Travelers' Intercom

September 2016 issue | Appears on page 33

Insured by Tin Leg and Squaremouth
By Dick Morten

Nearly 20 years ago, I was on a tour in Uzbekistan when one of our group had to be evacuated to Helsinki, Finland, for surgery. Fortunately, she had evacuation insurance. Since that event, I have had emergency-medical-evacuation insurance, as my family and I travel to out-of-the-way places such as Mongolia, Tunisia, Nepal and North Korea.

In 2015, my wife and I were in Sarawak (Borneo), Malaysia, when we came down with serious respiratory problems. We had plans to continue to Myanmar...

CONTINUE READING »
September 2016 issue | Appears on page 48

Blue Tuk on Faial, Azores
By Harry Wong

My wife and I were on a cruise that, on May 24, 2016, stopped at Horta on the island of Faial in the Azores, Portuguese islands located in the North Atlantic. The cruise ship wanted nearly $200 per person for a shore excursion, so, instead, we walked out to the end of the pier. 

At the sidewalk, we found only one tour driver in a tuk-tuk, but we hired him for a one-hour private tour and he was absolutely delightful. His name was Rui Campos, and he can be reached through Blue Tuk...

CONTINUE READING »
September 2016 issue | Appears on page 48

Anantara resort in Bangkok
By Virginia Shannon

During the world trip I take each year (Sept. ’14, pg. 34), one of my annual stops is Bangkok, Thailand, and in July 2015 I stayed there for four nights. 

The airport is a long distance from the city, and, upon arrival, after stopping at the luggage carousel, you walk out of the terminal lobby right to the taxi stand area, where you can sign up for a $20 taxi. The woman at the desk tells you the price, and you can pay then or later. They keep track of where you are going,...

CONTINUE READING »
September 2016 issue | Appears on page 49

Lidra Rooms on Crete
By Ms. C.B. Cogswell

While volunteering on the island of Crete in October 2015, I took a bus from Heraklion and spent a wonderful weekend in Chania.

I stayed at Lidra Rooms (Sarpaki 3, Chania, Crete 731 32, Greece; phone +30 698 319 6039, www.lidrarooms.gr) on Mitropoleos Square, just five minutes from the Old Town Venetian Harbour and numerous shops and waterfront restaurants.

I booked the room through the hotel’s website while in Heraklion. It cost $35 (cash only) and included a kitchenette...

CONTINUE READING »
August 2016 issue | Appears on page 12

Winging it to Estonia + a German wedding + Iceland
By Jim Kronholm

My wife, Mary, and I traveled to Germany in September 2015, as we had been invited — as family — to attend the wedding of our former exchange student. The bride lived in Vechta, about an hour’s drive southwest of Bremen, so we booked a flight to Amsterdam, Netherlands, with the idea of (after a short adventure) renting a car and driving to Germany.

I deliberately scheduled seven days of unplanned time before we were expected at the bride’s home, with the idea...

CONTINUE READING »
August 2016 issue | Appears on page 14

AirPortr bag transfer, London
By JoAnn Irwin

I read in ITN (Feb. ’16, pg. 52) that travelers flying into London at Gatwick, Heathrow or London City airport can have their luggage delivered anywhere in the city, and back to the airport, by AirPortr (phone +44 203 384 6677, portr.com). Traveling with friends, my husband and I used the service for the first time during a London Heathrow Terminal 5 arrival in May 2016.

I booked ahead on AirPortr’s website, which is very user-friendly, and received bar-code labels that I...

CONTINUE READING »
August 2016 issue | Appears on page 14

Biking honeymoon in France

After I remarried in 2015, my wife, Barbara, and I spent our 3-week honeymoon in two parts of France in May: Provence and Paris. Most of our time in Provence would be on bikes. Because Barbara hadn’t biked as much as I had, we chose what we thought would be easy day trips.

Shortly after arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport, we discovered that the bottom floor of the terminal housed the railroad station. We had tickets on the TGV from Paris to Avignon. After a wait of three...

CONTINUE READING »
August 2016 issue | Appears on page 24

AA lounge-access restrictions
By Frank L. Schneider

My wife and I take frequent trips to foreign locations. We regularly travel business class because the additional room and services we receive are worth the extra cost. We also value the fact that, when taking an international flight in business class, we can use the business-class lounge before departure.  

It was therefore a considerable surprise to learn, when we checked in at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport for a flight to Fiji via Los Angeles in January...

CONTINUE READING »