letters from our readers
2001
Zigong, not Zizhong ...
Hi Eric and Joan,
Cruising the internet and ran across your cycling journal. Good stuff. I will be adding a link to your site on my web site.I thought I would mention that in China Chapter 7 you got the spelling of the town wrong. ZIZHONG should be ZIGONG. I wouldn't have bothered you about it except that it appears in the article several times andalso on a few other pages. Someone wanting to retrace your route might get confused.
Our Response:
Thanks for the hint. We were using the Lonely Planet spelling. We've taken your advice and fixed the spelling.
Vancouver Island -- is the Uchuck worth it?
Hi, Just read through your travels up Vancouver Island and the west coast all the way to Alaska.... such an exciting journey! We're planning a much less ambitious one: just going around Vancouver Island. We were thinking of going to Gold River and taking the MV Uchuck III trip to Friendly Cove or Tahsis. You didn't seem to be terribly impressed with Gold River itself, but what about the trip on the Uchuck to Tahsis. Is the scenery worth the trip?Would appreciate your opinion on this. If it's not worth the trip, we may just skip Gold River and go directly up north.
Thanks...CL
12 July 2001Our response:
Hmm... It is true that we did not like Gold River at all, but to be fair, it is pretty country, and the trip on the Uchuck was great fun. The scenery was pretty, but what we enjoyed most was seeing the boat deliver things like outhouses to these little towns along the way. We also had a grand time watching the sidewinders push the logs around on the water. All of Vancouver Island is beautiful, so we would be hesitant to say that you should choose one part over another. (But: if you can, try to make it out to the Queen Charlottes--they are gorgeous, and a little more tourist oriented, in a good way, at least as far as we could tell when we were there, which was 1997).
Can't wait to go back to Laos.
Hi From WA state, formally North Carolina USA ! Almost two years ago I had the chance to go see my boyfriend who was at that time working at the US Embassy in Vientianne, and what an experience it was ... I so enjoyed your
story about your visit to Laos :) He is currently in Thailand ( US ARmy) and I can't wait to show this site to him when he comes home next week!! Thank you so very much !!!!!Peach (AKA Judy)
20 May 2001p.s. can't wait to go back to Laos ... I loved it there......what a beautiful people they were and so very friendly
...sigh....Our Response:
You're welcome! And thanks for your letter.
From an armchair traveler in Spain.
First of all sorry if sometimes my English fails, but I don't practice it very much. I accidentally got into your Web site while searching for mountain passes altitudes near my holiday place (the small village my fathers were born near Pedraza in Spain) and started reading your adventures in the Guadarrama mountains. Inmediately I was captivated by your fluent tellings and stories. Perhaps it was because of your ability to get a rather accurate picture of the places and peoples you saw travelling the world, but one has the impression they are riding with you and can almost hear what you said and see the things you saw (the photos help very much). I must say that the work you have done in this web is great, with good design, simple but visually nice, very good navigation between web pages, and the best of all, the contents, clear prose, easy to read writing and deep thoughts (the details made clear the complete vision of the things). I think this is better than if you had writing a book, because that way I would never had the oportunity to know it (thanks to the miracle of internet). You can be sure I have bookmarked your web page and will read all your trips (most of all because i had to work some nights and have part of the work time free after I finish my daily tasks), not only the Apanish parts, but also the rest of the world. One of my illusions is knowing far lands and peoples, just the way you did, not only the touristic way, but talking to people and getting deep into their culture, but I have no time nor money to do that, so I enjoy seeing documentaries on TV or as now in internet. So if you have something more you want to know about Spain e-mail me and I will try to explain it to you, although I think you almost know more than me from this country.
Goodbye Jesús Martín
15 April 2001Our Response:
Thanks for your kind note. Your English is quite good, by the way. It feels wonderful to hear that someone from a place wewent to thinks we were accurate in telling about it. Our web mistress Katy, Eric's sister, will be happy that you liked the design.She is responsible for most of that.
You're from a very pretty place. Despite the cold weather, we really enjoyed the Guadaramas.
Joan has been studying Spanish with a woman from Barcelona here in San Francisco. Her tutor, Neli, has already answeredlots of our questions. Needless to say, we love your country. Here's a question: How long does it take to prepare 4 different kinds of tapas? Eric did it once and it took all day long (pimientos asados, and a few others).
Maybe sometime you will want to get on your bicycle and see the rest of the world the affordable way. Good luck!
What to call the 'Third World' and how to handle hawkers.
(Editor's note: Eric wrote in our Bali chapters that he did not know what to call the "Third World." The best he could come up with was 'noisy world with chickens.' One of our readers was kind enough to help us out on the subject:)
How about calling the Third World, the Civilized World. As the Dalai Lama pointed out in a recent book people in poorer countries tend to be a whole lot happier than people in rich countries. Happy people is something that deserves to be called civilized. Obsession with money, power, productivity, competitiveness, personal possessions, having people living in self-contained boxes without even knowing their neighbours, covering everything in concrete, and making everything out of plastic would seem more worthy of being called barbaric.
Thanks for your site. I go to Indonesia about every four months but I get homesick when I'm not there and sometimes look around a few Indonesia related websites.
A little tip on handling those hawkers, etc who seem to have bugged you quite a bit. Just do something a bit dumb or crazy. It helps to break the ice and turns you into a human being rather than a walking wallet. You can hardly blame the locals for looking at you initially as though that's exactly what you are. After all so many tourists act like that all the time anyway. Try asking those guys who move their hands up and down as though they're driving and then call out
"transport, transport" if they have a boat (if its raining), or "you have helicopter?" Or catch them when they've just started moving their hands with "Oh, dancing!" They'll never even bother to ask you about transport once you've made the contact a bit more human. In India the motorised rickshaw drivers could be very persistent. So I used to ask them how much to buy the rickshaw. This would get them pretty interested, and they'd give me a price. Then I'd say, "Oh no, that's too much. How much for one wheel?" They'd just crack up at the idea of selling one wheel off a three wheeler, and all thoughts of trying to persuade me to take a ride would disappear.Best wishes
-- Martin
8 April 2001Our Response:
Martin, you are absolutely right. The people we saw abroad were much happier than the folks in the US (we are living in DC right now, and I'm thinking specifically of the Volvo driver who literally pounded my hood the other day and screamed at me that I was 'dumb bitch' for not letting him force his way into my lane in slow moving traffic ...). And you obviously have a sense of humor about the hawkers, which is really key. We did have a bad time with them, but we eventually got used to them. I think the hardest times we had with hawkers was in Nepal (we didn't make it to India) -- young kids selling drugs. It was sad, but then again, they must only be responding to consumer demand.
Thanks for your great letter.
Invitation from a Hungarian winery.
Hello! It's a great thing that you travel like that. Also you told about your limited wine experience. Now in Tokaj country you find more and more great winery where they explain clearly those famous wines. And also we can help you. Because in our restaurant we have a salon where you can find some books about the tourism and wines. Also we have artist exhibitions. We use products of our garden, behind our old building. Have more good trips, and perhaps one time in Tolcsva!!
Bye Anne and Pascal
ÕS KAJÁN Restaurant
3934 TOLCSVA Hungary
4 April 2001
Letter from Laos.
Hello, I am especially happy and excited to hear or to read about your adventure around the world. My parents moved me from America when I was four so I missed alot of my country and culture. I am happy that even with your highs and your lows there you enjoyed yourself and had a good time. The country is in need for much but the people have a lot of love in their heart even if they don't have much...they don't expect much and that is why they are happy. No greed equals no apparent extra needs. I enjoyed the pictures that you provided and the uplifting report on the country. I have not had a chance to return but I had many fears but if you two can survive...well it would be good to see my family. You made me realize what it was worth over here. The humanity in people are pure as 24 carat gold.Good luck on your travels and thanks for sharing your insight and your interest in Laos with the rest of the world.
(swoork dee) good luck and good bye
Kommany Sinlapasai ( Kathi is my american name)
27 March 2001Our Response:
It was an honor to be in Laos -- we loved it and would love to go back. Thanks for your very kind letter.
Breaking into travel writing.
I'm planning a year-long bike-round-much-of-the-world trip (I biked through France and Austria in '94 after college and LOVED it; have been dreaming of another, longer trip ever since)....thanks for the info and inspiration from your web site...can't wait for Julie's RTW trip '02!!I'm dying of curiosity to know how you (Joan) were able to secure freelance writing assignments while you were on the road. Was it purely through your network of editorial folks through WSJ and other pubs you've worked for? How would a non-writer-by-profession, but decent travel writer, break into this before hitting the road?
Just curious, (and thanks again for all the terrific info),
Julie Asher, a visitor to your site.
Atlanta
16 Feb 2001Our Response:
Sounds like a fabulous trip you have planned. Now it's our turn to be jealous.The best way for a non-writer to break into travel writing is to start doing it now, from where you live, about places near where you live. Try selling the stories to local newspapers, or to magazines, so you wil lhave some clips and contacts who will be interested in your further travel stories.
I should add though that I (Joan) am a professional writer, and that the freelance stories I wrote for the WSJ were part of a regular column for the same editor, whom I knew before I left, so this actually took relatively little effort. The machinery of what what I would write about, and how often, was in place before I left. I communicated with my editor entirely by email (I think I spoke to him on the phone once). If I had to make money by finding new people to write for while I was on the road, I don't think I would, because it would make my trip .... too much like work. It is, after all, a totally rare thing to be out of the working world for a year. So while it's nice to write for people once in awhile, if you can't get those contacts set up before you leave, don't torture yourself too much once you're on the road. Also, you'll be surprised at how little it costs to live on the
road--much less than you think.
Will my ATM card work out there?
I really loved your site. It's an amazing adventure the two of you had. I really enjoyed the Laos, China, Tibet, and Nepal pages....fantastic stuff! I'm leaving Feb.28th to begin a rtw trip (leaving Los Angeles for HK) and I was curious as to how your ATM card worked while travelling? It seems that you had some problems in certain parts of China & Laos. I was going to rely
on my ATM card but I may reconsider if you have some better advice to offer me.
I loved the site! =)James Bierman
16 February 2001
Backpackers Without Borders:
http://go.to/borderhopperOur Response:
Hey James,
Thx very much for the compliment! And by the way, your site looks *very* cool.We should have posted the ATM info in a more prominent place, but here it is, from where elsewhere on our letters page, with a few added comments:
Cash: our ATM cards worked fine in the following countries: Canada, Costa Rica (only a few cities), New Zealand, Australia
Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand (only a few cities), U.S. (see below for Europe).The following countries didn't have ATM machines, or their machines wouldn't accept cards issued by banks from outside their countries: Laos, China, Tibet Nepal. But remember, this was 1998 and things change fast. (Though not that fast in Tibet/ Laos).
In Europe, it was always a crap shoot. Even when the symbol on our card matched the symbol on the ATM machine, it only worked for us 50-70% of the time. We still don't know why one worked, and one next to it wouldn't. Or sometimes, a machine wouldn't work for us in the morning, but did in the afternoon. We think it may have had something to do with the credit line attached to our bank account. In the U.S., if we only had $100 in our account, and wanted to withdraw $200, we would get the money, with $100 coming from our checking account and $100 coming from a credit line (which we later paid through the mail). My theory is that the European machines would not recognize the credit card line. So in the above example, we would ask for $200 and the European machines would say, no you only have $100, therefore you can have nothing. But through the act of asking, our American bank would transfer money from the credit line into the account, so that if we tried the same request at a European bank a few hours later, the money would be there, and the card would work. That is our best guess.
So our advice is, rely mostly on your ATM cards, keep a few travelers' checks stashed. and be ready to make a credit card cash advance (that worked in every big city) if necessary. Do not write "SEE ID" on the back of your credit cards. That's a great way to deter theft in the US, but other countries don't understand it, and gave us a hard time over it. Also: in Asia, you will do most of your credit card cash advances over the counter--since the ATM machines generally did not recognize our cards; but in Europe, you can do them through an ATM machine. In fact, many European banks insist that you do them through an ATM machine, which means, you should know your PIN. Since Eric and I never used our credit cards for cash advances back home, we made a point of never learning our PIN, and this hurt us in Europe. when we needed money.
Also, VISA is still the number one recognized card (no, we don't get any ad money or anything else from VISA). A lot of people in Asia won't accept cards like Amex's Optima, etc. We met a couple traveling with an Optima card and they could never use it because most people hadn't even heard of it.
ATM card warning: these cards do expire, and when they expire, you can't use them anymore. If your trip is going to keep happening through an expiration date, plan to have the new card sent to you on the road (i.e. fedexed to an American Express office, or a hotel you can trust). Eric and I planned through one round of expirations, but extended our trip and then.. suddenly, learned that we had only xx more days to use our cards. Then we had our new ATM cards sent to us in Prague, but changed our route so that we didn't end up in Prague for several weeks. Those were hairy times. You can read about it in our Hungary and Czech chapters. Go to this page and scroll down to see a picture of Joan deleriously happy to be reunited with our ATM cards.
Cash: The dollar is still king in most places, especially Asia, but unless you want to pack thousands of them with you when you start, you will have to settle for withdrawing local cash from ATMs. When you are getting ready to cross a border, try to spend as much local cash as possible before leaving, so you don't get hit with an unfavorable exchange rate on the other side. If you want to stock up on cash, try to do it in a currency that travels well across borders (i.e. is easy to exchange). In most places, the American dollar is king. In Asia, the Singapore dollar is widely respected, too; and in Europe the British pound is always good, as well as the Deutschemark (the Deutschemark is particularly good in Eastern Germany).
Try to keep a few hundred American dollars of cash stashed, and if you plan on traveling in developing countries, make sure that cash looks crisp. Even a tiny rip can render your $100 bill useless in most places in Asia. (Ditto for local currency: when you go to a bank to withdraw local currency, turn back any bills with tears or writing, etc., because you will have a hard time convincing local merchants to accept them). Also, make sure you bring the *latest* version of 100s and 20s, etc. It will be a lot harder to circulate the old ones.
See James's response immediately below:
The ups and downs of Visa debit cards
Thanks so much for the info! I really do appreciate it. My only problem is that I won't be relying on a credit card as back up (don't have one). I do have a debit/ATM card w/ the visa logo but it drws out of my checking account. Will this work for cash advances? Thanks again for all of your help.
=)
Happy travels!James Bierman
16 February 2001
Joan's harange on VISA/debit cards.
Yes a debit card with a Visa emblem should work for cash advances. Be aware though that even though it is against Visa rules, many merchants in Asia will charge a surcharge for using the card, equal to a few percent (3% or less) of the purchase.
You should also consider this--if you are keeping most of your money in the bank account linked to your debit card, what are you going to do if someone steals your debit card, or your debit card number, and starts raiding your bank account? If they steal the card itself, you might know immediately, and be able to report it immediately; but if they steal the number you may not know until they have emptied your account.
At least if they steal a credit card number you can argue about charges you haven't yet paid. But if they dip into your bank account, you will find yourself arguing to regain money that has already disappeared from your account. plus, with your Visa/ debit card, the limit is not just a few thousand dollars, but rather your entire account balance, plus any credit line you may have linked to your account. You could be entirely wiped out. It is not likely but it is a possibility. We lost track of eric's whole wallet *twice* on the trip--once he left it on a train in China, and once he left it on a bank counter, again in China. Luckily
both times he recovered it and everything in it; and no credit cards/numbers were stolen. We also met travelers who had their wallets lifted, or stolen from hotel rooms. For this reason, we avoided using a Visa debit card during our travels.
The four-armed thief
While travelling in Czech Republic some years ago I bought a puppet, called, "The four-armed thief."
With it came a story of Joe the thief, who was a pickpocket. When he stole from the poor he grew two extra arms that stopped him from picking pockets. I wanted to know if this is a longer story or a book or is just a little story that goes with the puppet.Hope you can help, Many thanks
Andrew
11 Feb 2001Our Response:
Sorry Andrew, we have no clue, but we'll post this and let you know if any of our readers know the answer!
Just back from Costa Rica language school
Hola,
Stumbled upon your World Trip adventure while referencing some data on Costa Rica. Just got back from 4 months in Spanish school there. I enjoyed your travels.Thanks for sharing it with us.
Hasta luego, Robert Russell (Seattle)Our Response:
Gracias! How did you like the language school there, and how much did it cost?Robert's Response:
I thought the language school there was great. It is located in Santa Ana, just outside of San Jose, and was the school most of the Peace Corps used when there was still such an animal. The teachers were knowledgeable, warm, and are now good friends. You can check out their prices on the following web site. Their prices seem to be about average for Spanish
schools from what I saw in deciding upon a school.http://www.spanishincostarica.com/host.html
(readers: hit the back button on your browser, or select another letter from our list, to return to our letters).Headed back down for another two weeks. Could only manage to stay away from the country for 24 days. Hoo boy, guess I am hooked. :-)
Best regards, Robert
20 January 2001
Renting a house in San Sebastian, Spain
I was interested in what you had to say about San S, as I spent summers there when I was a child. Now, a grandmother, living in the U.S., I'd like to rent a place this summer (2001), and have the family have a look. I'm not sure how to go about it, and I'm worried about the ETA, but I'd still do it.
Isn't Spain a surprise? I love it. The variety, the people, the people, the people. Great. Are you still biking around? Habeis aprendido espanol ya? Espero que si!
Alice
10 January 2001Our Response:
Alice--
it's great to hear from someone who knows and loves San Sebastian, which remains one of our favorite places from our whole trip. We're not sure how to rent a place in San Sebastian, either, but it will probably be an easy thing to do through their chamber of commerce. The ETA is worrisome; but we have noticed that it sounds much worse from here than the people think it is there.Si, hemos apprendido un poco de Espanol. Estudiamos en un escuela de lengua en Salamanca por dos semanas; y ahora, estudio Espanol una vez por semana con una Espanola de Barcelona (Eric esta estudiando frances; puede entender espanol basico, mas o menos, pero por el, es dificil hablarlo.) Es obvio de esta carta que tengo mucho mas a apprender de grammatica .... Non?
Gracias por su carta; y buenas suerte con sus vaccaciones en San Sebastian!
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last updated 8 November 2001