Articles of Section 'Travel Notes'.

Travel Notes
Books to take you direct to Paris, China, and Timbuktu
By Carolyn Ali
Every trip begins with the tiniest seed of curiosity. You might read a travel article, watch a news report about a foreign land, or see photos from a friend’s journey, and so the vague desire to go there is planted in your brain.
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Travel Notes
Souvenirs say Vancouver—to some
By Julie Ovenell-Carter
Vijay Dayal sells seashells by the seashore—lots of them, in fact. For more than 20 years, the Horseshoe Bay merchant has made a pretty good living peddling what amounts to beach debris to the tourists who wander into his small souvenir shop, Dayal’s Variety Store (6655 Royal Avenue, West Vancouver), from the nearby B.C. Ferries terminal.
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Travel Notes
How to get the best from your hostel
By Carolyn Ali
Last month, this column introduced the benefits and drawbacks of hostelling (“Hostels yield benefits for single travellers”, May 1-8). Now on to the practical: how to make a hostel work for you.
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Travel Notes
Hostels yield benefits for single travellers
By Carolyn Ali
After airfare, accommodation is the fastest way to wipe out your travel budget. Staying at a hostel is the easiest way to stretch it, as students gearing up for summer travels quickly learn. Spend £75 ($150) a night on a low-end London hotel, or £25 ($50) for a bed at Hostelling International Oxford Street… That’s a lot of cash that could be diverted into pints of Guinness.
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Travel Notes
Pack your common sense for safe travels
By Carolyn Ali
Stretching your comfort zone is part of the adventure, but it’s crucial to balance your risks and abilities.
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Travel Notes
Ways to wean travellers off the water bottle
By Carolyn Ali
High on the slopes of India’s Kangra Valley, Dharamsala is a spiritual, new-agey kind of place that attracts tourists as much for its mountain scenery as its laid-back Tibetan vibe. So when I crested a hill just outside of town nine years ago, what I found shocked me out of my meditative state and seared itself into my conscience. Thousands upon thousands of empty plastic water bottles spilled down the slope. This was the town’s solution to a largely tourism-generated problem.
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Travel Notes
In the friendly skies, it's all about legroom
By Carolyn Ali
How was the legroom on the last flight you took? "Great if you're a yard gnome," commented one of the respondents to Zagat's latest survey on global air travel. "There's a better chance of talking to George W. Bush than customer relations," wrote a dissatisfied customer of an unnamed airline. These gems didn't make it into the official survey, but Zagat has posted them (and others) on its Web site ( www.zagat.com/airline/ ) for your amusement.
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Travel Notes
Travel-themed gifts of conscience
By Carolyn Ali
Charities such as Oxfam Canada, World Vision, and Médecins Sans Frontières use First World dollars for Third World benefits
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Travel Notes
Tips to keep track of your luggage
By Carolyn Ali
Baggage services manager Scott T. Mueller offers advice in The Empty Carousel: A Consumer’s Guide to Checked and Carry-on Luggage
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Travel Notes
Customs quiz: How much can you bring back duty-free?
By Carolyn Ali
A favourable exchange rate makes exploring many destinations more affordable, which is nice after years of being bilked for our buck. But before you pack an extra suitcase to haul home your shopping, think about what you're allowed to bring back without hearing that four-letter word: duty
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Travel Notes
William Jans is Burma Bound; Opus Hotel GM Daniel Edward Craig's hotel murder mystery
By Carolyn Ali
Window on BurmaGiven the recent crackdown in Burma (also known as Myanmar) on pro-democracy demonstrators by the ruling dictatorship, travellers may be striking that country off their list of places to visit. The debate on whether tourism helps or hurts the local people has long raged; many blacklisted travelling there long ago because of human-rights abuses by the military junta. Nonetheless, interest remains high about life inside Burma.
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Travel Notes
How to use (not abuse) your trusty concierge
By Carolyn Ali
Concierges can plan your itinerary and help find your lost luggage, but be savvy about how they're paid and how you should reward them.
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Travel Notes
Travel now to nail that job abroad later
By Carolyn Ali
Back to school, and suddenly you're going nowhere--geographically, that is. That summer holiday abroad has made you realize how much of the world you haven't seen yet. The mind turns to switching majors--international finance, or watch-making, perhaps, so at least you might get a chance to see Switzerland.
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Travel Notes
But it says right here in the guidebook…
By Carolyn Ali
Tourists, get ready for a great day in Vancouver! Grab your guidebook and visit Storyeum, "Gastown's newest attraction". Lunch on barbecue ribs at Carlos 'N Bud's Tex-Mex Saloon. Head over to West 4th Avenue to browse the books at Women in Print, "one of the leading places to come to find out about women-centred events in Vancouver". Cap the night off at DV8, one of the city's "Top 5 clubs".
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Travel Notes
Duo does Disney their way
By Carolyn Ali
Maybe it has something to do with the daily parades of handsome princes and glittering queens. Perhaps it's because Disney brought Peter Pan to life. Whatever the reason, Disney theme parks have a definite gay following, despite their strait-laced, family-values image.
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Travel Notes
Horizon chronicles thrilling quest
By Joe Wiebe
When Vancouver-based adventurer Colin Angus decided he wanted to accomplish something no one else had, he was setting himself a stiff challenge. This was nothing new, however. In 2000, he became the first Canadian to raft the Amazon River from source to sea. He followed that in 2001 by travelling the length of the Yenisey, a little-known river that runs from Mongolia through Siberia to the Arctic Ocean–and just happens to be the world's fifth longest, at 5,500 kilometres.
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Travel Notes
Hotels' starry-eyed ratings need scrutiny
By Carolyn Ali
There are deals to be had by booking hotel rooms online, but don't assume four stars to them means the same as it does to you.
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Travel Notes
Skagit Valley turns on flower power
By Carolyn Ali
The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival runs until April 30, so it's time to head stateside. Think tiptoeing through the tulips is just for senior citizens? Walking through rows of brilliantly coloured blooms is guaranteed to shake off the winter blahs, and the festival has plenty of other attractions to entertain young urbanites. Besides, it's located just south of Burlington Prime Outlets mall. Quick, call shotgun.
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Travel Notes
A visual journey into Japan's sex industry
By Carolyn Ali
Sex is everywhere in Japan, but most tourists don't see it. They walk past the men handing out tissue packages at train stations, and assume the neon signs in entertainment districts point to karaoke bars. But many indicate hostess clubs, oral-sex parlours, and “soapland” bathhouses. Those tissue packets advertise to men and are also used to recruit female workers.
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Travel Notes
Visiting a post-Castro Cuba
By Carolyn Ali
Most people planning a trip to Cuba these days can't help but consider the Fidel factor. In power since 1959, Fidel Castro defines the nation, but his health has been widely reported to be in decline. His failure to make an anticipated appearance at his 80th-birthday celebrations in December confirmed the worst.
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Travel Notes
Real-life lessons from The Amazing Race
By Carolyn Ali
Travel isn’t as glamorous as it’s cracked up to be, as many people know from experience. Interspersed with moments of sheer awe while standing on the Great Wall of China or seeing the sun rise over Machu Picchu are mind-numbing delays at airports, cranky searches for restaurants, and tense cab rides wondering if you’re headed to the driver’s cousin’s jewellery shop rather than your hotel.
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Travel Notes
Gay Ski do grows up proud
By Carolyn Ali
Gay men giving makeovers are all the rage on television, and now even Gay Whistler Ski Week is getting one. This year’s event, which takes place this Sunday to next (February 4 to 11) at Whistler, even has a new name. It’s now called Gay Whistler WinterPRIDE, to reflect its new direction.
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Travel Notes
Run off to a hotel hideaway
By Carolyn Ali
Snag local deals for a lost weekend of crisp sheets and saunas in your own city
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Travel Notes
Thoughtful gifts to all, and to all a good flight
By Carolyn Ali
Santa may not be the go-to guy for tips on travelling light, but he is the expert on what those on the move want for Christmas. But since the big man is busy gearing up for his annual journey around the world, the Straight checked in with the folks at two local travel stores instead. Here are some ideas for the voyageurs on your list.
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Travel Notes
Real food for the allergic
By Carolyn Ali
Decoding a non-English menu and ordering in a language you barely understand can be challenging for anyone. When navigating unfamiliar cuisine, what arrives at the table is often not what you expected. But for those with serious food allergies, getting the right food is imperative.
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