Rundown for the week of March 6, 1999
Journey to Robben Island
After having helped free his country from the bonds of apartheid and
establishing a new, democratic government, South African President Nelson
Mandela has said he will not seek reelection this spring during the
upcoming elections. Among the many legacies which President Mandela leaves
behind is the establishment of Robben Island as a national monument. It
was on this bleak and wind-swept outcrop, ten miles off the shores of Cape
Town, that Mandela served the majority of his 26 years in prison. The
Savvy Traveler's Tom Verde visited Robben Island, to see the prison cell
where Mandela spent eighteen years of his life and where South African
democracy was born.
Uganda Interview
As you know, another part of Africa received lots of press this week,
after eight tourists were slaughtered in Uganda. They were kidnapped while
visiting Bwindi (Bwin-dee) National Park, a popular destination for
trekkers hoping to see the famous "Gorillas in the Mist." The park is the
only place in the world to find the giant mountain beasts.
Hutu rebels from across the border in Rwanda attacked the group of
tourists to demonstrate their anger at the U.S. and Britain for supporting
Rwanda's Tutsi government. The School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont, currently
has a group of American students at Makerere (Mawk-uh-rare-ee) University
in Kampala, Uganda's capital. Kevin Brennan, director of the school's
Africa programs, spoke to us from his home in Kampala and said that while
his school is postponing trips to this part of Uganda indefinitely, he
thinks the country overall is still safe.
Brennan: "The knowledge that westerners might have about Uganda might be
small - it might begin with Idi Amin and end with eight tourists getting
killed - but Uganda is not a tiny place. There are any number of places
to go. If you are devoted to the idea of seeing mountain gorillas then you
will want to dely your trip for a decent period of time, but if you are
coming to be in Uganda, to experience cultural things as much as wildlife
things, then there are plenty of places to come to."
Kevin Brennan is the School for
International Training's regional director for Africa.
Q&A I: Hygiene woes
Rudy talks to listeners about their hygiene challenges on the road.
Melissa Biggs Bradley Interview
March 8th is International Women's Day, so in celebration we're going to find out what women want
when they travel. And what better expert to consult than Melissa Biggs
Bradley. She's the senior travel editor at Town and Country. Her column
in the January issue caught out attention. It's appropriately titled,
"What Women Want When They Travel." She says the idea for the story came
after she and her husband compared notes on their travel experiences.
Guess who always got the upgrades?
Plane De-Icing
Many early mornings, at airports in cold cities, such as Boston and
Minneapolis, technicians are out in the dark and the cold. They stand on
the tops of their trucks, high over the airport runway and look carefully
at the bodies and wings of 747's, DC 10's, MD 11's for ice and frost.
Their inspection is the first step in the crucial business of getting rid
of the ice on your aircraft. Judith Ritter take us along for a morning
spent at the de-icing center at Dorval airport in Montreal, Quebec.
Deal of the Week
When airlines announce new routes, that usually means bargains. This week there's an unusual number of those kinds of deals.
Deal number one . . . How does spring in Norway sound? On May first, Northwest begins non-stop service from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Oslo.
Deal number two features the Emerald Isle. On May 28th, Aer Lingus inaugurates service between Los Angeles and Ireland.
Deal number three is closer to home. On May first, American Trans Air, better known as ATA, starts non-stop service between Philadelphia and Chicago's close-in Midway Airport.
Q&A II: General Questions
Rudy takes listeners' general questions about travel. He mentions:
Teaching Abroad
Valdivostok
What Do You Do Once You Get There?
- The Internet is a great travel resource. The following website has all
the information you need to plan your trip:
Animal Sounds
No amount of high school instruction is going to prepare you for those
hidden idioms lurking in the corners of the French language...waiting to
embarrass and confuse you at any given moment. There are so many
expressions that are impossible to translate. And now The Savvy Traveler's
Vagabond Traveler, Doug Lansky has a new one to add to the list....Animal
Sounds.
Next Week on The Savvy Traveler
Please join us again next week when we go in search of a traditional St. Patrick's
Day celebration in....Montana?
Clip: "Shannon says the Irish in Butte had to be tough. Holding on to
Irish identity was part of survival in a litany of hardships these people
endured.."
We'll find out how a popular guidebook decides how and when you're getting
a good deal. And since you're obviously a radio fan, we'll bring you along
to some tapings in London.
Clip: "Welcome to the Big Booth, a variety show hosted by Boothby Batho. It was
described between a cross between Prarie Home Companion and Dumb and
Dumber. It's actually a cross between Dumb and Dumber."
Radio Free England and lots more so come along for the ride in next
week's edition of The Savvy Traveler.
For tapes of the show
If you want your very own copy of The Savvy Traveler, order an audio
cassette. It's easy. Just call 303-823-8000. The price is $15. As Rudy
says, it's a steal.
The Savvy Traveler Newsletter
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