From: paul.graveline@travel.com (Paul Graveline) 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.caribbean
Subject: CARIBBEAN TRAVEL ROUNDU14
Date: 31 Dec 92 01:03:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Travel Online / St. Louis Online - St. Louis, MO
Reply-To: paul.graveline@travel.com (Paul Graveline) 

(continued)
For  the  States  it's  1,  the area code and number. You now need to  
call  the  Dutch  side with this system, so it would be 19, 599,5 and  
the  5-digit  number.  You can no longer use 3 to call the Dutch side  
from  the  French.  To  call internationally from the Dutch side, the  
access  code  is  00,  then  the country code and number. To call the  
French side from the Dutch side, it's 06 and the 6-digit number.  

The  French  side  has  two  weekly  newspapers while there are daily  
newspapers  available  on  the  Dutch  side  in English. The New York  
Times,  USA Today, and The International Herald Tribune are available  
at a store next to the Casino Royale.  

The  Dutch  side  has  two  television stations, and St. Martin Cable  
provides  a  wide  variety of stations via satellite so you will find  
most  of  the  same  stations at home. They Dutch use the NTSC system  
for  color and standard 120V, 60 Hz, so American Equipment will work.  
The  French side uses the SECAM system for color and have 220V, 60 Hz  
(as  opposed  to  50  Hz  in mainland France) so American televisions  
will  not  work.  There  are  two  stations  on the French side. Many  
hotels  have  cable  and  special televisions that can deal with both  
color systems, providing guests with some cable stations.  

A  big  selling  point of the island is that it's duty free. I looked  
at  a  lot  of electric equipment and didn't find it any cheaper than  
in  New  York.  For Europeans, the prices certainly were a good deal.  
French  wine  was  not  particularly  cheaper and not worth dragging,  
though  I found a reasonable buy on Champagne at the airport. Absolut  
vodka  ($6/bottle)  and other hard liquor were good buys. People from  
a  cruise  ship  had  bought  jewelry, but I don't know if they got a  
good  deal  I  got  a  good  deal  on  a  bottle  of perfume. It is a  
fragrance  not  available in the States and was only available on the  
French side. I'd certainly know the price of things before buying.  

You  do  not  need  to reconfirm your return on American, but you are  
advised  to  show up 2 hours before your flight to check in. American  
had  long,  slow-moving lines to check in. Be sure to have the bottom  
half  of  the card you filled in when you arrived. It will be stapled  
to  your  ticket. After you check in, you have to stop at a booth any  
pay   airport   departure  tax.  It's  $5  for  destinations  in  the  
Netherlands  Antilles,  $10  elsewhere.  (They  accept NA Guilders or  
US$.)  There  is no tax for people changing planes. There are several  
stores  at  the  airport with reasonable prices for any gifts you may  
need  to  buy. There is also a post office (closed noon to 1:30 p.m.)  
so  you  can  mail  last  minute post cards. Before proceeding to the  
security  check  point  and  boarding area there is an agent who will  
take  half  of the card you got when you paid departure tax. There is  
a  small  bar  next to the waiting room beyond the security area. The  
waiting  room beyond the security check point is the only part of the  
airport that is air conditioned.  

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