he original author of Lonely Planet Cuba announces the launch of Cuba-Pictures.com, a 14-page collection of 126 travel photos of Cuba. All photos in this picture gallery are by David Stanley, who researched and wrote the first two editions of Lonely Planet Cuba, published in 1997 and 2000. Stanley first visited Cuba in 1975, and over the next four years he represented a Canadian tour company on Isla de la Juventud, at Varadero, and in Havana. Since then, he has revisited Cuba dozens of times.

A few of Stanley’s photos originally appeared in Lonely Planet Cuba, while the rest are published here for the first time. They offer a cross section of Cuba, with the emphasis on “real Cuban life” rather than the artificial world of tourism. The images are intended to convey the atmosphere of some very special places, and the warm, friendly people who call Cuba home.

Each page of pictures provides an introduction to a specific area, and all photos are fully captioned. The site also features a map of Cuba, a shopping mall with Cuban music, guides, and films, and a selection of travel links. http://www.cuba-pictures.com is now open to visitors.

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Interesting country facts.

1. The United States has the most money, power, airports, cell phones, radios and ISP's.
2. The United States consumes more energy than India, the Middle East, South America, Africa, South East Asia and Oceania combined – which means more than 3.1 billion people.
3. The top 5 energy consumers are all cold countries. The next 6 are mostly oil producers.
4. Guatemalan women work 11.5 hours a day, while South African men work only 4.5.
5. Guinea has the wettest capital on Earth with 3.7 metres of rain a year. You’re 66 times more likely to be prosecuted in the USA as in France.
6. Nearly 1% of Montserrations are police.
7. Most Zambians don't live to see their 40th birthday.
8. Want your kids to stay in school? Send them to Norway.
9. Mexico has the most Jehovah's Witnesses per capita in the OECD.
10. Indonesia has the most known mammal species – and the most mammal species under threat.

Source:

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Near the Serpentine in Hyde Park, London, a place the Princess was always being seen in, not far from her home in Kensington Palace, Kensington Gardens. The water ran and sparkled like a running summer brook through the marble stone and in other parts of this architectural Memorial the water was nearly still as a pond in a country village.

The Queen gave her speech, the VIP’s looked on, the press took pictures, the TV Cameras rolled – all looked pristine and somewhat cold in the Memorial empty of people.

The ceremony over, it opened to the public and suddenly it became what it was meant to be.  The sun shone, the temperature soared, the people filled the memorial, people from all walks of life and different parts of the world; dipping their feet and walking in the cool water.

Princess Diana was the “People’s Princess” and this water feature perfectly matches and catches her soul especially when full of visitors, whether they be locals or tourists, rich or poor. 

The perfect opening day was spoilt by a storm the next day that not only blew some trees down but also masses of leaves that blocked the drains and flooded the whole place.  We have a problem in Britain with leaves! In most autumns they land on the rails and cause chaos on the railways and nothing ever seems to fix this problem.  It also seems we always have problems with new constructions! The words bridge and wobbling come to mind!

However it is a great success and it will reopen in the not too distant future and I think: no, I’m sure Princess Diana will be looking down and smiling on seeing the enjoyment on the faces of the people below as they stroll and paddle about this relaxing place on a sunny afternoon.    

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We are sorry to say that Mac is not very well, but he is still e-mailing strong and recently sent the Beetle a collection of Mac reminiscences about some of his travels in 1992.  Here we have thoughts and experiences on India.

I am enjoying reading a book called Eating The Indian Air by John Morris, published by Atheneun 1969 New York.  Eating the Indian Air is an Indian expression meaning to take a walk.  Morris was in British Army in India and returned around 1969 to see changes.  He had been on Mt Everest expeditions of 1922 and 1936 so his visit to see Tensing at the Himalayan Mountaineering School, Darjeeling, India was interesting.

Quote: “After breakfast I set off to visit the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute.  The world famous Tensing is the chief instructor at the Himalayan Institute.  I had purposely not telephoned to let him know of my visit because I wished to give him a surprise. In 1936 as a young and inexperienced Sherpa porter he had been my personal servant on Everest and although I had seen him in England after the successful climb in 1953. By local standards he has become a wealthy man but he is quite unspoilt and still lives in a simple but comfortable manner.  His appearance reminded me of the best of the Swiss guides with whom in more affluent days many of us used to climb.  And he was dressed for the part, thick woollen knickerbockers, hand knitted stockings, a peacock blue sweater, Homburg hat (favourite of all men of Tibetan origin and the heaviest of climbing boots I have ever seen.  I could not resist pulling his leg about his appearance but this he said with a laugh was the outfit in which American tourists expected to find him; they were disappointed if they found him more soberly dressed”.

Me, Mac speaking now.  I visited this Himalayan School outside Darjeeling when I was maybe 69.  There was a slight hill to get to it and I came puffing in the door and asked if I could enrol in the school.  They laughed and said they did not take anyone over 18 years of age.  I was sorry Tensing did not get to meet me but he was either not in that day or away climbing a mountain. They had a gift shop and I brought several kinds of key rings with picture of Mr Everest and I think some saying.  They proved to be the gift the recipients enjoyed getting the most and they did not take up much room in my pack.

I stayed in a budget place and I thought they said I could see Mr Kangchenjunga, the third largest mountain in the world from my window. They suggested I get up at 5am before the clouds came in or something. What they said was that I could see this Mt perhaps at this time from the hotel but from the other side of hotel. I did later see it.

They brought hot water in something like a milk bucket at the time I told them I wanted to take a bath. The woodwork in hotel was beautiful although a budget place. They did not service meals but they told me how to get to a place friends owned and it was good. I really enjoyed Darjeeling and the little toy train to get up there. I also visited a Tibetan refugee place.

From book The Whole World Stranger by Virginia Moore, The McMillan Company New York 1957 Page 144: “In the big bazaar of Calcutta (India) amid merchandise common and exotic we saw up for sale boxes of food from America marked “Do not sell, this is a gift” and heard that many recipients mistaking cheese for soap had washed their clothes with it” (Me. The night before we were to get on troop ship at Bremerhaven, Germany  (WWII) to return to the states a German POW doing kitchen duty mistook a bar of brown GI soap for butter and put it in the soup, (or so the story goes.)  At three in the morning troops were wandering around with dysentery trying to find a dispensary.  What a mess.  I decided I was going to get on that ship in the morning even if I had to crawl up the gang plank on my hands and knees lugging my duffel bag.  I did manage to stand up but had a movement on the way up the gang plank.  What an exit from war torn Europe.  (I think it was an honest mistake on the part of the German POW and don’t think it was sabotage.  Ha!) When we got to New York there was a harbour captain that came out to guide our ship on in.  I was at the side of ship watching this.  He came on board and shook my hand and said “Welcome home son.” (I had cleaned my self up by then.)  I get tears in my eyes just remembering him saying this. 

Back to the book. “At Jjama Masjid (noble Moslem mosque) in Delhi, the guide showed them three world sights.  Mohammed’s sandal, his footprint, and from his beard a long red hair.” The sandals were two inches shorter than his footprint.  They had one guide that they joked needed a guide as he didn’t know what some well known sites were.

Me: I found the guides on the government sponsored tours were very good and tours were reasonable.  I also found the government sponsored hotels were reasonable, clean and met my needs.  You find out about them from the National Tourist offices. While I did not use them all the time it was nice to know they were there.

I am reading an article about Oil Rich Brunei a feast for eyes by Sandra Scott in today’s Washington Times Travel section. She writes: On the Royal Brunei airplane from Thailand to Bandar the capital of Brunei just before landing a flight attendant advised “The importation of drugs into Brunei is illegal and punishable by death.  We are sorry for any inconvenience this may caused.”.

The sultan’s new 1,800 room palace is the largest in the world and is managed by Hyatt Corp.  For three days following Ramadan the palace is open to the public, a buffet is served and the sultan and his wives- he has two greet the people.”.

I met in Rio De Janeiro one time the son of one of the Royalty of Saudi Arabia, or he said he was.  He said his father had seven wives and he was the son of the youngest one.  He may have been a fake as he was staying in same budget pension I was.  I know he did give Varig or whatever Brazils airline a bribe to get on flight out when it was difficult to get out and they took it. I was surprised at this little transaction.

If you would like to contact Mac, he is happy to answer e-mails: macsan400@yahoo.com

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I was pretty taken with Cefalù. I had not expected it to have retained such charm since its advent to practically every tour firm’s brochure. My one disappointment was quite a major one, that the lovely cathedral, with mosaics older than those at Monreale [though nothing like as many,] was undergoing repair, a place of noise and dust with little mosaic actually showing. Never mind, you can’t win ’em all! Somehow I missed the quickest way to the bus for Castelbuono and I arrived in time to see the back of it as it left. It was right by the train station and, as Castelbuono was the very first stop and a train was almost due, I was not too worried. In fact my only worry was during the short train journey when I realised I had not validated my ticket! Fortunately nobody had told me that the station was nowhere near the town and that the walk was up a very long and pretty steep hill. I only had seconds to worry about this, as the fellow passenger who told me went on to offer a lift. We can have been only a little behind the bus!

My lift was to the tourist office who started to look for somewhere for me to stay that night. I quite fancied the idea of a b&b for a change and the price sounded OK until they phoned back to all but double it as I was on my own. No good. The next attempt was the only hotel in the little town, as far as I know, the Ariston. This was remarkably cheap and I left my luggage at the tourist office to carry on uphill to the castle before dropping down to the Ariston. The view, both of the town below and of the hills of the interior in the other direction confirmed the impression that it would be a good walking centre. However there was no time to weigh that up with only two nights left. I returned to the Ariston and the very cheap price came to seem explicable. The receptionist was playing cards with a couple of friends – they called to mind Manet’s famous painting in the Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, London. Shortly after he had given me the key I heard them – all – leave the hotel and that was it. There was nobody else in the hotel from then until I left in the morning. I do not remember the name of the place where I ate. I suppose you might call it an Italian fast food joint but it was just what I needed – fast indeed but remarkably friendly. I should go again – just above the arch on the right if you want to find it!

So back in the morning to Cefalù on the bus to catch the train on along the coast. I had by now what I thought was probably a pipedream, that it would be great to take a boat out to one of the Aeolian Islands for a couple of hours if timetables permitted – and they seemed to. This time the mistake was not my fault. The departure board in the station had been changed from the time-table from the tourist office and I had to wait well over an hour for the next train – and pay extra for the privilege because it was called an express. It would hardly be reasonable for an Englishman to complain about the train service anywhere but this was actually as bad as ours at near their worst.

Thus I arrived at Milazzo very uncertain whether it was going to be possible to do anything. I discovered that by taking an aliscafo [hydrofoil] I could get just about an hour on Lípari. I am and I was very aware that an hour on Lípari is absurdly insufficient. On the other hand it was nearly an hour more than nothing and allowed a sight of Vulcano on the way – and the sea was like a mill pond. There was really no contest in my mind; I went and I am glad I did – though I should certainly like to go again for longer and see some of the other islands as well.

After the trip, reported in the next edition, I was rather too tired to walk up to the castle at Milazzo but it looked striking enough towering over the town. I was there at a time when the industrial smoke said to spoil the town so badly was absent and it seemed a good place. I stayed at the Central in the Via  del Sole, an ordinary little place with shared bathrooms, cheaper but otherwise much the same as several others. I ate at a sort of shop/cafe at the far end of town from a wonderful spread of antipasti type dishes – very cheaply indeed.

David was a keen walker, particularly on mountains before he developed serious heart problems in 1995. He has now adapted his holidays to what he is able to do and we are presenting his account of 12 days in Sicily over this and the coming months. Next two episodes: Palermo.

Next episode – Aeolians , Messina, Taormina.

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Answers to Flag Quiz

1 Bahamas	2 Brazil	3 Croatia	4 Germany	5 Iceland

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Planning a visit to London or already live in London or visit, well, Gordon regularly hosts get togethers for visitors and local people alike to go to the theatre and concerts, sometimes free and sometimes at reduced cost.  He also hosts suppers at selected restaurants – the picture shows a group of Gordon’s friends. 

To join Gordon’s friends’ group, click on this link:

Gordon's friends

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Complaints from international visitors to the United States about hostile treatment by immigration officials have prompted them to clean up their act, the official in charge of border controls has said.  The complaints, many from Britons travelling for business or pleasure have forced the agency to institute a code of conduct to ensure officers treat visitors with respect.  Complaints had come from all over the world, but the department was particularly struck by the number from Britain.  One of the major issues is said to be the handcuffing, detention and deportation of some potential visitors who had committed “minor technical visa violations” previously, such as briefly or unwittingly breaching a 90 day permission to stay. “While we must — and will — secure our border against terrorists, we must treat all travellers professionally and courteously,” said the agency.

But meanwhile…

By subjecting most visitors to scans of their faces and fingers, the United States will this week expand a mass surveillance system that threatens freedom and race relations, a privacy watchdog says.

Now most visitors entering the United States will have to put each index finger in turn on a glass plate that electronically scans it, and to have a digital photo taken.

The United States says its US-VISIT program — already in place for travellers requiring visas and now being rolled out more widely — will add an average of just 15 seconds to entry checks and will enhance security.

It says the biometric data will be stored in databases, along with personal information such as full name, date of birth, citizenship, sex and passport number, and can be accessed by border, consular, immigration and law enforcement officials.

London-based rights group Privacy International said in a recent report that the scheme relied on flawed technology and opaque, error-strewn watch lists on which innocent people could find themselves wrongly identified as security threats.

Ryanair are advertising jobs: http://www.careerjet.co.uk/jobs_ryanair.html  We at Globetrotter Towers are idly wondering whether benefits include free flights located in the bathroom.

New routes added Ryanair airline announced last month it would begin flying on Oct. 31 to Riga from London, Frankfurt, Germany, and Tampere, Finland, after the Latvian government cut airport taxes in an attempt to lure more tourism and make Riga International Airport a regional hub.  It is Ryanair's first venture into one of the 10 new European Union member states.  Commentators have wryly noted that it is not clear who is most excited about the new route into Riga, travellers into Riga or Latvians looking to travel out.  Uhh… didn't Michael O Leary say that Ryanair would not be expanding into the new EU accession countries?

No unions, please  Ryanair is about to get into another spat, this time with SAS.  Ryanair is not unionised and promises to pay more than union rates if its employees negotiate their contracts directly with the company rather than join unions for collective bargaining.  Most SAS workers do belong to a union.  Swedish trade union HTF recently handed out sick bags to passengers flying on Ryanair from Nykoping, what Ryanair refer to as Stockholm, some 160 km south west of Stockholm as part of a wider campaign organized by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF). The white bags were printed with claims that Ryanair staff had to work longer and for lower pay than rivals.  Speaking at a Stockholm press conference, Chief Executive, Michael O'Leary said that Ryanair paid more on average to staff and that its rules on the maximum hours staff could work were the strictest in the industry. “We are an embarrassment to a lot of trade unions,” he went on to say.  According to O’Leary, Ryanair staff earn an average of EUR50,582 a year, more than staff at airlines where staff are unionized, O'Leary added.  O'Leary also said Ryanair would sue Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter unless it retracted reports critical of some aspects of Ryanair's safety record.

Yet more pay as you go service Ryanair has been looking for ways to introduce new services they can use to boost revenues while keeping fares low.  Their latest attempt is to introduce in-flight entertainment such as movies, chart videos, cartoons and sitcoms on all its flights, but passengers will have to pay GBP£5, EUR7 (USD$9) per flight if they want to access movies, cartoons and television shows on the portable units, which will not be built into seats as on full-service carriers.  Ryanair said the system will be trialled initially on five Stansted based aircraft from November. If successful, it will gradually be rolled out across the airline's entire fleet over the winter.  Ryanair needs three percent of its passengers to use the units to cover its costs.  Each plane will initially carry 24 entertainment units which would be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.  The units, which look like a small laptop, are the brainchild of former aircraft baggage handler Bill Boyer who sold the idea to his then employer, Alaska Airlines.

Boyer later founded APS, based in the industrial city of Tacoma, south of Seattle. Ryanair is now APS's biggest customer.

The entertainment units are Ryanair's latest push to tap new sources of non-ticket revenue. Ryanair passengers are also charged for drinks and food. “At the moment the ice is free, but if we could find a way of targeting a price on it we would,” O'Leary earlier told an airlines conference.

And finally… their blurb about themselves, Ryanair describe themselves as being like superman, up, up and away, they say.  It took us a week to stopped laughing, and if you don’t believe us, take a look at this: http://www.ryanair.co.uk/about/abouthome.html

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Meeting news from our branches around the world.

Rajasthan is a land where the vagaries of nature have settled to co-exist with the good cheer of its people.  The architectural grandeur of royalty and the tales of valour and chivalry are the essence of its very spirit. Rajasthan is a destination that enchants the visitor with every little discovery that is made, because the more one discovers, the more is the urge to stay on or come back.  It offers a unique destination for anyone’s holidays.

Jaipur, the first planned city of historic India, better known as the pink city and the Venice of east is a perfect combination of old and modern architect of India.  Pushkar is your host for rural, religion and culture of the region. The Thar Desert tells a story of men living in harmony with a hostile nature.  It is not deserted but contains a complete philosophy to live with the nature.  Ranthambore presents an opportunity for viewing wild life as you can experience the first hand the habitat of the king of the forest the tiger.  The following ‘tour’ is in two parts but shows how you can easily explore parts of Rajasthan.

JAIPUR

Jaipur, popularly known as the Pink City, was founded in 1727 AD by the Maharaja of Amber Sawai Jai Singh. This remarkable city is considered a marvel of town planning.  Designed in accordance with ancient Hindu treaties on architecture, the Silpa Shastra, Jaipur follows a grid system and is encircled by a fortified wall.  The palace lies in the heart of the city and occupies the space of the central grid. The rest of the grids were cut across neatly by wide lanes, which divided the area into tidy, well laid-out rectangles of commercial and residential use. The fortified wall has eight gates (originally had seven) and was built for protection against invading armies and wild animals. Today the city has spread beyond these walls and reached neighbouring towns and continues to grow.

CITY PALACE

The city Palace complex is the most important landmark with its numerous outbuildings, courtyards, impressive gateways and temples.  Occupying one seventh of the walled city area, the city palace houses the seven storied Chandra Mahal (residence of the royal family), Mubarak Mahal, the Diwan-I-Am, and Diwan-I-Khas. The museum houses a rare collection of arms, carpets, costumes, paintings and royal paraphernalia. A notable exhibit is a pair of pure silver containers, which are the largest single pieces of silver in the world.

Across the road from the palace is the JANTAR MANTAR, one of the five observatories built by Sawai Jai Singh, this one is the latest and the best preserved. A collection of complex astronomical instruments chiselled out of stone – most of which continue to provide fairly accurate information to this day – is the highlight of the observatory.

HAWA MAHAL (PALACE OF WINDS)

This adjoins the outside of the palace wall.  Built in 1799 this pink seven storied building overlooks one of the main streets and also provides some excellent views of the city.  Dedicated to the lord Krishna, it is shaped like a crown, which adorns the Lord’s head.  It has over 900 niches and is quite an unusual structure the likes of which are not to be found anywhere else in the world.

AMBER FORT

Set in a picturesque location, Amber is a fascinating blend of Hindu and Muslim architecture.  Built in the 16th century by Raja Man Singh, it sprawls on the hillside.  Built in red sandstone and white marble, the palace complex has some very interesting apartments, the likes of which are not to be found anywhere else in the country.  Jai Mandir, Sheesh Mahal, Sukh Niwas, Ganesh Pol are some of the prominent areas of interest.  The old township of Amber lies at the foothills of the palace and has an Old World charm, a character of its own.

PUSHKAR FAIR (November)

Held at Pushkar near Ajmer once in a year, better known by the name of Pushkar Cattle Fair, is one of the most colourful festivals of India. Thousands of pilgrims come to bathe in the holy water of the Pushkar Lake. Legend has it that the lake appeared miraculously on the spot, where the petals of the lotus fell from the hands of lord Brahma. Pushkar has an atmosphere of an ancient town, peaceful and secluded but for twelve days of the month of KARTIK (Hindu calendar), it transformed into a spectacular fair ground.  The fair is an amazing sight to behold including street sellers showing off their dazzling range of wares in hundreds of roadside stalls.

RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES

People come from different parts of Rajasthan to worship lord Brahma and take bath in the holy lake.  Pilgrims start coming in the early morning in groups singing the religious songs dedicated to Hindu gods to bathe in the Pushkar lake. The process continues throughout the day to turn into DEEPDAN ceremony.  The entire atmosphere reverberates with the ringing of bells.  At night, hundreds of small oil lamps placed on green leaves set the lake alight.  Shopkeepers keeps their shops open day and night for the last three or four days to keep the city alive.

CAMELS AND CATTLE

Worlds largest number of camel gathering is a spectacular seen that floods this area with thousands of tourist every year. The most spectacular site besides the animals is the day to day activity of the people who comes with the animals and spend the day and night under open sky. Horse races, camel races and other animal based events are organized by the organizing committee to choose the best animal of the fair.

If you would like to get in touch with Bhaghirath about touring Rajasthan, he can be contacted by e-mail on: vision21century@sify.com

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