Andy Hahn Travel

While in Copenhagen it is a must to buy the Copenhagen card. It can be purchased for 24,48 or 72 hours. It saved me so much money, I had plenty left over to enjoy the beer! For example, I bought the 72 hour card for 320 kroner. If I had purchased all of the separate attraction admissions and paid for each bus and train ride, I would have been out by over 500 kroner. However, the card does not discount the Kronborg Castle in Helsingor, only the Maritime Museum on the castle grounds. It is also not open Mondays; I learned all of this the hard way, but since Sweden is only 20 minutes away by ferry, and a 50% discount is given with the Copenhagen card, I visited another country for the afternoon. Awesome plan - my only regret was that I had to come home. Mark Hoewisch (Mar 9 You can meet Danes in their own homes by contacting the Tourist Office, Odense City Hall, DK5000, Odense, C ( (45) 6612 7520) telling them of any particular interest you have and they will try to match you with an appropriate contact. We did this in advance last summer and met a nice Danish couple who were able to answer several questions we had about various aspects of Scandinavian lifestyle.

My route in Croatia took me Split - Hvar - Korcula - Split, all by Jadrolinija, and cost 62 Kuna deck class. Apparently the more tickets you buy together, the cheaper it becomes. The Croatian Tourist office in London sells 10, 20 and 30 day Jadrolinija tickets that can be used on all domestic routes. A ten day travel pass costs 43 - but to be frank I don’t think that it is a bargain unless you intend travelling fast and frequently.

In Suzdal (Around Moscow), the money change and visa card facilities at GTK and the bank in the town are no longer. The bank is now housed in a modern purpose-built building but only exchanges US dollars or UK pounds. The facility at the hotel was closed down due to lack of custom.

In Irkutsk, American Express Travellers cheques can be changed at the following address : Sverdlova 40, Vneshtorgbank. Their opening hours are 8.30 am to 3.30 pm with a break from 1 pm to 2 pm.

I have recently completed an independent journey from Beijing to Moscow at a cost of US$190. You can arrange the trip through the China International Travel Service (CITS) which is located in the Beijing International Hotel. All you need to do is fax CITS your booking request and they will return confirmation by fax wherever you are in the world. They require that you pay in full, one week before departure or your booking will be cancelled. Most people arrive well before this time so they can have a good look around. Contact CITS : ( 0086 10 651 20507, fax : 0086 10 651 20503.)

Alternative ways of doing the Trans-Siberian can be very expensive. Hong Kong charges a minimum of U$90 commission and in the UK the packages are about US$430.

If you are taking a cheap flight which will be 10 hours or more, have plenty of rest, before the flight and drink a lot of fluid. Avoid alcohol before and during flight because altitude causes dehydration and might lead to prolong jet lag.

Dust off your party masks and brush up on your salsa moves–Carnival is around the corner. Taking place this year from Friday, February 25 to Tuesday, March 7 (better known in the English-speaking world as Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras), Carnival is the week or so of unrestrained merriment that precedes the holy month of Lent in the Catholic calendar. It’s name is derived from the Latin for “Farewell to the Flesh”–a bit of a misnomer considering how much flesh is bared at most Carnival festivities. It’s been around in the Old World longer than in the New, so Carnival in the former (mainly in Venice, Italy, and C?diz, Spain) tends to be more restrained and full of tradition than the free-wheeling debauchery of such New World hotspots as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and New Orleans, USA. But really, Carnaval, Carnevale, Carnival…no matter how you spell it or where you celebrate it, the word almost always guarantees lots of dancing, lots of drinking, and (in most cases) lots of nudity.