New travel tools — or old ones that haven't received much public attention in the past — are constantly emerging and can often be of great value. For instance:
1. Wikitravel: Just as wikipedia.org tries to create a universal encyclopedia written by its readers, wikitravel.org tries to create a universal travel guide written by its readers, a storehouse of information on every travel destination, however minor. So far, this free-of-charge electronic travel guide doesn't come close to competing with the guidebooks in bookstores (wikitravel suffers from skimpy hotel selections, deadly writing style and pricing errors), but it occasionally contains historical or geographical information that might assist in the planning of your trip. It's something to watch.
2. Martin Randall Tours: This British-based tour operator, which draws a lot of its passengers from America, is probably the most erudite, serious and highly cultural tour operation on Earth. Its tour leaders are eminent historians, scientists and other specialists in the destinations it covers, and its participants are determined to have a profound learning experience. Now that Swan Hellenic Cruises is about to go out of business as of April 2007, Martin Randall remains the outstanding (if somewhat expensive) tour operator for well-read, intellectually curious people. Go to www. martinrandall.com online.
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3. Invalid electronic tickets: We Americans are so used to appearing at airports without a paper ticket, simply relying on electronic confirmation numbers, that we frequently overlook the fact that a number of international airlines —especially those flying to Africa, the Middle East and Asia — still require a paper ticket. I receive an increasing number of sad letters from travelers who were turned away from their flights at U.S. departure points because they assumed that the entire world has followed America's lead in no longer requiring a paper ticket. Though a great many international carriers have made that advance, others haven't; you're advised to check carefully with the international airline on which you've made a reservation.
4. The Duke Diet and Fitness Center: Among all the U.S. weight-reducing spas, this university-associated weight-loss facility in Durham, N.C., is surely the most serious and effective. Unlike health spas that promote trendy and exotic diets of the sort that you can't possibly maintain once you've returned home, Duke serves a tasty and familiar assortment of traditional American foods, but in extremely small portions, and participants learn how to conduct life on 1,100 calories a day, losing weight and later keeping it off. Don't confuse Duke's Diet and Fitness Center ("DFC") with the more extreme (and totally separate) "Rice House," which is for seriously obese people who need to lose a hundred or more pounds quickly for various medical purposes and therefore go on a diet consisting almost entirely of rice. DFC serves tasty (if minuscule) meals, as I can personally attest. (I lost 15 pounds in 10 days there.) Go to: www.dukedietcenter.org online.
5. Required visas for St. Petersburg: Because a growing number of cruise ships sail the waters of northern Europe in summer and make a popular stop at St. Petersburg, Russia, it's important to reveal that Russia doesn't automatically permit passengers on such ships to disembark in the famous capital of Peter the Great. Rather, passengers will need a Russian visa (a document requiring at least a month to obtain) unless they have signed on for a group sightseeing excursion organized by the cruise ship — the only example I know of a mandatory purchase of that sort. For Americans who would rather wander around the city on their own (visiting the great Hermitage art museum and the exciting shops of the Nevsky Prospekt at their leisure, and not as part of a group), it's necessary to take the steps to obtain a Russian visa or else simply pass up that superior method of seeing a great city.
6. Recharging your laptop on Amtrak: Who would have known that the high-speed Acela service of Amtrak traveling between New York, Boston and Washington, D.C., contains electrical outlets at which you can re-charge the battery in your laptop? It's another reason for taking the train between those cities, instead of resorting to the harmful (to the environment) use of automobiles or gas-guzzling airplanes.
