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Miscellaneous Travel Notes

"'Delhi Belly', or travellers' diarrhoea, could be a thing of the past. An oral vaccine, Dukoral, has been developed by scientists and is already available in some markets."

"JustFares is a Seattle-based ticket consolidator that has mad cheap tickets ($610 rountrip Seattle-Taipei)."

"I flew Northwest last week and was tipped off by the reservations agent that I could assign myself an exit row seat during the online check-in process. Since Northwest allows online check-in up to 36 hours before the flight departs, I checked in very early and was able to get exit row seats (which are not assigned until the day of the flight) for both my outbound and return flights."

Global Shopping Highlights

Kate Dunn is one impressive traveller/shopper. She's searched the world over to bring us her Top 5 Shopping Destinations (forget New York, Paris, Hong Kong...):

1. Street stalls in central Kathmandu, Nepal. You'll find a fascinating mix of unusual goods including handmade wooden jewellery, metalwork curios such as bells and incomprehensible games involving carved animals.
2. Winter craft fairs on the Maidan in Calcutta, India. These huge fairs are held regularly throughout winter on the 'park' in the city centre, attracting local craftspeople selling their goods directly to the (mainly local) public. Highlights include both traditional and modern art (paintings and sculpture), Indian clothes and beautiful handmade silks.
3. The streets off the main square in Cuzco, Peru. The small shops here, amidst the magic of steep, cobbled streets and traditional Incan buildings, are havens for lovers of silver and gold jewellery, hand-woven textiles and art.
4. Anjuna market in Goa, India. Traditional local goods such as bedspreads, tablecloths, woodwork and miles of silver jewellery can be found at this enormous market. Just don't get conned, and remember - a day is not enough!
5. The souks in Marrakech, Morocco. The hustle and bustle, sights, sounds, smells and obligatory haggling make these open-air marketplaces a must-do. Specialists provide goods such as musical instruments, textiles and slippers. The guides tell you to be careful not to get lost, but it's almost essential to if you want to find the everyday souks where local people shop.

The key to all of these shopping experiences is to enjoy the haggling. Remember that the vendors won't sell to you unless they're making a profit. If you think you've scooped up a bargain then you have, no matter how much you later find you were overcharged!

"Dozens of low-fare airlines have sprouted up all over Europe, but most American travelers have heard, if at all, only about two or three. Three Swiss enthusiasts have constructed a really neat site, CH-Aviation.ch, in which you enter any pair of European cities and the site immediately lists the low-fare airlines that connect those two cities. It's a great resource for travelers who may not know about Venice-based Volareweb, for example, or British start-up FlyGlobespan. The site has two drawbacks. There are no hot links to airline sites. And, for now, you have to check each airport separately in such multi-airport cities as London and Milan—a problem the site operators say they intend to correct soon."

Airport Rights

"If requested by individuals, their photographic equipment and film packages must be inspected without exposure to an X-ray system."

New Mexico Budget Travel Articles

Article 2 of 60, Article ID: 0FA01285D5C6D24F Published on March 2003, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel By James Thurston In Georgia O'Keeffe country

Article 12 of 60, Article ID: 0F8DA0EBF7CC2279 Published on January 16, 2003, Budget Travel Today By Matthew Link Adobe houses and world-class museums dot Santa Fe's downtown

Article 35 of 60, Article ID: 0F9B2CBD9D023DC0 Published on February 25, 2003, Budget Travel Today By Matthew Link Artistic and historic Taos

Currency Conversion Warning

On a recent trip in Ireland, on three occasions the following attempt was made to gyp me. At two hotels and one store, my euro charge was converted into a dollar charge--at a very unfavorable rate, approximately 4% over the bank rate. I refused to sign, asked for the dollar charge to be reversed, then paid the charge in euros. Many people would not know they were being gypped; one would have to know the exchange rate. Or, one might take notice of the line in small print at the bottom of the charge slip "The signed acknowledges that the opportunity was given to pay in euros."