 1 packing, travel preparation
 2 medical preparation and medicines to take
 3 Immunisations
 4 emergencies overseas
 5 ambulances US/Canada
 6 travel insurance companies
 7 travel essentials (article)
 8 books/guides to Asia
 9 ASIA ON THE NET, WEBsits, and the use of palmtops
 10 US government travel warnings
 11 tips
 12 more tips
 13 and more tips
 14 tips for the elderly
 15 time and culture
 16 reasons for travelling - why travel?
 17 organised tours are boring


\1 packing, travel preparation

from a traveller with 32 years on the road:

 1. a strong leather belt with 2 lightweight aluminium mountain-climber's rings which open to insert ropes. You can carry heavy luggage much easier on your hip than on your shoulder (backpack or suitcase) Other uses: hang your backpack on a rafter, attach bags, knives, cameras, etc
 2. a rubber hot-water bottle to use for cold nights and as pillow for hard Asian bus seats (fill with air or drinking water)
 3. a sturdy fold-up stroller with large wheels to carry backpacks (your friend's too) along roads, airports, hotel corridors and while waiting - to sit on
 4. a metal case (from cashbox size up) with a chain and 2 padlocks to chain your valuables to the sink or bedpost in hotels. Hide the setup by covering with underwear or clothes while leaving for town. You won't look like a tourist to be ripped off. To attach chain to box drill holes in a corner to attach padlock.
 5. 100 copies of 2 types of your namecard (meishi) to give to interested; some with non-detail, like your e-mail address, and others with home phone number etc.
 6. a strong 'bum-bag' to contain pen, passport, flight tickets, meishis, cash US$+Euro, cards: ATM, master, visa telephone, YH etc., driver's license, insurance, a palmtop with spare batteries and reading glasses/sunglasses.
 7. a second bag for a digital camera
 8. a light backpack so sit on the belt, with a shortwave radio and earphones, a small flute and harmonica, a comb, face masks to prevent bacteria/pollution in dusty Asian cities, small towel (shibori), 2 tooth-brushes, dental floss, toothpaste, sm.shampoo, detergent to wash clothes and rubber gloves, a fold-up hat, condoms, a Swiss army knife, spoon, fork, chopsticks (for unsanitary restaurants), small umbrella, shaver+mirror, tampons, condoms, paracetamol (painkiller), small glass jar to keep tea or drinks, light clothing, denim jeans and jacket, down-feather gear for warmth and lightness, a pair of thongs for hotel rooms and showers (prevent tinea)
 9. to prepare before leaving, pay outstanding credit-cards, disable telephone, have someone start your car every 2 weeks, and deposit the password to your encrypted will file to a lawyer. Make copies of the file and give to friends and relatives, who will be allowed to decrypt it by showing your death certificate. Change your will file any time on your palmtop and send the encrypted file to your friends via e-mail attachment for safekeeping. ---

Check home, personal, life and credit card policy coverage before departure. LIFE ins does not mean MEDICAL. Note also Rent-A-Car coverage.

Older folk check AARP foreign medical care coverage of Medicare Supplement pacaage.

Intl Assoc of Med Assist for Tvlers (IAMAT) have dir of doctors world wide at fixed cost as well as other med info. 417 Center St, Lewiston, NY 14092. 716-754-4883.

Travel ins policy that covers theft, loss and medical treatment is highly recommended. Make sure the insurance covers the activities that you will be undertaking during your stay in Nepal such as trekking or river-rafting.

Medical Information for Americans Traveling Abroad U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs If an American citizen becomes seriously ill or injured abroad, a U. S. consular officer can assist in locating appropriate medical services and informing family or friends. If necessary, a consular officer can also assist in the transfer of funds from the United States. However, payment of hospital and other expenses is the responsibility of the traveler. 

Before going abroad, learn what medical services your health insurance will cover overseas. If your health insurance policy provides coverage outside the United States, REMEMBER to carry both your insurance policy identity card as proof of such insurance and a claim form. Although many health insurance companies will pay "customary and reasonable" hospital costs abroad, very few will pay for your medical evacuation back to the United States. Medical evacuation can easily cost $10,000 and up, depending on your location and medical condition.

THE SOCIAL SECURITY MEDICARE PROGRAM DOES NOT PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR HOSPITAL OR MEDICAL COSTS OUTSIDE THE U.S.A.

Senior citizens may wish to contact the American Association of Retired Persons for information about foreign medical care coverage with Medicare supplement plans. To facilitate identification in case of an accident, complete the information page on the inside of your passport providing the name, address and telephone number of someone to be contacted in an emergency. 

A traveler going abroad with any preexisting medical problems should carry a letter from the attending physician, describing the medical condition and any prescription medications, including the generic name of prescribed drugs. Any medications being carried overseas should be left in their original containers and be clearly labeled. Travelers should check with the foreign embassy of the country they are visiting to make sure any required medications are not considered to be illegal narcotics. 

A listing of addresses and telephone numbers of U.S. embassies and consulates abroad is contained in Key Officers of Foreign Service Posts. This publication may be obtained through the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. Also available from the Government Printing Office is Health Information for 

International Travelers by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This contains a global rundown of disease and immunization advice and other health guidance, including risks in particular countries. For additional health information, the CDC maintains the international travelers hotline at 1-888-232-3228, an automated faxback service at 1-888-232-3299 and a home page on the Internet at http://www.cdc.gov. 

For detailed info on physicians abroad, the authoritative reference is The Official ABMS Directory of Board Certified Medical Specialists published for the American Board of Medical Specialists and its certifying member boards. This publication should be available in your local library. U.S. embassies and consulates abroad maintain lists of hospitals and physicians. Major credit card companies also can provide the names of local doctors and hospitals abroad. 

Some countries require foreign visitors to have inoculations or medical tests before entering. Before traveling, check the latest entry requirements with the foreign embassy of the country to be visited. 

-- Prepare for emergencies by knowing potential problems how to handle them BEFORE leaving on your trip. Start with reading and understanding this file.

* Check your med ins to determine coverage while out of the country. Know how to reach a rep while away and how to obtain compensation for any care received. If you are not comfortable with your current level of coverage, look into supplemental travel ins.

* Do homework to determine needs, All ins policies are not equal. Frequent travelers may want a yearly policy; others may choose coverage for the length of a one-time trip. Policies may or may not cover air rescue, amb transport, help in making hosp arrangements, coverage of med or hosp bills, cash advances, evacuation to your home country or 24-hr tele assist.

* You might already have partial coverage, or the option to purchase it, through tvl-related memberships. Some credit card co inc ins if you charge your trip,and many intl auto and touring clubs offer policies along with the usual provisions for car towing and accident asst. Tour pkgs may inc ins. Ck carefully to find what is covered.

* Most foreign med providers want cash payment. Before you leave home, make sure you will have access to funds while abroad.

* Try to have an advocate with you any time you receive med care. A health care provider who will see to your best interests, a traveling companion or, at a minimum, someone who speaks the local lang can serve as valuable ally in an emergency.

* Ask health care providers if they can recommend providers or hosp in destination country. In serious emergencies, go to the largest medical facility in the area as quickly as possible.

* Those with a med condition should wear med alert tags and carry a list of important foreign words related to their condition.

* Avoid injections, dental procs or skin piercing abroad. Even manicures and shaves can be risky in some areas. All can expose you to HIV and other blood-borne pathogens.

* If you have a condition requiring injections, bring your own supply of needles and syringes. Carry a letter from your doctor explaining your medical need.

* If injected med are advised, ask if there is an oral alternative instead. If injections are necessary, insist on individually wrapped, disposable needles.

* If there is a chance that an injection offered abroad is unnecessary (especially if circumstances are questionable or if the injection is to be given by nonmedical personnel), ask if there is an "administrative fee" or penalty you can pay in lieu of the shot.


\2 medical preparation and medicines to take

Make sure you're healthy before you start travelling. If you're embarking on a long trip, make sure your teeth are OK. If you wear glasses or contact lenses take a spare pair and your prescription. If you require a particular med take an adequate supply, as it may not be avail locally. Bring a prescription with generic info, as it will make getting replacements easier. It's wise to have a legible prescription or a letter from your doctor with you to prove that you legally use the med to avoid any problems. Health Insurance Medical Kit Immunisations Health Insurance: A travel-insurance policy to cover theft, loss and medical problems is a wise idea. There is a wide variety of policies available and your tvl agent will be able to make recommendations. The intl student- tvl policies handled by STA Travel and other student tvl orgs are usually good value. Some policies offer lower and higher med-expense options but the higher ones are chiefly for countries like the USA which have extremely high medical costs. Check the small print. Some policies specifically exclude 'dangerous activities', including scuba diving, motorcycling and even trekking. If such activities are on your agenda then you don't want that sort of policy. A locally acquired motorcycle licence may not be valid under your policy. You may prefer a policy which pays doctors or hospitals direct rather than you having to pay on the spot and claim later. If you have to claim later make sure you keep all documentation. Some policies ask you to call back (reverse charges) to a centre in your home country where an immediate assessment of your problem is made. Check if the policy covers ambulances or an emergency flight home.

Medical Kit: It is sensible to carry a small, straightforward medical kit. A kit should include: Aspirin or paracetamol (acetaminophen in the US) - for pain or fever. Antihistamine (such as Benadryl) - useful as a decongestant for colds and allergies, to ease the itch from insect bites or stings and to help prevent motion sickness. There are several antihistamines on the market, all with different pros and cons (eg a tendency to cause drowsiness), so it's worth discussing your requirements with a pharmacist or doctor. Antihistamines may cause sedation and interact with alcohol so care should be taken when using them. Antibiotics - useful if you're travelling well off the beaten track, but they must be prescribed and you should carry the prescription with you. Loperamide (eg Imodium) or Lomotil for diarrhoea; prochlorperazine (eg Stemetil) or metaclopramide (eg Maxalon) for nausea and vomiting.
 Rehydration mixture - for treatment of severe diarrhoea; this is particularly important if travelling with children. Antiseptic such as povidone-iodine (eg Betadine) for cuts and grazes. Multivitamins - especially for long trips when dietary vitamin intake may be inadequate.
 Calamine lotion or aluminium sulphate spray (eg Stingose spray) to ease irritation from bites and stings. Bandages and Band-aids - for minor injuries. Scissors, tweezers and a thermometer (note that mercury thermometers are prohibited by airlines). Insect repellent, sunscreen, chap stick and water purification tablets. Cold and flu tablets and throat lozenges. Pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (Sudafed) may be useful if flying with a cold to avoid ear damage.
 A couple of syringes and needles, in case you need injections in a country with medical hygiene problems. Ask your doctor for a note explaining why they have been prescribed.

\3 Immunisations

For some countries no immunisations are necessary, but the further off the beaten track you go the more necessary it is to take precautions. Be aware that there is often a greater risk of disease with children and in pregnancy. Leave plenty of time to get your vaccinations before you set off: some of them require an initial shot followed by a booster, and some vaccinations should not be given together. It is recommended you seek medical advice at least six weeks prior to travel. Record all vaccinations on a International Health Certificate, which is available from your physician or government health department. Discuss your requirements with your doctor, vaccinations which may be required include: Cholera - Despite its poor protection, in some situations it may be wise to have the cholera vaccine eg for the trans-Africa traveller. Very occasionally travellers are asked by immigration officials to present a certificate, even though all countries and the WHO have dropped a cholera immunisation as a health requirement. You might be able to get a certificate without having the injection from a doctor or health centre sympathetic to the vagaries of travel in Africa. Hepatitis A - The most common travel-acquired illness after diarrhoea which can put you out of action for weeks. Havrix is a vaccination which provides long term immunity (possibly more than 10 years) after an initial injection and a booster at six to 12 months. Gamma globulin is not a vaccination but is ready-made antibody collected from blood donations. It should be given close to departure because, depending on the dose, it only protects for two to six months. Hepatitis B - This disease is spread by blood or by sexual activity. Travellers who should consider a hepatitis B vaccination include those visiting countries where there are known to be many carriers, where blood transfusion  may not be adequately screened or where sexual contact is a possibility. It involves three injections, the quickest course being over three weeks with a booster at 12 months. Japanese B Encephalitis - This mosquito-borne disease is not of great risk to travellers. It occurs in Asia. Consider the vaccination if spending a month or longer in a high risk area, making repeated trips to a risk area or visiting during an epidemic. It involves three injections over 30 days. The vaccine is expensive and has been associated with serious allergic reactions so the decision to have it should be balanced against the risk of contracting the illness. Meninogococcal Meningitis - Healthy people carry this disease; it is transmitted like a cold and you can die from it within a few hours. There are many carriers and vaccination is recommended for travellers to certain parts of Asia, India, Africa and South America. It is also required of all Haj pilgrims entering Saudi Arabia. A single injection will give good protection for three years. The vaccine is not recommended for children under two years because they do not develop satisfactory immunity from it. Polio - Polio is a serious, easily transmitted disease, still prevalent in many developing countries. Everyone should keep up to date with this vaccination. A booster every 10 years maintains immunity. Rabies - Vaccination should be considered by those who will spend a month or longer in a country where rabies is common, especially if they are cycling, handling animals, caving, travelling to remote areas, or for children (who may not report a bite). Pretravel rabies vaccination involves having three injections over 21 to 28 days. If someone who has been vaccinated is bitten or scratched by an animal they will require two booster injections of vaccine, those not vaccinated require more. Tetanus & Diphtheria - Tetanus can be a fatal wound infection and diphtheria can be a fatal throat infection Everyone should have these vaccinations. After an initial course of three injections, boosters are necessary every 10 years. Tuberculosis - TB risk to travellers is usually very low. For those who will be living with or closely associated with local people in high risk areas such as Asia, Africa and some parts of the Americas and Pacific, there may be some risk. As most healthy adults do not develop symptoms, a skin test before and after travel to determine whether exposure has occurred may be considered. A vaccination is recommended for children living in these areas for three months or more. Typhoid - This is an important vaccination to have where hygiene is a problem. Available either as an injection or oral capsules.

Yellow Fever - Yellow fever is now the only vaccine which is a legal requirement for entry into many countries, usually only
 enforced when coming from an infected area. Protection lasts 10 years and is recommended where the disease is endemic, eg Africa and South America. You usually have to go to a special yellow fever vaccination centre. Vaccination poses some risk during pregnancy but if you must travel to a high-risk area it is advisable; note that people allergic to eggs may not be able to have this vaccine. Discuss this with your doctor. Malaria Medication Antimalarial drugs do not prevent you from being infected but kill the malaria parasites during a stage in their development and significantly reduce the risk of becoming very ill or dying. Expert advice on medication should be sought, as there are many factors to consider including the area to be visited, the risk of exposure to malaria-carrying mosquitoes, the side effects of medication, your medical history and whether you are a child or adult or pregnant. Travellers to isolated area in high risk countries may like to carry a treatment dose of medication for use if symptoms occur. Info verified by Traveller's Medical & Vaccination Centres, Australia


\4 emergencies overseas

Who You Gonna Call When Shit Happens? By DAFFYD RODERICK TRAVEL WATCH: MAR 13, 2000 VOL. 155 NO. 10
 When British adventurer Ernest Shackleton and the crew of the Endurance stranded themselves in the ice of the Antarctic for 16 months, they could have used some help. But in 1915, global explorers had to handle emergencies on their own. Thankfully, that's no longer true. 

If you're an executive or an ordinary tourist traveling in the emerging markets of Asia, you're unlikely to get trapped between ice floes. But you may face graver dangers than spilling noodles on your lap. The hazards can range from everyday hassles like losing your luggage or suffering an injury in a car accident to becoming seriously ill while you're away from home. 

When that happens, where should you turn? Try Singapore-based SOS Intl (www.internationalsos.com), the leading global provider of evacuation and emergency med services, with clinics and call centers all over the world. France-based Europ Assist (www.worldwide-assistance.com) offers similar services but isn't as established in Asia. While your insurance policy may be with another company, chances are they call SOS or Europ Assistance when you call them. Every week, the SOS center in Beijing alone handles about 200 calls from needy travelers in China; three or four of those callers will require evacuation. "There's nothing worse than being in a serious medical situation and not being able to understand what's going on around you," says Myles Druckman, SOS regional medical director for north Asia. "I've had a woman call in and say, 'We've been in a car accident and my husband has been admitted to the local hospital, so what do we do?'" 

Once he has a grip on the patient's condition, Druckman consults an SOS database and sees if the hospital is up to the task. More likely than not, it isn't. "We have a network of over 100 hospitals in China that a team has assessed and approved, so we'll figure out which one is the closest and able to deal with the client's problem." The trouble with China and other parts of Asia is that while they are home to some of the best doctors in the world, they also have some of the worst. "The difficulty is that if you are a lay person, you just don't know whether you're going to get access to th  best care in the middle of the night," says Druckman. 

SOS staffers can usually make a preliminary diagnosis over the phone and react from there. If the patient is alone and unconscious, a card in his wallet instructs local medical personnel on whom to call. In China, if the situation is truly dire--a heart attack, say, or a critical injury--SOS calls in the People's Liberation Army: the firm has an arrangement to charter military aircraft for emergency evacuations with the company's doctors on board. In less urgent evacuation scenarios, patients will be accompanied by a doctor or a nurse on a commercial flight to better care. SOS also provides clients with medical advice before visiting a country, such as updates on what types of vaccinations are necessary. And the firm helps out with more mundane tasks, such as refilling prescriptions and replacing lost eyeglasses. 

The global nature of business travel generates the need for companies like SOS that have around-the-clock call centers all over the world. According to an American Express survey, international business travel will grow 29% this year, spreading even more people around the globe. And it isn't just the briefcase brigade who need help. So do adventure travelers, who go deep into the wilderness to take part in risky activities like whitewater rafting. 

Much has changed since Shackleton and his men got frozen in the ice. They survived, but only after an epic brush with death. Today they could have made one call and been home in time for dinner. Several private organizations will provide medical information and insurance for overseas travelers. Most charge a fee for this service. The following is provided FOR 


\5 ambulances US/Canada

AIR AMBULANCE / MED-EVAC U.S.-based Companies 

ACADIAN AMBULANCE & AIR MED SERVICE, INC. Lafayette, LA 800-259-1111 / 318-267-1111 / 504-267-1111 ADVANCED AIR AMBULANCE Miami, FL 800-633-3590 / 305-599-1100 AAA - AIR AMBULANCE AMERICA Austin, TX 800-222-3564 / 512-479-8000 AIR AMBULANCE NETWORK Sarasota, FL 800-327-1966 / 813-934-3999 AIR AMBULANCE PROFESSIONALS Fort Lauderdale, FL 800-752-4195 / 954-491-0555 AirEvac Phoenix, AZ 800-421-6111 AIR MEDIC - AIR AMBULANCE OF AMERICA Washington, PA 800-321-4444 / 412-228-8000 AIRescue INTERNATIONAL Van Nuys, CA 800-922-4911 / 818-994-0911 AIR RESPONSE Orlando, FL 800-631-6565 / 518-993-4153 / 407-384-6100 AIR STAR INTERNATIONAL Thermal, CA 877-570-0911 / 800-991-2869 e-mail: AirStar1@aol.com AMERICAN CARE, INC. San Diego, CA 800-941-2582 / 619-486-8844 CARE FLIGHT - AIR CRITICAL CARE INTL. Clearwater, FL 800-282-6878 / 813-530-7972 CRITICAL AIR MEDICINE San Diego, CA 800-247-8326 / 619-571-0482 CRITICAL CARE MEDFLIGHT Lawrenceville, GA 800-426-6557 / 770-513-9148 GLOBAL CARE / MEDPASS Alpharetta, GA 800-860-1111 INFLIGHT MEDICAL SERVICES INTERNATIONAL INC. Naples, FL 800-432-4177 / 941-594-0800 INTENSIVE AIR AMBULANCE Morganville, NJ 800-543-3759 / 908-946-1200 INTERNATIONAL SOS ASSISTANCE Philadelphia, PA 800-523-8930 / 215-244-1500 Also provides travel insurance services. LIFE JET Baltimore, MD 877-LIFEJET / 877-543-3538 MED ESCORT INTERNATIONAL INC. Allentown, PA 800-255-7182 / 610-791-3111 MEDEX ASSISTANCE CORPORATION Timonium, MD 800-537-2029 / 410-453-6300 (call collect) MEDJET INTERNATIONAL, INC. Birmingham, AL 800-356-2161 / 205-592-4460 MERCY MEDICAL AIRLIFT Manassas, VA 800-296-1217 / 703-361-1191 (Service area: Caribbean and part of Canada only. If necessary, will meet commercial incoming patients at JFK, Miami and other airports.) NATIONAL AIR AMBULANCE Ft. Lauderdale, FL 800-327-3710 / 305-525-5538 SMARTRAVEL Alexandria, VA 800-730-3170 / 703-379-8645 Provides a range of travel medicine services. TRAVEL CARE INTERNATIONAL, INC. Eagle River, WI 800-524-7633 / 715-479-8881 TRAVELERS EMERGENCY NETWORK Durham, NC 800-275-4836 / 800-ASK-4-TEN e-mail: ten@intrex.net Foreign-based Companies AEA INTERNATIONAL Singapore U.S. Phone: 800-468-5232 Service worldwide, also provides travel insurance services AUSTRIAN AIR AMBULANCE Vienna, Austria 43-1-40-1-44 EURO-FLITE LTD. Helsinki International Airport Vantaa, Finland 358-0-870-25-44 EUROPASSISTANCE Johannesburg, South Africa 27-11-315-3999 JET FLITE Vantaa, Finland 358-0-822-766 / 358-0-6996 (after hours) MEDIC'AIR Paris, France 33-1-41-72-14-14 MEDICAL RESCUE INTERNATIONAL Auckland Park, South Africa 27-11-403-7080 TYROL AIR AMBULANCE Innsbruck, Austria 43-512-22-4-22 


\6 travel insurance companies

TRAVEL INSURANCE COMPANIES ACCESS AMERICA, INC. Richmond, VA 800-284-8300 AIGAssist American International Group, Inc. New York, NY 800-382-6986 ASA, INC. International Health Insurance Phoenix, AZ 888-ASA-8288 AXA ASSISTANCE Bethesda, MD 301-214-8200 GATEWAY Seabury & Smith Washington, DC 800-282-4495 / 202-457-7707 e-mail: gateway.dc@seabury.com HEALTH CARE GLOBAL (also known as MEDHELP or WALLACH & COMPANY or HEALTHCARE ABROAD) Middleburg, VA 800-237-6615 / 540-687-3166 / 540-281-9500 HIGHWAY TO HEALTH F irfax, VA 888-243-2358 (Also provides destination-based travel health information for cities worldwide.) INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GROUP (IMG) Indianapolis, IN 800-628-4664 / 317-655-4500 MEDEX INTERNATIONAL Timonium, MD 800-732-5309 MultiNational Underwriters, Inc. Indianapolis, IN 800-605-2282 e-mail: insurance@mnui.com MUTUAL OF OMAHA Tele-Trip Company Omaha, NE 800-228-9792 PETERSEN INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE BROKERS Valencia, CA 800-345-8816 TRAVELEX Omaha, NE 800-228-9792 TRAVEL GUARD Stevens Point, WI 800-826-1300 TRAVEL INSURED INTERNATIONAL E. Hartford, CT 800-243-3174 TRAVEL INSURANCE SERVICES InterMedical Division Walnut Creek, CA 800-937-1387/925-932-1387 TRIPGUARD PLUS Northridge, CA 800-423-3632 UNICARD TRAVEL ASSOCIATION Overland Park, KS 800-501-0352 UNIVERSAL SERVICE AND ASSISTANCE Alexandria, VA 800-770-9111 / 703-370-7800 WORLDWIDE ASSISTANCE Washington, DC 800-821-2828 / 202-331-1609 

EXECUTIVE MEDICAL SERVICES HEALTH QUEST TRAVEL INC. Wexford, PA 888-899-3633 e-mail: HQT@HealthQuestTravel.com WORLD CLINIC Burlington, MA 800-636-9186


\7 travel essentials (article)

 Don't Leave Home Without It - By Caroline Grannan

Packing for a trip is demanding even without contemplating the supplies needed for every possible medical emergency. The worrywrrt's worst fears can be fueled by a book such as Dr. William Forgey's comprehensive "Wilderness Medicine: Beyond First Aid" (Globe Pequot Press, $14.95), with its guides for equipping the NonRx Field Surgical Module and the Rx Injectable Medication Module.

But Dr. Forgey's advice is aimed at backcountry travelers, from short-haul hikers to those on Everest expeditions. Most travelers can leave the hemostats and No. 11 scalpel blades at home, and just pack some common-sense items. Some of those items require early attention. Refill prescriptions well in advance so you have enough for the trip. If you have a specific medical condition, consult your doctor about what to carry and other travel-related issues. Also, be sure to wear a Medic Alert bracelet if your condition warrants it. Asthmatics already know to carry their inhalers, and people with allergies -- such as nut allergies or bee stings -- that can lead to anaphylactic shock should never be far from their EpiPen kits or other epinephrine systems.

Something to think about even earlier is establishing a relationship with a primary-care physician. That's easy to neglect, especially for younger, healthier travelers who get their medical care from one of the more impersonal health maintenance organizations, but it can help in getting medications you may need. Traveling with prophylactic ("just in case") prescription drugs -- such as the anti-diarrhea drug Lomotil -- is often recommended. But if you don't have doctors in the family, you're going to need a physician who knows and trusts you in order to get the drugs. "I carry a painkiller like Tylenol with codeine," says Dr. Gerald Levine, a San Francisco physician and avid traveler. But Dr. Levine acknowledges that not everyone can get (or tolerate) codeine -- in which case he suggests ibuprofen. There are other suggestions, as well. "It's a delicate subject, but hemorrhoidal creams are always a good idea if you're taking a long trip -- even if you've never had hemorrhoids before," Dr. Levine suggests. For travel to places with dubious sanitation, daily Pepto-Bismol is sometimes recommended to prevent traveler's diarrhea. This means carrying a lot: one 8-ounce bottle a day or eight 262-mg tablets a day, according to "Medicine for the Outdoors," by Dr. Paul S. Auerbach (Lyons Press, $22.50). If recommended by your physician, you may pack an antibiotic, especially if you're traveling in the less-developed world. Follow your doctor's advice closely. A note for those visiting developing nations: Travelers to some parts of Africa and South America must carry an International Certificate of Vaccination for yellow fever. Travelers can list other vaccinations besides yellow fever in another section of the International Certificate of Vaccination, although it's voluntary. The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains worldwide information on its travel page, along with information on required and recommended vaccinations.

--- Travel Essentials for Adults by Caroline Grannan Containers of water, refilled at every chance.

 PowerBars or other quick-energy food. Your health-insurance card and contact information for your doctor and health plan. A passport filled out with medical information. Health-insurance claim forms -- even if your health plan doesn't normally require the patient to handle them. A first-aid kit, including bandages, scissors, tweezers and medications (such as a topical antibiotic for minor wounds). Birth control. Condoms and an unwavering commitment to safe sex, for those who may find romance on the road. Spare eyeglasses, spare contact lenses and lens solutions, and an eyeglass repair kit. Antibacterial hand sanitizer. Comfortable, broken-in walking shoes and blister protection. Sunscreen. Insect repellent. Hand and body lotion. Lip balm. Prescription medications in original containers, clearly labeled. Don't put them in checked luggage. Copies of prescriptions. Any supplements you normally use. Painkillers, over-the-counter or prescription. An antihistamine, over-the-counter or prescription. An antacid and a nausea remedy. A diarrhea remedy, over-the-counter or prescription. An over-the-counter steroid cream for itching and irritation.

--- What to Do in an Emergency

 Call 911 or your emergency number, or tell someone nearby to do so. Check the victim's ABCs: Airway, Breathing and Circulation. Illustration: ABCs Stop any severe bleeding. Prevent shock. Try to determine what happened. If the victim is conscious and can speak, ask what happened. Also, look around the scene for any clues, such as a Medic Alert tag on the victim or an open container of a poisonous chemical.


\8 books/guides to Asia

The numerous guides to Asia vary in terms of writing styles, range and choice of sites covered, and accommodation standards. Titles published by Rough Guides, Lonely Planet, and Moon Publications are the most widely used in the field, offering vast amounts of densely packed information. (Coming from Rough Guides in October 1998 is First Time Asia, with tips for' first-timers to the region.) DK's Eyewitness series and the Knopf Guides are visually stimulating and inspirational but short on nitty-gritty practical tips. They are more suitable for pretrip research or touring. Likewise Norton's Blue Guides provide a wealth of historic and artistic detail but no listings for accommodations, restaurants, or public transportation.

Due to substandard maps, poor indexing, and sketchy information, Pelican s Maverick Guides and Open Road's guides to Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand cannot be recommended. Globe Pequot's new Traveler's Companion series also offers little other compared to guides; however, its Bradt Country Guides do cover unusual regions ignored by other publishers.

Do the guides really guide? The best way to judge a guidebook is to actually use it. During a recent trip to Thailand and China, I had the opportunity to field test several titles, and while the better guides really make a difference in the quality of travel and amount of hassle experienced, I was struck by how subjective even well-researched, reputable ones can be. Sometimes, it's a matter of perception; in other cases it's because things change rapidly, and guidebooks can't keep up with every change. One Thailand guide had a description that was several years old of Chiang Mai, a town in northern Thailand: congested with unceasing traffic, it is not a charming getaway, and there is no sign of frogs or fish in the city moat filled with stagnant green sludge. Lonely Planet considered reasonable a hotel in Lijiang that fellow travelers proclaimed a "Rumanian orphanage" and a "Victorian workhouse."

In Dali, a backpacker's haven in China, I would have appreciated being forewarned of aggressive street peddlers pursuing travelers in restaurants, and of the "Western-style" food that, when made with milk, was unpalatable. Rough Guides took ten miles off the length of Tiger Leaping Gorge, a popular hike in Yunnan province.

Because travel conditions change so rapidly, librarians should frequently update their collections. Any travel guide over five years old is out-of-date and should be replaced. Below is a selective list of titles most useful to travelers. Starred (star) items belong in a core collection.

REGIONAL GUIDES
 [star] Let's Go Southeast Asia, 1998. rev. ed. St. Martin's. 1997. 840p. maps. index. ISBN 0-312-16902-7. pap. $19.99. Geared toward the low-budget traveler, this annual covers more countries than any other similar regional guide, including Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Thailand chapter features place names in Thai script and Bangkok bus routes. There are good maps and full listings for
 accommodations and restaurants. The guide also lists Best Beaches, Best Nightlife, Best Monuments/Ruins/Temples.

Parkes, Carl. Southeast Asia Handbook. 2d ed. Moon Pubns. 1994. 1103p. illus, maps. index. ISBN 1-56691-002-1. pap. $21.95. This excellent guide to 12 countries (including the Philippines, Macau, Bmnei) is packed with information on history, culture, getting around, important sites, and more. While a good reference source, the volume is four years old; libraries not already owning it are advised to wait for the next updated edition.

Taylor, Chris & others. Southeast Asia on a Shoestring. 9th ed. Lonely Planet. 1997. 1017p. protogs, maps. index. ISBN 0-86442-412-4. pap. $21.95. Covering Brunei, Cambodia, Hang Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, this easy-to-use guide provides 26 pages of regional facts as an introduction. There are detailed and separate listings for places to stay, places to eat, and things to do.

CHINA & HONG KONG Atiyah, Jeremy & others. China Including Hang Kong and Macam The Rough Guide. Rough Guides, dist. by Penguin. 1997. 1069p. illus, maps. index. ISBN 1-85828-225-X. pap. $24.95. The setup and reliability of information here is similar to the
 Lonely Planet's (below), with a slightly larger format. The text is arranged by region (14 in all), with additional information on sidetrips to Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Vietnam, and Nepal. The 70-page "Contexts" section discusses history, Chinese beliefs, architecture, art, traditional music, and wildlife. Important sights are highlighted in boldface type. Especially helpful for the disoriented traveler is the section on how to get to a city from its airport. Though lacking photos, this has some maps in color. Moran, Kerry. Hang Kong Handbook Including Macau and Guangzhou. Moon Pubns. 1995. 347p. illus, maps. index. ISBN 1-56691-056-0. pap. $15.95.

These three cities a former British colony, a soon-to-be former Portuguese colony, and a mainland Chinese metropolis--"encapsulate Chinese life, traditional and modern." Moran's attractive, chatty, and detailed guide includes bus routes, a section on arriving at the airport, and thorough historical and cultural background. It also covers [long Kong's outlying islands.

[star] Taylor, Chris & others. China. 5th. ed. Lonely Planet. (Travel Survival Kit). 1996. 997p. illus, maps. index. ISBN 086442-363-2. pap. $27.95. The most widely used guide on the road (.the sixth edition is due July 1998), this is densely packed with well-researched, up-to-date information, especially on where to eat. It also covers travel in Hang Kong and Macau. This volume tends to give more description than the Rough Guides, but the details can be inaccurate. Included are addresses in pinyin and Chinese script, absolutely vital for getting around. Unfortunately, the Chinese script is so small not everyone can read it.

INDONESIA Dalton, Bill. Bali Handbook. 2d ed. Moon Pubns. 1997. 735p. illus, maps. index. ISBN 1-56691-073-0. pap. $19.95. The most exhaustive guide to Indonesia's most popular tourist spot: the island of Bali The 309-page introduction (!) includes discussions on how to reach Bali from anywhere on the globe, tours, the caste system, Balinese dance, and the pros and cons of tourism.

For each of Bali's nine administrative districts, individual sections have detailed listings for accommodations, restaurants, and sights.

Krannich, Ran & Caryl Krannich. The Treasures and Pleasures of Indonesia. 2d ed. hnpact. (Guides). 1996. 302p. maps index. ISBN 1-57023-045-5. pap. $14.95.

A guide for travelers who live to shop. Since the authors recommend that travelers hire a driver, the very sketchy maps aren't too big a hindrance.

[star] Turner, Peter & others. Indonesia. 5th ed. Lonely Planet. (Travel Services Kit). 1997. 1049p. photogs, maps. index. ISBN 0-86442-454-X. pap. $25.95. Of the thousands of islands that comprise Indonesia, this covers Java, Bali, Sumatra, Nusa Tenggara, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, and Irian Jaya with sensitive background information and great maps.

JAPAN [star] Reiber, Beth & Janie Spencer. Frommer's Japan. 3d ed. Macmillan. 1996. 563p. maps. index. ISBN 0-02-860927-1. pap. $19.95. Focusing on Tokyo, Kyoto, the Japanese Alps, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Hokkaido, the authors offer lists of "the best of": festivals, temples, spas, and Tokyo's top attractions. They also suggest travel itineraries from one to three weeks in length and walking tours of Kyoto and Tokyo. Detailed listings of accommodations and dining include phone number, address, price, directions, and reviews. Each chapter includes an "Especially for children" section.

LAOS & CAMBODIA Colet, John & Joshua Eliot. Cambodia Itandbook. Passport Bks: NTC Pub. Group. (Footprint Handbooks). 1997. 240p. photogs, maps. index. ISBN 08442-4922-X. $16.95. Colet and Eliot describe Cambodia as "a one-destination country" because of the magnificence of Angkor and the dangers of travel there, which come not so much from the ubiquitous unexploded mines as from rampant street crime and corruption. The only open areas are Phnom Penh, Angkor, and Sihanoukville. A decent guide with accommodation and restaurant listings that includes addresses and maps. Place names are in Khmer script. There is also a small section on Bangkok. [star] Jones, John R. Guide to Laos and Cambodia. Globe Pequot. (Bradt Country Guides). 1995. 342p. illus, maps. index. ISBN 1-56440-815-9. pap. $15.95. Jones makes it clear in his descriptions that this part of the world has much to offer despite much-publicized dangers. Two main sections discuss each country's people, geography, history, economy, and culture. There is practical advice on getting there, transportation, and communication. A useful regional guide.

MYANMAR (BURMA) [star] Eliot Joshua. Myanmar (Burma) Handbook. Passport Bks: NTC Pub. Group. (Footprint Handbooks). 1997. 240p. illus, maps. index. ISBN 0-84424919-X. $16.95. The only guide that actually discusses whether to go. Sa Suu Ky i, the Burmese Nobel Peace Prize winner, is quoted urging British tourists in 1996 to stay away in opposition to the notorious Slorc government. The author, however, clearly feels there are reasons to visit. The regions covered are Rangoon, Lower Myanmar, Central Myanmar, Eastern and Northern Hills, West Coast and South, plus the 80 pages devoted to Bangkok and Chiang Mat, both in Thailand.

SINGAPORE & MALAYSIA [star] de Ledesma, Charles & others. Malaysia Singapore and Brunet: The Rough Guide. 2d ed. Rough Guides, dist. by Penguin. 1997. 644p. photogs. maps. bibliog, index. ISBN 1-85828232-2. pap. $18.95. In keeping with the high standards of this seties, listings are exhaustive (11 Malay national parks are included, some with trail maps and accommodations), maps are detailed, and historical/cultural/political background is explained thoroughly. This is also the first volume in the series to include color photographs. While the wealthy Islamic state of Brunet is covered, the authors admit "there's really very little to do here" and mention nonexistent night life and (for Asia) high prices. This is also the only guide that mentions sea lice, a swimming hazard in the South China Sea. Parkes, Carl. Singapore Handbook. Moon Pubns. 1997. 334p. illus, maps. index. ISBN 1-56691-078-I. pap. $15.95. A very thorough, well-researched guide to this polyglot, multicultural metropolis. Chapters are arranged by city areas, listing sights, accommodations, and places to eat. Singapore and Malaysia. Knopf. (Guides). 1996. 400p. illus, maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-679-75567-5. pap. $25. This lavishly illustrated guide, with hundreds of photographs and drawings, also has a text that provides thorough sections on Arts and Traditions and Architecture. Turner, Peter & Tony Wheeler. Singapore: Lonely Planet City Guide. 3d ed. Lonely Planet. 1996. 267p. maps. index. ISBN 0-86442-400-0. pap. $11.95. A detailed, very compact guide with numerous photos, this is not geared exclusively to the low-budget traveler. The city is broken down into neighborhoods with maps, accommodations, and restaurant guides for each.

THAILAND Bozman, John. Frominer's Thailand. 3d ed. Macmillan. 1997. 388p. maps. index. ISBN 0-02-861144-6. pap. $19.95. Not as detailed or up-to-date as Lonely Planet or Rough Guides (below) but a decent introduction with Frommer's trademark "best of": most impressive architectural sights, most intriguing archaeological sights, best resorts, most isolated beaches. [star] Cummings, Joe. Thailand. 7th ed. Lonely Planet. (Travel Survival Kit). 1997. 849p. illus, maps. index. ISBN 086442-411-6. pap. $19.95. A gold medal winner of the Society of American Travel Writers Journalism Awards, this is crammed with detailed information. It's the only guide to enumerate all 76 provinces of Thailand. There are helpful page indexes for quick reference. Gray, Paul & Lucy Ridout. Thailand: The Rough Guide. 2d ed. Rough Guides, dist. by Penguin. 1995. 577p. illus, maps. index. ISBN 1-85828-140-7. pap. $17.95. Geared to the adventurous low-budget traveler in a strictly no-frills format no photos, rough paper--this guide provides good background information and maps as well as reliable, detailed listings and information on the contemporary cultural/artistic/literary scene. Parkes, Carl. Thailand Handbook. 2d ed. Moon Pubns. 1996. 834p. illus, maps. index. ISBN 1-56691-042-0. pap. $19.95. Parkes offers sightseeing highlights, top picks, and suggested itineraries. There's a section on responsible tourism, meditation in Thailand, language schools, and other special interests. However, travel times and prices are vague and inconsistent. [star] Thailand. DK. (Eyewitness Travel Guides). 1997. 504p. illus, maps. index. ISBN 0-7894-1949-1. pap. $24.95. A visually appealing guide that will inspire those planning their trips. Organized into six regions, the text is lavishly illustrated with beautiful color photographs, diagrams, and dozens of maps, many of which, unfortunately, are too vague to be of much on-the raad practical use. The book incuudes a fivepage phrasebook.

VIETNAM
 [star] Colet, John & Joshua Eliot. Vietnam Handbook. Passport: NTC Pub. Group. (Footprint Handbooks). 1997. 352p. illus. maps. index. ISBN 0-8442-4920-3. $16.95.
 A well-researched, exhaustive 106-page introduction discusses development statistics, the Vietnam War, and the deep rift between north and south. A Highlights section gives thumbnail :sketches of the country's main attractions. Accommodation and restaurant listings include addresses, phone numbers, descriptions, reviews, and price guides. Dodd, Jan & Mark Lewis. Vietnam: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides,
 dist. by Penguin. 1996. 479p. maps. index. ISBN 1-85828-191-1. pap. $15.95. A welcome: addition to this thoughtful, well researched series, with accommodation price codes for each city and separate maps for places to eat and drink, accommodations, and sights. It also gives names
 and addresses of markets. There are sections on Vietnam online and Vietnam in the movies. Hoskin, John, Vietnam. New Holland, dist. by Globe Pequot. (Globetrotter Travel Guide). 1996. 128p. photogs, maps. index. ISBN 1-85368-361-2. pap. $9.95. After a 35-page introduction, this very compact, attractive guide is organized by geography, briefly describing listed sights. Menu sidebars hold tidbits of information. The 29 maps are too small to present much detail.

ASIA ON THE NET Bali Online http://www.indo.com Everything on the exotic island of Bali: hotels, food, money, events, resources. China Business World http://www.cbw.com/tourism CBW's China Travel Guide includes an online hotel directory, air travel guide, visa application and guide, travel survival Chinese, and sightseeing tips. China Tour http://www.chinatour.com Updated frequently, this sister web site to the government-controlled English-language news magazine China Today (www.chinatoday.com) provides China-related travel and tour information: airlines flying to China, hotels and resorts, tourist hot spots, etc. Indonesian Home Page http://indonesia.elga.net.id
 This site claims to be the first and most comprehensive Indonesian web site. Its Traveling to Indonesia section offers information on islands such as Bali, Java, and Sumatra and provides links to related travel sites. Shanghai-ed http://www.shanghai-ed.com Shanghai's online city magazine is a source for local listings (restaurants, bars, hotels, art galleries, etc.), tourist information, and links to newspapers. SiamGuide to Thailand http://www.siam.net/guide/ A resource center for travel information to Thailand, including diving, sea sports, and hotels. TokyoQ http://www.so-net.or.jp/tokyoq A weekly guide to Tokyo with listings of upcoming events, reviews of restaurants, izayaka (.Japanese pub-style eateries), bars, baths, and "little adventures in Tokyo" (suggested tours of unusual places). Vietgate http://www.vietgate.net The self-described "Yahoo! of the Vietnamese online community," this carries Internet news from Vietnam in English and links to Vietnam travel web sites. Otherwise, it's mainly for the international expatriate Vietnamese community.


\9 ASIA ON THE NET, WEBsits, and the use of palmtops

Help Is at Hand. Can this compact device take the place of all your travel guidebooks? By Michael Shapiro Sep 24, 2000

The concept is irresistible: Chuck your cumbersome travel guidebooks and use a handheld computer to download the advice you need, precisely when you need it. Not only can you get info on sights and hotels, you can also find tips that static print guides couldn't dream of offering, such as timely listings for theater, concerts, sports events, even flights.

Problem is - you were about to guess this - the notion right now is much more compelling than the reality. In the wireless arena, almost every service for travelers is a year or two away from working well. Downloads are tedious, connection fees are high, and access isn't avail everywhere.

But don't forsake the idea of using a handheld device for on-the-ground info just because the wireless portion isn't yet up to speed.

Several pubs, including LP, offer compact mini-guides that travelers can download from their PCs into such devices as the Palm or Handspring. These will work in any mechanism using the Palm operating system, whether or not it's adapted for wireless connection. (See sidebar for information on these devices.)

Downloadable guides range from LP's CitySync (probably the most fully realized mobile guide to date), to Zagat's popular rest guides, to highly specialized offerings such as directions to the French Metro system. All of these can be downloaded before you leave home, so you don't have to worry about wireless connections while you tvl.

And once the info is in your device, you can access it quickly and easily. Of course, as my 92-year-old grandmother noted, books are mobile guides, too, though not quite as mobile as a four-ounce personal digital assistant. But books have certain undeniable advantages: They aee easier to read, don't rely on batteries and won't melt down if dropped in a puddle.

Like tvl-related Web sites, mobile guides let you zoom in on the info you're seeking with some degree of precision. For example, say you are in SFO's North Beach and you want to find an Italian rest for less than $25 per person. With CitySync, you can search for options based on the neighborhood, price and cuisine - and in seconds, you'll have several choices that meet your criteria.

CitySync and other mobile guides that focus on major cities are not ready to escort travelers through the Australian outback or shepherd them along the Amalfi Coast. But for travelers in metropolises seeking advice on how to spend a free afternoon or where to go for dinner, these guides can be indispensable. They're also useful for leisure travelers visiting more than one city but don't want to carry a book for each destination. CitySync "saved me a lot of time and energy," says Kristen Huntley, a senior producer at a San Francisco-based Web site. When Huntley, 27, visited Europe last fall, she carried five guidebooks, one for each destination. When she went abroad this summer, she left her guidebooks at home, using CitySync to get around. "It's easier than sorting through lots of pages in a book -- and much more useful."

 Due to the memory limitations of handheld computers, Lonely Planet cut most background material from CitySync, focusing on key categories, including "See," "Eat," "Shop" and "Sleep." CitySync guides include locator maps that scroll, meaning one can use the stylus to move the map up or down, left or right. While these maps can give travelers a sense of where a hotel or museum is, they are not substitutes for a good paper map.

"This is definitely a Version 1 product," says Scott McNeely, digital pub mgr at LP. The company's key challenge in the next six to nine months, he says, will be to expand the listings and integrate sync technology, so that CitySync can incorporate real-time information on exhibitions, cultural events and movies.

LP's main competitors include established guidebook companies, namely Frommer's (www.frommers.com) and Fodors (www.fodors.com). Both have bare-bones wireless guides accessible through the Palm VII, but these are primarily proof-of-concept demos. London-based Rough Guides says it likely will have a PDA- or phone-based product by year's end. "We want people to get what they want, wherever they want it, on whatever device they like," says Brenda McLaughlin, senior vice president for Internet operations at IDG Books, which owns Frommer's Guides. To keep download speeds from becoming interminable, Frommer's and other wireless guides use "Web clipping" -- meaning they extract key snippets of text instead of entire Web pages. Traditional travel guide publishers aren't the only companies plunging into the mobile-guide market. Several upstarts, such as Vindigo (www.vindigo.com), already incorporate real-time data and can be useful for advice on dining, shopping and entertainment, such as movie listings. To provide updated listings, Vindigo partners with local newspapers (including The Washington Post and San Francisco Chronicle) as well as other content providers, such as Zagat. While Vindigo can be useful for travelers seeking updated information, it works best as a complement to -- not as a replacement for -- a good travel guide. Expedia.com and other leading online travel agencies have recently announced services whereby travelers can use the PDAs to tote itineraries, flight schedules and driving directions. Wireless PDAs can use Expedia-to-Go or similar services to access flight status, hotel avilability and other real-time travel info.

CitySync provides guides for 12 cities, including New York, London and Sydney. Another six will be released this fall. In two years, if all goes according to plan, CitySync will cover hundreds of cities, says Eric Kettunen, LP's U.S. gen mgr. But the mammoth company's aspirations go beyond city guides. "The goal is a Web-based WorldSync where travelers can download any LP information from any Net connection in the world," says Kettunen.

When this happens, Lonely Planet will no longer consider itself a pub of hundreds of separate titles. "It will be one virtual book that you can customize," he says -- a book that LP, and thus its users, can update every day.

McLaughlin, who steers Frommer's online initiatives, expects technology to dramatically reshape the travel guide landscape. "Books are discreet packages," she notes. "One size has to fit all." She foresees a future where travelers use the Net to create a custom guide not just from

Frommer's but from other IDG properties as well. (IDG is Frommer's parent company and owns other popular brands, such as the Dummies series.) A traveler could select relevant content from Frommer's France, McLaughlin says, and then add a chapter on impressionism from "Art for Dummies" and the Burgundy chapter from "Wine for Dummies." Then he or she could download it into a PDA or have it printed, bound and shipped overnight. In the next year or two, when the barriers to efficient wireless access tumble and the quality of offerings hopefully improve, the line between wireless services and download-and-go will begin to blur. Globetrotters may download a guide before traveling and update it while on the road. And when global positioning systems are added to the mix, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jonathan Guttenberg, CEO of the outdoor travel site Gorp.com, says his company is preparing for the not-too-distant day when GPS-enabled devices can deliver content based on a traveler's location. To a hiker in Yosemite, Guttenberg says, Gorp could deliver trail guides, topography maps, weather reports, even tips for safeguarding food from bears.

Of course, as the Internet teaches us with punishing persistence, such inspiring new possibilities always create vast new opportunities for failures, crashes and annoyances. Don't use those printed guides to start a campfire just yet.

Michael Shapiro is a travel columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and author of "Internet Travel Planner" (Globe Pequot) About the Palm Pilot

What's a Palm and how much does it cost? Palm handheld organizers (800-881-7256, www.palm.com), formerly known as Palm Pilots, are typically used for storing adrs, phone nbrs and appointments. These devices recently had their memories increased, making them useful for many apps, including digital "guides" such as CitySync.

Prices start at $149 for the new entry-level Palm m100, but these have only 2 megs of memory. The top-of-the-line non-wireless Palm Vx, with 8 megs of memory, retails for $399 and is better suited for appns like CitySync. Downloading two CitySync guides (for example, NY and Chicago) consumes about 1 meg of memory, so it's best to go with the 8-meg devices.

Handspring (888-565-9393, www.handspring.com), created by some of Palm's founders, makes similar devices that run the Palm operating system. The basic Handspring Visor, with 2 megs of memory, retails for $149. The 8-meg

Handspring Deluxe costs $249, a more affordable option for those needing more than 2 megs of memory. Handspring devices include an expansion slot to add memory or attach other mechanisms, such as a digital camera.

Are wireless models better? That depends on your needs. Many people are well-served by download-and-go appns. But if you buy a Palm VII series ($399 to $449) with a built-in wireless modem, you can connect to the Net from almost any remote location (assuming the quirks and gaps of any wireless services these days) for travel advice from Frommer's, Fodor's and many others.

With as much mobility as a cell phone, wireless access lets you send and receive e-mail, get trip directions from MapQuest, even check whether a flight is going to be delayed. Activating these services requires a cellular phone account with monthly fees ranging from $9.99 to $44.99, depending on usage.

OmniSky (800-860-5767, www.omnisky.com) makes a $149 wireless modem that attaches to any Palm V model, so you can access the Net. The company offers all-you-can-eat access for $39.95 per month over AT&T's Cellular Digital Packet Data network.

How much does CitySync cost? The 12 city guides can be downloaded for $19.99 each from www.citysync.com. A $49.99 disk sold in stores lets users select any five city guides; for the full roster of cities see www.citysync.com/dest.htm. Eight additional cities, including Boston, Amsterdam, Edinburgh and Frankfurt, are expected this fall. Is CitySync info updated?

LP expects to update CitySync's database every six months, with the first update scheduled for late autumn. Sometime next year CitySync plans to update every three months. Eventually, the company says it will update continually.

Where can I find SW for Palm or Handspring? Visit Palm's shareware page (www.palm.com/resources/shareware.html) and click on "Travel" for a list of 400-plus appns, which include guides to subways, airports, cities, even golf courses. Some are free, such as the Vindigo dining-and-nightlife guide to San Francisco; others cost $12 to $40, such as the Manhattan City Directory ($20). Most have trial downloads, enabling users to test drive the SW.

Are Palm-style devices the only handheld computers? No, handhelds range from microcomputers that run a stripped-down version of Windows to Web-enabled cell phones. For now, if you're interested in download-and-go applications like CitySync, Palms and Handsprings are your best bets.

The numerous guides to Asia vary in terms of writing styles, range and choice of sites covered, and accommodation stds. Titles published by Rough Guides, Lonely Planet, and Moon Publications are the most widely used in the field, offering vast amounts of densely packed info (Coming from Rough Guides in October 1998 is First Time Asia, with tips for' first-timers to the region.) DK's Eyewitness series and the Knopf Guides are visually stimulating and inspirational but short on nitty-gritty practical tips. They are more suitable for pretrip research or touring.

Likewise Norton's Blue Guides provide a wealth of hist and artistic detail but no listings for lodging, rest, or public trans.

Due to substandard maps, poor indexing, and sketchy info, Pelican s Maverick Guides and Open Road's guides to Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand cannot be recommended. Globe Pequot's new Traveler's Companion series also offers little other compared to guides; however, its Bradt Country Guides do cover unusual regions ignored by other publishers.

Do the guides really guide? The best way to judge a guidebook is to actually use it. During a recent trip to Thailand and China, I had the opportunity to field test several titles, and while the better guides really make a diff in the quality of travel and amount of hassle experienced, I was struck by how subjective even well-researched, reputable ones can be.

Sometimes, it's a matter of perception; in other cases it's because things change rapidly, and guidebooks can't keep up with every change. One Thailand guide had a description that was several years old of Chiang Mai, a town in northern Thailand: congested with unceasing traffic, it is not a charming getaway, and there is no sign of frogs or fish in the city moat filled with stagnant green sludge. Lonely Planet considered reasonable a hotel in Lijiang that fellow travelers proclaimed a "Rumanian orphanage" and a "Victorian workhouse."

In Dali, a backpacker's haven in China, I would have appreciated being forewarned of aggressive street peddlers pursuing travelers in restaurants, and of the "Western-style" food that, when made with milk, was unpalatable. Rough Guides took ten miles off the length of Tiger Leaping Gorge, a popular hike in Yunnan prov.

Because travel conditions change so rapidly, librarians should update their collections often. Any travel guide over five years old is out-of-date and should be replaced. Below is a selective list of titles most useful to travelers. Starred (star) items belong in a core collection.

Useful stops on the Web when mapping out a trip to almost anywhere eb sites for would-be, armchair and actual travelers are proliferating faster than you can say "dotcom," with so many links that it's easy to lose your way. Following are 44 useful, informative or intriguing sites that can help you find or reach your destination. Portals o travel on the Web you should have a home, a place where you pick up the mail or chat with friends. If you belong to one of the big on-line services like America Online or Compuserve, you already have one, with links both to their proprietary sections and to the Web at large. But they also have homes, called portals, on the Web proper that are stripped-down versions of their commercial services; other portals were born on the Web to begin with. All offer such facilities as E-mail, news, calendars and shopping, and all have versatile search engines for finding travel sites. You can narrow your search at the beginning by going into their travel subsections. America Online, www.aol.com. This is a very crowded page and not as homey as the regular A.O.L. site. But the travel section is filled with categories covering destinations, reservations, business travel, travel news, weather, and airline, cruise, hotel and rental car directories. Compuserve, www.compuserve.com. Not as dull-looking as the regular Compuserve site, the travel section is slim, with seven recommended Web sites, including Barnes & Noble, presumably because you can buy travel books there. The Microsoft Network, www.msn.com. Microsoft keeps trying. Clicking on "travel" takes you to Expedia, Microsoft's dedicated travel site. Yahoo, www.yahoo.com. This is my favorite home on the Web, with a fairly well-organized travel subsection you can bury yourself in. Excite, www.excite.com. This is my home away from home. I usually begin by reading my horoscope to see if taking a trip is a wise notion. On the Town MSN Sidewalk, www.sidewalk.com. For a guide to entertainment and shopping in any of some 75 United States cities, plus Sydney and Melbourne, this is a good first stop. There are also sports scores, white and yellow pages, and airline tickets. City Net, www.citynet.com. Lodgings, restaurants and entertainment in 31 United States cities, a full plate of travel news, and reservations through Preview Travel, as well as E-mail and chat rooms. Newsdirectory, www.ecola.com. Primarily a source for English-language newspapers and magazines, but if you click on Travel Planner under the Bonus heading you get a list of visitors centers in the 50 states by town and area code. Fodor's, www.fodors.com. Fodor's has been a name in travel for as long as most of us can remember, and its Web site is rich with resources for making your own miniguide for a journey. Events Worldwide, www.eventsworldwide.com. This is a reference site for festivals, carnivals, arts, sports and other events. Eventseeker, www.eventseeker.com. An international business and leisure events database catalogued by date, location and type of event. The San Jose Mercury News, www5.mercury center.com. A huge guide to travel, news, and everything else in northern California, and wherever else Knight Ridder publishes newspapers. The New York Times, www.nytimes.com. This site carries articles from the Travel section, and the companion site, New York Today (also reachable directly at www.nytoday.com) can guide visitors to the city. Booking Sites Preview Travel, www.previewtravel.com. Many other services, such as City Net, call on Preview Travel for reservations. You can go to it direct, for information as well as reservations. Expedia, www.expedia.com. Microsoft's broader travel site, where you can plan a trip to practically anywhere, and buy airline tickets and make hotel and car reservations. Travelocity, www.travelocity.com. This is one of a handful of front ends for the Sabre reservations system that professionals use, with some 420 airlines, 40,000 hotels and 50 car-rental companies. It will even send you an E-mail message if a price changes in your favor. Travel Facts, www.travelfacts.com. Travel Facts calls itself a research tool. Provides access to airline, rental car and hotel Web sites, a travel-agent database, all kinds of links, a chat room and feature articles.

Priceline, www.priceline.com. You make a bid for an airline seat or a hotel room, and if the establishment is willing to accept it, Priceline lets you know. (Of course, if you know where you are going and how you want to go, every airline has its own Web page.) Maps to Anywhere The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection,

www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/world_cities. html. All the services offer different combinations of such tools as currency converters, weather forecasts and maps. If getting a map is a first priority, however, a good place to look is the Perry-Castañeda Library at the University of Texas at Austin. The endless list of maps of continents, regions, countries and cities, mostly produced by the State Department, runs from Abidjan to Zagreb. In the event that you can't find your map in Austin (Austin, for instance, is not one of the maps), the collection is linked to other map sites. Worldwide Brochures, www.wwb.com. Here are maps, as well as guides and brochures, more than 15,000 of them. They cost nothing, usually come by snail mail and, since they are promotions issued by the countries, cities, or establishments themselves, are hardly objective sources of information. Favorite Places Caribbean Tourism, www.caribtourism.com. A guide to weather and events in 36 Caribbean destinations, prepared by the Caribbean Tourism Organization. Paris France Guide, www.parisfranceguide.com. Paris sites are all over the Web. Here are exhibitions, entertainment and food, of course, in clear English from a print publisher of magazines, books and maps. Hidden America, www.hiddenamerica.com. Places to go off the Interstates, and such events as cowboys reciting verse in Nevada. Disney, www.disney.com. Disney's site is first rate if you are interested in making reservations at Disney World or Disneyland, or taking a Disney cruise. Ski-Guide, www.ski-guide.com. Snow, lodging and dining, transportation and events at 570 ski areas in the United States and Canada. Includes most of the famous names, as well as Hound Ears Club, N.C.; Adventure Mountain Lions, Mich., and Lynx Creek, N.H. On the Cheap Shoestring Travel, www.stratpub.com. Tips, tales and deals on traveling inexpensively, contributed by its users. It is fun even if you are not going anywhere. The Mining Company, www.miningcompany.com. This site "mines" the net to produce concise suggestions in a dozen categories, including travel. Although that category contains the usual suspects, there is a commendable emphasis on such things as camping, eco-tourism, bed-and-breakfasts, and traveling with children. The Web sites are picked by a real person with a name, not by committee or robot. Economy Travel, www.economy travel.com. Economy is an international travel consolidator with contracts with airlines for discounted prices. The seats that go to a consolidator have not been sold through the more usual channels, so it is often possible, or even necessary, to make last-minute arrangements. You fill out a form on screen and, if a flight meets your requirements, book it. Most of the familiar airline names are on the list, as well as ones you might not think of, like Biman Bangladesh, Ukraine International and Jersey European. A.A.R.P., www.aarp.org. The Web site of the American Association of Retired Persons has a travel section with a few articles about destinations, travel articles, and lists of hotels and cruise lines that give discounts to members. It's Official Centers for Disease Control, www .cdc.gov/cdctext.htm. Government-provided health information you may not know you need for travel, particularly international. The State Department, www .state.gov. Voluminous information: travel warnings, addresses of embassy and consulate Web sites, a host of telephone numbers. The passport subsection has an exhaustive compilation of information, downloadable passport applications and addresses of the 3,609 United States places where you can get a passport. Parknet, www.nps.gov. The site of the National Park Service, with info about fees and making reservations, and many maps. You can search for a park by region, state, theme or name. There is also a park of the month (North Cascades Complex, in the Pacific Northwest, when I looked) and several travel features.

Fellow Travelers Traveldog, www.traveldog.com. As the old bumper sticker says, "Children are for people who can't have dogs." Traveldog lists accommodations and amenities for the pooch, including camps, day care, parks and pet sitters. A click on its Travel Agent button links to the agency Stiles in Travel, which will make arrangements after you fill out a form on the screen and E-mail or fax it, or simply phone the company. A.S.P.C.A., www.aspca.org. A page of tips for traveling in a car with your pet. "A strong wire-mesh crate is preferable for car trips because it provides more ventilation," is one piece of advice. Line the bottom of the crate with towels or, if the pet is a cat, a small litter box. At www.avma .org, the American Veterinary Medical Association gives safety tips for "making flying friendly for you and your pet." Specialties Golf Travel Online, www.gto.com. Here is a database of travel for golfers; the trips can be reserved on line or by telephone. There are additional services, such as booking flights and rental cars, and getting travel insurance. Special packages are highlighted, like Bordeaux-Biarritz or Provence-Riviera golfing vacations. Swimmers Guide Online, www .lornet.com/sgol. An international database of "publicly accessible, full-size year-round pools." If you can't find a place to swim in 5,509 pools in 67 countries you're not trying. In Andorra, try the Centro Deportivo Els Serradella. Island Scuba, www.islandscuba .com. If plain swimming isn't good enough, drop in here to plan and book scuba-diving, including group trips, in the Caribbean. Both offshore and river diving, and many classes. Rail-to-Trails Conservancy, www .railtrails.org. This is a nonprofit organization devoted to converting former rail lines to trails for walkers and bicyclists. It is an advocacy group and much of the site is dedicated to its cause, but it does include information about 700 rail-trails in the United States, with links to weather, bed-and--breakfasts, tourism centers and maps. Spafinders, www.spafinders.com. You can search for spas by region or interest -- "supreme pampering," for example, or "fasting." There's also a booking function, a list of featured getaways and a day spa finder. Weathernet Weathercams, cirrus .sprl.umich.edu/wxnet/wxcam.html. A directory of live weather cameras in North America offers a chance to see whether it's cloudy or clear in more than 800 destinations. The on-line pictures are usually refreshed every few minutes. Cash Flow Mastercard, www.mastercard.com. Visa, www.visa.com. When traveling in strange places, you sometimes need an A.T.M. more than another rich meal. Both Mastercard and Visa have sections to locate one of their hundreds of thousands of handy automatic tellers.

\10 US government travel warnings

When in Desperate Straits, Depend on U.S. Emb Security: It's a crucial resource in emergencies abroad--but remember, it's not a tour service. By NAEDINE JOY HAZELL, Hartford Courant

On Jun 12, about six weeks before the emb bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, the US Dept of State posted a warning about potential "terrorist action ... within the next several weeks" in the Persian Gulf.
 The posting encouraged U.S. citizens living abroad to check in with their embassies or consulates in those countries and warned U.S. citizens to check the dept's public announcements, travel warnings and consular information sheets before making travel plans. Those circumstances illustrate one of the primary purposes of any embassy or consulate abroad, and that role is one that travelers should remember.
 All too often, travelers and tourists think of embassies as service bureaus, a kind of one-stop shopping for U.S. citizens with problems or questions, ranging from the best place to have lunch to how to spring a friend from jail.
 The State Dept describes the role of embassies and consulates politely but firmly: "Consular officers are responsive to the needs of Americans traveling or residing abroad. The majority of their time, however, is devoted to assisting Americans who are in serious legal, medical or financial difficulties."
 The key there is the word "serious." travelers who lose passports, get arrested, lose money or break a bone are perfectly justified in contacting U.S. consular officers in the more than 260 foreign service posts abroad.
 While those offices cannot and will not provide a doctor, money or a lawyer, they will provide the names of local doctors, dentists, medical specialists and lawyers. They also can provide other nonemergency services, including information on absentee voting, tax forms and notari- zation of documents. They also are important resources for the 3.1 million U.S. citizens living abroad.
 They certainly do not have the resources to provide tourism or commercial services. That means they cannot find your missing luggage, settle a dispute with a hotel or airline or act as interpreters. Although embassies and consulates can advise jailed U.S. citizens, they exist primarily for political and diplomatic reasons and abide by the laws of the host country, which means they cannot invoke the Bill of Rights to spring anyone from a foreign prison.
 That means the most successful overseas vacations don't involve any contact with a U.S. embassy or consulate for the simple reason that no one wants the kind of trouble that requires their attention.

Preventing problems before they occur and understanding travel basics is the best way to avoid problems, the State Department advises in its travel publication "Your Trip Abroad." This brochure and others are available for $1 to $1.50 from the Superintendent of Docs, US Govt Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402. To check before ordering, call (202) 512-1800.
 Having some familiarity with a country's laws can be helpful. It is wise to read guidebooks, get copies of the latest Consular Info Sheet on the countries you'll visit and even read the Dept of State's Background Notes on the countries.
 Much of the info is available at the State Department's Web site, http://travel.state.gov/travel-warnings.html, or call (202) 647-5225. Also, Background Notes may be bought by contacting the superintendent of documents (see above). Some warnings may be obtained by fax by calling (202) 736-7720 from your fax machine or by visiting http://www.state.gov.
 For example, in Jul and Aug, new travel warnings were issued concerning Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), Pakistan, Serbia and Montenegro, Sierra Leone and Somalia.
 After the Aug. 20 military strikes in Afghanistan and the Sudan, for instance, the department posted a Worldwide Caution: "The Department of State urges U.S. citizens traveling or residing abroad to review their security practices, to remain alert to the changing situation and to exercise much greater caution than usual.
 "Americans should be aware that embassy operations are currently suspended in Somalia, Sudan, Republic of Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo and Guinea-Bissau. No U.S. consular services are currently available in these countries."
 The caution advised that the US does not maintain diplomatic or consular posts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Libya and North Korea and therefore could offer no support services and that consular services in Albania, Eritrea and Pakistan had been reduced to minimal levels.
 But it is not enough to simply look for travel warnings, which, for the most part, tell travelers to avoid certain countries and why. The consular sheets offer valuable information about staying safe in countries that are not dangerous enough to warrant a travel warning but can be unstable.
 The dept also operates the Bureau of Consular Affairs' Overseas Citizen Services to help with overseas emergencies. Families who need to reach someone traveling abroad may call (202) 647-5225 on weekdays and from 6am to noon on Sa. For emergencies after OCS working hours, call (202) 647-4000 and ask for the duty officer.


\11 Tips

If you like exotic things, you can pick up a rare disease on a trip, but what is more likely to spoil your vacation is an injury. Epidemiologists avoid the word "accident," because it sounds like raw fate, a one-ton safe falling 10 stories onto a tourist. They now discuss "injury prevention." It's a good place to start a good vacation. In North America, you will probably go by car. The major cause of breakdowns on Interstate 95 in Connecticut, and doubtless other Interstates, is flat tires. Check all tires before you go, the fifth in particular. If possible, drive to the next exit before using the jack: a pedestrian on a highway is an invitation to an acci -- injury, according to the Connecticut safety patrol. Owners of cars with 70,000 miles or more should check the manual and have the timing belt replaced. Here are more safety tips: Motels with interior hallways are generally safer. Try to park where you can see your car. The room's door should have three things: a peephole, a chain or a flop-over hasp and a deadbolt. Use them all. A balcony door should have a bar to keep it shut.

When you get into a hotel bed, put the room key and a flashlight (the flat little Flashcards do fine) on the bedside table. In an emergency, take both with you, in case you need to get back into the room. Learning the Heimlich maneuver is worthwhile, but people who choke in restaurants have usually had too much to drink. Vacations enhance this peril. Slow up on your drinking and chewing, medical experts say.

Dig out your passport and check the expiration date well ahead of traveling to a foreign country (and remember that Canada and Mexico are foreign countries). If the passport expires in less than six months, it's renewal time. On the Web, check www.travel .state.gov for application forms. Renewal by mail will take 25 days. If your trip is in two weeks, call a regional passport office for an emergency appointment. Take your airline ticket for proof; letters from travel agents cut no mustard.

"Intl driver's permit" is a misnomer: it is really a photograph ID that you can buy at a local AAA Club; it says in nine lang that you have a valid driver license. If you do not have a valid driver license, forget this plan. The permit may help if you are in a remote country and the police stop you: they can learn in their own lang what your little card is. The AAA is the authorized agcy in the US to issue permits.

Take a good map any time you are driving. The Michelin brand is superior (but expensive: $10 to $15 for a road map). Take along a flashlight to read the map. Write down the phone number of the hotel itself, not the hotel's central reservations number.

If you are one adult going to Mexico but you are taking a child, even your own, expect to be asked at the airline gate for a notarized letter saying you have sole custody, permission for the trip or that the other parent is dead. If you are traveling with someone else's child, take doc from both parents. No joke; this is an antikidnapping effort.

For trips to places where med care may be uncertain, or is two airline connections away, buy good trip ins when you put a deposit on a tour. Read the caveats before you pay. Forget flight ins: get a good mag instead.

Adventurous trips should be preceded by a visit to a travel medicine clinic; searchable clinic lists are at www.istm.org or www.astmh.org. Clinics will give you prescriptions for malaria prophylaxis if your destination warrants it; more vital, the clinics will boost your tetanus shots.

On an adventure trip, avoid swimming in fresh water unless you can smell the chlorine from a standing pos. Beautiful Lake Malawi, and many oases, are rife with schistosomiasis and other dreadful diseases that every one, including travel agents, wish would disappear. Salt water is generally better, but if you see something that resembles a sewer outflow, you should retreat to a pool.

If you get into difficulty overseas, the US consulate should be called. But neither it nor an embassy will lay out cash for your ticket home or for your bail; nor will either one undertake anything that contravenes the country's laws. If the police said that you were going 120 km in a 100-km zone and did not appear sober, you must cope, honeymoon or not. Look up "extraterritor-iality" - local laws prevail. On the other hand, if someone at home has money to wire to you, the consulate will tell you how to arrange it.

The State Department issues travel warnings and less dire advisories on many countries. You can read them at www.travel state.gov/warnings. Perhaps you do a lot of things your mother might disapprove of, so make up your own mind in regard to an endurable level of hazard. When asked to summarize a lifetime of travel counseling, Dr. Hans Lobel, a malaria authority at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, replied, "Take your condoms and buckle your seat belt."

Don't Forget the Tetanus Booster


\12 more tips

Prepare for emergencies by knowing how to handle problems before leaving on your trip. Check with your medical insurance provider to determine your coverage while out of the country. Know how to reach a representative while you are abroad and how to obtain compensation for any care received. If you are not comfortable with your current level of coverage, look into supplemental travel insurance. Determine your needs in advance and do your homework—all insurance policies are not created equal. Frequent travelers may want a yearly policy; others may choose coverage only for the length of a one-time trip. Policies may or may not cover air rescue, ambulance transport, help in making hospital arrangements, coverage of medical or hospital bills, cash advances, evacuation to your home country or 24-hour telephone assistance. You might already have partial coverage, or the option to purchase it, through travel-related memberships. Some credit card companies include insurance if you charge your trip, and many international auto and touring clubs offer policies along with the usual provisions for car towing and accident assistance. Some tour packages also include insurance. Check carefully to find out what is covered. Most foreign medical providers require cash payment. Before you leave home, make sure you will have access to funds while abroad. Try to have an advocate with you any time you receive medical care. A health care provider who will see to your best interests, a traveling companion or, at a minimum, someone who speaks the local language can serve as a valuable ally in an emergency. Ask your health care providers if they can recommend providers or hospitals in your destination country. In serious emergencies, go to the largest medical facility in the area as quickly as possible. Those with a medical condition should wear medical alert tags and carry a list of important foreign words related to their condition. Avoid injections, dental procedures or skin piercing while traveling. Even manicures and shaves at public barbers can be risky in some areas. All can expose you to HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and other blood-borne pathogens. If you have a condition requiring injections, bring your own supply of needles and syringes. Carry a letter from your doctor explaining your medical need. If injected medications are advised, ask if there is an oral formulation that you can take instead. If injections are necessary, insist on individually wrapped, disposable needles. If there is a chance that an injection offered abroad is unnecessary (especially if circumstances are questionable or if the injection is to be given by nonmedical personnel), ask if there is an "administrative fee" or penalty you can pay in lieu of the shot.

It's scary enough to be robbed, become ill or get arrested while traveling in the US, but for the 45 million Americans who travel abroad each year, similar emergencies can trigger a daunting array of problems.

Although trip ins can offer some protection, travelers can also contact US embassies and consulates throughout the world for a variety of emergency, and a few nonemergency, services. Budgetary pressures and shifting American interests have resulted in the closing of about a dozen embassies and consulates over the last year, according to Albert Fairchild, a State Department spokesman. No more closings are expected in the next year, he said. The offices now include 244 embassies and consulates, and 45 part-time consular agencies available to help travelers. Earlier this year, David Schen sted, chief of the Consular Section at the United States Embassy in Kathmandu was contacted by a trekking company that had had a middle-aged American man die of a heart attack on one of its trips. "The company brought us the body, which we stored at the embassy in our two-body morgue," Mr. Schensted says. "We notified the family and explained that their options were either a traditional Nepalese cremation or shipping the body back to the U.S. They chose cremation and asked us to arrange for both a Catholic priest and a Buddhist lama to preside over the ceremony. "The day of the cremation, we carried the body ourselves, placed it in an embassy van, and drove down to the river banks. At the river we were surrounded by temples and by Nepalese families cremating their loved ones at the same time. We supervised the lighting of the fire, and stayed until the body was consumed. Then we collected the ashes and shipped them to the family in the States. It was nothing anyone prepared us to do in diplomat school." In another case last July, five American college students were involved in a serious car accident in Pamplona, Spain. One died at the scene, four others were hospitalized. In Madrid, the consular bureau of the United States Embassy became involved immediately, informing the students' families and sending an officer to Pamplona. The officer met the parents when they flew in, and helped them at the hospital, because they didn't speak Spanish. If you have a personal dispute, you're on your own. An American who called a United States consulate in Canada in the middle of the night didn't get very far when he told the duty officer that he'd been ejected from a bar and wanted someone to call the bar to demand that he be allowed back in. Other consulates have rebuffed requests to intervene in a disagreement at a brothel and appeals from bickering spouses for marriage counseling. In addition, don't expect embassies or consulates to search for your lost baggage, perform a marriage ceremony or act as your travel agent, interpreter, post office, bank, employment agency or lawyer. Although they can often suggest where to find these services, their primary responsibility is to provide help in emergency situations. Emergency Services If you have an emergency while traveling abroad, contact the American Citizens Services, a State Department agency that has an office in every United States Embassy, consulate and part-time consular agency throughout the world. According to Nyda Budig, a State Department public affairs officer, it is always possible for travelers facing a serious emergency to make personal contact with an individual who can help. To find the nearest embassy or consulate, carry a copy of the appropriate country's Consular Information Sheet when you travel.

In addition to listing pertinent adrs and phone nbrs, these sheets include details about various safety issues and assess the reliability of each country's medical facilities. Sheets are available on the Internet at http://travel.state.gov; or by fax (you must call from the tele on your fax): (202) 647-3000. You can also listen to the info as recorded msgs at (202) 647-5225, altho this can be a tedious and costly long-dist option.

The efficiency with which emergency assist is avail, Ms. Budig says, depends on the volume of requests, the size of the consular office, the access to local resources and whether the request is made during regular business hrs.

Many of the following services are free. Passport replace ment: If your passport is lost or stolen, US Citizens Services can generally replace it within 24 hours. To speed up the process, carry a photocopy of your pass-port's id page and extra passport photos. Delays can occur if you have no way of immediately proving your identity, or when local photography studios are closed.

Financial assist: Each yr the A.C.S. helps transfer more than $3 mil in private funds, and provides over $500,000 in emergency govt loans, to Americans abroad who are in truly desperate financial situations. For exam, if you are robbed, or lose all your money and credit cards, the A.C.S. can help you get funds throu your family, friends, bank and bus assoc, then help get the money to you.

It also may provide a small loan to tide you over. If you are destitute, and no private funds are available, the A.C.S. can arrange a "repatriation loan" that will pay for a ticket back to the nearest United States port of entry. When you receive the loan your passport will be stamped "Direct Return" and you will not be able to leave the US again until the loan is repaid.

Med assist: All A.C.S. offices will provide lists of doctors, dentists and mental health specialists, as well as hospitals and clinics. They cannot, however, endorse or recommend any specific doctor or facility. According to Ms Budig, no specific criteria are used when compiling the lists but consular employees try to include med personnel who are English-speaking, or those who are Western-trained, and checks are made to insure that all those on the list are certified in their fields. In addition, doctors used by embassy or consulate personnel sometimes are included in the lists.

Serious illness or injury: If you are injured or become seriously ill when traveling alone, or if you and your traveling companion are both injured or ill, the A.C.S. will inform your family and friends about your condition. In some cases, it will also collect info about your med history, forwarding it to your local doctor or hospital, and assist in making arrangements to return you to the US, at your expense, on a commercial flight.

Death: Each year more than 6,000 Americans die abroad. The A.C.S. will notify the next of kin, explain various options and costs for burial or return of the remains, and prepare a Report of Death. All costs, however, must be paid by the family. In addition, if the deceased has no legal representative in the country, the A.C.S. will take possession of all personal property, prepare an inventory and follow the next of kin's instructions concerning disposition. Disaster or Evacuation: When there is a natural disaster or civil unrest abroad, A.C.S. provides a wide array of services from informing concerned family members back home about your status, if it is known, to help with evacuation.

Arrest: If you become one of the more than 2,500 Americans who are arrested abroad each year, it is important to contact the A.C.S. immediately. Although it cannot have you released (you are subject to local laws), it will provide a list of local lawyers you may contact. A consular officer will also visit you regularly in jail, inform you generally about the relevant laws, contact your family, and help transmit required funds. When necessary, it also can protest mistreatment, monitor your condition and provide dietary supplements.

Emergency or concern at home: If there is an emergency at home, or your relatives are concerned about your welfare or whereabouts, the A.C.S. can contact the State Dept's Overseas Citizens Office, (202) 647-5225, which is staffed 24 hrs a day. After obtaining the pertinent data, consular officers will contact the embassy in the appropriate country and make an effort to find you. How extensive the search is, however, depends upon the circumstances. Although the office receives more than 200,000 calls a year, many of them are triggered by travelers who merely forgot to call home as promised.

Nonemergency Services: If you want to register a birth abroad, need documents notarized, or would like to register your arrival and local adrs (recommended in countries experiencing civil unrest), you can do so during bus hrs at all US emb and consulates. Some of these services require a fee and may not be avail at part-time consular agencies.


\13 and more tips

Bring written directions of stations, places, major points, etc before leaving hotel in places where little English is spoken. In touble; Major first class hotels usually will have someone who speaks English.

Make sure you are going to correct airport, RR station.

Be ready to board 30 minutes before departure to preclude getting caught on long ques for anything.

Don't wear or even bring anything of value.

A Mini-Lexicon of Hotel Keepers' Confusing Lingo Lodging * Terms like 'continental breakfast' and 'suite' mean many things to many people. Be sure to pin down what an accommodation offers.

Somebody once said that the Americans and the British are separated by a common language. So it is, too often, with travelers and the hotel industry. This truth was underlined for me recently when I called a bed-and-breakfast in San Francisco to ask whether it had a minimum-stay requirement for weekend guests in July. "You're not going to like this," the reservations person at Inn 1890 began in an apologetic tone. "It's five nights. During the week we accept four-day reservations, but even that's becoming more rare. . . More and more people are staying longer and longer." To my mind, five days isn't a weekend. It's most of a week with a weekend attached--the sort of requirement one usually finds at high-priced, isolated resorts, not an $89-to-$119-a-night B&B in the Haight-Ashbury district. Of course, a hotelier or innkeeper is entitled to test the market with whatever minimum-stay conditions he or she likes. (San Francisco remains a tight market: about 30,000 rooms, compared with about 45,000 in San Diego or Phoenix.) But that conversation got me thinking about the many terms that may mean one thing to an industry insider and something quite different--or perhaps nothing at all--to a consumer. Here, drawn from hotel industry insiders and trade publications, is a quick guide to lodging trade terms: Continental breakfast: Many travelers hear those words and imagine croissants, fresh fruit, juice, yogurt, bread, bagels or muffins, cereal, milk, tea and coffee--nearly everything but meat. Some innkeepers deliver exactly this. But to others, a continental breakfast means a communal basket of hard little doughnuts and an industrial-size coffee urn with a little tower of disposable cups. At any lodging that offers any kind of breakfast with the price of a night's stay, ask specifically what that breakfast includes. En suite: A fancy way of saying you'll have your own bathroom. Limited-service hotel: This phrase makes some travelers suspicious immediately. They imagine weekly maid service or incoming calls that go unanswered while the night manager is out sweeping the parking lot. But limited service just means a hotel that's sticking to the lodging business--no in-house restaurant or lounge or banquet service. Choosing a limited-service hotel often means saving $20 a night in exchange for walking across the street to breakfast at Denny's or Coco's. (The cost of those breakfasts, of course, will be about half the price of those at most hotel restaurants.) Rack rates: Drawn from the retail phrase "off the rack," this means the prices a company lists in its brochures. If you make a habit of paying these prices, you will go broke quickly and reservations agents will giggle behind your back. The priciest chains may resist discounting, but most lodgings undercut their brochure rates with weekend specials, weekday specials, auto club discounts, senior discounts, student discounts, military discounts, corporate rates (getting these sometimes requires merely that you flash a business card) or plain old discounts because it's 7 p.m. and only half the rooms are rented. When booking a room, be persistent in asking for the lowest rate and seeking guidance in what special rates might apply. You might even ask, "How can I beat the rack rates on this?" "It's a great term to throw out in negotiation," says Gary Carr, San Francisco-based communications director for PKF Consulting, a firm that keeps statistics on hotel practices and profits. Subject to availability: It may seem obvious that you can't get a $100 standard room if all the standard rooms are sold out, but availability is more complicated than that. Just as the airlines use "yield management" to juggle inventory and maximize revenue, a hotel might offer 20 standard rooms at $100 and more rooms at $150. Once the 20 low-priced units are taken, the price goes up. Similarly, some hotel discount booklets, including those from Entertainment Publications Inc., offer 50% off rack rates, subject to availability. In Entertainment's case, that means the discount booklet company's pact with the hotel allows those discounts when less than 80% occupancy is expected. If the hotel is already expecting to be 80% full on the night you want a room, forget that 50% off. (Remember that every discount program is a little different, but this sort of limitation is present in many programs.) Suite: That word used to make me think of a two-room unit: one room with a couch and perhaps a desk or TV, the other with a bed. But, I have learned, some hoteliers call any fairly large room a suite. I remember checking into the Checkers Hotel in downtown Los Angeles in 1992, having heard management describe it as an "all-suite" hotel. When my wife and I got upstairs, we found a single room, and not a particularly large one. Since then, the hotel has been taken over by the Wyndham chain, which calls those spaces rooms, not suites. (A reservations operator there said that the standard rooms measure about 300 square feet. The typical standard Hilton room, a spokesman said, measures 388 square feet.) At PKF Consulting, the working definition of a suite is a unit with "separate but not necessarily physically divided sleeping and living areas." Walk to beach: Those words demand these follow-up questions: In how much time? Across what streets? Amid what perils after dark? Is this a sandy beach where I can lie down? Can I swim safely?

Harvesting Tips on Trips From 3 Savvy Newsletters Publications: Respected monthlies help frequent--and not-so-frequent--fliers sort out the best deals in lodging and air fares.

Monday: Check Continental OnePass mileage balance and scan Internet for discounted air fares. Tuesday: Toss away that dubious travel-agent credential/discount offer. Wednesday: For budget-busting splurge over long weekend, choose between Timberhill Ranch in Sonoma County and Rancho de San Juan near Santa Fe. Meanwhile, spend night at La Quinta Resort near Palm Springs and steal toiletries. The perfectly well-briefed traveler doesn't exist, but if one did, his or her date book might read like this. These tips are harvested from Consumer Reports Travel Letter, Inside Flyer and Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report, a trio of respected travel monthlies that each came out recently with lists of industry winners or losers. Not all the advice in these lists is practical for everyone. (Not everyone, for instance, would spend $435 nightly to enjoy the highly touted comforts of La Scalinatella hotel on the Italian isle of Capri.) But there's a lot of good intelligence here for anyone who wants to travel wisely. For instance: In the January issue of Consumer Reports Travel Letter (CRTL), the "best bets" of 1999 begin with Internet deals--discounts that airlines and others offer only to online customers, in part because online transactions cost the carriers less in overhead. The discounts often vanish if you see them on screen and try to book them by phone. And remember that no matter how comprehensive those airline Web sites may seem, they're designed to funnel your business to one airline. More than one consumer, intoxicated by the bookings to be made with a keystroke, has forgotten that there's still no substitute for comparison shopping. CRTL also likes Hawaii and Asia now as destinations (thanks to price cuts due to economic crises), recommends you consider alternative airports (Chicago's Midway rather than O'Hare, for instance) and hopefully forecasts '99 as the year in which steadily climbing U.S. lodging costs will finally level off. The editors also point out the usefulness of hotel-room brokers and airline-ticket discount agencies (often dubbed "consolidators"), both of which advertise widely with toll-free phone numbers. And maybe, say those editors, the cruise business is ripe for price cuts too. At least eight big new ships will be introduced in 1999, and nobody's certain that demand will keep pace with supply. Any bad deals? The CRTL people have a separate list of those. Unsolicited travel certificates promising improbable deals have been disappointing inexperienced travelers for many years now, as have marketing campaigns that sell supposed travel-agent credentials (and purported discounts) to consumers with virtually no specialized training. Rental car company pitches to sell collision- or loss-damage waiver coverage on domestic car rentals get CRTL scorn too, since your regular car insurance or credit card may already cover you. (This is a trickier question on foreign rentals.) And of course, no such list would be complete without the Cal Ripken Jr. of bad travel deals, enduring year after year: the full-fare, unrestricted coach ticket. Designed to exploit last-minute business travelers, it virtually ensures that you'll be seated next to someone who paid less than half what you did. And on the subject of airlines, up steps Inside Flyer magazine, the bible of mileage junkies, with its February issue and its 11th annual Freddie Awards. Based on votes from 82,480 of the magazine's frequent-flying readers, the prizes for best overall frequent-flier program, best Web site and best customer service went to Continental's OnePass program. The top hotel frequent-guest program was Marriott Rewards, narrowly edging out Hyatt Gold Passport. The two dozen favorite lodgings named in the December issue of Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report never figure in frequent-guest program contests because they serve such a small group of customers--basically, those who spend and demand the most. The Sun Valley, Idaho-based Hideaway Report's "hideaway of the year" honors depend on the choice of the newsletter's publishers, who say they travel under assumed names and take no discounts or freebies. Their favorites are intimate, comfortable lodgings with good service and noncommercial character, usually in uncitified settings. Their list of top hideaways in the U.S. includes Woodlands Resort (a 19-unit, 42-acre estate northwest of Charleston, S.C., $325 and up per night), Blantyre (a 23-unit, 85-acre manor property near Lenox, Mass., $350 and up, closed in winter), Timberhill Ranch (15 cottages on 80 hilly acres along the Sonoma County coast, $395 and up) and Rancho de San Juan (11 units on 225 acres in the New Mexico desert 40 minutes northwest of Santa Fe, $195 and up). The Hideaway Report's list also includes two Mexican hotels: Las Alamandas (an 11-unit beachfront retreat two hours' drive from Puerto Vallarta, $780 and up) and Casa de Sierra Nevada (36 units in the colonial town of San Miguel de Allende, $230 and up). The Hideaway Report also singles out the La Quinta Resort & Club near Palm Springs for the best package of toiletries and names Canyon Villa in Sedona, Ariz., as its favorite B&B. For subscription information: Consumer Reports Travel Letter, telephone (800) 234-1970; Inside Flyer, tel. (800) 767-8896; Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report, tel. (800) 235-9622. Christopher Reynolds travels anonymously at the newspaper's expense, accepting no special discounts or subsidized trips. He welcomes comments and suggestions, but cannot respond individually to letters and calls. Write Travel Insider, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053 or e-mail chris.reynolds@latimes.com.


\14 tips for the elderly

American consuls at US emb and consulates abroad are there to help if you encounter serious difficulties in your travels. They are happy to meet you if you come in to register your passport at the Consular Sect of the US emb or consulate. But it is also their duty to assist American citizens abroad in times of emergency--at hosp or police stns, for instance. This pamphlet is written in the hopes that it will help you to prevent such emergencies from arising. DEPT OF STATE PUB 10337

For up-to-date travel info on any country in the world that you plan to visit, obtain the Dept of State's Consular Info Sheet. They cover such matters as health conditions, unusual currency and entry regulations, crime and security conditions, drug penalties, and areas of instability. In addition, the State Department issues Travel Warnings when it recommends Americans defer travel to a country because of unsafe conditions. Travel Warnings are under continuous review by the Dept of State and are removed when conditions warrant. The Dept of State also issues Public Announcements as a means to disseminate info quickly about relatively short-term and/or trans-national conditions which would pose significant risks to the security of American travelers.

By Internet Info about travel and consular services is now available on the Internet's WWW. The address is http://travel.state.gov. Visitors to the web site will find Travel Warnings, Public Announcements and Consular Info Sheets, passport and visa info, travel pubs, background on intl adoption and child abduction services, intl legal assist, and the Consular Affairs mission statement. There is also a link to the State Dept's main site on the Internet's World Wide Web that provides users with current foreign affairs info. The address is http://www.state.gov.

Consular Affairs Bulletin Board - CABB If you have a personal computer, modem and communication software, you can access the Consular Affairs Bulletin Board (CABB). This service is free of charge. To view or download the documents from a computer and modem, dial the CABB on (301) 946-4400. The login is travel; the password is info.

Passport. Pack an "emergency kit" to help you get a replacement passport in case yours is lost or stolen. To make a kit: photocopy the data page at the front of your passport; write down the adrses and tele numbers of the US embassies and consulates in the countries you plan to visit; and put this info along with two recent passport-size photographs in a place separate from your passport.

Leave a Detailed Itinerary. Give a friend or relative your travel schedule. Include names, addresses, and tele numbers of persons and places to be visited; your passport number and the date and place it was issued; and credit card, travelers check, and airline ticket numbers. Keep a copy of this information for yourself in a separate place from your purse or wallet. If you change your travel plans--for example, if you miss your return flight to the United States or extend your trip--be sure to notify relatives or friends at home.

Don't Overprogram. Allow time to relax and really enjoy yourself. Even if this is your once-in-a-lifetime trip, don't feel you have to fill every avail min. If you are visiting a country such as China, where physical activity can be quite strenuous and sudden changes in diet and climate can have serious health consequences for the unprepared traveler, consult your physician before you depart.

Visas. Many countries require a visa--an endorsement or stamp placed in your passport by a foreign government that permits you to visit that country for a specified purpose and a limited time. A number of countries require you to obtain a visa from the embassy or consular office nearest to your residence. The addresses of foreign consular offices can be found in telephone directories of large cities or in the Congressional Directory, available in most libraries; or you may write to the appropriate embassy in Washington, D.C. and request the address of their consulate that is nearest to you.

An increasing number of countries are establishing entry requirements regarding AIDS testing, particularly for long-term residents and students. Check with the embassy or consulate of the countries you plan to visit for the latest info.

HEALTH Health problems sometimes affect visitors abroad. Information on health precautions can be obtained from local health departments or private doctors. General guidance can also be found in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) book, Health Information for International Travel, available for $14.00 from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402, or the CDC's international travelers hotline at (404) 332-4559.

Health Insurance. It is wise to review your health insurance policy before you travel. In some places, particularly at resorts, medical costs can be as high or higher than in the US. If your insurance policy does not cover you abroad, it is strongly recommended that you purchase a policy that does. There are short-term health ins policies designed specifically to cover travel. If your travel agent cannot direct you to a med assist company, look for info in travel mag. The U.S. govt cannot pay to have you med evacuated to the US.

The Social Security Medicare program does not provide for payment of hosp or medical services obtained outside the US. However, some Medicare supplement plans offer foreign medical care coverage at no extra cost for treatments considered eligible under Medicare. These are reimbursement plans. You must pay the bills first and obtain receipts for submission them later for compensation. Many of these plans have a dollar ceiling per trip.

Review your health ins policy. Obtaining medical treatment and hosp care abroad can be expensive. If your Medicare supplement or other medical insurance does not provide protection while traveling outside the US, we strongly urge you to buy coverage that does. The names of some of the companies offering short-term health and emergency assist policies are listed in the Bureau of Consular Affairs flyer, Medical Info for Americans Traveling Abroad. The flyer is available by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Bureau of Consular Affairs, Room 6831, U.S. Dept of State, Wash, DC 20520-4818 (or via the automated systems mentioned under How to Access Consular Info Sheets).

Trip Insurance. One sure way to ruin a vacation is to lose money because an emergency forces you to postpone or cancel your trip. Except for tickets on regularly scheduled airlines, almost any travel package you purchase will have a penalty for cancellation and some companies will give no refund at all. Regularly scheduled airlines usually give a refund if an illness or death in the family forces you to cancel. Airlines require a note from the doctor or a death cert. Take careful note of the cancellation penalty for any other large travel purchase you make, such as a tour package, charter flight, or cruise. Unless you can afford to lose the purchase amount, protect yourself by buying trip insurance.

If you invest in trip insurance, make sure your policy covers all reasonable possibilities for having to cancel. For instance, if an emergency with a family member would force you to cancel, insure against that as well.

Shop around for the trip insurance policy that offers the most benefits. Some credit card and traveler's check companies offer travel protection packages for an additional fee. Benefits may even include accident and illness coverage while traveling.

Immunizations. Information on immunizations and health precautions for travelers can be obtained from local health departments, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's international travelers hotline at (404) 332-4559, private doctors, or travel clinics. General guidance can also be found in the U.S. Public Health Service book, Health Information for International Travel. Immunizations are normally recommended against diptheria, tetanus, polio, typhoid, and hepatitis A for travelers. Generally, these immunizations are administered during childhood.

Medical Assist Pgms. One strong advantage of medical assist pgms is that they also cover the exorbitant cost of medical evacuation in the event of an accident or serious illness. As part of the coverage, these companies usually offer emergency consultation by tele. They may refer you to the nearest hospital or call directly for help for you. If you need an interpreter, they may translate your instructions to a health care worker on the scene. Another benefit that is normally part of such coverage is payment for the return of remains to the United States in case of death.

If your regular health insurance already covers you for medical expenses abroad, you can buy a medical assistance program that offers all the consultative and evacuation services listed above except for the health insurance itself. Cost of medical assistance coverage is usually inexpensive without health insurance coverage or a little more for the complete medical assistance program including health insurance. On the other hand, escorted medical evacuation can cost thousands of dollars.

If your travel agent cannot direct you to a medical assistance company, look for information on such services in travel magazines. Once you have adequate coverage, carry your insurance policy identity cards and claim forms with you when you travel.

Medication. If you require medication, bring an ample supply in its original containers. Do not use pill cases. Because of strict laws concerning narcotics throughout the world, bring along copies of your prescriptions and, if possible, carry a letter from your physician explaining your need for the drug. As an extra precaution, carry the generic names of your medications with you because pharmaceutical companies overseas may use different names from those used in the United States.

If you wear eyeglasses, take an extra pair with you. Pack medicines and extra eyeglasses in your hand luggage so they will be available in case your checked luggage is lost. To be extra secure, pack a backup supply of medicines and an additional pair of eyeglasses in your checked luggage. If you have allergies, reactions to certain medications, foods, or insect bites, or other unique medical problems, consider wearing a "medical alert" bracelet. You may also wish to carry a letter from your physician explaining desired treatment should you become ill.

Medical Assistance Abroad. If you get sick, you can contact a consular officer at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for a list of local doctors, dentists, and medical specialists, along with other medical information. If you are injured or become seriously ill, a consul will help you find medical assistance and, at your request, inform your family or friends. The list of English speaking doctors is also available before you travel by writing to the Office of Overseas Citizens Services, Room 4811, 2201 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20520. Please specify to which country you will be traveling.

Health Precautions. Air pollution abroad may sometimes be severe. Air pollution and high altitudes are a particular health risk for the elderly and persons with high blood pressure, anemia, or respiratory or cardiac problems. If this applies to you, consult your doctor before traveling. In high altitude areas most people need a short adjustment period. If traveling to such an area, spend the first few days in a leisurely manner with a light diet and reduced intake of alcohol. Avoid strenuous activity, this includes everything from sports to rushing up the stairs. Reaction signs to high altitude are lack of energy, a tendency to tire easily, shortness of breath, occasional dizziness, and insomnia.

If possible, drink only bottled water or water that has been boiled for 20 minutes. Be aware of ice cubes that may not have been made with purified water. Vegetables and fruits should be peeled or washed in a purifying solution. A good rule to follow is if you can't peel it or cook it, do not eat it. Diarrhea may be treated with antimicrobial treatment which may be prescribed or purchased over the counter. Travelers should consult a physician, rather than attempt self-medication, if the diarrhea is severe or persists several days.

Charter Flights. Before you pay for a charter flight or travel package, read your contract carefully and see what guarantee it gives that the company will deliver the services that it is trying to sell you. Tour operators sometimes go out of business in the middle of a season, leaving passengers stranded, holding unusable return tickets and unable to obtain a refund for the unused portion of their trip. Unless you are certain a company is reputable, check its credentials with your local Better Business Bureau (BBB). The BBB maintains complaint files for a year. You can also check with the consumer affairs office of the American Society of Travel Agents, 1101 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, tel. (703) 739-2782 to learn if a travel company has a complaint record.

MONEY AND VALUABLES Don't Take Your Money in Cash. Bring most of your money in traveler's checks. Have a reasonable amount of cash with you, but not more than you will need for a day or two. Convert your traveler's checks to local currency as you use them rather than all at once. You may also wish to bring at least one internationally-recognized credit card. Before you leave, find out what your credit card limit is and do not exceed it. In some countries, travelers who have innocently exceeded their limit have been arrested for fraud. Leave unneeded credit cards at home.

ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) are becoming increasingly popular in some of the more modern countries abroad. Often these ATMs can be accessed by your local bank card depending on which service is available. The exchange rates are comparable to the going rate of exchange. Check with your local bank to find out which ATM service is available in the country you plan to visit. Because ATMs may not always be available, this should be used as only a backup method and not depended on solely for all your financial transactions abroad. If you must take jewelry or other valuables, use hotel security vaults to store them. It is wise to register such items with U.S. Customs before leaving the United States to make customs processing easier when you return.

It is a violation of law in some countries to enter or exit with that countrys currency. Check with a travel agent or the embassy or consulate of the countries you plan to visit to learn their currency restrictions. Before departing from the U.S., you may wish, if allowed, to purchase small amounts of foreign currency and coins to use for buses, taxis, telephone calls, and other incidentals when you first arrive in a country. You may purchase foreign currency from some banks or from foreign exchange dealers. Most international airports also have money exchange facilities. Once you are abroad, local banks generally give more favorable rates of exchange than hotels, restaurants, or stores for converting your U.S. dollars and traveler's checks into foreign currency.

YOUR TRIP Driving. U.S. auto insurance is usually not valid outside of the United States and Canada. When you drive in any other country, be sure to buy adequate auto insurance in that country. When renting a car abroad, make certain that adequate insurance is part of your contract; otherwise, purchase additional coverage in an amount similar to that which you carry at home. Also, prior to driving in a foreign country, familiarize yourself with the metric system since countries abroad display speed limits in kilometers per hour. REMEMBER: If you plan to rent a car, keep in mind which side of the road traffic moves. Unlike the U.S., many countries drive on the left hand side of the road.

Flying. On overseas flights, break up long periods of sitting. Leave your seat from time to time and also do in-place exercises. This will help prevent you from arriving tired and stiff-jointed. Also, get some exercise after a long flight. For example, take a walk or use your hotel's exercise room.

Reconfirm. Upon arrival at each stopover, reconfirm your onward reservations. When possible, obtain a written confirmation. International flights generally require confirmation 72 hours in advance. If your name does not appear on the reservation list, you could find yourself stranded.

Register. If you plan to be in a location for 2 weeks or more or in an area where there is civil unrest or any other emergency situation, register with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. This will help in locating you, should someone in the United States wish to confirm your safety and welfare or need to contact you urgently.

PRACTICAL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS Respect the Local Laws and Customs. While abroad, you are subject to the laws and regulations of your host country and are not protected by the U.S. Constitution. If you should be detained by local authorities, ask them to notify a U.S. consular officer. Under international agreements and practice, you have a right to contact an American consul. Although U.S. consuls cannot act as your attorney or get you out of jail, they can provide you with a list of local attorneys and inform you of your rights under local laws. They will also monitor the status of detained Americans and make sure they are treated fairly under local laws.

Guard Your Passport. Your passport is the most valuable document you carry abroad. It confirms that you are an American citizen. Do not carry your passport in the same place as your money or pack it in your luggage. Remember to keep your passport number in a separate location in case it is lost or stolen. In some countries, you may be required to leave your passport overnight or for several days with the hotel management. This may be local practice--do not be concerned unless the passport is not returned as promised. If your passport is lost or stolen abroad, immediately report it to the local police, obtain a copy of the report, and contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate to apply for a new passport.

Be Alert. Move purposefully and confidently. If you should find yourself in a crowded area, such as in an elevator, subway, marketplace, or in busy tourist areas, exercise special caution to avoid theft. Robbery. Help prevent theft by carrying your belongings securely. Carry purses tucked under an arm and not dangling by a strap. Carry valuables hidden in an inside front pocket or in a money belt, not in a hip pocket. You may wish to wrap your wallet with rubber bands to make it more difficult for someone to slip it from your pocket unnoticed. Money belts or pouches that fit around your shoulder, waist or under clothing are available through some luggage shops and department stores.

ASSISTANCE FROM U.S. EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES Emergencies. If you encounter serious legal, medical, or financial difficulties or other problems abroad, contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for assistance. Although consular officers cannot serve as attorneys, they can help you find legal assistance. Consular officers cannot cash checks, lend money, or act as travel agents. However, in an emergency, consular officers can help you get in touch with your family back home to inform them on how to wire funds to you and to let them know of your situation. Consular officers can also provide you with the latest information about adverse conditions abroad.

Nonemergencies. Consular officers also provide nonemergency services such as information on absentee voting and acquisition or loss of U.S. citizenship. They can arrange for the transfer of Social Security and other benefits to Americans residing abroad, provide U.S. tax forms, notarize documents, and advise U.S. citizens on property claims.

Safeguarding Your Health. If you are injured or become seriously ill abroad, a U.S. consular officer will assist you in finding a physician or other medical services, and, with your permission, will inform your family members or friends of your condition. If needed, consular officers can assist your family in transferring money to the foreign country to pay for your treatment.

Death Abroad. Each year, about 6,000 Americans die abroad. Two thirds of them are Americans who live overseas, but approximately 2,000 Americans per year die while visiting abroad. Consular officers will contact the next of kin in the United States and will explain the local requirements. It is a worthwhile precaution to have insurance that covers the cost of local burial or shipment of remains home to the United States (see information on medical assistance programs). Otherwise, this cost must be borne by your next of kin and can be extremely expensive. The U.S. government cannot pay for shipment of remains to the United States.

SHOPPING--SOME THINGS TO AVOID Beware of purchasing souvenirs made from endangered wildlife. Many wildlife and wildlife products are prohibited either by U.S. or foreign laws from import into the United States. You risk confiscation and a possible fine if you attempt to import such things. Watch out for and avoid purchasing the following prohibited items: All products made from sea turtles. All ivory, both Asian and African. Furs from spotted cats. Furs from marine mammals. Feathers and feather products from wild birds. All live or stuffed birds from Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Venezuela, and some Caribbean countries. Most crocodile and caiman leather. Most coral, whether in chunks or in jewelry.

WHEN YOU RETURN Be Prepared. On arrival in the United States, have your passport ready when you go through immigration and customs controls. Keep receipts for any items you purchased abroad. U.S. citizens may bring back and orally declare $400 worth of merchandise duty free. The next $1000 is taxed at a flat rate of 10%. Check with U.S. Customs for further information. Currency. There is no limit on the amount of money or negotiable instruments which can be brought into or taken out of the United States. However, any amount over $10,000 must be reported to U.S. Customs on Customs Form 4790 when you depart from or enter into the United States. Foreign Produce. Don't bring home any fresh fruits or vegetables. Such items will be confiscated.

OTHER USEFUL TRAVEL PUBLICATIONS For the official word on immunizations, customs, what you can legally bring into the United States, and how to protect yourself from business fraud, you may order one of the following U.S. Government publications:

Health Information for International Travel is a comprehensive listing of immunization requirements of foreign governments. In addition, it gives the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendations on immunizations and other health precautions for international travelers. Copies are available for $14 from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402; tel. (202) 512-1800. Know Before You Go, Customs Hints for Returning U.S. Residents gives detailed information on U.S. Customs regulations, including duty rates. Single copies are available free from any local Customs office or by writing to the Department of the Treasury, U.S. Customs Service, P.O. Box 7407, Washington, D.C. 20044.

Don't Pack a Pest lists the regulations on bringing agricultural items into the United States from most parts of the world. Fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, potted plants, pet birds, and other items are prohibited or restricted. Obtain the publication free from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 732 Federal Bldg., 6505 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, Maryland 20782. Buyer Beware! is prepared by the World Wildlife Fund. This publication provides information about restrictions on importing wildlife and wildlife products. For a free copy, write to the Publications Unit, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. 20240.

Tips for Business Travelers to Nigeria is designed to help U.S. citizens doing business in Nigeria identify business scams, and provide them with information about what the U.S. Government can or cannot do to assist them. The booklet is free by sending a self-addreseed, stamped envelope to CA/OCS/ACS/AF, Room 4811, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20520-4818. The following publications from the Department of State may be ordered for $1-$1.50 each from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, D.C. 20402; tel. (202) 512-1800. (Prices and availability are subject to change without notice. Check pricing information with the GPO before ordering.)

Your Trip Abroad provides basic travel information -- tips on passports, visas, immunizations, and more. It will help you prepare for your trip and make it as trouble-free as possible. A Safe Trip Abroad gives travel security advice for any traveler, but particularly for those who plan trips to areas of high crime or terrorism. Tips for Americans Residing Abroad is prepared for the more than 3 million Americans who live in foreign countries. The following publications are also from the Department of State (see ordering information below):

Foreign Entry Requirements lists visa and other entry requirements of foreign countries and tells you how to apply for visas and tourist cards. Order this publication for 50ó from the Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, CO 81009. Key Officers of Foreign Service Posts gives addresses and telephone, telex, and fax numbers for all U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. This publication is updated twice a year and may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402; tel. (202) 512-1800. It is available for $3.75 individually or $5.00 for a year's subscription

Background Notes are brief, factual pamphlets on all countries in the world. They give current information on each country's people, culture, geography, history, government, economy, and political condition and include a factual profile, brief travel notes, a country map, and suggested reading list. For information on their price and to order copies contact: U.S. Government Printing Office at (202) 512-1800. You may also obtain select issues by fax by calling the State Department's Bureau of Public Affairs Fax on Demand at (202) 763-7720 from your fax machine.

\15 time and culture

Do you aspire to an overseas assignment or work with colleagues from other countries? Here are eight lessons to bear in mind that will help you avoid time-related misunderstandings. There are no overriding rights and wrongs to a particular pace of life. They are simply different, each with their pluses and minuses. All cultures have something to learn from others' conceptions of time.

In many instances, temporal illiteracy leads to situations that are simply awkward and embarrassing; in other cases, however, the lack of knowledge can be socially disabling. The latter is often the result when non-clock-time people must achieve by the standards of fast-paced cultures. Entire subpopulations with otherwise economically vital communities are marginalized by their inability to master the clock-governed pace of the mainstream culture. These temporally disabled subgroups are particularly common in societies with large multiethnic, multicultural populations, especially those undergoing rapid social change.

The difficulties in adjusting to another culture's time sense are, of course, not limited to economically deprived subcultures. Everyone has the potential to stumble badly over the temporal rules of other groups. But there are also multitemporal success stories. One group that has demonstrated a proficiency for temporal flexibility is the thousands of Mexicans who live in Tijuana but commute daily to jobs on the California side of the border.

Psychologist Vicente Lopez, director of the library and an instructor in the Communications Department at the University of Mayab in Merida, Mexico, considers himself typical (temporally, at least) of this group. Lopez spent five years making the Tijuana-to-San Diego commute. He says that each time he crossed the border, it felt like a button was pushed inside him. When entering the United States, he felt his whole being switch to rapid clock-time mode: he would walk faster, drive faster, talk faster, meet deadlines. When returning home, his body would relax and slow the moment he saw the Mexican customs agent. "There is a large group of people like me who move back and forth between the times," Lopez observes. Many, he believes, insist on keeping their homes on the Mexican side precisely because of its slower pace of life.

Lopez proves that people can master unfamiliar time patterns. Of course, most intercultural travelers would prefer to avoid the five years of on-site mistakes that Lopez endured before achieving multitemporal proficiency. Could it be possible to formally teach the fundamentals of another culture's time sense, in the same way people learn other spoken languages?

In Israel -- perhaps the one country today that can match the demographic diversity of the US -- psychologists Ephraim Ben-Baruch, Zipora Melitz, and their colleagues at the University of Ben-Gurion in the Negev, have reported success with an elaborate set of time-teaching exercises they have designed to train children from third-world cultures to adapt to Israel's mainstream pace of life. Their program consists of 20 wide-ranging activities that teach 8 basic time concepts. By preparing children to deal with ideas like time limitations, the value of time, and the desirability of efficiency, they help them understand that in their new culture, anyone who fails to master the clock may be labeled a failure.

EIGHT LESSONS The programs devised by Norton and Ben-Baruch target people
 preparing for encounters with faster cultures. But what if you are moving in the opposite temporal direction, from fast to slow? What lessons can we offer a sojourner from a "time is money" culture, like the United States, to help them adapt to the time sense of Vicente Lopez's Mexico? Here are a few lessons for clock timers who wish to understand the temporal logic of slower cultures.

Lesson 1: Punctuality. Learn to translate appointment times. What is the appropriate time to arrive for an appointment with a professor? With a government official? For a party? When should you expect others to show up, if at all? Should we expect our hosts to be upset if we arrive late -- or promptly? Are people expected to assume responsibility for their lateness?

Many of these cultural rules can be taught. Sojourners should seek guidance about the expected ranges of promptness, for the sorts of situations they are likely to encounter. You can learn to translate hora ingles into time frames like hora mexicano, hora brasileiro, Indian Time, and rubber time. You can be prepared beforehand for the sort of critical situations that are likely to occur when your conceptions of punctuality are at odds with those of your hosts. You can also be taught a culture's customs for making and keeping appointments. The fundamental cultural clash here often comes down to what is more important: accurate information and facts or people's feelings? Missing an appointment is simply a severe case of lateness, a well-accepted Brazilian behavior. And in Brazil, people's feelings are more important than accurate information.

Lesson 2: Understand the line between work time and social time. What is the relationship between work time and down time? Some questions have easy answers: How many hours are there in the work day? The work week? Is it five days on followed by two days of rest? Or six to one, or four-and-a-half to two-and-a-half? How many days are set aside for vacation, and how are they spaced?

Other questions are more difficult to get a handle on. For example, how much of the work day is spent on-task and how much time is spent socializing, chatting, and being pleasant? For Americans in a big city, the typical ratio is in the neighborhood of about 80:20; about 80% of work time is spent on-task and about 20% is used for fraternizing, chit chatting, and the like. But many countries deviate sharply from this formula. In countries like India and Nepal, for example, be prepared for a balance closer to 50:50. When you are in Japan, the distinction between work and social time can often be meaningless. The work day there has a large social element and social time is very much a part of work. The crucial goal that overrides both of these types of time is the wa of the work group. As a result, dedicated Japanese workers understand that having tea with their peers in the middle of a busy day, or staying overtime to down a few beers and watch a ball game, is an essential and productive part of their jobs.

Lesson 3: Study the rules of the waiting game. When you arrive in a foreign culture, be sure to inquire about the specifics of their version of the waiting game. Are their rules based on the principle that time is money? Who is expected to wait for whom, under what circumstances, and for how long? Are some players exempt from
 waiting? What social message is being sent when the accepted rules are broken? Either you learn these rules or you are condemned to plow, like a foreign water buffalo, through your hosts' temporal landscape.

Lesson 4: Learn to reinterpret "doing nothing." How do your hosts treat pauses, silences, or doing nothing at all? Is appearing chronically busy a quality to be admired or pitied? Is doing nothing a waste of time? Is constant activity seen as an even bigger waste of time? Is there even a word or concept for wasted time? Of nothing happening? Doing nothing? What must it be like to live in a country like Brunei, where people begin their day by asking: "What isn't going to happen today?" You may discover how curiously relaxing it can be to sit together in silence, free from plans, simply waiting for what happens next; and to eventually gain the reassurance that something always does.

Lesson 5: Ask about accepted sequences. Be prepared for what time frames to expect. Each culture sets rules about the sequence of events. Is it work before play, or vice versa? Do people take all of their sleep at night, or is there a siesta in the mid-afternoon? Is one expected to have coffee or tea and socialize before getting down to serious business, and if so, for how long? There are also customs about longer-term sequences. For example, how long is the socially accepted period of childhood, if it exists at all; and when is it time to assume the respon-sibilities of adulthood?

One other nasty cultural misunderstanding should be mentioned: the time it takes to move from out-group to in-group status. How long should you expect to be an outsider? You may find yourself being treated pleasantly enough, but you may still be frustrated by your hosts' unwillingness to reach out more closely. What is most important in this lesson is to recognize that cultures vary in their modal time for in-group acceptance. In parts of the US that are used to heavy migration, the waiting period is considerably shorter than it is in closely knit cultures like Japan, where many foreigners perceive that the outsider's status is unalterably permanent.

Lesson 6: Are people on clock time or event time? This may be the most slippery lesson of all. For the first five lessons, aspects of a culture's rules can be trans-lated relatively concretely: the accepted range of punct-uality for a particular situation; the percentage of the work day spent socializing; who is expected to wait for whom; the length of time a silence must be endured before a "yes" means "no"; and even the cues that signify it is time for something to happen.

Clock time uses the hour on the clock to schedule activi-ties, and event time allows activities to transpire according to their own spontaneous schedule. But a move from clock time to event time requires a complete shift of consciousness. It entails the suspension of industri-alized society's temporal golden rule: "Time is Money." For those who have been socialized under this formula, the shift requires a considerable leap.

The same sort of lessons apply to expectations when moving from monochronic cultures, where one activity is scheduled at a time, to polychronic cultures, where people prefer to switch back and forth from one activity to another. In a polychronic culture, don't be insulted when your hosts become distracted from their business with you. It's simply cultural expectations talking -- nothing personal. In such cultures, it's wise to accept polychronic flexibility, or expect to be condemned as a social boor, poor team player, and inefficient worker.

Lesson 7: Practice. An intellectual understanding of temporal norms does not in itself ensure a successful transition. You can memorize other people's rules but still be totally dysfunctional when confronted with the real thing. As they say in the city: "He can talk the talk, but can he walk the walk?" The well-prepared visitor should seek out homework assignments that utilize on-site practice. Whatever your technique, realize that mastering the language of time will require rehearsal -- and mistakes.

Be assured that it is well worth the effort. Cross-cultural training produces a wide range of positive skills. Research has shown, for example, that people who are well prepared for transcultural encounters have better working relationships with people from mixed cultural backgrounds; are better at setting and working toward realistic goals in other cultures; are better at understanding and solving the problems they may confront; and are more successful at their jobs in other cultures.

They also report more pleasurable relationships with their hosts, both during work and free time; are more at ease in intercultural settings; and are more likely to enjoy their overseas assignments. The most astute of cross-cultural students also seem to develop a more general interest and concern about life and events in different countries -- what has been called a general "world-mindedness."

Lesson 8: Don't criticize, because you probably don't understand. This guideline extends to observing cultures in general. It is also the trap most difficult for the student of culture to avoid or escape -- the inference of meaning. Almost by definition, cultural behaviors signify some- thing very different to insiders than they do to the visitor. When we attribute a Brazilian's tardiness to irresponsibility, or a Moroccan's shifting of attention to lack of focus, we are being both careless and ethnocentrically narrow-minded.

Without fully understanding a cultural context, we are likely to misinterpret its people's motives. The result, inevitably, is conflict.


\16 reasons for travelling - why travel?

Third World Traveler and Responsible Travel in the Third World

Why we travel to the Third World We visit Third World countries to see and meet people different from ourselves. They live in places unlike our own communities with values at variance from those we have grown up with. They touch us with their openness and honesty and with the simplicity of their lives. A vacation to the Third World often changes the way we look at ourselves, at our country and at the world.

Traveling responsibly We want to travel to the Third World, but we want to do it responsibly. We realize that our vacation destination is some else's home, and that both the people and their culture should be respected. We do not want to support, either financially or psychologically, a government that abuses its citizens or restricts their political rights or civil liberties, nor do we want to worsen the plight of these people or make their lives more difficult because of our visit. We also do not want to avoid these countries, denying ourselves the experience of the visit, while at the same time, isolating the people from the outside world.

Informing ourselves about human rights, and government and corporate policies It is for practical reasons that we find out as much as possible about a country we plan to visit. But, it is out of respect for the people of the Third World that we learn about the human rights situation in each country before we go. Third World Traveler provides responsible travelers with information about the Third World, and about the impact of policies of countries and corporations of the First World on the lives and human rights of Third World peoples. 

The meaning of traveling responsibly Well-informed, responsible travelers have a unique opportunity. We can tell others about the people, cultures, and governments of Third World countries. We can describe a travel philosophy that values Third World people not as objects of curiosity, but as individuals with feelings and values similar to our own, who need to tell the people of the First World about their lives and their hopes for a better world. We try to explain to the people of the First World how the policies of their governments and their corporations affect the lives of Third World peoples. 

Through our actions, we may be able to change government and corporate policies, and we may be able to improve the lives of some of the people who have touched us. This is the true meaning of traveling responsibly, and it is an important purpose of this website.


\2 THE MOST POWERFUL REASONS TO TRAVEL

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page." ST. Augustine.

Life is meant to be lived, not watched. It takes more effort to travel than it does to sit in front of the tube. So what makes it worthwhile? Most people say they take a vacation to relax, perhaps fish, play golf or tennis, or lie on a beach. Given the amount of stress in daily life, it's no surprise that relaxation is the first thing that comes to mind. The fact is that rewards of travel are many; they include but extend far beyond relaxation. Here are some that seem most compelling.

Perspective. Freed from the cocoon of familiar places, the traveler learns how people in the rest of the world live and what they care about. Perspective expands. After you've been there, you own London; you know the people of Bangkok and understand the emotions in Jerusalem. When expressions of artists in a dozen cultures have enriched your mind, you develop true appreciation for the immense breadth of human creativity.

A small article reporting that an earthquake has devastated a village high in the Peruvian Andes will escape the scanning eye of most readers, but when you've met those villagers and listened to their music, that article leaps off the page. Having been to India, you no longer skim past an article describing a violent clash between Hindus and Moslems. You read it and your heart aches.

Travelers develop a deeper understanding of the strivings of billions of humans, of lives filled with achievement as well as lives filled from dawn to dusk with hard work, disease, and hopelessness. Learning about the religions, politics, customs, and attitudes of very different cultures helps us understand our own better. We come to realize how much of what we accept as true reflects the values of the country, even the neighborhood, in which each of us grew up. "He who never leaves his country is full of prejudices." Carlo Goldoni - Pamela Nubile, 1757

Do you remember the fable of the Blind Men and the Elephant? One blind man puts his arms around the elephant's sturdy front leg and says the animal resembles a tree. Another grasps the trunk and insists the elephant is like a snake. A third runs his hand along the great flank and declares that "An elephant is very like a wall." None got it right.

In other words, it's hard to have an accurate perspective on humankind when your experience is limited to a single culture. o Beauty. The greatest beauty that man and nature can devise awaits: music, landscapes, and sunsets; the architectural brilliance of cathedrals and palaces; the breathtaking majesty of the Himalayas and the redwood forests. Beauty surrounds you when gliding silently in a dugout canoe through the papyrus-bordered waterways of the Okavango Delta, strolling in the south of France, or listening to the roar of the lion or the roar of the sea.

o Special Places. You may be compelled to travel by the lure of a specific place, a vision with a mysterious resonance. It may be Kathmandu, a cavern, or a carnival; any image reinforced until it becomes a command. It may be a yearning, ingrained by childhood's tales, to return to the "old country" to see how your ancestors lived.

o Special Interests. Sail to Madagascar to seek rare orchids, trek along Peru's Tambopata River in search of nearly extinct birds, or dive among exotic tropical fish at the Great Barrier Reef. Whether it's art, wine, food, architecture, Siberian tigers, or just better weather, travel can gratify your special interests.

o Personal Growth. A person would have to be almost brain-dead to wander about the world for weeks or months without growing from the experience. On the road, there's no phone ringing and no lawn to be mowed. Instead, there's plenty of time for contemplation, even solitude. Personal growth may take years to be recognized, or it may become evident with dramatic suddenness.

o Personal Challenges. Personal challenges such as trekking, diving, and climbing, stretch physical capabilities and awaken what someone called the "adrenaline angel." Other activities challenge the mind. Surely, some of the finest moments of our lives are those when we're stretched the most.

o Self-Esteem. Planning a complicated trip, say to a half-dozen Asian countries, is no easy task. When you return, having successfully solved every problem that came up along the way, your feelings of competence and confidence have been strengthened. eg, after she'd ridden a bicycle solo from Ireland to India, I imagine that the writer Dervla Murphy saw little need to conform to any conventional view in Ireland of a "woman's role."

o New Priorities. Travel provides time for setting new priorities, deciding how to allocate your time when you return. If you write them down as you travel, these insights won't be swept away by the familiar routines of home.

o Renewed Energy. After all that exercise, daily mental stimulation, constant variety, and excitement, you return home full of plans, eager to re-energize your life and get into action. o Escape. Some people travel not to get to someplace as much as to get away from some place. From beaches to bar stools, people talk about travel as an escape--from a weak economy, a lost job, an unhappy relationship, or the daily treadmill.

Some travelers are recent graduates, perhaps waiting for a new job to start. Others, looking ahead to careers and family, feel it might be now or never for travel. Some, dissatisfied, tired of responsibility, or newly retired, hope that travel will stimulate changes in their lives.

"Most of us abandoned the idea of a life full of adventure and travel sometime between puberty and our first job. Our dreams die under the dark weight of responsibility. Occasionally the old urge surfaces, and we label it with names that suggest psychological aberrations: the big chill, a mid-life crisis." Tim Cahill - Jaguars Ripped My Flesh, 1987

o Curiosity. Travel serves that insatiable curiosity about the other side of the mountain. It enables us to see beyond the horizon, to learn about people in far away places. In the big picture, the earth is no more than a tiny mass, not really the center of anything. At the very least, we should satisfy our curiosity about it as well as we can.

o Business. Knowledge of the world can be a major asset in business. Western nations will continue to increase their trade with the three billion people who live in the less-developed world. When you've traveled in a country and understand its politics and business practices, and have a sense of the place not revealed by statistics, you're a valuable resource when decisions are being made about doing business in that country. On a resume, visits to less-traveled places imply independence, confidence, energy, and intellectual curiosity.

o Awakened Emotions. Travel evokes not only positive emotions such as excitement and awe, but other emotions as well. You'll sometimes be in the midst of people whose living conditions are wretched. Not quaint, or merely lower than those of Western societies, but wretched. In some countries, many people can't afford education or even nutritious food. They're chronically ill with diseases that could easily be prevented or cured in the developed world.

They can't earn a living because there's no longer a market for the products of their labor. After seeing people as individual human beings rather than electronic images on a screen, you may find yourself emotionally kidnapped, compelled by compassion to do something to improve their conditions. It doesn't happen to all travelers, but it could happen to you.

o Romance. More than a few people hit the road with romance on their minds. They hear about the allure of men or women in foreign lands and decide to see for themselves. Some relationships pass with the sunset, some remain vivid for years, and a few last a lifetime.

o People. For the fortunate traveler, the longest-lasting travel memories are of people. As we travel, we luxuriate in trading life stories, speaking our minds, breaking free from our familiar roles. Staying in touch with friends made on the road, local people as well as other travelers, is one of life's deepest pleasures.

o Memories. How can it be put better than Hemingway did? "If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast." Memories of travel experiences are a treasure.

o First Hand Information. Traveling frees us from having to rely on what's reported on television or in newspapers. You become able to interpret and respond to international events on your own. Relations among nations are affected by how well people in different cultures know one another as individuals rather than as stereotypes.

o Reward. Many people finally figure out that they deserve a treat. They've worked hard and want to reward themselves. Travel is that reward.

o Freedom. In the end, travel is freedom. Freedom from the weight of possessions and from ruts, freedom to be the person you think of yourself as being. Evan Connell said something to the effect that "Some people do not travel the way most of us travel. Not only do they sometimes choose odd vehicles, they take dangerous and unusual trips for incomprehensible reasons."

If you understand the reasons for which you want to travel, that's good. If not, "incomprehensible reasons" will do fine. Someone suggested, perhaps with tongue in cheek, that the desire to travel may be genetically programmed into some people. If so, I have that gene. I can't not travel.

How we talk ourselves out of traveling Since the reasons to travel are so compelling, why would anyone stay at home? Not being an expert on that subject, I put the question to quite a few people and came up with the revealing answers I've summarized below. Interestingly, most people I talked with said tvl was a high priority even though they weren't doing it. But, as you'll see, the reasons given for not traveling can all be overcome by knowing how and getting motivated. That's what this book is about.

o Lack of Knowledge. Jean had finally begun thinking about traveling somewhere. The problem was, she had no idea how to choose a destination. She hadn't seen a geography book since fourth grade and dropped out of her only world history course. Where should she go? What should she take? Would she find decent places to stay? Would the bathrooms be clean? As long as she doesn't know what to expect, Jean will never leave home.

o Money. The prices listed in tour brochures persuaded Vicki she couldn't afford to travel abroad. The photographs were beautiful and the hotels appealing, but the prices were stratospheric. The Kenya safari she liked best cost over $300 a day and that didn't even include airfare from home (she couldn't believe what the travel agent told her that would cost). When her neighbor said a glass of orange juice cost $5 in Rome, she concluded that foreign destinations must be for jet-setters only.

Vicki has no idea that the actual costs of travel are far lower than she believes them to be. She tossed the safari brochure away without realizing she could have contacted a local safari operator directly and cut the cost by 75%. She didn't know she could have cut 30% off the quoted air fare and would have scoffed at the idea that good food and lodging are available in most of the world for one-fourth of what she routinely pays at home. Of course, her attitude about money could stand a little adjustment too. If she changed her spending habits at home, she could easily free more money for travel.

o Lack of time. William said, " I just can't get away." He feels harried; not just today, but every day. He thinks he's indispensable at work and doesn't want to hear otherwise. The idea that he could organize his life so that everything would carry on successfully in his absence has never occurred to him. Secretly, he feels best when his nose is jammed into the grindstone. He can't conceive of taking a two-month sabbatical. He'll die sooner than he should--or maybe he'll read this book!

"...And don't let the feeble excuse of work keep you back; remember the Haitian proverb: If work is such a good thing, how come the rich haven't grabbed it all for themselves." John Hatt - The Tropical Traveler, 1982 Barbara, on the other hand, said, "They won't let me get away." Her employer's manual says she's entitled to only one week of paid vacation a year--and she's never questioned it. She doesn't realize how many options she has that could free more of her time for living a full life.

o Language. The only foreign words Jeannine knows came from menus in Mexican restaurants. That never bothered her until she began thinking about taking a trip overseas. As far as she knows, English is spoken in England and Australia and she's not about to go any place where "they" don't speak English. She has no idea that the English language has spread throughout large parts of the world or how easily she could communicate even where no English is spoken.

o Inertia. For Harold, the primary obstacle is plain old inertia; the beer-and-TV barrier. His home-bound rut is too comfortable. When he considers forcing himself out of the house for a vacation, he doesn't see any reason not to return to the same old places. To him, "remote" means the instrument he uses to flick from channel to channel. Although he uses television primarily to fall asleep, he sometimes stumbles onto an exciting National Geographic program. Someone else might see the same program and start planning--but not Harold. Why make the effort to go to Athens when he can bring a pale electronic image of it into his home with his index finger?

o Control. Dupont sees himself as being in control of his little world and that's the way he likes it. When he thinks of traveling abroad, he feels uneasy. Even in France, let alone someplace like China, he's afraid he wouldn't know what was going on and couldn't possibly be in charge. Besides, at home everyone knows who he is; over there, he'd be just another guy. He doesn't like the feel of that at all.

o Safety. Jo Ann had heard of a woman who went to Costa del Sol in Spain and had her purse stolen "right there on the beach the very first night." So Jo Ann decided to stay put. She'll never find out how mistaken she is about safety abroad and how easily she could protect herself. o Health. Michael figured that if people get sick in Mexico, he'd be crazy to go someplace like India. He's never bothered to learn anything about the actual likeli-hood of health problems or how to prevent or cure any-thing he might encounter. He doesn't know that it's easy to keep yourself healthy on the road if you know how.

Most of these reasons for staying at home are understandable. Travel can be expensive if you don't learn how to spend money wisely. Health and safety can be at risk unless you understand the risks and guard against them. You have to know what to expect and have the knowledge to make the right choices. By the time you reach the end of Traveler's Tool Kit, you'll find that every reason not to travel was written on the wind.

There's nothing more nerve-wracking than going on holiday. Rampant incurable disease, undrinkable water, poisonous food, plane crashes - it's bad enough that there's not enough room in your backpack for a pair of high heels, but there's also the frightful probability of dying horribly far from family and friends. Your mother is tearing her hair out and predicting disaster, your friends are doubtless telling you that the third world is full of terrorists, but stand firm and sleep tight - the truth is you're more than likely to return home with nothing worse than a nasty case of itchy feet.

There aren't a whole lot of stats available for travellers' mortality rates, but what there is suggests that only around 0.015% of overseas travellers come home in a box. Fact is, if you die overseas it's most likely because you were going to die anyway - the vast majority of people who don't come home from holidays kick the bucket because of heart disease and other chronic illness.

If you're fit, hale and hearty, chances are you'll be using your return ticket.

Infectious disease is much less of a worry than you might think. Of the 2,393,500 Australians who headed overseas in 1992-93, only nine died from infection, primarily malaria and septicemia. Of course, this low rate is probably due to the high proportion of smart travellers who get their shots before they hit the road - if you've taken all the necessary precautions, there's really very little to fret about.

The top cause of death among fit & sprightly travellers is nasty traffic accidents. A study done for the Travellers' Medical & Vaccination Centre in Australia shows that 18% of Australian travellers who died overseas did so in accidents, mostly traffic accidents. The rate is even higher when only young travellers are taken into account. Of US Peace Corps workers (mostly young folk unlikely to keel over from heart disease) who died on assignment, two out of three met their maker on the roads*.

But hitting the highway in Italy, India or Mexico doesn't necessarily equate with signing your own death warrant. Although driving conditions might be less than lovely in your holiday destination, you can do a lot to minimise your risk. If you're using buses, government-run services are often safer than private companies keen to cut costs and raise profits. If you're driving, get a car with a seat belt if it's at all possible; try not to drive at night and don't drink or take drugs before you drive. If you're riding a motorbike or bicycle, wear a helmet. Sure, it's stating the bleeding obvious, but it's easy to feel immune to disaster when you're cruising down the lazy back roads of a beach paradise.

For more info on why you're not going to die on your holidays, see the TMVC at http://www.tmvc.com.au/ref2.html. To make doubly sure, check out the safety tips from the Intl Travel Med Clinic at http://www.hsc.unt.edu/clinics/itmc/injury.htm or Travel Med Consultants at http://www.thetraveldoctor.com/alt.html. If you want to find out more about road conditions around the world, try the Association for Safe Intl Road Travel at http://www.asirt.org/rtr/ and, if you're terrified of flying, listen to the calming statistics from the folks at Airsafe (who you'll find at http://airsafe.com/).


\17 organised tours are boring

You won't have to go far to hear someone putting down organised tours. It's almost de rigeur to write organised tourists off as camera-toting, Bermuda-shorts-wearing, loud, insensitive and ill-informed oafs. Many's the independent traveller who'll be more than happy to tell you, over a beer or two, that people on organised tours would be better off sitting at home watching it all on TV - after all, they only ever see the country through the windows of an air-conditioned bus, don't they?

The litany of ills is endless: you never meet the locals on an organised tour, you're not allowed to see the things you want to see, you never really get involved in a culture. Organised tours give you a pre-packaged, sanitised view of a country, with no room for serendipity. As if that isn't reason enough to turn up your nose, there are the evil effects that organised tours have on the local economy: foreign-owned companies ship people in, drag them around then ship them home again, using the country's resources without giving anything back to its people. Independent travel, in comparison, is a wonderland of cultural interactivity - nights spent with local families discussing village politics and eating like the real people do, days spent wandering at your own pace, finding things by accident, getting off the beaten track, and generally immersing yourself in the whole 'travel experience'.

Fans of organised tours, naturally enough, say almost the opposite. If you take a tour, they suggest, you use your time efficiently and you draw upon the knowledge of local guides who can give you a great deal of historical and cultural insight into the country. Organised tours help the economy by employing people in hotels, restaurants and as guides. Independent travellers, on the other hand, spend half their time looking desperately for somewhere to lay their head or fill their belly, gawk at sights without having any real idea of their cultural significance and corrupt the virginal locals by inflicting themselves and their fleece jackets on regions which just aren't ready for virile western culture.

So what's a poor traveller to do? Here's what we reckon - before you decide how to travel, you should sit down and have a good think about what sort of person you are and what you want to get out of your journey. If you don't mind spending a lot of time alone, if you've got time up your sleeve, if you're confident about introducing yourself to strangers, if you already know a fair bit about your destination, if you think you'll cope all right with the frustrations of organising your own transport, accommodation and food, then independent travel will probably be incredibly satisfying. If you're a shy, retiring type, if you're travelling because you have a particular interest you'd like to learn more about, if you'd rather someone else did the dull bureaucratic stuff, if you're going somewhere dangerous or want to learn a new skill, or if you've only got a couple of weeks, then an organised tour may be just the ticket.

Sure, there are plenty of awful organised tours, tours where you'll be shuttled between piss-ups and more often than not wake up in your tour mate's vomit, tours where you'll only stop long enough to shoot a roll of film, tours where the only local you meet will be the bloke on reception at your hotel. But there are also plenty of great organised tours. There are theme tours, like those that give you an in-depth look at the architecture of northern Italy, or the wine-making regions of France, at the ecology of Madagascar, or development projects in Guatemala. There are adventure tours, ideal if you're keen to develop your trekking, rafting or skiing skills, or want to see a particularly remote area, but don't feel confident about doing it by yourself. There are tours which will teach you something new: learning to paint in Florence, learning a Gaelic instrument in Ireland, learning to fish in Botswana, learning to surf in Australia. You can book yourself a luxury train trip through Rajasthan or a five-star fling in France, or you can sign on to rough it across Zimbabwe, pitching your own tent and cooking your own breakfast as you go. Maybe you want to find your Karelian roots, follow in the footsteps of Gustaf III, engage in bi-plane combat, rope a calf or make your own Hollywood blockbuster. If you want to do it, there's someone out there who wants to charge you for it.

Links: For general tour info, try http://members.aol.com/tours2go/tours/ - these guys claim to be the international tours matchmaker.

http://www.ecotour.org/ecotour.htm is a top ecotravel site, with links to tour operators and tips on planning your travel the ecologically-friendly way.

http://www.serioussports.com/core.html is packed with links for adrenalin junkies and outdoor enthusiasts

For the most comprehensive list of the strangest specialised tours you're likely to find, try http://specialtytravel.com/
