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April 2009 issue | Appears on page 30

Disappointed on Silk Road tour

We took a trip along the “Silk Road” to the five “Stans” (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) and Turkey, Aug. 17-Sept. 9, 2008. The total cost for two was $20,680, which included round-trip air from New York to Istanbul, visa fees (over $500 per person) and mandatory tips ($400 per person).

Except for the sights, which were fantastic, and the friendly local folks, we felt this was not a great trip.

We went with the company Cultural Folk Tours. We...

April 2009 issue | Appears on page 34

Super OnePass service

I called Continental OnePass (800/344-1411) in December ’08 to book two tickets from Los Angeles to Papeete, Tahiti, using award points. I was told the economy-class tickets would be 100,000 points each, for a total of 200,000 — much higher than I anticipated.

I told the agent that I didn’t have enough points. We discussed my possibly buying points, but it would have been pretty expensive. The agent then asked me if I had any old points somewhere, since Continental OnePass miles never...

April 2009 issue | Appears on page 34

Three days in Johannesburg

Prior to a 3-week tour of Botswana, Zambia and South Africa, my husband, Maurice, and I flew in three days early to Johannesburg and met our guides, Gill and Graham Maskell of Africa 2000 Tours (P.O. Box 1204, Hilton, 3245, South Africa; phone +27 33 3433911, fax 33 3431786). We had traveled with them in South Africa the previous year.

To take advantage of our limited time in the city, Nov. 11-13, 2007, we had asked the Maskells to plan these three days to cover our interests in...

April 2009 issue | Appears on page 36

Notes on Australia

In the March ’09 issue, page 55, Wanda described her pretrip planning before she and her husband, Ray, took the tour “Ultimate Australia” with Overseas Adventure Travel (Cambridge, MA; 800/493-6824, www.oattravel.com) in October-November ’07. Here are her tips from the trip itself.

• In MELBOURNE we stayed at The Crossley Hotel (www.crossleyhotel.com.au) — small, comfortable and well located, with a helpful staff.

Do go to the Federation Square Information Office to request...

April 2009 issue | Appears on page 39

Memories of Trieste

I read every issue of ITN and it seems to me that there are frequent stories about Venice and the eastern Adriatic, for example, Yvonne Horn’s feature “The Adriatic Coast — in the Wake of the Winged Lion” (Feb.’09, pg. 6), but I have yet to see a story about the northern Adriatic, specifically, Trieste.

After being assigned to Trieste in 1953, when it was a free territory governed by the US and British military, I really developed a soft spot in my heart for the city. I went back...

April 2009 issue | Appears on page 46

Tour companies and single supplements

James Sibley of Houston, Texas, wrote (Dec. ’08, pg. 15), “I would like to see ITN readers regularly write in about which travel companies either 1) waive the single supplement if you are willing to share, whether the travel company is able to match you or not, or 2) discount the single supplement if you are willing to share, whether the company is able to match you or not.”

He offered, “ElderTreks (Toronto, Ont.; 800/741-7956) waives the entire single supplement if they can’t match...

April 2009 issue | Appears on page 55

Airport Q Ratings

A reader requested that ITN collect data from travelers to compare wait times at international airports. Here is the second batch of readers’ Q Ratings (see June ’08, pg. 46).

In the listings below, a perfect Q Rating score is zero, meaning there were no lines in which passengers had to wait. For each queue/line in which someone did have to stand — for check-in, tax payments, security screening, boarding, Customs — a point was subtracted. The DQ is for a departure and the AQ, an...

April 2009 issue | Appears on page 57

ChildSafe International

I read the reader’s letter “Coping With and Fighting Poverty During Travels” (Dec. ’08, pg. 56). The social service organization ChildSafe International (www.childsafe-international.org) provides shelter and training for street children in Southeast Asia, and their website contains advice for travelers who encounter children begging or offering trinkets for sale on the street.

Although their advice is written from the perspective of the situation in Southeast Asia, where child poverty...