Sunday, July 20, 1997

Houston, we have a package deal


Houston, we have a package deal

Forget about Mir. Space tourism may be on the way, and it could happen sooner than you think. By Jeremy Atiyah
Jeremy Atiyah 
Sunday, 20 July 1997
Imagine stepping into a plane which, after a normal take-off, suddenly goes into a near-vertical ascent at three times the speed of sound. Crushed by terrifying G-forces, you eventually reach a cruising altitude of more than 500,000 feet, where you experience zero gravity. Two minutes later, you enter a one hundred mile plunge back to earth. Fun?
This may sound like the scariest big dipper in the world but it could well be the experience of the first tourists in space. When it does happen, perhaps 10 or 20 years from now, pictures of the sort taken by Pathfinder on the rocky surface of Mars will probably be cited as part of the inspiration for it.
So what exactly are the prospects for space tourism? The challenge, as ever, is to produce a reusable space vehicle that can undertake trips at a price that would not look wholly out of place in the window of Lunn Poly or Thomas Cook.
One organisation in the race is the US government itself, which has already ordered a replacement design for its current Space Shuttle. Lockheed, which last year won the US$1bn contract to build the new spacecraft, promises that its new design will reduce costs to a point where fee-paying passengers become a real possibility.
But tourists will be glad to know that they are unlikely to be entertained by reps from Nasa's Mission Control in Houston, whose job is more that of encouraging private companies to take tourists into space (rather than doing it themselves).
Additionally, the American Space University is still offering its so- called X-prize, worth more than US$5m (pounds 3.2m), to the first person to build and fly a vehicle carrying passengers into space and back. Consequently, a whole fleet of possible craft now sit on the drawing boards of companies worldwide, hoping to attract the investment funds needed for full-scale production.
The no-frills trips will be those which aim to fling passengers into space for just a couple of minutes, as described above. Several craft capable of achieving this have already been designed. But how many people will want to submit their bodies to such traumas for the sake of two minutes in zero gravity? A more upmarket option would be to take a few orbits of the Earth, giving passengers time to take admire the views and enjoy (or not) the sensation of weightlessness.
Taking a slightly longer-term view of the concept of holidays in space is the Japanese construction company Shimizu which has been looking into space tourism for years. Their plan is to build a hotel in low earth orbit, which wealthy travellers could be visiting by the year 2020. A postulated three-day tour, costing as little as pounds 40,000 at today's prices, would include transport, accommodation, and highly impressive scenery; the trip to and from the hotel would take a mere three hours.
The prospect of hotels further afield is more remote. Nasa's astronauts did not leave behind a single shack on the moon's surface and specialists in moon-architecture are hard to find. The first space guide-book, however, has already been written: Moon Handbook, published last year by Moon Publications (pounds 6.95), offers visitors guidance on how to locate Neil Armstrong's historic first footstep as well as other lunar attractions.
In case the moon tours don't come off, consider this: Intourist, the Russian state tour operator (Tel: 0171 5385965), can arrange a couple of weeks of cosmonaut training in Moscow, where you do loop-the-loops in a freight plane which simulates the conditions of zero gravity.
The price for a basic two-week training course is an out-of-this-world pounds 19,000 (the weightlessness training is extra) but low atmosphere is guaranteed.

Sunday, July 13, 1997

Should you go on an all-inclusive?


Should you go on an all-inclusive?

Jeremy Atiyah 
Sunday, 13 July 1997
THE public's demand for all-inclusive holidays is continuing to rocket. The prospect of going on holiday without any cash is irresistible: an endless buffet lunch of whatever takes your fancy for a fortnight. Much has been made of the lure of "free" alcohol, but a huge array of sports and activities is also a serious attraction.
All-inclusives are not really new of course. Operators such as Club Mark Warner and Club Med have been offering deals like this for years. In the early days, all "package" holidays to Spain were in fact all-inclusive, before it became trendy to dare to enter the local bars and restaurants.
And now that they are all the rage, inevitably some customers have been disappointed. Some have complained of promised activities not after all being "included", or even (horrifying to say) having to be paid for. And as Simon Calder, travel editor of the Independent, points out, travel agents are naturally eager to promote all-inclusives over B&B arrangements because all-inclusives earn them more commission.
More serious criticisms concern the very concept of the all-inclusive. Basically the revenue that might have gone to the local community will end up in the coffers of tour operators back home. Image a giant resort of rich Japanese people who effectively never set foot out of doors, being dumped in the middle of London. All the taxi drivers, restaurateurs and shopkeepers who normally rely on tourists' expenditure will be deprived of income. Even worse is the cultural barrier that descends, Berlin Wall- like, between holidaymakers safely on the inside and locals safely on the outside.
On the other hand, families who are worried at the thought of budgets spiralling out of control can book in perfect equanimity. And despite early problems, the product is definitely improving. After all, two weeks in, say, the Dominican Republic or Montego Bay, with a choice of several swimming pools, beaches and restaurants - and endless water sports - for around pounds 800 or pounds 900 per person represents a considerable bargain if you really are happy not budging out of your resort.
Don't imagine that all-inclusives are only to be found in the Caribbean by the way. Thomson Holidays, for example, can send you to practically any of the traditional Spanish resorts, as well as all the major Med destinations and diverse long-haul points such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, Goa and Kenya.
If, taking everything into account, you are still keen to try today's all-inclusives, above are a few deals currently on offer.
Jeremy Atiyah
SAMPLE ALL-INCLUSIVES
Dominican Republic (three star) Thomson 0990 502555
Airport: Gatwick
Duration: 14 nights
Price: pounds 905 per person.
Mexico (two star) First Choice 0161 742 2228
Airport: Gatwick
Duration: 14 nights
Price: pounds 759 per person
Jamaica (five star) Airtours 01706 260000
Airport: Gatwick
Duration: 14 nights
Price: pounds 1,429 per person
Majorca (three star) Airtours 01706 260000
Airport: Gatwick
Duration: seven nights
Price: pounds 439 per person

Sunday, July 6, 1997

A complete guide to the regions of Italy


A complete guide to the regions of Italy

Jeremy Atiyah 
Sunday, 6 July 1997
The Regions of Italy have evocative names which induce such reveries that nobody can remember where they are. Well, we know Tuscany, Sardinia and Sicily, but what of the rest? Apart from Umbria, covered in detail on this page, here is a quick run-down:
Alto Adige
This largely German-speaking area of northern Italy, squeezed up against the border with Austria, prefers to call itself Sud Tirol. Visitors come here for winter sports and some of the best wines.
Abruzzo
On the east coast of Italy, directly east of Rome, this is one of the emptier, more marginal regions of the country. Having festered for centuries as part of the Kingdom of Naples, it lost most of its population to emigration. In recent years however, its most important town, Pescara, has started to blossom as a coastal resort. Abruzzo is also the region that gave us the word confetti (which here refers to colourful sweets).
Apulia
This is the region that fills up Italy's heel. In ancient times it was a prominent Greek colony - indeed remnants of Greek language can still be found here to this day. The largest city, Brindisi, is known to backpackers who ride the ferry to the Greek port of Piraeus. With delightful beaches on the Gargano Peninsular, exotic countryside, bizarre conical domed houses (Trulli) and the beautiful Baroque city of Lecce, Apulia deserves a long hard holiday.
Basilicata
This region in the Italian foot, mid-way between heel and toe, takes positive pride in its obscurity. It has a grim, deforested coast in the instep, and its capital city Matera has made a curious tourist attraction out of its notorious poverty - the Sassi are cave neighbourhoods where, until recently, peasants lived with pigs.
Calabria
Adjacent to Basilicata, and right in the toe next to Sicily, this region has a beautiful name but a horrid history. After a brilliant flowering of Greek culture in the sixth century BC, malarial mosquitoes rendered most of the area virtually uninhabitable until just a few decades ago.
Campania
Enveloping the joyously, dangerously chaotic city of Naples, there is enough in this region to keep most people happy for a lifetime - from the flesh-pots of Capri and Ischia, to the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in the shadow of Vesuvius.
Emilia-Romagna
Another absurdly well-endowed region, immediately to the northeast of Tuscany. Here you'll find not only Italy's great sea-side resort of Rimini, but the cities of Ferrara and Ravenna which once usurped Rome as capital of the ancient world. Trendy Bologna completes the picture.
Friuli Venezia-Giulia
This untidily-named region is sandwiched between Venice and the Republic of Slovenia and is basically a conglomerate of peoples stuck on the edge of eastern Europe. The peculiar neoclassical city of Trieste, for so long strangled by its cul-de-sac location, is now beginning to come back to life with the opening up of Europe.
Lazio
This gloomy region is little other than a large back garden for the nation's capital city. For two thousand years Rome tended to tax the region dry; now it is having to subsidize a slow recovery.
Liguria
The colourful Italian Riviera, a continuation of the dull French Riviera to the west. The short trip by train from Monaco to Ventimiglia is a trip to heaven.
Lombardy
Most of Italy's wealth is generated up here in the fast, nervous city of Milan, which has been making the world's best clothes for a very long time (hence the English word "millinery").
Marche
This oddly named region to the east of Umbria is underrated. As well as the snowy peaks of the Sibelline Mountains, it has beaches on the coast and charming renaissance towns in between, including Urbino and Ascoli Piceno.
Molise
South of, and even more obscure than Abruzzo, this rarely visited region has customs and a dialect that owe a debt to the proximity of Albania and the Croatian coast. The nearest thing to a coastal resort is Termoli though you won't hear many English accents there.
Piedmont
This haughtily rich and powerful region of the northeast, centred around the city of Turin, was the base from which sprung the drive for Italian unity in the last century. Come here for skiing and high mountain scenery.
Trentino
High up in the western Dolomites, north of Veneto, this area is mainly good for Alpine activities though the historic city of Trento is also worth a visit.
Valle d'Aosta
This tiny area sandwiched between Switzerland and France comprises high mountains and ski resorts. The small regional capital, Aosta, rimmed by mountains, is probably the best located in the country.
Veneto
If any region can boast cities such as Verona, Vicenza and Padua as mere side-attractions, you might guess that its capital city would be Venice.

Travel Clinic


Travel Clinic

Your questions answered by our panel of travel experts, including a doctor and a lawyer
Sunday, 6 July 1997
How Do We Begin To See China?
My wife and I lived in Hong Kong in the days when travel to mainland China was impossible. After watching last week's handover ceremony on television we have decided to go to China but have no idea where to start. Can you give us some ideas on what there is to see? Is independent travel possible?
Rupert Joseph
Aintree
Jeremy Atiyah replies: China is far more diverse than most people imagine. It is certainly not all rice and bicycles (though there are a fair few of these).
Basically the east and south of the country are green, wet and extremely crowded. The classic Chinese water-colour landscapes of paddy fields surrounding steep green hills can be seen in Guangxi Province, in the Guilin and Yangshuo area. Other scenically watery parts of China can be found in the Shanghai area. Hangzhou is one of the country's nicest cities; for something smaller try Shaoxing.
Heading north and west on the other hand, you'll find sparsely populated pasturelands, deserts and mountain ranges. To get a true flavour of China you should try to see something of the Silk Road that runs west from Xi'an as far as remote Kashgar, and then right out of the country into Central Asia. In the south-west China runs up against Tibet which is a whole world in itself.
China's two great waterways, the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers - both crossing the country from west to east - are also possible themes for your trip. The Yangtze boat trip from Shanghai to Chongqing, deep in the interior, is a classic journey.
Although generally speaking Chinese cities can be horrible places, it would be a shame to miss out on either of the two major cities, Shanghai and Peking, both of which are experiencing an explosion of nightlife, with clubs and karaoke bars galore.
Peking is the ancient heart of China, vast, historic and orderly. Here you'll find the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven, as well as awesome signs of Chinese power (Tiananmen Square, the Great Hall of the People etc). Shanghai on the other hand is essentially a modern city, offering the fantastic spectacle of 1930s-style European skyscrapers lining the Bund, while an entire city of shining new ones is being built across the water.
As for how to visit - that depends on your stamina. Travelling independently is feasible if you have plenty of time and a good guide-book. This is the best way to meet local people and an epic Chinese train journey can be one of life's great pleasures. On the other hand, simple tasks such as ordering dinner or buying train tickets, surrounded by thousands of staring, spitting peasants can be tiresome.
If your time is short you would do better to resort to a group tour. These include quick "essential China" tours of the sort offered by big tour operators (eg Kuoni 01306 740888 or Asiaworld Travel 01932 211300). The specialist China Travel Service (CTS 0171 8369911) is also worth approaching. The cheapest kind of tour is one week's flight-and-hotel deal to Peking only: these start from pounds 500 per person. More rugged overland expeditions, along the Silk Road for example, are offered by Exodus 0181 675 5550 or Explore Worldwide 01252 319448.
Jeremy Atiyah is travel editor of the 'Independent on Sunday' and co- author of the 'Rough Guide to China'.
We will be driving around Europe in September, and our journey includes several countries outside the EC, including Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Poland. Can we use Eurocheques in these countries?
Brian Adamson
South Gloucestershire
The travel editor replies: Eurocheques can be used in all the countries you are visiting (though not widely in Czech Republic or Poland) but are probably not the best way to pay for things in Europe these days. Given the internationalisation of credit and debit (eg Switch) cards, you might as well carry on using these as you would use them at home: either to pay for things directly, or to withdraw cash from cash-dispensing machines wherever you are (of course you need to have PIN numbers for these cards). Exchange rate charges and commission are roughly the same between Eurocheques and credit/debit cards.
I am considering driving into Eastern Europe, spending about five nights in each of Berlin and Warsaw. Have you got any ideas for the most convenient way to do this?
Donald Chare
Stockport
The travel editor replies: If taking a car to Germany with a small group, a convenient route is the Harwich-Hamburg ferry on Scandinavian Seaways (Tel: 0990 - 333000). A special return price for a car and four people to share a 4-berth cabin is pounds 430 altogether if travelling in midweek. From Hamburg to Berlin can be as little as two hours to drive. Onwards, from Berlin to Warsaw can additionally be done in a single day.
As for documentation, you will need to carry your normal Vehicle Registration papers. Your British driving license will be valid for both Poland and Germany, though if you are at all nervous it might also help in a crisis to be holding an International Driving Permit, available from the AA. Third party motor insurance is a minimum requirement; your insurer can give you a green card which is an internationally recognised proof of insurance.
CAN A GADGET KEEP MOSQUITOES AWAY?
Given the scares about anti-malarial tablets, can you advise on the best ways to keep mosquitoes at bay? I've seen an advertisement for an electronic mosquito repeller which apparently works as follows: "... it is only the pregant female mosquito which stings and they fly away from male mosquitoes. The electronic mosquito repeller simulates the sound of the male, driving away the females who are wanting to sting you ..." Does this (or any other gadget) work?
Mr Paolo
London W1
Dr Larry Goodyer replies: People who travel to tropical areas where diseases such as malaria are endemic should carry a good supply of insect repellent. The mosquitoes which transmit malaria will usually bite at night, so precautions should also be taken on retiring, when repellents applied to the skin will not provide enough protection.
Firstly, don't rely on any electronic device which claims to emit a noise that confuses and discourages mosquitoes. I have yet to see an independent test that shows they are effective and they should certainly not be used if malaria is of concern. If the windows of a hotel room are well screened or the room is air conditioned, then it should be cleared of any mosquitoes using a knockdown spray. If the room has an electric wall socket then the readily available plug-in devices can be used; these heat up a small mat containing insecticide which will be released over several hours. The coils which can be burnt to release insecticide vapour are really only intended for outdoor use.
The best way of avoiding bites at night, and the only practical thing on safari, is to sleep under a mosquito net impregnated with permethrin. I would recommend that these are used by travellers visiting high risk malaria endemic areas, such as some parts of Africa.
Dr Larry Goodyer is superintendent of the Nomad Pharmacy (3-4 Turnpike Lane, London N8, Tel: 0181-889 7014) which specialises in catering for travellers' medical needs.