Click n’ Clack

I’ve been lucky recently with good guides. It is especially pleasant when you don’t want or need one, but they are being forced on you by regulations of the place you are visiting, like in Namibia’s Brandberg — home to some of the world’s most famous rock art dating as far back as two thousand years. Gwen, a local Damara girl and our assigned guide, was the only woman guide in Brandberg and,... [Read more]

Fury Families

Africa’s furry and feathered ones remind me how good (and annoying) it feels to have mom watch over your every step, ready to burst into action when needed and to wreck havoc if she suspects her baby is in any danger. When we cross the street, my mother still instinctively goes for my hand, even if I’m already holding my husband’s. Once, I made the mistake of climbing out to the fire escape of my grandma’s... [Read more]

Chug Across Russia

TRAVEL IN STYLE ON A 6,000-MILE JOURNEY ACROSS RUSSIA ABOARD THE TRANS-SIBERIAN EXPRESS

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – If you’ve ever considered becoming a world traveler, consider the Trans-Siberian Express rail tour. Arguably the world’s greatest railway journey, it runs from Moscow over the Urals, across the magnificent Russian steppes and along the shores of Lake Baikal, the world’s largest freshwater lake.

By... [Read more]

The Wow of Lucca

I know better, I really do! Although I’ve never quite understood the European practice of validating tickets immediately after purchase, I am aware of the requirement. This time however, I was feeling complacent because, in my last six train rides in Italy, no one had asked for my ticket, validated or not. A glance at my watch that told me my train from Pisa to Lucca was leaving in less than five minutes.

As a... [Read more]

Cruise the Nile in Style

SAIL THE NILE RIVER IN A STYLE ONCE RESERVED FOR PHARAOHS AND THEIR QUEENS UNIWORLD DELIVERS ROYAL TREATMENT ON 2009 NILE CRUISES

A cruise along the Nile River is like watching 5,000 years of culture unfold before your eyes. Marvel at the contrasts of landscapes as you sail past old-world villages surrounded by beautiful palm groves. Explore the mysterious city of Cairo where the ancient and the modern coexist in... [Read more]

Walk the Path of Jesus

New York, NY- September 22, 2008: Israel has inaugurated the new ‘Pilgrim’s Route,’ a trail enabling travelers to hike to its Christian holy places. Along the route leading from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea, tourists can visit the site that recalls the New Testament parable of the Good Samaritan, the Qumran caves and the point in the Jordan River believed to be where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.

The... [Read more]

Mid-Autumn Festival Memorialized with Mooncakes

San Francisco — According to the lunar calendar, the moon was at its maximum brightness and fullness, signifying abundance and fullness for the entire year on the fifteenth day of September. To celebrate this mid-Autumn wonderment, Chinese customs include huge feasts, festivals and mooncakes. This year, Moon Festival celebrations were held throughout Taiwan, and even closer to home in San Francisco, Los Angeles and... [Read more]

A Desert in Bloom

“Desert in bloom” must sound perfectly surreal; well, it looks perfectly surreal as well. From afar, flat barren meadows look like someone has been painting in the mountains and spilled a whole bucket of paint onto the grass below. “Accidents” like this are seen everywhere: orange, yellow, red blotches of daisies by the pound catch the eye and make it hard to concentrate on driving. Finally I gave up and... [Read more]

The Amber-Eyed Prince

In the Kalahari our eyes met and I melted. My knees would buckle if I wasn’t already sitting. For a second there, I thought he was about to jump into the car through the open window and tear me apart, but I didn’t care - he was just that beautiful. Young, three-four month, maybe less, but by his amber eyes you could clearly see why he is up for the throne of the king in this desert.

... [Read more]

In-Flight Access to Voice Messages

Despite existing ban on in-flight cellular services, users of the voice-to-text service will enjoy enhanced in-flight connectivity once airborne Wi-Fi is launched

London and Atlanta – September 17, 2008 – The rapidly evolving introduction of in-flight data connectivity services on U.S. airlines means that passengers will be able to remain connected to the internet while in the air. But despite the continued ban... [Read more]

World Peace Day

While not inherently a video on travel, we at ITKT believe strongly in its message of a peaceful tomorrow. Enjoy the message and remember Peace Day is September 21.
devin
Editor ITKT

Peace One Day - A Short Video Explaining Peace One Day.

Jeremy Gilley is an actor turned film maker, who in the late 1990’s became preoccupied with questions about the fundamental nature of humanity... [Read more]

Visiting Taiwan (video podcast in Mandarin)

Eileen doesn’t just do interviews for In The Know Traveler in English, once in a while she does them in Mandarin as well. In this video, Eileen meets with Vicki Chen of Taiwan Tourism. Check out this video and understand in any language the enthusiasm for visiting Taiwan. We also have a new video coming out on Taiwan in English, look for it.

As with all of our videos Quicktime 7.0 or better is required to see... [Read more]

Losing a Layer in Morocco

Country: Morocco

Title: Losing a Layer in Morocco

Provider: Intrepid Travel

Precis: Just saying Casablanca and Marrakech sounds so exotic! Visiting both these cities in Morocco, I was not disappointed, but I did come away a layer lighter…

I loved getting lost in the chaotic crowded splendor of the Medina in the imperial cities. I lost my heart to a blue eyed Berber who would have given... [Read more]

Nutting it Out in Beijing

Precis: If everyone in China were to eat only one serving per year of Chicken and Cashew Nuts, that would add up to 65,698 tons of the delicious nuts being consumed in China each year! It’s not only nuts of the tree varieties that are in demand in China…

When I’m in Beijing I always jump on my bike to get to wherever I need to go. Taxis just get stuck in the city’s notorious traffic jams and... [Read more]

The Great Kalahari Desert

I’d walk the Kalahari Desert if they’d let me. Herds of springbok would race by, pronking in the insane and magnificent way they do, showing me how strong and healthy they are so I wouldn’t even attempt to catch and eat them. Oryx would watch me carefully, then run off, and turn back to see what I’m up to again and again. Hartebeest and wilderbeest would lie on the blonde grass in the shade of trees,... [Read more]

In the Eye of the Beholder, part 2

For part one of In the Eye of the Beholder

I woke up in our tent wearing nothing but my underwear. A villager told me that I got out of the tent at night and ran around the jungle in a stupor until other villagers caught up with me as I was standing on an edge of a cliff gazing into the muddy water below. When I spoke to Alex, he had terrifying news. He... [Read more]

The Darjeeling Mail Train Tour

BOMBAY, INDIA – How many workers did it take to create the Taj Mahal, one of the architectural wonders of the world? The answer is 20,000. This you’ll learn—along with the fact that it took 22 years to build it—should you join the “Darjeeling Mail Train” for a two-week-long tour from Bombay to Calcutta.

What is indisputably one of the most famous buildings in the world, the Taj Mahal was built in Agra... [Read more]

Cruise the Rajang River for the First Time

Pandaw River Cruises is excited to announce that they will inaugurate a new expedition cruise on the Rajang River in Sarawak starting July 2009. Following in the footsteps of the British explorer and travel writer Redmon O’Hanlon, the brand new 60 passenger ORIENT PANDAW will make an eight night cruise three times a month from Sibu to the Pelagus Rapids and beyond up the Baleh River. The Rajang River is rarely... [Read more]

Cats and Caves

I feel caged in big cities sometimes, so I was more than happy to get back to Nature, even though it meant climbing down into the musty and stinky Arnhem Caves of Namibia in search of bats. Ankle-deep in guano, we searched in the darkness for flying creatures with big teeth or funny horseshoe-shaped noses, disturbing their sleep. As long as we used red light, the bats were not bothered much. Only on dead mummified “vampires”... [Read more]

Lemons and More, the Amalfi Coast

Everything in the Amalfi Coast is lemony. The perfumes, ceramic tiles, cups and saucers, main courses, desserts, refreshing drinks and, of course, the prize winner, Limoncello are just lemony.
Up until now, I am oblivious to the amount of alcohol this pleasantly sweet digestive liquor, made from lemon rind, water and sugar, actually contains. But as I sit in a pretty restaurant over-looking Sorrento’s main piazza,... [Read more]

The Westin That’s Fossil Fuel Free

Praslin Bay, St. Lucia ( Sept. 9, 2008) –The Westin Le Paradis Beach & Golf Resort, St. Lucia aims to be the Caribbean’s first fossil fuel independent resort when it opens in June 2009. The sophisticated 554-acre resort is being developed with special consideration to social and environmental impacts, with the goal of improving the community in St. Lucia. Situated along the island’s breathtaking east coast,... [Read more]

Introducing Foods of the World

WASHINGTON (Sept. 3, 2008)—National Geographic has launched Foods of the World, a new culinary destination where consumers can experience and share the world’s food and cultures online at www.NatGeoFood.com. Offering a diverse assortment of competitively priced artisan and specialty items from more than 30 countries, Foods of the World is designed as a shopping resource for consumers interested in receiving fresh, high-quality... [Read more]

Red Sands of Sossusvlei

Sossusvlei has waited for me long enough. Seeing it in the first light of dawn made me want to run along the crest of the nearest dune and not stop until I reach the sun. However, scaling the sand dunes is hard work. Eventually, I took off my shoes and, packing more and more red grains of sand into the thick woven fabric of my hiking socks, dug my feet into the dunes, crest after crest. Breaking the facets of sand mountains,... [Read more]

In the Eye of the Beholder, part 1

It is two days later and I still don’t have all my memory back. I remember arriving at the village where the Shaman’s house was and being a bit nervous. I tried to do some research and asked people I had met and the guides how they felt about such an experience, and all I got was that it’s something I should do. I remembered Ramiro, our English speaking guide, who left me with a Spanish guide in Pantoja,... [Read more]

What’s Happening in Bangkok

I was in Bangkok just a couple of months ago — loved it! The following notice comes to In The Know Traveler directly from the folks at the Tourist Authority of Thailand and thought our readers might want to get “In The Know.” As I remind readers all the time, politics and disagreements happen everywhere and most large US cities have far more crime than destinations like Bangkok, but it is always good to... [Read more]

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