Issue 10
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COMET - FEBRUARY 1999 - ISSUE 10 For people who like their travel news down loaded, not loaded down. Brought to you by Lonely Planet (http://www.lonelyplanet.com) IN THIS ISSUE The Scoop - News For Itchy Feet Cuba Calls - Headlines from Havana Top 5 - Artificial Insemination or Cherry Picking? Two Cents Worth - Wrong Way, Go Back Compass - Show Us Your Midriff Link - Street Talk Soapbox - More Hot Air Than Usual Pilgrims' Progress - From Mecca to Gladstonbury You Said It - Tips From Travellers What's New On the LP Web Site Face To Face - Catch LP In the Flesh Talk 2 Us How to Subscribe and Unsubscribe *** THE SCOOP INDIA From little things big things grow. Despite continuing stumbles, India's on-line revolution is gathering momentum. The Indian government has relinquished its monopoly control of Internet services, paving the way for a host of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to enter the market. The ISPs face seemingly insurmountable problems, including a lack of local content and poor telephone and PC penetration. There are only 19.1 million telephones in the entire country, servicing a population soon to overtake China's as the largest in the world. Even so, market analysts predict that, after a slow 1999, the number of Indian subscribers to the Internet will grow to 1.5 million by the end of 2000. MALAYSIA To celebrate Chinese New Year, the Year of the Rabbit, many restaurants in Kuala Lumpur are offering some particularly festive dining options. From 16 February to 2 March chefs at the Toh Lee Chinese Restaurant at the Hotel Nikko will offer diners Global Tranquillity of Sauteed Prawn Ball, Auspicious Duet of Braised Whole Dried Scallops, Glorious Future of Braised Vegetables and the highly sought Everlasting Wealth of Braised Sliced Abalone with Vegetable and Oyster Sauce. PERU A landslide caused by flooding has blocked all land access to Peru's Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. The ruins are the major tourist destination in the country with more than 1000 visitors a day. Rail links broken by the landslide won't be repaired until the end of February, according to local officials. In the meantime, travellers with some spare cash can catch a lift to the site on army and private helicopters for US$80 and US$150 respectively. This makes for a more expensive trip than the train but a much better story for your friends back home. USA Planes are grounded and tempers are rising in a dispute between the country's second largest airline, American Airlines (AA), and its pilots. The American pilots are conducting a 'sick-out' in response to the airline's slow integration of the recently acquired Reno Air pilots. The pilots' union is concerned that AA plans to operate Reno as a separate airline. Because the salaries for AA pilots are roughly twice that of the Reno Air pilots they contend that this would be a violation of their labor contract. With the expected cancellation of 360 flights on Monday the total number of grounded flights sits at around 600 in just three days. AA is trying to book passengers on flights that will actually leave the ground. YEMEN Travel to Yemen is still a no-go according to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Those travellers and foreign workers remaining in Yemen should register with their embassy, keep a low profile and avoid unnecessary travel in the country. In the last week three Germans were freed unharmed by their kidnappers in Yart district, north of the capital, Sanaa. The areas of Abyan, Marib, Saada, Al Jawaf and Al Mahra, near the Omani border, remain off-limits: it's in these areas that the recent kidnappings have taken place. A dispute over the sovereignty of the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea is continuing and the islands and the coastline opposite remain a sensitive and potentially dangerous area as well. Find out what else is happening on your planet: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/scoop *** CUBA CALLS Head to Cuba before the American-imposed travel barriers finally fall, says David Stanley, author of LP's guide to Cuba and the new Cuba Upgrade. Things are better than ever for independent travellers in what remains the Caribbean's least commercialised country. David returned to Cuba recently and discovered plenty of changes since the current edition of the Cuba guide was published. Among them: * Political opposition to æthe systemÆ is not allowed, yet popular support for the tangible gains of the revolution remains strong. At the moment the country is quite stable and safe, and the æspecial periodÆ of economic austerity appears to be drawing to a close. Food and public transportation for ordinary Cubans (and independent travellers) are much better now than they were just a few years ago. Ironically, the Helms-Burton Bill (which imposes without judicial review fines of up to US$50,000 on US citizens who visit Cuba at their own expense) has allowed Cuba to find its place in the post-Soviet world gradually, without the sudden destabilising shock of mass consumer tourism from the United States. And when the American-imposed travel barriers do finally fall, Cuba will be much better prepared to handle the influx. For the rest of us, the time to go is now. * FACTS FOR THE VISITOR: Changing money on the street has largely ceased as official Cadeca outlets, selling pesos for dollars at fixed rates, have mushroomed across Cuba. * MONEY: Prices at the upmarket hotels have generally increased, while rooms at budget hotels are similar to those quoted in the book. Prices at hotels accommodating tourists on prepaid packages have increased about 20%. Private room prices in local homes have doubled due to high taxation, and private restaurants and taxis are also charging much more than they were for the same reason. A few admission charges have doubled, though most are unchanged. Train fares are the same, but count on paying at least 25% more for your rental car and 10 to 20% more for domestic Cubana airfares. Cigar prices are up anywhere from 25 to 50%. * POST & TELECOMMUNICATIONS: The Cuban telephone system is being completely rebuilt, and youÆll see lots of shiny new public phones which accept telephone cards sold at post offices (the cheapest is US$10). Many of the phone numbers in the book have changed - far too many to list here - but telephone directories are now available and can be consulted at post offices, telephone centers and hotels. * GETTING AROUND: With tourism booming, thereÆs now a serious shortage of rental cars in Cuba. This situation is reflected in slowly increasing prices, and weÆve received several complaints from readers who were forced to pay substantial bribes (US$70 in one case) to Havanautos and Transautos agents in order to receive a car. If youÆre certain you want a car, you might ask your travel agent to reserve a vehicle for you along with your plane seat. National/Gaviota Rent a Car has been renamed Vφa Rent a Car. * HAVANA: The Banco Internacional, Aguiar No 411, no longer changes foreign currency. Instead use the Banco de Comercio y CrΘdito on Aguiar just off Obispo. * VARADERO: There has been a crackdown on private residents renting rooms in their homes at Varadero, and those caught face heavy fines. You may still be able to find a room this way, but donÆt count on it. * ISLA DE LA JUVENTUD: To travel south of Cayo Piedra on Isla de la Juventud a permit is now required. This can be obtained from the Havanautos office in Nueva Gerona, which will also provide a car and driver as part of a package. Want the whole story? http: http://www.lonelyplanet.com.au/upgrades/up-cub.htm Re-charge another guidebook with an on-line Upgrade: http://www.lonelyplanet.com.au/upgrades/index.htm *** TOP 5 Gina Wales' Top 5 Tips For Working on a Kibbutz 1. It can be up to 60% cheaper to go to a kibbutz office when you arrive in Israel rather than a company that arranges your kibbutz stay before you go, but there's more work involved for you. A good place to look for a kibbutz when you arrive in Tel Aviv is Ben Gurion St - there are at least three agencies there. 2. Most insurance you buy from the kibbutz will not cover you when you leave Israel, so if you want to go to Jordan for a week and return to your kibbutz you'll have to buy more insurance. 3. There's a big difference between kibbutzes depending on their size. The larger ones usually have volunteers who have gone there together in groups while the smaller ones have more solo travellers. 4. Ask about what type of work you will have to do BEFORE you get sent to a kibbutz as it varies a lot from factory work and artifically inseminating chickens to fruit picking. Checking beforehand will save you a wasted trek. 5. It takes a bit of time to adjust to kibbutz life. Try to stay at least a month because this will give you the opportunity to go on one of the free volunteer trips that most kibbutzes organise. We sent Gina the LP guide of her choice for her trouble. Earn one for yourself by emailing us a Top 5 on ANY travel-related topic that we like enough to publish in the next issue: comet@lonelyplanet.com.au *** TWO CENTS WORTH In the last issue Harrie de Van asked fellow Comet readers to send in stories about things that went wrong on the road. You didn't hold back, did you? If we were making a movie of your collective misadventures it'd be a doozy to promote: a tragi-comic road movie that moves from crime thriller to French farce with a passing nod to 'North By Northwest', The Godfather trilogy and 'Carry On Up the Khyber'. Highlights included irritating incidents (an exploding hotel toilet, shrunken clothes, a sleep walking room mate who pisses on other people's packs), blunders (sending your passport home in an old handbag), medical horror stories (enthusiastic 'surgery' by a doctor bordering on clinically blind) and cases of mistaken identity involving strawberry milk, gun-totin' clergy and Auschwitz jails during the Cold War. Here are a couple that made us smile: 'My first long distance bus journey in China was a 17 hour nightmare from Canton south to the port of embarkation for Hainan Island. Knowing that rear seats are particularly bumpy, I had planned ahead, and booked early. When arriving at the bus I was rewarded with front row seats right behind the driver, with spectacular views of the road. Great, thought I, I shall miss nothing, and nothing I missed, it is true. I saw four wrecked cars and one still burning; every hill crest and blind corner where our intrepid driver overtook more laggardly vehicles; how he loved to hog the centre of the carriageway, giving way to oncoming traffic only if they were mightier than he. Behind me, passengers snoozed and snored, blissful in their ignorance. Night fell, headlights blazed, and we surged on, not even slowing when the tarmac gave way to rough track. I knew our lives depended on me. If I could only keep my eyes open all the way nothing could befall us - but should I sleep, who knew what terrifying end would meet us: a head on collision with another monster bus, overturning round a hairpin bend and tumbling into a ravine, or suffering a blow-out and crumpling into a tree? I gripped the arms of the chair and concentrated on my task: my brake foot, pressed hard against the floor, kept the speed down a little I was convinced. Hours later, with a stiff neck and bloodshot eyes, I descended shakily from the bus while all others sprang down, light in step and mind...' - Bryan Allen 'I'm usually getting into embarrassing situations - been like this most of my life. This trip wasn't any different. I was travelling in Tampere, Finland when I met this really cute Kiwi girl. We took bicycles and went cycling a big park. I was trying to impress her and it went rather well, until we suddenly heard a BOOM and guns firing. Now, I went out on this trip about a month after my release from the Israeli army and with the situation in my country, where terrorist attacks do happen once in a while, my first reaction was to jump to the ground. I didn't really think, I just reacted automatically. The sounds continued and we saw smoke coming from the woods and then heard some people screaming. I told her to stay there and went crawling in that direction. A minute after I went behind this big tree I suddenly heard lots of people laughing. Apparently, they have a theatre festival in Tampere every summer and I'd just crawled into a military play...' - Ohad Barzilay 'In 1973 I was travelling with a friend through French Polynesia. New to snorkelling, I was having a blast cruising the shallow reef at the north end of Raiatea. My non-swimming friend stayed on the beach some distance away. Periodically I would glance up to see him waving energetically at me. To reassure him I was fine, I would wave back and continue my paddling. This continued for about an hour. On returning to shore I thanked him for his constant concern for my welfare. "I was concerned, all right," he told me. "I kept waving like mad trying to get your attention. I was trying to tell you there was a 6 ft shark following right on your heels the whole time you were in the water!"' - Alan Dean Foster *** COMPASS The Midriff is the informal name given to which group of islands? Tell us how many islands, islets and pinnacles are in the group and name the largest, as well as the sea in which they're found, and we'll put you in the running for one of 20 Diving & Snorkelling in Baja California guides. If you think your internal compass is working, don't forget to include your name and postal address in your email: comet@lonelyplanet.com.au The following people correctly named Trencin Castle in Trencin, Slovakia and Laugaricio, the Roman military post established there in the 2nd century AD: Aija Seittenranta, Andrew McInerney, Andy Holten, Christopher Hill, David Viscoli, Deron Fuller, Francine Grandsard, Gordon Hirons, Jean-Francois Roman, Jeroen Ervynck, Kathryn Hill, Leos Preisler, Luigia Bisoglio, Martin Tocik, Martina Husakova, Milan Ranisavic, Romelio Gajardo, Tom Cnop, Thomas Schnetzler and Thomas Wallace. *** LINK What do Rue de la Huchette and Rue de la Harpe in Paris have in common? Email us at comet@lonelyplanet.com.au with your answer and if you're correct you'll be in the running for one of 20 Turkish phrasebooks. These people picked up the Kyoto guides for identifying the link between Tibet, East Timor and Quebec - territories involved in independence disputes: Aaron Michie, Adam Gerber, Alexandre Billette, Amanda Hill, Amanda Quirk, Andy Tomkins, Angkana Pitaknarongporn, Ben Chadwick, Bjorn Anders Radstrom, Cameron Duff, Dauro Veras, David Carballo, Hilda Toh, Hisham Ghayada, Leng Soo Tsu, Martijn Dalhuijsen, Niel Bornstein, Pierre Paquette, Ruth Hatfield and Seb Oran. *** SOAPBOX It's business as usual on the Thorn Tree this month: Year Off is in the market for a hot air balloon: http://www.lonelyplanet.com.au/thorntree/activities/cntt.htm Mike can't find pretzels in India: http://www.lonelyplanet.com.au/thorntree/ind/cxtt.htm Brit's asking for trouble and probably doesn't even know it: http://www.lonelyplanet.com.au/thorntree/choice/abtt.htm If these don't trip your wire start a topic of your own: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorn/thorn.htm *** PILGRIMS' PROGRESS Irish author Joseph O'Connor lived out a childhood fantasy by driving across America visiting towns called Dublin only to discover what a strange language English is (few inhabitants had even heard of his hometown, much less named their's after it). Was it Mecca, Gladstonbury or Madison Square Garden that beckoned you on your pilgrimage? What inspires you now to save hard and plan a trail to your holy grail: art, literature, drinking competitions? Email us at comet@lonelyplanet.com.au and we'll run some of the best stories in the next issue. *** YOU SAID IT Recent UNVERIFIED reports & tips from travellers INDONESIA Trying to communicate in Indonesian made a huge difference to the attitude of the street and shop sellers. We left our shoes outside shops and houses, bargained politely and quietly, smiled and said æNo thank you; I donÆt need oneÆ to the street sellers. Magically, we walked hassle-free. At one shop I had to bargain upwards, not downwards, so determined was the woman to give me something for nothing. After our deal was struck, a painter told me that he was glad his paintings were going with me - and I knew I was paying far less than the tourist price - because I speak quietly. Close your eyes and listen to some of the bargaining around you on the street, and you will appreciate what he meant. - Cassandra Perry, Australia (Dec 98) IRAN In Takab I found a nice, though at first sight unspectacular, teahouse. What was special about it were the old men reading poems in the local dialect to each other at night. To get there, walk down the street into town from Hotel Randji and turn left at the second roundabout. After a few metres you will find it in a small storefront on the left. - Cristoph Dreyer, Germany (Oct 98) JAPAN Surfing in Shikoku: a really great overnight surfing trip is possible from the Kansai area. Take the overnight ferry from Osaka (Nanko ferry terminal) to Kannoura (Tokushima prefecture, Shikoku). Prices vary for passengers travelling by foot and those with cars and bikes. Ikumihama Beach, Shikoku is a 10 minute cycle ride from the ferry terminal, a 25 minute walk, or hitch a ride from one of the many agreeable Japanese surfers driving there - it's very easy to do. The ferry leaves Osaka at about 11 pm and arrives in Kannoura around 6 am. The ride itself is pretty interesting - this boat has no chairs (so you) take off your shoes in the walkway, grab a blanket and cushion and catch a few zzz's (ie sleep) on the padded floor. Most of the Japanese on the ferry are surfers too. The return ferry leaves Kannoura around 5 pm and arrives in Osaka at midnight, just in time to catch the last train home. Alternatively, you could camp overnight near the beach for free, which many Japanese do. - Derry McDonell, Japan (Jan 99) NEPAL Kathmandu is a very touristy place and has a lot of pollution. Instead, we stayed in Bhaktapur, which is like going back to the Middle Ages: narrow streets, dirty, almost no cars and very old buildings. It's a great place to stay and becomes very quiet when all the day tourists from Kathmandu go back. In the evening you can hear locals playing music in some of the temples and in the morning you will see people from the villages coming to Durbar Square to sell their vegetables. You can see and feel how the city comes to life again. In Bhaktapur there are several English schools. Some of them are eager for foreign people to teach English. We taught for two months and the school gave us food and accommodation for free. It's a very interesting (way) to learn more about daily life. - Rombauts Herwig, Belgium (Dec 98) ROMANIA I want to add a warning about the dodgy types at Gara de Nord Railway Station in Bucharest. The main backpacker-related scam going on at the moment involves men meeting you off the train offering a free minibus ride to the Villa Helga hostel. They speak perfect English, are very convincing and are entirely unconnected to the hostel. The 'free minibus ride', of course, turns out to be as much as US$80. They'll also try to convince you to get money out of an ATM and, banking on the fact that you don't know the exchange rate, tell you that one million lei is US$10. An American guy I met only twigged when the hostel charged what he thought was US$1.20. Villa Helga says it has never offered a free pick-up service. - Matthew Price (Dec 98) Take me to your reader. For more tips, news & opinion from travellers: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/postcards.htm *** WHAT'S NEW ON THE LP WEB SITE Destination Marshall Islands - we're packing the outrigger and zipping Pacificward for divine diving, gorgeous greenery and tradition with an eye on the future: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/dest/pac/mar.htm Destination Senegal - it's the most happening hang in West Africa. From urbane Dakar to the expansive deserts, in Senegal the best things in life are free: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/dest/afr/sen.htm City2City - backpacker par excellence Huw Kingston circumnavigates Australia without the help of internal combustion. Hasn't this guy heard of Greyhound? http://www.lonelyplanet.com/city2city/index.htm Hitting the shelves this month - more Panamic sea stars that you can poke a fin at in our new guide to Diving & Snorkelling Baja California, and more ways to say 'I don't eat dairy products' than you could possibly need in new editions of our Moroccan Arabic and Turkish phrasebooks. For an exhaustive list: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/prop/newlist.htm#out Just around the corner - Count sheep while you wait for our new guides to Scotland and the USA plus new editions of Britain and Vietnam. For more upcoming releases: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/prop/newlist.htm#soon You can find Lonely Planet on the Web: http://www.lonelyplanet.com On AOL (keyword: lp) And on Minitel (3615 lonelyplanet) *** FACE TO FACE UK LP kicks off 1999 touring the annual travel fairs. We'll be giving a series of travel lectures on worldwide destinations and have our regular stand where you can drop by for travel advice and inspiration. If you're an aspiring travel writer check out ITW Glasgow, where we launch the first one-day Lonely Planet Travel Writing Workshop. Packed with vital information on all areas of travel journalism, the workshop provides practical tips for getting yourself published. You'll also find us speaking in the Pack It All In Room at all ITW fairs. Run by Usit World and the Australian Tourist Commission, this room is dedicated to doing Australia whether you want to work and travel, go bush and explore the outback, or beach it along the east coast. Pack It All In will be touring UK universities including Edinburgh, Manchester and Sussex. For more information call 0171 730 7285. OZ Visit the Flight Centre Travel Expos in Melbourne and Cairns to check out Lonely Planet's extensive range of titles. USA Don't miss the New York Adventure Travel Show sponsored by Outside Magazine and Lonely Planet. Meet authors, explorers and photographers. Attend seminars and speak with the true experts in the Lonely Planet Room. For more information call (888) 366-2653 or www.boldventure.com. For a full list of places to press the LP flesh this month: http://www.lonelyplanet.com.au/pro-events/index.htm *** TALK 2 US Is Comet the greatest thing to happen to travellers since a broke Swiss soldier decided to hock his knife, or about as useful as a backpack full of wet matches? Let us know how we're doing: talk2us@lonelyplanet.com.au *** SUBSCRIBE & UNSUBSCRIBE Subscribing and unsubscribing to Comet is dead easy. Do it all from your desktop. To subscribe: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/comet To unsubscribe: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/comet/uncomet.htm Don't have web access? Send us an email and we'll do it for you: comet@lonelyplanet.com.au *** Lonely Planet now produces two different newsletters: Comet (monthly via email) and Planet Talk (quarterly via snail mail and bookshops). If you're currently on the mailing list for Lonely Planet's quarterly printed newsletter, Planet Talk, but would prefer to receive Comet instead, let us know: comet@lonelyplanet.com.au *** COPYRIGHT All material in Comet is copyright (c) 1998 Lonely Planet Publications. All rights reserved. Although we have tried to make the information in Comet as accurate as possible, the authors and publishers accept no responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience sustained by any person using this newsletter.
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