to your excellent newsletter. I'd like to know if anyone knows of anywhere in Tibet where a young (23) year old guy could go to learn overtone chanting. Have you any ideas/sources/reports of young people. I'd love to know, and I can then pass the message on: di.hinds@ntlworld.com
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 Forum section of the Website: Mutual Aid
Rotten Squid Gases Crew
Three crewmembers found dead on a South Korean freighter that washed ashore in Shimane Prefecture on Sunday may have died after inhaling toxic gas generated from rotten squid organs, local Japan Coast Guard (JCG) officials said. Three crewmembers were found dead in two storage rooms of the freighter and its skipper was unconscious in one of the rooms. JCG officers found rotten internal squid organs in storage rooms where the three men were found dead. Investigators suspect that the three crewmembers died from either an oxygen shortage or inhalation of carbon monoxide that had been generated from the rotten squid organs. The coast guard office said carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulphide were detected in the cabin.
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:
- Angola
- Egypt
- Morocco
- Uganda
- Palau
For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.
Cut Price Transatlantic Fares?
Plans are afoot to cut transatlantic fares to as little as £66 return. Passengers travelling to the U.S. and Canada could enjoy the type of low-cost fares that have revolutionised European air travel. Executives at Cologne-Bonn airport in Germany say they are in 'serious' talks with several American airlines to offer budget return flights to the U.S. for just £66 starting by 2005. The flights would be open to tourists anywhere in the world – as long as they have access to the Internet – though UK customers would first have to get to Germany. 'The plan is for all tickets to be sold online – no refunds, no frills, no fancy lounges and trimmed back in-flight entertainment and meals. Locations being touted include New York, Boston and Washington together with mid-western U.S. cities and destinations in Canada.
Have you got a tale to tell?
If you have a travellers tale that your aching to tell. Then why not visit the “Travel Sized Bites” section of the Website and share it with the world. Travel Sized Bites
Virgin Atlantic P's People Off
Virgin Atlantic Airways scrapped plans to install bright-red urinals shaped like women's open lips at New York's John F Kennedy Airport, saying it had received complaints they were offensive.
“Virgin Atlantic was very sorry to hear of people's concerns about the design of the 'Kisses' urinals to be fitted into our clubhouse at JFK Airport. We can assure everyone who complained to us that no offence was ever intended,” Virgin spokesman John Riordan said in a statement.
“I don't know many men who think it's cool to pee in a woman's mouth, even a porcelain one,” said one complainant.
The urinal, designed by a Dutch company, was the idea of a female designer. Riordan said Virgin was surprised by the negative reaction to the plan, part of designs for the lounge, built to pamper first-class customers.
Travel Quiz: Peru
The winner of last month's Trailblazer Guidebook on Tibet is: Gavin Fernandez congratulations, Gavin!
This month, win a Rough Guide guidebook on Peru. See http://www.roughguides.com for travel info.
Some people have said the quiz is difficult, we say do some research: try google.com or Ask Jeeves, if you need help with the answers.
Planet Reunited
When travelling, it’s hard enough to remember where you were yesterday, let alone the phone number of that fabulous girl you met in Hong Kong, or the postal address of your Uncle Bertie.
But now there’s no excuse for losing touch, with Planet Reunited a website with the ambitious aim of keeping travellers connected,. With as many as 4 out of 10 backpackers losing their address books or diaries while travelling, it’s the ultimate travel accessory to keep in touch with old and new friends.
Talk at the RGS, London
The Effects of Logging on the ‘Pygmies’ in the Congo Basin Congo Basin, presentations and launch of a major new photographic exhibition on the Ba’Aka ‘Pygmies’ of the Republic of Congo at The Royal Geographical Society.
Date: Wednesday 28th April 2004
Time: Doors open and reception 6.00pm
Address: The Royal Geographical Society, 1
Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR
Admission: £10.00
Tickets: Freephone: 0800 970 1014
Web: Rainforest
Foundation
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Ghana Airways Overbooks
Be warned – if you are planning on flying with Ghana Airways, be warned. Ghana Airways allegedly has something of a reputation for overbooking and not refunding money for seats that are not ultimately available.
Questions were asked in the Ghanaian Parliament about overbooking of seats on Ghana Airways. It was said that whereas overbooking is a normal practice in the airline business to allow for no shows, over sale was an illegal practice employed by travel agents to extract money from customers and inconvenience them in the process – and that there is a difference between over booking and deliberate over-sale of non existent seats
It was explained that in the case of overbooking, the ticket was usually not confirmed so the customer was aware that there were chances of him/her not getting a seat, but with over-sale the Travel Agent usually assured the customer of a seat without consulting the airline.
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Outsouring Travel Jobs
A growing number of U.S. airlines and online travel companies are outsourcing customer service jobs overseas in a bid to reduce costs. United Airlines is about to source a customer call centre in Nova Scotia. Travelocity will outsource about 300 jobs to India over the next year and expects to save $10 million in 2004 as a result of the change. American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Continental Airlines and US Airways said they do not redirect any calls from U.S. customers to call centres outside the United States. Delta Air Lines, which outsourced nearly 1,000 jobs last year to three call centres in Bangalore, Bombay and New Delhi India, says it is aware of the potential pitfalls.
The Beetle’s own experience of speaking with e-bookers, a travel booking organisation that has been outsourced to India has not been good. The operatives are charming and polite, but pushy and lack in-depth travel knowledge. They also returned calls at 10pm!
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Burma to Create a Tiger Reserve
The Burmese government has given the go-ahead for the creation of the world’s largest tiger reserve. The reserve is planned to add to the existing Hukawng Valley reserve making the area some 30,000 sq km, which is about the same size as Belgium.
The news has pleased conservationists who were alarmed when a 2003 survey revealed only 150 to 200 tigers left. Conservationists say that work must be done to train rangers and stamp out the lucrative trade in tiger body parts and new avenues of income will have to be found for local people so they do not succumb to the temptation to profit from the growing regional demand for tiger products. At $200 per kilo, the profits from even a small tiger could be equivalent to 10 years of income for many in this area.
Tiger skins, heads and claws are often prized as trophies, while bones and internal organs are used in Asian medicines. China is the largest market for the trade.
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Travel Foundation Charity
Holidaymakers are supporting the Travel Foundation, a new charity that is trying to help manage the travel industry more sustainably.
Since the charity’s launch in November 2003, more than three-quarters of holidaymakers who booked a winter or summer holiday with UK operator First Choice have agreed to pay a voluntary donation to the charity.
The Travel Foundation is aiming to raise £1 million a year by 2006, which it says it will spend on projects that help tourism make a positive contribution to holiday destinations.
First Choice is asking its customers to donate 10 pence per adult, and 5 pence per child per holiday booking. Other UK operators, including The Adventure Company (formerly Travelbag Adventures) and Hidden Greece, will soon be providing similar fundraising schemes. Sunvil Holidays is already asking its customers to match its own donation of 50 pence per booking.
The Travel Foundation has already supported sustainable tourism projects in The Gambia and in Cyprus, where all the main tour operators are now offering excursions to the less well-known rural areas to help contribute to the livelihoods of local people. It plans to support similar tourism-related projects in other popular holiday destinations, including Mexico and Tobago, to help tourism make a greater contribution to the local people, environment and economy.
Further information, see thetravelfoundation.org.uk or telephone 0117 9273049.
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Boston, US to the Azores
Azores Express has announced expanded Spring and Summer service from Boston Logan Airport to Portugal beginning in June 2004. Azores Express will offer direct flights to São Miguel, the main island in the Azores archipelago, on Wednesdays (starts June 23rd), Tuesdays, and Fridays. A Saturday flight is offered from Providence, Rhode Island starting June 12, 2004.
The Azores Islands, an autonomous region of Portugal, are the closest point in Europe to the United States, just four hours east by plane from Boston.
Situated 2,000 nautical miles from New England, the archipelago of the Azores was discovered during the first half of the 15th-century by Portuguese navigators. Today, gothic churches and majestic baroque manor homes mingle with sapphire blue and emerald green lakes, rolling prairies, volcanic cones and craters, and colourful hydrangeas and azaleas to enchant visitors. This inviting land enjoys year-round mild temperatures (between 57°F and 71°F).
A direct service from Boston to the historic island of Terceira will be offered on Sundays starting June 13th with a return flight every Tuesday. Non-stop flights to Portugal’s capital of Lisbon will be available every Thursday (starts June 24) and Sunday (starts June 6). Connecting flights to Madeira, Lisbon and Porto are also available from São Miguel. Inter-island flights are offered to each of the nine islands in the Azores. Roundtrip airfares start at just $579. Upgrades to business-class are just $150 each way to the Azores, and $200 each way to Lisbon. For more information and reservations, contact your travel agent, or Azores Express at 800-762-9995, www.Azores-Express.com.
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Globetrotters 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!!
Spelling Error Raises Eyebrows
Spotted by Bretislav in the Czech Republic, this is from the Canadian National Post: “A spelling error on several hundred government envelopes mailed from Nunavut’s capital last week added an extra ‘u’ to the spelling of Iqaluit, changing the meaning of the word from “the place of many fish” to “dirty bum.”.
”About 200 envelopes containing T4 income tax slips were marked with a stamp that mistakenly referred to Iqaluit as Iqualuit. [A linguist], who consulted with a fluent Inuktitut speaker … said whoever made the stamp appears to have used a prefix meaning faeces adhering to the anus. Seventy-one percent of Nunavut’s population speak Inuktitut… yet the public service does its work primarily in English because bureaucrats from outside the territory hold key positions in government. Government translators trying to turn English documents into Inuktitut reports, posters and street signs are overworked and the final products are often rife with spelling errors and literal translations that make no sense to the Inuit majority…”
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Busking All Over The World
29 year old Nigel Ashcroft, a musician from Wales is setting off on a trip trying to busk his way around the world in 80 days. He plans to tour 18 countries without carrying any money at all. He’s in confident mood and said: “I’m going to have to sing, perform, charm and maybe blag my way around the world – but I think I can pull it off.” He is a full-time busker and one of the first to be licensed under a new scheme by London Underground. They are also making a documentary of their trip to raise money for a charity for the homeless.
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Fave Website
Take a look at Globetrotter Tom Freemantle’s website. He is a regular speaker at the London Globetrotters Club and has been on British TV talking about his recent exploits crossing the US to Mexico by mule.
His latest
book,
The Moonshine Mule, focuses on the 2,700 mile walk from
Mexico to New York with Browny, a cynical but heroic
pack-mule. He lives in Oxford, where he still rides a
bicycle, but never a mule.
This site outlines Tom Fremantle’s’ extensive journey though West Africa, through bleak, pale deserts with scrub to lush, meandering swampland where monkeys screech from behind mangroves: from bustling, urban casbahs to tiny, mud-brick villages on the banks of the River Niger.
Tom hopes the expedition will raise £30,000 for Hope and Homes for Children, a charity which provides homes for orphans and abandoned children, particularly in war torn areas, including parts of West Africa. The journey will also raise money for The Ark Charity in Milton Keynes, which helps homeless teenagers to find lodgings and employment.
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Cycle Sri Lanka
Your chance to see Sri Lanka, get fit and help raise money for disadvantaged children.
Cycle Sri Lanka 2003 was a great success, raising over £80,000 for ICT and all of the participants considered it to be one of the most memorable experiences of their lives. As far as we know, ICT is the first charity to cycle up into this virtually unexplored part of the island! After our 5-day cycle, we will unwind by spending a well deserved day snorkelling or relaxing on Nilaveli beach, which is notorious for being one of the most beautiful beaches in the world!
The entry fee is £250 for the cycle and minimum sponsorship (which covers flight, hotel accommodation, provision of bike, etc) seems too good to be true.
The double challenge is: are you- or can you get- fit enough? And can you raise enough for ICT?
If you are interested, please visit: www.cyclesrilanka.com or contact us by email at cyclesrilanka@ict-uk.org or local rate phone call: 08453 300 533.
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