Travelers' Intercom

October 2018 issue | Appears on page 47

China with Chamber of Commerce
By Erik Illi
Erik Illi at the Summer Palace in Beijing.

I was not interested in visiting China until a very affordable opportunity presented itself through my hometown chamber of commerce. As a veteran of a couple of these 10-day trips, I now can attest that they're a great way to see the cultural highlights of China at low cost.

This opportunity started back in 2008, when the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) set up an agreement with a wholesaler, sponsoring trips to China to raise funds for chambers all over the...

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October 2018 issue | Appears on page 48

Venturing through Paris
By Tom Kilroy

My traveling companion of many years, Joan Anderson, and I had to smile when we saw the cover of the August 2018 issue. The woman on the cover was standing in front of the HomeExchange.com apartment we had just left! As a matter of fact, I had sketched that lock/bridge several times from our second-floor window.

The bridge doesn't have a name, but it connects Rue Dieu to Rue Albert. The street along the Canal Saint-Martin, in that area, is called Quai de Valmy.

The cover...

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September 2018 issue | Appears on page 14

Morocco for first-time visitors
By Stephen Addison
Paula Owens and husband, Stephen Addison, enjoying a kebab lunch outside a small café in Moulay Idriss, Morocco. Photo by guide Abdellah El Harras

You're finally going to Morocco. That's great! So what do you need to know that might not be prominent in your guidebook?

First, upon arrival at the airport, you must complete a challenging Immigration form. Remember to complete a duplicate form or take a photo of your completed form; you'll need to provide essentially the same information at each lodging check-in.

Do you know what time it is? Visit www.timeanddate.com for Morocco's time zone, and check for...

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September 2018 issue | Appears on page 16

Getting a 52-page passport
By Jane B. Holt

My husband, Clyde, and I had to renew our passports in June 2018, and we vaguely remembered reading something in ITN about a new procedure ("Extra Passport Pages Nixed," June '15, pg. 4). We found the Travel Brief through a search on the website.

The item stated that additional pages will no longer be added to existing US passports, noting, "Under the new rules, all new and renewed passports will come with 52 pages, 43 of which will be blank. The current standard US passport has...

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September 2018 issue | Appears on page 16

Boutique hotel in Berlin
By Edna R.S. Alvarez

I created a Berlin opera festival for myself. I was in Berlin, Germany, for six nights in May 2018 and attended four operas.

Two were part of the Festival Verdi and were at the Deutsche Oper Berlin (Bismarckstraße 35; deutscheoperberlin.de/en_EN); another was at the Staatsoper Berlin (Hinter der Katholischen Kirche 1, Bühneneingang; staatsoper-berlin.de/en), and the last one was at the Komische Oper Berlin (Behrenstraße 55-57; www.komische-oper-berlin.de/en).

I purchased my...

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September 2018 issue | Appears on page 17

The indoor Ski Dubai
By Brenda Milum

During a trip to Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in June 2018, my husband, George, and I flew to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where we spent the night before continuing on to Azerbaijan.

For our return trip, I added a second night in Dubai. On our extra day there, we hired a taxi for a short city tour, then were dropped off at Mall of the Emirates to go to Ski Dubai (Sheikh Zayed Rd.; www.theplaymania.com/skidubai), a huge, indoor snowy mountain for skiing and snowboarding.

The...

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September 2018 issue | Appears on page 24

The three Guianas
By Norman Dailey
Kaieteur Falls from the plane — Guyana. Photos by Susan Dailey

A trip my wife, Susan, and I made to Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana got us to within one country of having visited all of South America, with only Bolivia left.

Starting in April 2017, we worked with Adventure Guianas (Mikel Plaza, 53 Pere, Kitty, Georgetown, Guyana; phone +592 227 4713, www.adventureguianas.com/about/about.htm) to plan our trip. They contracted locally with Oetsi Tours (Parijsstraat 40, Paramaribo, Suriname; www.oetsitours.com).

Including seven nights...

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September 2018 issue | Appears on page 27

Swiss Rhine & Moselle with Vantage
By Philip A. Shart

When I signed up for "Switzerland, the Heart of the Rhine & Moselle" with Vantage Deluxe World Travel (Boston, MA; 888/514-1845, www.vantagetravel.com), the cost of the trip, including air (Miami-Basel, Amsterdam-Miami), insurance and an optional Luxembourg excursion, was $6,342. There was no single supplement, as the ms River Voyager offers four single cabins.

I left Miami on May 21, 2017, for Basel, Switzerland, a city of narrow streets, hidden squares, at least 180...

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