Johan from Belgium contacted the Beetle to say that he visits The Gambia on a regular basis. He says that it is true that the bumsters have gone – because of police and army presence, but readers should be warned that inland, in The Gambia, it can be quite dirty with rubbish piled up, mostly plastic bags. But even so, it offers sunshine for when the rest of Europe is cold and snowy.
Any more comments, anyone? E-mail to the Beetle
Here’s a little Beetle quiz based on airport codes. How many did you get right! Go on, have a guess!
Which cities are served by airports with the following codes:
For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.
Muir’s Tours have opportunities for their volunteer teaching programme in Peru. This is proving to be very popular with Gap Year students. Please note it is open to all ages, but preference is given to those with a TEFL certificate or similar, or valid experience. For more info, please see Muir’s Tours
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
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal told of how the Hilton Hotel chain, all 21,000 of them have a new customer system called OnQ. This records all customer details and preferences of those who have stayed with them, including movies watched, what and how much you drank from the mini bar and any complaints made. You have been warned!
Italy is to be the first EU country to introduce mandatory screening of passengers arriving from countries affected by the SARS virus and including passengers who have first made stops in other places.
Any passenger showing symptoms of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which currently has killed over 500 people worldwide, will be quarantined.
Due to a computer crash, the Beetle has lost this month’s commentary on our friends Ryanair. We hope to return to our favourite love to hate subject of Ryanair next month, if there is anything news worthy to note.
Britain’s longest national walking trail, from Minehead in Somerset to South Haven Point near Poole in Dorset, will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year.
The 630-mile South West Coast Path takes in steep, ‘hog’s back’ cliffs rising to 800 feet, fishing harbours, pretty villages and unspoilt countryside.
There will be a wide variety of events between April and October, including guided walks, talks and displays of works by local artists, writers, musicians and other performers who have been inspired by the path. For more information, see http://www.swcp.org.uk/
Source: Britain Express
British Airways and Air France have both announced that Concorde will be grounded permanently as from the end of November 2003. Passenger demand has fallen significantly since the Concorde crash near Paris in 2000. BA justified their decision by saying that maintenance costs have become too high for them to continue the service and the global downturn in demand for all forms of premium travel in the airline industry. France said “the deterioration of business results from the transatlantic service”, the aircraft’s only scheduled route.
Air Canada, the world’s 11th largest carrier has filed for bankruptcyprotection. They say they will continue to fly while it reorganises its operations. The company says that Air Canada customers around the world can continue booking with confidence that their travel plans will not be disrupted.
Want to fly to Kuwait? While most of the world’s large carriers are reducing their services in line with a down turn in demand, mainly due to the Iraq conflict, Dubai-based carrier Emirates is introducing extra flights between now and July. They plan to increase services to the Middle East by increasing frequency of flights to Doha, Tehran, Sanaa, Dammam and Kuwait.
Air Wales are planning to start a 50 seat daily flight between south Wales and London, the first for 40 years on April 28th. The service will run up to three times a day between Swansea and London City Airport, stopping off in Cardiff. The journey time will be 80 minutes – half the time of the train and will cost as little as £19 each way.
Singapore Airlines, who are celebrating their 21st birthday this year, have been named Airline of the Year at the prestigious OAG Awards. Changi airport also won the best airport title for the eighth year running.
US budget carrier Southwest Airlines topped the Best Low Cost Airline category, a title it has held for three years.
Midwest Airlines was named Best Airline based in North America and Canada.
A Czech woman, Hana Peskova of CSA Czech Airlines won the Outstanding Service Award an award given to airline or airport staff who have acted above and beyond the call of duty for her efforts to help the people of Prague during the floods of August last year.
We have been contacted by Felisa Forteza who tells us about her new small and charming hotel in the very heart of Mallorca. Sa Rota d´en Palerm is an 18th Century house that has been lovingly restored and converted into a countryside hotel. They are offering a special 10% discount to readers of this e-newsletter on stays with them in Mallorca. For more details, take a look at: Sa-Rota website
Similarly, a French barge company approached the Globetrotters Club with some large discounts available on hiring luxury French barge boats. See www.bargefrance.com for more info.
International Childcare Trust (ICT) is organising a coast to coast cycle across Sri Lanka 19-28 September 2003 to raise funds to help support programmes in Africa and Asia with some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable children.
ICT is taking advantage of the long held peace process in Sri Lanka and cycling up into the north of the tropical island, an area which only very recently opened to tourism. As far as we know, ICT will be the first charity to cycle up into this virtually unexplored part of the island, where elephants roam free! We will unwind after the cycle by snorkelling near Trincomalee, at one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
The cycle offers keen travellers the chance to tour Sri Lanka whilst keeping fit. Those who sign up will also be granted the opportunity to meet other travellers and visit two of ICT’s projects to see how the money raised will benefit some of the world’s most disadvantaged children.
Since the north of the island has opened to tourism, Sri Lanka is being written up in all the UK national papers as the new ‘hot spot’ to travel before it becomes too tourist driven. Over the next couple of years, it is anticipated that the tourist industry will grow and that the prices for travel in Sri Lanka will rise considerably.
Therefore, an entry fee of £250 for the cycle (which covers flight on Sri Lankan Airlines, hotel accommodation, provision of bike, etc) seems to good to be true.
The challenge for people is: can you get fit enough? And can you raise enough for ICT? We think that every individual is capable and it is a memory that you will have with you for the rest of your life.
If you have any further queries or questions please visit http://www.international-childcare-trust.org/cycle-and-trek-challenges
A recent UK survey for the Department for Education found that of over 1,000 adults, 30% felt unable to compare rates in exchange bureaux. A similar proportion said they were not comfortable converting foreign currency into sterling. Over a fifth of those surveyed admitted they had wrongly calculated how much they spent on holiday, with 12% saying they had run out of money.
The Globetrotters Club has just teamed up with Oanda.com to provide people with information about currency conversions and cheat sheets. To translate currency or make a cheat sheet, visit:
The Globetrotters Currency Converter — get the exchange rates for 164 currencies The Globetrotters Currency Cheat Sheet — create and print a currency converter table for your next trip.
RDF Media are producing a documentary for Channel 4 in the UK about people who go travelling and do not return to the UK. We are looking for stories of British people who find alternative lifestyles, jobs, identities and relationships whilst travelling and resolve not to return home. We would particularly like to speak to travellers who can articulate why they have rejected UK lifestyle, and what qualities their new life can offer that Britain can not. We are also looking into stories of UK travellers that have gone missing whilst abroad. We would like to speak to the friends and family that are searching for them. If you would like to contact Kelly, you may e-mail her at: kelly.close@rdfmedia.com or phone her on 0207 013 4316.
From the UK Foreign Office: “The Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health — on the basis of information from the World Health Organisation — has strongly advised the UK public to defer travel to Hong Kong, Beijing, China’s Shanzi province China and Toronto in Canada for the time being due to the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome”. The situation in China is being kept under careful review. Travellers are advised to monitor the FCO website and the Department of Health website regularly. Further information on SARS is also available on the World Health Organisation website (www.who.int)
Felicity would like help on staying in the Hawaiian Islands. She says she would like to stay and work on one of the Hawaiian islands for say a period of about 4 to 5 months after her exams. Can anyone help her with some info about visa’s, jobs, accommodation, weather, when it’s best to go, etc. Felicity can be contacted on: felicitybishop@hotmail.com
David from PA, USA says: “I have a small boat (850 LBS) in Van Nuys California at my brother’s house. I live in Pittsburgh, PA. I am willing to pay someone’s gas expenses if they are travelling across country and are willing to bring my boat east. What newsgroups would I post something like this on? I am new to newsgroups and would appreciate any help you could give me in getting my boat east”. If you can help David, please e-mail him on: dave43pa2003@yahoo.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 section of the Website: Mutual Aid
Leighton House Art Gallery & Museum, the former home of the great nineteenth century classical painter Lord Leighton is now open to visitors as a mixture of stately home and art gallery. An impressive collection of high Victorian art is on show here, along with various contemporary art exhibitions. The house itself is also a dramatic sight, with its ebony woodwork, ornate mosaic flooring and exquisite Persian carpets.
Address: 12 Holland Park Road
Telephone: 020 7602 3316 Admission times: Mon-Sun, 11am-5.30pm; Closed on Tuesdays Admission: Free
Website: leightonhousemuseum
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:
For the answers, see at the end of the e-newsletter.
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!!
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