Looking for Value: Three Options

by Jamie Rhein on

When I saw “Value Vacations” at Kiplinger.com, I thought that meant cheap. Nope. What that meant was vacations that were less expensive than others. Three of these not cheap vacations caught my attention as future possibilities for my own overseas destinations.

The price tag on the Prague trip for two was $5,100 for 6 nights. That included the airfare from Chicago, a overnights in an inn and concerts tickets. Prague is a value destination because you get more bang for your buck if you’re heading to Europe. This was an upscale trip for not upscale prices.

Another place is Buenos Aires. This trip cost $2,000 less than the Prague trip and tango lessons were part of the price tag. According to the article, American actor, Robert Duvall is in love with the place and has been there 60 times. Since the man makes terrific, thoughtful movies, I trust his judgment. I’d say with that many visits, he knows something.

San Juan, Puerto Rico, the last of five destinations, seems like the best fit for a family with a 5 year-old and a 14 year-old like mine. Historical sites, beaches, scenery and cultural activities make for enough variety to make everyone feel satisfied. The family mentioned in the article stayed in a $200 a night 3-star hotel. I checked with one on-line source and saw hotel rooms that range from $60-$120. Perhaps you can take this value vacation and actually make it cheap.

Psychic is Threat to Security

by Iva Skoch on

Last week, police at Prague’s airport stepped up security…because of a psychic’s call: she had a premonition about attacks on airliners.

Apparently, the woman called the cops, and identified herself, saying she was a professional psychic, then described specific flights that were threatened in her “psychotronic” vision. I guess the world we live in is so crazy, the police can’t afford to ignore any warning, so they sent machine-gun-toting extra security to the airport, in their armored vehicles.

As if it weren’t bad enough at airports these days, now “professional psychics” are calling up and bothering the police about these things.

Cross-Cultural Smoking Etiquette

by Iva Skoch on

I witnessed an interesting cafe scene in Prague the other day.

Two local girls are sitting in a packed local cafe, drinking coffee and chain smoking. Two Americans at a table next to theirs start eating and politely ask the girls if they could stop smoking while they eat. The girls are visibly annoyed, but they do stop smoking. For the rest of the lunch hour, they talk about being fed up with foreigners who bring their healthy-living, assertive attitudes and impose them on the locals. Why don’t they stay at their smoke-free homes, they said. The American guys were thinking more in terms of “your freedom ends where my freedom begins.”

Mind you, it is virtually impossible to find a smoke free restaurant in Prague and about one half of the adult population smokes. Unlike the US, smoking is still kind of cool here.

Is it OK for a foreigner to ask a local to stop smoking in a place where smoking is allowed? Hmmm, what’s a health-obsessed, smoke-hating American to do?

The Consequences of Drinking Tourism

by Iva Skoch on

I had to laugh at a recent article regarding the grueling work of the British Embassy, helping tourists after misfortunes. With the recent glut of cheap flights to Prague, there’s been a rise in “beer tourism,” whereby punters come to Prague to enjoy gallons of excellent, but cheap, Czech beer. (Stag parties alone account for 10% of the 650,000+ British tourists to Prague.) This travel is not without its consequences, however.

According to the article, the two broad categories of light-night hazards for embassy staff are a) being woken up in the middle of the night to replace lost passports, and b) being woken up in the middle of the night to go meet tourists who can’t remember where they are staying and are seeking shelter at the embassy. As you might guess, both problems arise primarily from too much of the yellow nectar.

A recent example is indicative: a man came in after a pub crawl, “unable to recall anything about his hotel, even once he had sobered up later in the day” according to a spokesperson. Another “young man was arrested for dancing in a fountain naked” and had to be assisted by the Embassy. In seven months, incidents numbered 155.

So, the Embassy has responded. It is socking those folks with 84.50-pound charges for using these emergency services, and it’s spending 3,000 pounds on a poster, beer coaster, and leaflet campaign to try to reduce these incidents through education. But, I’m thinking, if you’re too drunk to remember anything about your hotel, I’m not sure you can read a beer coaster….

Lonely Planet’s Passport To… On PSP

by Adrienne Wilson on

Thanks to my LP Comet email subscription I just found one more reason to invest in a Playstation Portable (PSP). Yes, the same device used for gamers can now be used by travelers ready to discover weekend getaways in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rome, Paris, Prague and London. The fully interactive, portable and up-to-the-minute ‘Passport To’ city guides will feature details on 250 of the hottest bars, clubs, hotels, shops, services, and attractions. In addition to the same material you’d find in the old paper LP guidebooks interested takers will visually receive three off-the-beaten track audio tours and essential language phrases with audio. Sounds like a good investment so far. Not to mention the PSP unit is easy to carry and multi-functional. I’ve handled one here and there on various occasions and was quite impressed. This however, ices the cake. Check out the website dedicated to the ‘Passport To’ series and learn more about PSP.