HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: rbs@uk.ac.ed.aisb (Robert Scott)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Re: Exchanging money in Europe
Date: 28 Sep 92 16:33:12 GMT
Reply-To: rbs@aisb.ed.ac.uk
Organization: Dept AI, Edinburgh University, Scotland


In article <1a76ipINN34@network.ucsd.edu> nbeck@weber.ucsd.edu (Nathaniel Beck) writes:

   Before I left on a recent trip to France, Germany, Switzerland and
   Belgium, I posted a question on changing money (into water?, ah the
   US dollar). On the basis of my experience, it seems that there is a
   clear best way to do this, at least for these countries.

   Every town had one (usually more) ATM's. As did the airports.
   Withdrawals from these machines were converted at NY money market
   rates (same as for a credit card purchase.) We never had any
   difficulty finding a machine, no matter how rural the area (I can
   say this with confidence only for France). We just prepaid the Visa
   account to avoid finance charges. I also note that visa cards vary
   in their cash advance charges. My card from a credit union has no
   charge. Given the current rates of interest being paid on checking
   accounts, you can get essentially free currency conversion at the
   best rates with no commission using this method. 

I think this is not the case.
Some countries are more into using ATMs than others.
I tried my VISA card in every ATM I can across in Holland and
Germany and never got the thing accepted.
In France it worked everytime.
In Great Britain you get machines that work for most countries
even Spanish and Portuguese cards are featured on the ATM advertising.

The moral of the story is that Europe is not one country so that which works
in one country doesn't necessarily work in another.

More often you will have to go to a bank displaying the relevant sign
and queue for ages to get you're money if you can't find someone
that knows what to do.

   Next time I won't even bring along a few dollars worth of foreign
   currency, since all the airports had machines. (I guess I would tuck
   away a $100 Traveller's Check just in case!)

What if the central computer is not working so the ATMs don't work
and it's evening and you've run out of money!


--
Rob Scott
---
Department of AI                Tel: 031-650-2713
University of Edinburgh         FAX: 031-226-2730
80 South Bridge               email: rbs@aisb.ed.ac.uk
EDINBURGH
EH1 1HN
Newsgroups: rec.travel
From: citrin@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Wayne Citrin)
Subject: Federal information center
Reply-To: citrin@soglio.Colorado.EDU (Wayne Citrin)
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 19:47:48 GMT

Every so often I like to post the number of the Federal Information Center,
which should be the resource of first resort for a great many travel-related
questions.  They can tell you the telephone numbers and/or addresses of the 
nearest Passport Office, foreign consulates in the US, and US consulates
overseas.  They can probably tell you about passport and visa requirements 
and travel advisories, or can refer you to the people who can.  Their
number is toll-free:  1-800-726-4995.

If you need information from some company or from a foreign government
tourist agency, the organization likely has a toll-free number.  To find
it, call toll-free information:  1-800-555-1212.

Wayne
the organization likely has a toll-free number.  To find
it, call toll-free information:  1-800-555-1212.

Wayne

-----------
Wayne Citrin   citrin@soglio.colorado.edu   citrin@cs.colorado.edu
From: peter@vmars.tuwien.ac.at (Peter Puschner)
Subject: S-Utah and S-Colorado in December
Organization: Technical University Vienna, Dept. for Realtime Systems, AUSTRIA
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 15:33:33 GMT

I'll be in the states in December and I'd like to spend several days for
a trip through southern Utah and southern Colorado. I'd plan to visit
Zion NP, the Monument Valley, and Mesa Verde NP, however I have no idea
whether that's realistic at that time of the year. In particular, I'd like
to know what weather, temperatures, and road conditions I'd have to expect. 
Will the national parks be open in December?

I would be grateful for any hints on places (besides the Grand Canyon)
one ``must not miss'' in, around, or between the mentioned places.

I'm looking forward to your replies.

Cheers, Peter

=========================================================================
Peter Puschner         peter@vmars.tuwien.ac.at          +43 1 58801 8169
Technical University Vienna, Dept. for Real-time Systems, Vienna, Austria
Newsgroups: rec.travel
From: staggers@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Ken Staggers)
Subject: Re: Exchanging money in Europe
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois.
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 02:04:35 GMT

In article <9209302341.AA20687@iecc.cambridge.ma.us> johnl@iecc.cambridge.ma.us (John R. Levine) writes:
>Last things first: Amex doesn't do cash advances against the card.  To use
>your Amex card in an ATM, you first have to send them a voided check so
>their computer in Arizona can spit out a check and cash it when you get
>cash.  Amex has "express cash" arrangements with many banks all over the
>world (but not, as far as I can tell, any of the Canadian banks,) so that
>Amex cards can get cash at machines belonging to those banks and ATM cards
>from those banks work in Amex machines, in the latter case with only the
>$1 or so that banks charge for network ATM transactions.  The main
>drawback is that it's impossible to get an up to date list of where the
>machines are.  I used a machine in the Part-Dieu train station in Lyon two
>years ago that's still not on Amex's printed list.

One correction...if you have a Gold card or a Platinum card, and you have
activated your line of credit (not all Gold members get lines of credit,
but all Platinum members do), you can "express cash" your line of credit...
i.e. a cash advance. 

--Ken

Newsgroups: rec.travel
From: ajcueva@pbhyb.PacBell.COM (Al Cuevas)
Subject: Re: Time Share Vacations
Organization: Pacific * Bell
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 15:52:56 GMT
Summary: Interval International

In article <1992Sep28.135650.4449@udel.edu>, ih@huey.udel.edu (Charlie Ih) writes:
> In article <1992Sep25.230655.10464@sharebase.com> ray@thyme.sharebase.com (Ray Gebbie) writes:
> >In article <J.Newman.142.717220550@icarus.curtin.edu.au> J.Newman@icarus.curtin.edu.au (John Newman) writes:

>  >We are in Interval International, which I have not been particularly happy
>  >with.  Can someone tell me what RCI stands for, so I can call 800 info to
>  >see if they have a phone number.  Better yet, if someone has a phone number
>  >that they can post, I would appreciate it.  Thanks.
>  >--
>  >Ray Gebbie, NCR Corporation, ShareBase Business Unit, Berkeley, California
> 
My wife and I just came back from a week in Aruba and 5 days in Bonaire 
which we traded throuhg Interval Int.  This is the third time I have used
them and each time we have been very satisfied with their service.

Al Cuevas
Pac Bell
510-823-1498
From: reno@darlo.Eng.Sun.COM (Reno Marioni)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Re: Phuket
Date: 2 Oct 1992 21:52:15 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
NNTP-Posting-Host: darlo

In article <111.25534@okys.infoserv.com> madsere@okys.infoserv.com (Rene Madsen) writes:
>In article <BHAG.92Sep22124859@etn.etn.ericsson.se>, bhag@etn.ericsson.se (Boerge Haga 2634) writes:
>> In article <rw.717123029@donner> rw@donner.Rational.COM (Bob Weissman) writes:
>> 
>>    How do you pronounce "Phuket", anyway?
>> 
>> If you go to Thailand most people will pronoune it like the word "pocket"
>> but with the "o" replaced by the "u" sound in e.g. "pull".
>
>sawatdee khrap, 
>
>You're close. Take the 'pu' from 'pull' and the 'ket' from 'rocket'. 
>Stress on the 'ket' part.

When I was there I heard some people pronounce Phuket as "Fuck it".
Quite amusing but not correct as you see above.

--Reno
From: klf@druwa.ATT.COM (FranklinKL)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Re: Makena Beach on Maui
Keywords: camping, snorkeling
Date: 6 Oct 92 20:35:31 GMT
Distribution: rec


In Message <1992Oct6.161024.25445@cognet.ucla.edu>
seger@cognet.ucla.edu (Carol Seger) asks:

>I have read in my 3 year old guide book that Makena
>beach is a reasonable place for unofficial camping
>and has a colorful population. Is this still true?
>My husband and I were considering staying there for
>a few nights during a trip to Maui around Thanksgiving. 
>Also, is the snorkling there good?
>
It's somewhat of an understatement to say that Makena Beach plays host
to some "colorful" characters.  Actually, Makena is divided into 2 beaches,
Big Beach and Little Beach.  They are rarely if ever referred to as
"Makena Beach" by the locals, just Big and Little.  Big Beach is a long,
broad beach which is accessable by car from the road at several points.
There are really no formal parking areas (or weren't 5 years ago).
You just drive down one of the dirt access roads and find a place to park
where the trees end.  There are indeed people who seem to "live" on the
edge of the beach.  The times I was there, they "resident" population seemed
to gravitate toward the north end of the beach.  A word of caution. Big
Beach is a popular area for the youthful native poulation to hold
beach parties.   I've never seen one but the piles of trash left by
these parties is very much in evidence.  Kind of sad, really.

Little Beach is located north of Big Beach.  It is not accessible
by car.  To get there, the easiest way is to hike over a large hill
from the north end of Big Beach.  Little Beach is Maui's unofficial
nude beach.  Be advised that all beaches in Hawaii are state parks.
While clothing optional activities are "tolerated" raids on Little
Beach are NOT unheard of.

As to snorkeling, there isn't much right off Big Beach unless you like
looking at sand bottom.  There might be some decent snorkelling around the
rocks at the north end of the beach.  In general for decent to good
snorkelling, places like La Perouse Bay (south of Big Beach) are
MUCH better.  You might also try snorkelling at The 5 Caves (sometimes
called The 5 Graves) north of Makena.   Decent snorkelling spots can
be found by looking for lava outcoppings in the water just off the beach.
These usually support a reef-like environment and lots of colorful fish can
be found.  Some places are better than others, obviously.

When I was there last, the road got progressively worse as you went south
from Big Beach.  At some point south of the beach the road crosses a large
lava flow and you would find a sign recommending 4 wheel drive vehicles.
Some rental car companies will zing you if you take a non 4 wheel drive
vehicle over these sections and any damage occurs (and of course, they
find out where you did it).

--
Ken Franklin 	They say there's a heaven for people who wait
AMA     	And some say it's better but I say it ain't
GWRRA           I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
DoD #0126       The sinners are lots more fun, Y'know only the good die young
From: Liza_Weissler@rand.ORG (Liza Weissler)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Re: Grindelwald reminiscence
Date: 7 Oct 92 00:10:05 GMT
Organization: The RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California

I'll have to second the comments about Grindelwald.  My husband and I
began our honeymoon there in January 1984 (has it been that long? sigh).
I have very fond memories of the breathtaking scenery, the glacier
(Oberer Gletscher, if I remember correctly), the cog railroad, etc.
One walk at sunset seemed almost magical, seeing the lights from the
houses reflecting in the snow against the backdrop of the Muench, Eiger,
and the Jungfrau.

I'm looking forward to returning.  One day I recall we took the train
over to Wengen, across the valley (more or less) -- while it had
equally splendid views, I found Wengen to be more crowded and touristy.

Our hotel -- the Hotel Silberhorn -- was quite nice, although expensive
(definitely was in 1984, would be interesting to see how much it is now).
The Hotel Silberhorn, by the way, was (is still?) "the only kosher hotel
in Switzerland".  Our staying there was a fluke on the part of our
travel agent and the reservation person at the hotel, considering we
aren't Jewish and weren't concerned about kosher cuisine.  (That'll teach
'em to judge someone by their last name.  ;-)
But obviously that was important to nearly all of the other guests at the 
hotel, such that there was a wonderful mix of people to talk to in the 
evenings from all over Europe.  There was also a couple there from New York
celebrating their recent wedding, so there was music and dancing every
night.   What a wonderful experience that was.  


        ---  __o          Liza Weissler
     ----  _`\<,_         The RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA
      --- (*)/ (*)        liza@rand.org
From: alanb@eire.Corp.Sun.COM (Alan Butler)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Advise/Info on Suntrips
Date: 1 Oct 1992 19:23:47 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Distribution: na
Reply-To: alanb@eire.Corp.Sun.COM
NNTP-Posting-Host: eire.corp.sun.com



I'll be going to Maui for a week in November; can anyone advise (pros/cons)
on using Suntrips for the trip? How about the cheap cost Vs experience ?

Thanks,

- Alan.

Newsgroups: rec.travel
From: lam@laurel.comm.mot.com (Dan Lam)
Subject: Info on international travel/culture club needed
Organization: Systems Technology Research, Land Mobile Products Sector, Motorola Inc.
Distribution: chi
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 21:06:11 GMT

Hello everyone,

	I recently saw an ad. placed in the travel section of Readers
classified ads about this travel club.  I have misplaced the paper and
just wonder if any of you know about this club/are a member etc.  Please
give me the contact person's number.

	This sounds like a good club to join for I have given up talking
friends into traveling (international).

-Dan
        danl@comm.mot.com   (Chicago, Il)
--
| lam@popeye.comm.mot.com   __o     |  "Kick some ASSphalt"                 
| danl@comm.mot.com       _`\<,_    |  "Life is short, DIG hard"
| Chicago, Il            (*)/ (*)   |  "Let's pray for wind"
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Newsgroups: rec.climbing
From: eugene@wilbur.nas.nasa.gov (Eugene N. Miya)
Subject: Re: caving was water-heat-light and ropes - ??
Organization: NAS, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 20:53:34 GMT

In article <1992Sep22.103033.59072@cc.usu.edu> sinclair@cc.usu.edu
(Bob Sinclair) writes:
>USU does not get rec.caving so I cannot post the following there.
>Maybe someone has some info, or could forward this part of post
>for me?

No such group exists.  The cavers have defeated any attempt to
create a caving group (two on record) to preserve caving info.
It's the novices who propose the group and the salts who defeat it.
It's the character of cavers to be very quiet about their caves to prevent
damage inside them while quite a few read this group.  They are
far more protective than climbers about their environment.

--eugene miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eugene@orville.nas.nasa.gov
  Acting Associate Editor, Software and Publication Reviews
  Scientific Programming
  {uunet,mailrus,other gateways}!ames!eugene
Seeking Books to buy:	Bongard, Pattern Recognition
			Imhof, Cartographic Relief Presentation
			Books on or by Benjamin Whorf
Newsgroups: rec.climbing
Subject: Re: HELP: double boots
From: hugh@nezsdc.icl.co.nz (Hugh Grierson)
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 00:55:10 GMT
Organization: Fujitsu New Zealand

In article <1992Sep27.020933.8949@dartvax.dartmouth.edu> Gen.M.Kanai@dartmouth.edu (Gen M. Kanai) writes:
>Please help me make my decision on what plastic boots I should get.
...
>I've heard that Asolo's leak water.
...

I haven't had any leakage problems with my Asolo Superlights.  If they work
here in NZ then they should work anywhere!  Mind you, they are still quite
new; let's hope no problems develop.

>Please e-mail or post any experiences you've had with any of these or
>any other plastic mountaineering boots.  My needs are pretty universal.
> Ice-climbing, glacier traverse (general hiking), keeping my feet warm,
>etc.  They need to be all-around good boots.

While the Superlight is good on steep ice, I suspect a softer boot such as
the 101 would be more comfortable for glacier walking and all-round use.

>thanks in advance,

-- 
Hugh Grierson          Fujitsu/ICL New Zealand - Software Development Centre
hugh@nezsdc.icl.co.nz                Speaking for myself only.  See figure 1.
I'm a masochist -- I like a cold shower in the morning, so I take a hot one.
Newsgroups: rec.climbing
From: bruceg@Cadence.COM (Bruce Gustifson)
Subject: Re: Alpinism "Extreme"
Organization: Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 19:18:01 GMT

In article <26048@castle.ed.ac.uk> jeremy@castle.ed.ac.uk (JHenderson) writes:
>In article <CALUM.92Sep18120815@ivy.clu.cf.ac.uk> Calum Gordon <calum@clu.cf.ac.uk> writes:
>=>EXTREME) and some guy who FREE-FALLED from a helicopter onto the
>=>summit of the Dru then proceeded to SNOW-BOARD down the talus slopes
>=>(not surprisingly, this guy was killed shortly after this exploit).
>=>
>
>but they are also brilliant climbers - you and I aren't going to see them
>on TV doing something crazy and rush off to do likewise, because we simply
>couldn't (well, I know *I* couldn't!!). They get a lot of publicity, but I
>don't see them impacting the enjoyment or motives of lesser mortals.
>
*******************************************************************
  Hey, whadya mean I couldn't do this stuff? What's so hard about
jumping out of a helicopter without a 'chute onto the summit of Mt.
Dru? I could easily do that. And believe me, it would be difficult
to OVER-estimate the impact I would have if I did that stunt.


************************************************************************
"Would you believe it if you     |             MY KARMA
saw it with your own eyes?"      |           JUST RAN OVER
   Asked the woman               |            YOUR DOGMA
"That depends"                   |               -Dolly Llama-
    Replied I                    |	
***********************************************************************
From: brodesky@td2cad.intel.com (Michael Brodesky)
Newsgroups: rec.climbing
Subject: Please give Credit where it's Due/rock walls
Date: 30 Sep 92 17:42:52 GMT
Organization: intel corporation



	I'm not sure who posted about headstone rock first. But I would
live to give the credit for the J-tree prank to Dave Noir. I believe he
started the subject and had the best prank posting. 

	On the subject of climbing walls. You can take sand and mix it
with wall adhesive to make a ruff surface. Some types of 2 part epoxy
can also be mixed with sand. The best sand comes from Texas. It's a
quartz sand. You can Call Rad wall and they will probably sell you some
of there wall goop. It is the best stuff I have climbed on.    Jim
Bowers of petrogrips sells a how to make a climbing wall book and it
tells how to make your own call mixtures too. 
        When putting the mixture on a wall make sure the area around the
hold placements is flat. If it is not the holds that you put up will
tend to break. This can be seen at city rock and the boulder rock gym.
Where the holds are placed on non flat sections of wall. A Piece of
inner tube from a car tire can be used to insulate the hold from the
wall to help equalize the pressure put on the back of the hold. 
	
	For those of you in the lower bay area, who live near mountian
view. There is a wall with 35 foot leads on it. If you want more info
send me mail and I will give you directions. There are three routes from
5.6 to 5.11+ and more coming. But the people who have put up routes
know, its hard work and takes up a lot of time. 


Michael




--
Michael Brodesky Internet Mbrodesky@sc9.Intel.com
UUCP : {pur-ee,qanad,oliveb,decwrl,hplabs}!intelca!mipos3!td2cad!brodesky
During the week I climb left to right. On weekends I climb up and down.
Rootbeer^2 = Beer ? 
Newsgroups: rec.climbing
From: morrison@cup.hp.com (Bobbie_Morrison)
Subject: Re: East Side Sierra
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 16:25:17 GMT
Distribution: ca
Organization: Hewlett-Packard
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1.4 PL6]

Bruce Gustifson (bruceg@Cadence.COM) wrote:
:   Hey fellow Californians! I'm a goin East Side Sierra later this
: week, and was wondering if anyone had any good ideas for places
: to climb at there. I'll be staying in Bishop and so would like to
: know of possibilities around there. What I was wondering was if 
: there is any climbing there except for Owens Gorge and Buttermilks.
: Not that that's not enough, but I was just curious!

Bruce,

As Eugene might have been trying to say in his weird way:

There are plenty of guidebooks for the Eastside.  Maybe the best is
Alan Barlett's Sierra Eastside Climbing guide (or something like that).
Then there is also Roper's Guide to the High Sierra, and Secor's book on
the Sierra (I can't remember the name even though I have the book.)

If you don't have any of them I would go for Bartlett's book.

-Bobbie Morrison
 Hewlett-Packard
 Cupertino, CA
From: klawton1@cc.swarthmore.edu (Kathleen England Lawton)
Newsgroups: rec.climbing
Subject: Re: Climbing around D.C.
Date: 4 Oct 92 16:43:17 GMT
Article-I.D.: cc.R1BRB382
Organization: Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA

There are a few places to climb around D.C.; Great Falls, VA (which I
suppose 

was the Billy Goat Trail area to which you referred and Carderock (further 

along the Potomac) are the main two. Carderock may be reached by taking the


Beltway to the Carderock/Great Falls, MD exit, (or MacArthur Blvd. to Clara


Barton Parkway) and then taking Clara Barton to the Carderock exit. Go left


over the bridge and take an immediate right; then another right when the
road 

T's. You can also go to Sugarloaf Mtn (Take 95) or, further out, Annapolis 

Rocks or the Catoctin Mountains. The Potomac Appalacian Trail Club has
cabins 

in the Catoctins and also, I understand, offers free instruction to
climbers, 

beginners to advanced. 

Let me know if this was helpful--
From: allen%asylum.cs.utah.edu@cs.utah.edu (Allen Sanderson)
Newsgroups: rec.climbing
Subject: Re: BEST climbing shoes
Keywords: shoe
Date: 27 Sep 92 16:58:42 GMT
Article-I.D.: hellgate.1992Sep27.105843.14468
Organization: University of Utah CS Dept

pevzner@ceg.uiuc.edu (Vadim Pevzner) writes:
>Enlighten me. What is the climbing shoe market like these days?
>Start by sharing with us your bias on the subject of purpose:
>should the smeering or the edging be more emphasised in the shoe design?
>Top it off with what YOU think the best shoe on the market is and what
>YOU are willing to pay for it?

I recently retired my crag shoes that were made by Sportiva (a pair of
megas and a pair Mariachiers).  I now own a pair of 5.10 Lynx and Summits.
Why you ask ?  Well I the liked colors, no not really.  The lynx
perform well on small edges and pockets.  They are a tight fitting
shoe that is a cross between a slipper and shoe so they are very
responsive and have an excellent feel to the rock.  To answer the
question about smearing vs edging these do both quite well, they
certainly do not emphasis either very well.

The summits are a good all round shoe and work equally well on
different climbing.  They are much better in cracks than the Lynx
since they are a bit stiffer.

As for price well lets just this I probably won't not have bought
either except I was able the get them at cost (pay retail ? no way).

May the circulation in your feet return soon after you take your shoes
off.


Cheers,

Allen R. Sanderson

Salt Lake City, Oootah


"I though you brought the rope"
	A climber to their partner after hiking in 10 miles.
From: belyaev@eldpa.epfl.ch
Newsgroups: rec.climbing
Subject: test
Date: 1 Oct 92 17:39:42 GMT
Organization: Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne

Test.