Category Archives: Sidebar

Mutual Aid

Need help? Then write in with your question, and we’ll try and 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.

Free London Museums: Royal Air Force Museum

If you are into airplanes, then this is the place for you: Britain's National Museum of aviation features over 70 full-sized aircraft including a unique collection of British, German and Italian planes.

The Museum also houses a flight simulator, 'Touch and Try' Jet Provost Trainer and Sunderland Flying Boat 'walk through' experience.

Address: Grahame Park Way, NW9.

Open: Daily, 1000-1800

Tube: Colindale Rail: Mill Hill Broadway.

Enquiries: 020 8205 2266 Entrance: FREE.

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.

Anglo- Paraguayan Friendship Society

Globetrotters Tony wrote in to tell us about the Anglo-Paraguayan Friendship Society he belongs to. He says that they hold some very enjoyable social events throughout the year. If anyone is interested in attending, they can contact Lotte Pigram, Anglo-Paraguayan Society, 93 Kingsfield Rd, Watford, Herts WD19 4TP, tel: 01923-246274 or e-mail Lotte on: lottepigram@hotmail.com

Travel Quiz

Win a Frommer’s guidebook on Spain 2003. See www.frommers.com for info on Frommer’s guidebooks.

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.

The winner of last month's Frommer’s guide is Pippa Manley.

1. Which city is older – Barcelona or Madrid?

2. Which city hosts the annual bull running Fiesta de San Fermin?

3. The Mezquite is in which Spanish city?

4. Which museum in Bilbao was designed by American architect Frank Gehry?

5. What would you do with Tapas – eat it or drink it?

Your Name:

Your e-mail address:

Tourists Kidnapped in Colombia

Police in Colombia say that eight foreign tourists have been kidnapped as they hiked near the Caribbean coast where a so-called Lost City (Ciudad Perdida) sits in the jungle built by an indigenous civilisation 500 B.C. One British tourist has managed to escape, the remaining seven tourists are from Israel, the UK, Germany and Spain. Thousands of troops have been mobilised to search for them in the high mountains of the Sierra Nevada, 750 kilometres (465 miles) north of the capital, Bogotá. Most of Colombia's 3,000-odd kidnappings every year – that is one every four hours – are carried out by FARC (Latin America's biggest guerrilla group with 17,000 fighters) who use the ransom to fund their 39-year war on the state.

Bangkok’s Homeless Removed

The Thai authorities have announced their intention to clear Bangkok’s streets of thousands of homeless people ahead of a meeting of world leaders next month.

Where will they go? The Thai Prime Minister and officials have said that some would be sent for vocational training at army camps or shelters, and those suffering from psychiatric disorders would be taken to hospital.

But the Beetle noticed a discrepancy in what is being reported: “Arrested immigrant beggars will be deported, prostitutes will be sent to rehabilitation centres and insane homeless will be sent to mental hospitals,” said Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

“There are no excuses for being a vagabond,” Bangkok’s Governor told The Bangkok Post. “Everybody must have a place to live.”

Give them a chance to go back home first, then put (the rest) together in one place and feed them from the state budget like my previous operation against street dogs,” Mr Samak was quoted as saying by The Nation.

Sahara Photo Exhibition London

Globetrotters Marion Bull is having a photo exhibition at the Horniman Centre in south London, opening 4th October. The free exhibition depicts the dramatic landscape in and around the plateau and the nomadic Tuareg herders, the Kel Djanti, who once inhabited Tassili N'Ajjer, before they were driven out by drought.

There will also be a special concert of North African Berber 'N' Rai music and dance to celebrate the opening of the Sahara exhibition. With a fusion of traditional and modern Algerian music, this exciting and energetic four-piece band is guaranteed to get you out of your seats and up on your feet!

Sunday 5th Oct 2 – 2.45pm & 3 – 3.45pm. Free entrance.

TrekAmerica Discount

TrekAmerica has offered Globetrotters readers of this e-newsletter a 10% Discount on all of their tours.

TrekAmerica offers a range of over 60 adventure camping, lodging and walking tours in small groups (13 passengers maximum) in Canada, the USA (incl. Alaska) and Mexico.

In 2004 we will also be offeringfamily tours and various specialty tours (e.g.- biking and birdwatching tours).

To claim your discount, you need to book direct and mention membership of the Globetrotters Club. For more information, see www.trekamerica.co.uk or call 0870 444 8735.

Top 5 Things to Do in a Lifetime

The BBC recently showed a programme outlining the results of a viewer’s poll stating the top 50 things they thought everyone should do in their life.

The top 5 things were as follows:

  1. Swim with dolphins
  2. Dive the Great Barrier Reef or Coral Reefs
  3. Fly on Concorde
  4. Whale watching
  5. Dive with sharks

What would your top 5 things be? Write in and tell the Beetle.

Concorde Auction

Aviation enthusiasts, get ready! Air France is set to auction 200 parts from its retired Concorde fleet at Christie’s Paris auction room in October. After 27 years of service, everything from the famous nose cone to smaller pieces of memorabilia will be for sale. The proceeds will go towards children's causes supported by Air France. As a price guide, the famous drooping nose cone is estimated at EUR10,000 (USD$11,000) to EUR15,000 but prices for other mementoes, such as photos and models are as low as EUR20. There are no reserve prices, so everything must go.

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!!

Fave Website: worldpress

A great website, spotted by our webmaster Paul. It contains articles from the press and magazines around the world and also headlines from events around the world. So, if you ever wondered what the headlines were in Yemen or Serbia, here’s your chance to find out. Each country’s newspaper is listed so you can select a newspaper of your choice to see that country’s news stories. The site also tells you which language the newspaper is in. Click on: worldpress

Human Shield Woman in Trouble

A retired Florida schoolteacher who went to Iraq to serve as a “human shield” is facing hefty fines, which she is refusing to pay. The US Treasury said that Faith Fippinger, 62, broke the law by crossing the Iraqi border before the war. Her travel to Iraq violated U.S. sanctions that prohibited American citizens from engaging in “virtually all direct or indirect commercial, financial or trade transactions with Iraq.” The government also has asked Fippinger, 62, to detail her travels to Iraq and any financial transactions she made. In her response, Fippinger wrote that the only money she spent was on food and emergency supplies and that “if it comes to fines or imprisonment, “please be aware that I will not contribute money to the United States government to continue the build-up of its arsenal of weapons.” Since she won't pay, she said, “perhaps the alternative should be considered.”

Pilot Shenanigans

Southwest Airlines, the highly successful US low cost airline – the one that Ryanair is modelled on, has fired two pilots (both men) for allegedly taking off their clothes whilst in the cockpit, in flight.

Southwest is famous for being offbeat. When they started flying in 1971, flight attendants wore hot pants (one assumes the female ones) and were chosen for sex appeal and they are known even today for making funny in-flight announcements, sometimes even in song.

This is not the first time that pilots have behaved badly – America West fired a pair of pilots last year for being under the influence of alcohol in the cockpit after running up a $142 tab at a Miami bar the night before. A Northwest Airlines pilot was arrested in January, after a loaded gun was found in his carry-on.

Airline News: August 2003

In a bid to step up flight security, China plans to
use policemen disguised as crew members. The undercover police, who may
be armed, are undergoing training and are likely to be deployed in October
this year.

British Airways has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia after receiving evidence of a planned attack on a UK jet at Riyadh airport.

Expect to get some good fares between New Zealand and
Tasmania: Air New Zealand (ANZ) is to launch a low cost service
Tasman Express on October 29th on its trans Tasman route. There is already
an Emirates service across the Tasman Sea and Virgin Blue has said
it intends to start flights between the two countries later this year.

ANZ also plans to cut the price of fares from
Auckland to Sydney by 45 percent to NZD$189 (USD$111) one way, while the
total reductions would average about 20 percent.

India’s first budget airline, Air Deccan
has just started with flights from the southern city of Bangalore. Air
Deccan aims to undercut other carriers’ fares by 50 percent, will
start with one daily service to Hubli and Mangalore, but plans to expand
quickly to 20 flights per day to destinations in the south of the country.
India’s civil aviation minister, Rajav Prat Rudy said: “The days
of flying being a symbol of only maharajas or the rich are over.”

Pilots in the US are pressing the government to train
more cockpit crews in the use of guns after new warnings about possible
terrorist hijack attempts.

The US government has put out a worldwide alert that
terrorists may be plotting more hijack attempts on commercial airliners
this summer. According to a report from CNN the targets could include
Australia, Italy, the UK or the eastern United States. However, the intelligence
is still being evaluated and some doubts have been cast on its reliability.

The Hospitality Club

Ben Sessions from Houston, Texas wrote in to recommend: “a wonderful travel-accommodations club. My wife and I often travel in the US and Europe researching our ancestors and visiting relatives, old friends and new friends. We belong to a travel group The Hospitality Club, which has members worldwide offering free accommodations for travellers. It is free to join and all the members are listed on the internet by country and city. We spent June in Germany and met and overnighted with several members. They were wonderful and quite accommodating. Frugal folks who like and/or need to travel will benefit greatly from this organization, (members have the option of being a host/hostess or not.)

Being Careful: Dengue Fever in Tonga

The Australian High Commission currently advises that there is currently an epidemic of the mosquito-borne disease Dengue Fever in Tonga on the main island of Tongatapu. Anyone visiting Tonga is strongly advised to protect themselves from mosquito bites at all times.

You do not want to catch Dengue Fever – see Ingrid Style’s article in this e-newsletter about her Dengue Fever in Thailand.