HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: curt@hpsgm2.sgp.hp.com (Curt HUBBARD)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Sri Lanka
Date: 20 Nov 92 07:44:11 GMT
Organization: HP Singapore Notes-Server

Hello,

I'm considering a brief (9-day) trip to Sri Lanka.  I've travelled
a fair amount in Asia, but I can't say I recall any one talking
about time spent in Sri Lanka.  I know there are some problems
with the Tamil seperatists in, I believe, the northern part of 
the country.  Might be good to focus my travels in the less 
rebellious areas.

My favorite thing to do when I travel is to rent a motorcycle
and cruise around the country, meeting the locals along the
way.  I also enjoy water activities, like diving, in general
hanging around outside and relaxing with an occasional beer.
I like most outdoors activities.  Something to do at
night is kind of nice too, though I am not into the heavy 
disco scene.

Anybody have any experiences to enlighten me?  How easy is it
to get around there?  Are motorcycles available and reasonably
priced?  Are the people pretty friendly to travelers?  What
are good things to do, good areas to explore?  How is transportation
there in general?  Any visa requirements?  (I'm American.)  Any
heath issues to be aware of?  What's the lodging situation?

Any responses would be appreciated.  Please send to me directly,
as our notes updates can be rather sporadic at times, and I will
post a summary to the net.

Curt Hubbard
curt@hpsgm2.sgp.hp.com
Newsgroups: rec.travel
From: duck@well.sf.ca.us (Robert Lauriston)
Subject: Re: trans-Atlantic moving
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 19:28:13 GMT


I shipped a load of stuff from California to Italy, then an even bigger
load in the opposite direction a few years later.  Quotes did vary wildly,
for no reason I could figure.  I just chose one of the cheap ones and had
no particular problems, though I did have to keep an eye on them while
they were packing our stuff.
Newsgroups: rec.travel
From: jacquier@gsbux1.uchicago.edu (Eric Jacquier )
Subject: Re: Great Britain Travel
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 20:46:04 GMT


(Rich Holubkov) wrote:
>> In particular, we're not too sure what to do in Wales.  We'd kind of
>> like just 1 town there to hang around a couple of days.  Is Cardiff
>> worth it?  

Looks hard to get much out of Wales by train. Cardiff is not
outrageously exciting. If you had car mobility, you could
1) drive the western coast of Wales and some of the most impressive
   fortified castles you have ever seen. (no ghosts, for that you need
   to go to Eilan Donan (I am sure spelling is wrong somewheree :-) ) )

2) Drive through the Snowdon park. It's stunningly wild and beautiful.
   
Alternatively, for a short trip, you might want to concentrate
on Scotland. Are you set to do it by train? Car would give you more
 mobility and might not cost much more.

EJ
From: RFLOOD@ESOC.BITNET
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Re: German Christmas Fairs
Date: 17 Nov 92 08:40:25 GMT
Organisation: European Space Operation Centre (E.S.O.C)

I recommend two fairs: Frankfurt a.M. is small and folksy,
considering the size of the city. Rothenberg ob der Tauber is *THE*
fair to visit, wonderful surroundings and atmosphere. Far better than
Nuremburg.
RaF
From: zhimin@unssun.nevada.edu (Zhimin Chen)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Cultural Tour to China
Date: 22 Nov 92 02:19:58 GMT
Reply-To: zhimin@unssun.nevada.edu (Zhimin Chen)
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Nevada, Reno

I'm trying to organize a cultural tour to China. It will be about 18 days
for next summer, somewhere around later May and June.
The tour will feature regular visiting in Beijing, Xian, Guilin, Hangzhou
Canton, Shanghai and Hong Kong, and an five nights stay in the scenic city
of Hangzhou where lectures and field trips will be given in Chinese music,
traditional medicine like Taiji, qigong therapy, talking with professionals and school teachers. Visiting the largest silk factory in China and local museums 
will also be included.

Some other activities can also be arrangement at request.

I don't have an exact price the full-package tour, but I organized a similar
tour last summer, and the price was about $2300, including international airfare, all meals in China, hotel accommodation (3-star or above), all city tour guide with private bus.

This year, a professional guide from China International Travel Service, a real good fella that I know very well, will be the tour leader and therefore will
accompany the tour from US to the last city in China.

I'm posting this, trying to send a test ballon and see how much interest
out there.  Everything will be concretized by the end of the year. And 
if you are interested, please send me a letter, give me a call, or drop me
an E-mail.  I'm a graduate student at University of Nevada, Reno.

Here's my address: 1655 Wedekind Rd. #E  Reno, NV 89512 Tel.:702-784-9274
 
 
Newsgroups: rec.travel
From: capps@bnr.ca (Terry Capps )
Subject: Re: Strange and Unusual stops in the U.S.
Organization: Bell-Northern Research, BNR-RTP 
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 20:09:25 GMT

One of the most unique and unusual places I've visited is the Corn 
Palace in (I think) Mitchell, South Dakota.  Its a fairly large 
place kind of like a civic center, and is covered with different
colors of corn - I think it gets redone each year;  inside is
a small museum (different stuffed (real) animals).  Lots of
touristy-type stuff nearby also.  

And not too far (relatively speaking) is the famous WALL DRUG
store, which I believe is advertised extensively on billboards
all over the midwest (ie. "only 837 miles to Wall Drug Store").


Terry Capps
Opinions expressed are my own.
Bell-Northern Research, Research Triangle Park, NC
From: elwood@sag4.ssl.berkeley.edu (Elisha Polomski)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Canyon accomodations
Date: 19 Nov 1992 18:40:10 GMT
Organization: Space Science Labs
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: sag4.ssl.berkeley.edu
Keywords: Grand Canyon, accomodations



Could anyone reccommend some cheap accomodations near the canyon
in January?(South rim) I'd rather not camp out cuz I like
WARM weather so I need to find a hotel/hostel nearby.

Any reccommmendations for nearby hostels would be great.
The closest AYH hostel is 80 miles... too far.
Even Bed & breakfats places would be great.

-thanks, 
Elisha
(elwood@cea.berkeley.edu)
From: endecotp@cs.man.ac.uk (Phil Endecott)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Re: Old Soviet Central Asia to China
Date: 18 Nov 92 12:49:29 GMT

>  In article <BxI32L.Jwn@usenet.ucs.indiana.edu>, ramsey@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (curtis ramsey) writes:
>> is possible  to cross from Alma Ata to Urumqi in Xinjiang Province in China?
>The price of the traintrip Helsinki,Finland-Moscow,Russia-Beijing,China
>has been around 3500 FIM, (approx. 700 USD) return.

Is this really for the Central Asian route via Alma Ata
and Urumqi?  I think that this is for the Trans-Siberian
route via either Mongolia or Manchuria.

--Phil.
Newsgroups: rec.travel
From: john@earlj.b11.ingr.COM (John H. Earl)
Subject: Hotel problem
Reply-To: john@earlj.b11.ingr.COM
Organization: Intergraph Corp.
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 19:00:03 GMT

I'm looking for some advice from the net - particularly from someone in
Europe about a "problem" I'm having with a hotel in Germany.  Back in May,
I decided to go to Munich for Oktoberfest.  I thought it would be wise to
reserve a room and the only affordable place I could find was a hotel in
Stranberg, about 25 minutes away.  The tourist office in Munich sent me
their phone and FAX number so I faxed them a request for a single room for
2 nights in October, telling them that I'd arrive in the morning. The
hotel never responded so I sent another FAX.  Still no response so I
finally called them and they said, "Oh yes - we have a room reserved for
you but we had some trouble faxing you back."  I asked if they wanted me
to pay in advance or send a deposit and they said it wasn't necessary.

Thanks to Continental Airlines, my flight to Munich was cancelled and I
had to fly to London instead.  Obviously, I couldn't stay at the hotel in
Germany, but since I didn't have what I considered a confirmed
reservation, I didn't call to cancel.  I know, it would have been the
courteous thing to do, but I didn't.  In the US, a reservation at a hotel
with no deposit is no guarantee of a room (even with a deposit it often
isn't).  In the US, if I fail to show, the hotel will cancel my
reservation.  To make a long story shorter, when I got back from my trip,
I had a letter from the hotel saying that since I didn't cancel my
reservation, would I please send them the price of the room for the two
nights since they were unable to rent it.  Well, I ignored that since I
feel no obligation to pay for something I didn't get.  Lo and behold, two
days ago, I got a FAX from them saying that I must have forgotten that I
owe them money and if I don't pay up by the end of the month, they will
turn the matter over to their legal department with an additional
substantial penalty.

Well, I think this is pure bluff.  I doubt they will try to extradite me
to Germany to stand trial for 190 DM.  I still don't feel obligated to pay
the hotel a dime, but I'd like to hear what other people think.  So?

-- 
            ****************************************************
            *    Intergraph        |       John H. Earl        *
            * Systems Product      |      (205) 730-6536       *
            *    Marketing         |  john@earlj.b11.ingr.COM  *
            *  Huntsville, AL      |     Mail Stop: CR1102     *
            ****************************************************
From: zaccardi@sunkat.East.Sun.COM (Kathy Zaccardi - Sun Federal Mkt. Segment Specialist)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: trip to Egypt
Date: 20 Nov 1992 15:33:31 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Distribution: world
Reply-To: zaccardi@sunkat.East.Sun.COM
NNTP-Posting-Host: sunkat.east.sun.com
Keywords: Egypt
Distribution: world
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Followup-To: 
From: zaccardi@sunkat.East.Sun.COM (Kathy Zaccardi - Sun Federal Mkt. Segment Specialist)
Reply-To: zaccardi@sunkat.East.Sun.COM
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Subject:trip to Egypt 
Keywords: Egypt
(NEWS access was down for us for more than a week, so I couldn't send this reply sooner, hope you get
it before you leave)

Shishir,
There are lots of tours to see the sights in Egypt.  There are big tours on buses and private tours with 
a guide, car and driver.  You can ask the hotel concierge who usually has a list of names, but check prices carefully
or do what me and my husband did and go the American Express office.  The tours for the pyramids drop you off
right next to the Great Pyramid and Sphinx so not a lot of walking.  If you go the the museum there is a lot of
walking much like any museum here.  There is a sound and light show at night with chairs set up right in front
of the Sphinx which the children might enjoy.  It is performed in several languages but again the hotel tourist
guide can assist you with all these reservations.  I highly recommend going to the library or buying a copy of
Fodor's travel guide on Egypt. It is chock full of places to stay, eat, what to wear, etc.  I brought my copy with
me and found it invaluable.  Try to get at least the '91 issue.

As for health precautions, drink only bottled water which is available everywhere, and wash all fruits and vegetable you might buy outside the hotel.    

We stayed at the Cairo Marriott and (full)breakfast was included.  We booked the reservation in the Middle East and got
a cheaper rate than if we had done it from the States.  Don't know about the other cities since we only saw 
Cairo.  Enjoy and let me know how it turned out.
From: grre@hp850.mbari.org (Rebecca Gross)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Earlier Posting of Colorado
Date: 19 Nov 92 00:07:53 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

I would like to take this very brief moment, I mean brief, to thank
those of you that so far have replied to my e-mail on living in
Colorado.

I would like to apologize too if I have not return a response.  I have
received so many (not complaining mind you) that I have printed them out
to review at home.  I don't have the time at work obivously.  I will be
getting back to you though.  Also, those of you who ask me to give so
input to my feedback on the subject (those thinking the same thing),
don't worry I will also get to you soon too.

I would like to make one last comment.  I think it is great to know that
people are still helpful.  However, I did received, might I add 1, only
1 nasty e-mail.  I didn't bother to flame the ASSHOLE, cause it's a
waste of my time.  So, if you can't be helpful then don't waste my
precious time by sending an e-mail of no help!

Thanks once again,

Any other replys, please send them


Rebecca/Ragz/R&R
Newsgroups: rec.travel
From: walker@Ingres.COM (Lynn Walker)
Subject: Re: Alamo Car Rental immoral practices
Summary: don't accept poor service  
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.4-b1  
Keywords: none
Organization: ASK Computer Systems, Ingres Product Division
Distribution: us
Date: 13 Nov 92 15:01:22 GMT

In article <BxMqxr.K10@NeoSoft.com>, mmarolda@NeoSoft.com (Mike  writes...
>I had reserved a subcompact are at Alamo car rental last weekend.  When I went
>to pick up the car, the sales person tried to talk me into spending a
>couple more bucks for a larger, more comfortable car.  Well, I passed
>on the offer, but when I went to the parking lot to get the car... 
>it was the car he tried to talk me into! 
> 
>Has this occured to anyone else?  Is this legal?
> 
>Mike Marolda  (mmarolda@neosoft.com)

Mike,

I reserved a compact car at the Alamo office near Los Angeles LAX airport in
August 1991. When I got to the counter, the salesperson was really pushing
me to upgrade to a higher-priced car, to the point where I was getting annoyed.
I stuck to my original choice, and the salesperson gave me the car I requested.
When it came time for me to return the car, I filled out the little "clients'
comments" card, and complained about the high-pressure sales pitch I got.

I'm not sure how it works, but the salespeople must have to work towards some
kind of quota. The more expensive the car, the more commission. Maybe this
guy was behind in his sales. If I were you, I would complain to Alamo's
management regarding your situation, as this should NOT happen.

Generally, I like to deal with Alamo because they have good rates, and the
service is usually good. However, there are always a few bad apples.

			-- Lynn --

 *****************************************************************************
  Lynn Walker		+ "When you think about it, the whole idea of two guys
  Toronto, Canada	+  making decisions for twenty million people--that's
  walker@ingres.com	+  pretty funny."		-- The Candidate
 *****************************************************************************
Xref: sparky rec.travel:15536 soc.culture.turkish:11611
From: kwwma@neumann.uwaterloo.ca (Wallace Ma)
Subject: need info about renting a van in Toronto Area
Keywords: van with free mileage
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 17:01:07 GMT

I need info about renting a van.


1)Where can I rent a van (7 to 8 passengers) arround Toronto area?

2)What's the price for renting a van for week or 10 days?

3)Is there any car rental company offer a free mileage van? Because I'll

  drive to Forida in this Christmas.


Thanks in advance.



                                                - Wallace
From: leavitt@artex.waisman.wisc.edu
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: NORTWESTERN U. CAMPUS INFO
Date: 19 Nov 92 16:15:12 GMT
Organization: Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison

I plan to drive to Northwestern on Saturday to see the
football game.
I would like to arrive early and look around the main shopping street
e.g. look at bookstores if any and get lunch before the game.

Questions:
-How to get to campus/stadium
driving south on I-94

-Where/what is "main drag" for NW

_Suggested eateries

-Where to park for main street

-Where to park for stadium

-Any other pertinant info

Thanks in advance,

Lewis
Newsgroups: rec.travel,sci.misc
From: packer@amarna.gsfc.nasa.gov (Charles Packer)
Subject: Copper foil invisible in airport x-rays
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.4-b1  
Organization: Dept. of Independence
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 11:57:00 GMT

Around Halloween I wrote here of plans to insert a metal
foil skull in my carry-on luggage and see if it showed up
on the X-ray detectors at the airport. I had a chance to try it
last weekend, and it didn't work. Apparently three layers of
copper foil isn't dense enough to show up. The monitors at the
USAir terminal in Washington, unlike all others I've seen, face
the public and so I could see the image of my bag when it went
through. Oddly enough, I saw nothing recognizable in it, just
some randomly placed rectangular shapes. Since I had put all my
coins and keys into the side pocket, I should have seen those,
at least. 

The false color image on the monitor flickered between a couple
of different color codings. Is that supposed to tell them
something? (Maybe the device needed repair?)

Incidentally, different airlines apparently adjust their
metal detectors to different sensitivites. The exact same
collection of coins, keys, watchband, ballpoint pen, etc.
that have  had no trouble going through the central security 
check at Dulles Airport and the Delta gate at Washington
National in previous weeks generally triggered the USAir
detectors at a couple of different airports.
Newsgroups: rec.travel
From: aa158@Freenet.carleton.ca (Les Casey)
Subject: Spanish Language
Organization: National Capital Freenet, Ottawa, Canada
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 22:20:43 GMT


I wish to take Spanish language training in Central America. Can
anyone who has been there send me a note detailing their personal
experiences.
-- 
Newsgroups: rec.travel
From: eillib@cs.mcgill.ca (Bill FILLMORE)
Subject: Amsterdam
Organization: SOCS - Mcgill University, Montreal, Canada
Distribution: rec.travel
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 06:48:55 GMT

A friend of mine will be attending University in Amsterdam from
Jan 4 to April.  Could you please reply with sights to see, places to go
, things to do, etc. 
thanks.
(email or post)


Newsgroups: rec.travel
From: ch@ster.ie.ethz.ch (CHA L.)
Subject: TEST
Organization: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, CH
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 15:27:56 GMT

It is a test, ignore it please.
From: hjohar@rnd.GBA.NYU.EDU (Hardeep Johar)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Re: Inexpensive accomodation in Washington DC?
Date: 15 Nov 92 16:44:09 GMT
Organization: NYU Stern School of Business

In article <CSS.92Nov13143612@tron.stx.com> css@tron.stx.com (Chris Shenton) writes:
>Try the Harrington Hotel, On E Street at about 10th Street, NW. Right
>downtown, near the federal buildings, The Mall, etc. A couple

Strongly recommended! I stayed at the Harrington last May and paid $55
a night at the student rate (I think that the rates are lower off
season). You also get parking at $5 a day which is a steal. The hotel
is nice though the rooms are kind of musty. Very basic (TV in room,
soap and towels, and clean sheets). The best thing is of course the
easy access to downtown DC and the Smithsonian. Everything is within
walking distance. The second reason why the hotel is strongly
recommended is it's international clientele. You can meet tourists
from east and west europe, Japan, South east asia and even a couple of
Indians. Free breakfast comes with the deal in the dining room and you
can stuff yourself on toast, jam, danish, eggs, etc. The dining room
also sells sandwiches etc. so you can carry an inexpensive lunch and
save money.

Most hotels have fairly inexpensive weekend packages (when the
lobbyists are away the tourists can play!) and I recommend
looking at copies of the travel section in the New York Times and The
Washington Post to find some good deals (I've seen suites advertised
at $69 a night in the foggy bottom area).

Hardeep.
-- 
************************         Nothing nifty in this .sig because
Hardeep Johar                    the NEA refused my request for a
hjohar@rnd.stern.nyu.edu         signature development grant.
From: babu@wpi.WPI.EDU (Babu Gopalakrishnan)
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: Re: Customs (bringing thing out and into the US)
Date: 22 Nov 1992 16:54:15 GMT
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: wpi.wpi.edu

In article <1992Nov20.003309.26206@opencon.com> giand@opencon.com (Deepak S. Gianchandani) writes:

>>	since you use 110 volts, NTSC, and different VCR tape
>                                           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>	speeds here.
>        ^^^^^^^^^^^
>	( Sorry to waste Bandwidth, I should ignore this, but I can't.)
>
>	What are you talking about, Ofcourse if the DAMMED system is
>different it would have different speeds, but the VHS Tapes
>are the same and can be interchanged -- i.e. What is recorded
>on it might not be viewable back on your system (NTSC) but the
>physical tape is the SAME. Make sure you know what you are talking
>about before you post it (Yes, I know there are VHS tapes they say E
>for European and T for NTSC, but the actual physical frame of the tape
>is VHS and is standard throughout the world).
>  

	of course the VHS frame is the same and the material used
	to make the tape is the same and all that.  But the speeds
	at which the tape runs is different!  I purchased a VHS blank
	tape in the US many years ago, and it was rated for 120 minutes.
	Recording PAL stuff on it, I got a good 3 hours + out of it.  
	Also if you play an NTSC tape in a PAL player, and are lukcy 
	enough to hear some audio at least, the speed of the audio
	will be very warped.

			BABU
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Newsgroups: rec.travel
From: owen@ducvax.auburn.edu
Subject: Re: Alamo Car Rental immoral practices
Organization: Auburn University, AL
Distribution: us
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 13:47:58 GMT

In article <BxMqxr.K10@NeoSoft.com>, mmarolda@NeoSoft.com (Mike Marolda) writes:
> I had reserved a subcompact are at Alamo car rental last weekend.  When I went
> to pick up the car, the sales person tried to talk me into spending a
> couple more bucks for a larger, more comfortable car.  Well, I passed
> on the offer, but when I went to the parking lot to get the car... 
> it was the car he tried to talk me into! 
> 
> Has this occured to anyone else?  Is this legal?
> 
> Mike Marolda  (mmarolda@neosoft.com)
> -- 
Yep.  I had a reservation at the Alamo off SFO about 4 or 5 years ago.
I don't remember the class, but it was for something smallish.  They
tried to sell me an upgrade, which I refused.  When I went to pick
up the car, it was a Buick (I can't remember the model, but it's the
absolute top-of-the line Buick) with, get this, 8 miles on it!  Right
off the truck.  I would say dig in your heels when Alamo gets aggressive
about upgrades, because they're probably going to have to give you
what they're trying to sell you anyway.

I doubt seriously if this is illegal.

Larry Owen

Newsgroups: rec.travel