The Globetrotters eNewsletter
eNewsletter Archive

International Childcare Trust (ICT) is organising a coast
to coast cycle across Sri Lanka 19-28 September 2003 to raise funds to
help support programmes in Africa and Asia with some of the world’s poorest
and most vulnerable children.

ICT is taking advantage of the long held peace process
in Sri Lanka and cycling up into the north of the tropical island, an
area which only very recently opened to tourism. As far as we know, ICT
will be the first charity to cycle up into this virtually unexplored part
of the island, where elephants roam free! We will unwind after the cycle
by snorkelling near Trincomalee, at one of the most beautiful beaches
in the world.

The cycle offers keen travellers the chance to tour Sri
Lanka whilst keeping fit. Those who sign up will also be granted the
opportunity to meet other travellers and visit two of ICT’s projects to
see how the money raised will benefit some of the world’s most disadvantaged
children.

Since the north of the island has opened to tourism, Sri
Lanka is being written up in all the UK national papers as the new ‘hot
spot’ to travel before it becomes too tourist driven. Over the next couple
of years, it is anticipated that the tourist industry will grow and that
the prices for travel in Sri Lanka will rise considerably.

Therefore, an entry fee of £250 for the cycle (which
covers flight on Sri Lankan Airlines, hotel accommodation, provision of
bike, etc) seems to good to be true.

The challenge for people is: can you get fit enough? And
can you raise enough for ICT? We think that every individual is capable
and it is a memory that you will have with you for the rest of your life.

If you have any further queries or questions please visit
www.cyclesrilanka.com and do
not hesitate to contact us or me, Karen by e-mail: href="mailto:karen@ict-uk.org">karen@ict-uk.org
Web: www.ict-uk.org Charity No: 326240

We have been contacted by Felisa Forteza who tells us about
her new small and charming hotel in the very heart of Mallorca. Sa Rota
d´en Palerm is an 18^th Century house that
has been lovingly restored and converted into a countryside hotel. They
are offering a special 10% discount to readers of this e-newsletter on
stays with them in Mallorca. For more details, take a look at: Sa-Rota
website

Similarly, a French barge company approached the Globetrotters
Club with some large discounts available on hiring luxury French barge
boats. See www.bargefrance.com
for more info.

Air Canada, the world’s 11th largest carrier
has filed for bankruptcyprotection. They say they will continue to fly
while it reorganises its operations. The company says that Air Canada
customers around the world can continue booking with confidence that their
travel plans will not be disrupted.

Want to fly to Kuwait? While most of the world’s
large carriers are reducing their services in line with a down turn in
demand, mainly due to the Iraq conflict, Dubai-based carrier Emirates
is introducing extra flights between now and July. They plan to increase
services to the Middle East by increasing frequency of flights to Doha,
Tehran, Sanaa, Dammam and Kuwait.

Air Wales are planning to start a 50 seat daily
flight between south Wales and London, the first for 40 years on April
28^th. The service will run up to three times
a day between Swansea and London City Airport, stopping off in Cardiff.
The journey time will be 80 minutes - half the time of the train and will
cost as little as £19 each way.

Singapore Airlines, who are celebrating their 21st
birthday this year, have been named Airline of the Year at the prestigious
OAG Awards. Changi airport also won the best airport title for
the eighth year running.

US budget carrier Southwest Airlines topped the
Best Low Cost Airline category, a title it has held for three years.

Midwest Airlines was named Best Airline based in
North America and Canada.

A Czech woman, Hana Peskova of CSA Czech Airlines won
the Outstanding Service Award an award given to airline or airport staff
who have acted above and beyond the call of duty for her efforts to help
the people of Prague during the floods of August last year.

British Airways and Air France have both announced that
Concorde will be grounded permanently as from the end of November 2003.
Passenger demand has fallen significantly since the Concorde crash near
Paris in 2000. BA justified their decision by saying that maintenance
costs have become too high for them to continue the service and the global
downturn in demand for all forms of premium travel in the airline industry.
France said “the deterioration of business results from the transatlantic
service”, the aircraft’s only scheduled route.

Britain’s longest national walking trail, from Minehead
in Somerset to South Haven Point near Poole in Dorset, will celebrate
its 25th anniversary this year.

The 630-mile South West Coast Path takes in steep, ‘hog’s
back’ cliffs rising to 800 feet, fishing harbours, pretty villages and
unspoilt countryside.

There will be a wide variety of events between April and
October, including guided walks, talks and displays of works by local
artists, writers, musicians and other performers who have been inspired
by the path. For more information, see href="http://www.swcp.org.uk/">http://www.swcp.org.uk/

Source: href="http://www.britainexpress.com/">Britain Express

Vineyard tours and wine tasting are planned to mark English
Wine Week this spring (May 24 – June 1). There are 379 vineyards
and 115 wineries all over the country and English Wine Producers aims
to promote wider interest in them. For more information, please see href="http://www.englishwineproducers.com/">English Wine Producers

If you are planning to travel to the Sahara in Southern
Algeria, you may want to re-think your plans. 8 Austrian tourists have
just gone missing, bringing the number of foreign travellers who have
disappeared in the region since mid February to 29: 16 Germans (in several
different groups), 4 Swiss and 1 Dutch national have all gone missing
in the desert since mid-February. All were travelling by motorbike or
car and most disappeared between the towns of Ouargla and the towns of
Illizi and Djanet in the far south of Algeria. Smugglers and drug traffickers
are known to haunt the area around southern Algeria, near the borders
with Niger and Libya, and there are fears the tourists may have been kidnapped.
Austria has also issued a travel warning for the country, urging all its
citizens to leave the country or contact its embassy in the country.

For the first time this spring, visitors will be able to
walk the full length of what was the northernmost frontier of the Roman
Empire. Opening May 23, the 81-mile Hadrian’s Wall Path – one of
13 long-distance National Trails – is a signposted route from Wallsend
(Newcastle upon Tyne) in the east to Bowness-on-Solway in the west, via
the city of Carlisle.

Though ideal for a week-long walking holiday, 40 short
walks have also been created for those with less time or energy.

Farmhouse and bed-and-breakfast accommodation is available
near the trail. Tel: 01434 602 505 for more info or take a look at: href="http://www.hadrians-wall.org">http://www.hadrians-wall.org

Source: britainexpress.com

The tourism industry has been heavily hit by the current
conflict in Iraq. Holidaymakers are avoiding Turkey and Cyprus and indeed,
the most of the Mediterranean. Muslim countries, such as Egypt and Turkey,
or those that have suffered recent terrorist attacks, such as Kenya, are
the worst affected.

Destinations as far away from the war zone as Spain are
also suffering. It looks like family bookings are the hardest hit, with
six out of ten who went abroad last summer not yet having booked for this
year.

People who are travelling appear to be shortening their
holidays. The number of fortnight breaks booked in the UK for this year
has fallen by half while the number of one week stays is down by only
20 per cent. Travel Trade Gazette deputy editor Ian Taylor said: ‘It
is clear Easter is likely to be poor by industry standards and family
bookings probably won’t come back in large numbers until a ceasefire.

You can contact Padmassana at href="mailto:padmassana@globetrotters.co.uk">padmassana@globetrotters.co.uk

Some thoughts by Padmassana, likening travel to yoga –
or the other way round!

He says: “When you travel you are thinking about
what you are seeing, where you are going to stay, how you are going to
get there, the people you are with. You are absorbed in where you are
at that moment in time, not thinking about the past or far into the future.
In yoga you are thinking about the practice, the breath, the foot positions
and the bandhas. As with travelling, you have so much to think about,
you are absorbed in that moment.

In both yoga and travel, you are enjoying being where you
are at that time and the clarity of mind and general happiness; you leave
behind all the daily worries. I think that yoga has become a substitute
for travel for me, for the 48 weeks a year when I am at home”.

You can contact Padmassana by sending an email to href="mailto:padmassana@globetrotters.co.uk">padmassana@globetrotters.co.uk