Rundown for the week of November 7, 1998
Exploring the Ruins of Petra
Tourists travel thousands of miles through deserts and jungles to
visit relics of ancient civilizations. Roman, Egyptian and Mayan
ruins take much of the limelight, but to archaeological aficionados
Petra, Jordan tops the list. Nomadic Arabs, called the Nabateans,
carved this city into sandstone cliffs more than 2600 years ago. Joan
Reiss takes us halfway around the world and back in time to Petra.
Q & A I --
In honor of Veterans Day, Rudy talks to listeners about the ways
military travel has affected them.
Shopping with the Pros: Interview with Suzy Gershman
Suzy Gershman is a woman in search of a bargain. She's written about
fashion, retailing, and travel since the seventies, but Suzy's best
known for her Born to Shop guide book series, published by
Frommer's. And when she's not writing about shopping, Suzy leads
shopping tours so fast-paced that participants are warned they better
be able to run while waving their credit cards! Suzy just returned
from a bargain hunting trip to Asia, and she joins us today to talk
about the good deals there and other bargain tips worldwide.
Volunteer Vacations: Earthwatch in Mallorca
If you're shopping around for a volunteer vacation, you might consider
going on an Earthwatch expedition. This non-profit organization hooks
up paying volunteers with scientists conducting research in various
corners of the globe. You don't have to have a scientific background
to qualify, only a sense of curiosity and adventure. The Savvy
Traveler's Tom Verde recently went on one of the most popular
Earthwatch expeditions, an archaeological dig on the Mediterranean
island of Mallorca.
Deal of the Week: Last-minute Thanksgiving bargains
Every Thanksgiving, the airlines wait until the zero hour to offer
deals. In the next week or so, expect every major airline to come up
with last-minute deals to coax you to fly Thanksgiving week. They'll
offer deals for travel Monday through Thursday, as long as you're
willing to return Thursday, Friday, or the week AFTER the holiday
weekend. Don't expect a low fare if you want to travel on the Sunday
after Thanksgiving--that's when everyone wants to fly.
Ask your travel agent to keep an eye peeled for late-breaking deals,
and monitor newspaper ads and Internet specials.
Q & A II -- General Questions
Rudy takes listeners' general questions about travel. He mentions:
"Bug Ban" wrist band
- Available from many chain stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Home
Depot.
- Call 305-665-3070 to order a kit, or visit the Bug Ban web site.
Ferry to Yalta?
- Ferry service on the Black Sea itself has stopped, so the farthest
you can get by ferry is Turkey's Aegean Coast.
- Starting in Rome, the closest port that services Turkey is Ancona.
From there you can ferry to Izmir, for $120.
- From Turkey, you need to take a long train journey through Bulgaria
and Romania into the Ukraine - or fly Turkish Airways: 800-874-8875
Nantucket
- Historic Walking Tours of Nantucket: 508-228-9165
- Restaurants include: 21 Federal, The Boarding House, and Langueduc.
Travel Impaired
Ahh, the confusion that can be caused when you don't possess the
Travel Gene. The Travel Impaired: you've seen them stumbling
their way through airports, hotels and train stations, and you often
feel sorry for them, but you just don't have the time to help out.
This postcard is from a woman's whose husband suffers from this very
affliction.
When she's not traveling with Fred, Caryn Bark is a writer and
comedian living in Chicago.
Next Week on The Savvy Traveler
Be sure to come along again next week because the one and only P.J
O'Rourke is going to be here talking about his Place of the Heart:
"Tanzania, even though it is a distant country and an exotic
country and very different from our country and our experience, is a
very normal place."
P.J. O'Rourke shares his adventures in Tanzania. And get this, the old
Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles is putting together an exhibition of all
the stuff people have stolen from the hotel in the last 75 years! So
if you have anything from the Biltmore in your linen closet, come
forth and don't be afraid...this is straight from the mouth of the
hotel's PR person...
"No questions asked, we just wanted the memorabilia back."
We'll learn all about this strange exhibit in-the-works, and then hear
your confessions about the things you've mistakenly
taken home with you in your travels. All that and more, so please
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.
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