"The World according to DesertRat" DesertRat's Profile

I started traveling fairly early: trips to national parks, mostly in the western US and Canada with my parents. With the exceptions of the Badlands and the Black Hills, the landscape in western South Dakota where I grew up is pretty bleak -- and I felt it. Somehow I knew from very early on that I wanted to see what was over the next hill, which probably explains why I opted to major in a foreign language, for that gave me a pretty good excuse to start traveling seriously. An early adiction to The National Geographic Magazine helped to encourage my wanderlust, too?

Things finally got started between my junior (third) and senior (fourth) years at university when I went to Austria to study. With that first European experience, I was hooked. I spent every available bit of time going somewhere and in the space of two years there I had covered most of what we used to call Western Europe: from Lule? at the top of Sweden's Bay of Bothnia in the north to Rome in the South, and from Vienna and Budapest in the East to Madrid in the West. After a year or two back in the US, I got fed up with the place and returned to Europe.

Underway -- in Iceland as a matter of fact -- I met an Iranian Jew (Yes, there are such things!) who was on his way home. Since we were both going to Switzerland initially, we took the same train from Luxembourg and during trip he suggested that I go to Teheran to teach English. I said I'd think about it. Two weeks later I was on a bus from Munich to Teheran via Istanbul. During the course of the succeeding three or four years, I spent most of my time in S. Asia and the Middle East, with long periods in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

A few years later saw my wife and me on a 6 1/2 month overland junket from Mexico City to Buenos Aires and subsequent trips to Mexico and Guatemala. Once we moved to Saudi Arabia in 82, we've spent most summers traveling, covering much of Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Our only real blank spot on the globe is Africa. Although we've been on the continent physically, Egypt scarcely counts as "African".

We're leaving on 24/6 for Johannesburg. Looking forward to the animals in Kruger and Pilanesberg national Parks. Will be down there for about 3 weeks before heading to the US.

In early January my wife, Myra, and I had the pleasure of a braai (barbeque) at Glenn Kasner's home outside Cape Town. He had graciously invited us and Peter (simpsons9) for what proved to be a long and very enjoyable evening. We traded travel tales and much else over grilled fish and crisp, cold, white wine. It was an event that none of us will soon forget.

Unusual Pages:
In the 30+ years I have been knocking about this planet, I have managed to hit a few places that travelers nowadays are either unlikely to be able to visit or, indeed, a few that, for political reasons, simply no longer exist in the form they once did. Among these are the following:

1) Afghanistan
2) The GDR (German Democratic Republic a.k.a. East Germany)
3) Saudi Arabia

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Favorite Places of Mine
Here's a somewhat truncated list of some favorite places in Europe, many of which are relatively unknown to non-Europeans. For various reasons, you will not necessarily find specific entries for all of them in my pages, mostly because I don't have photographs of every place I have visited over the years available to me here in Oman.

My favorite European cities:

Small cities:
• Salzburg (Austria)
• Telč (Czech Republic)
• Dubrovnik (Croatia)
• Salamanca (Spain)
• Quedlinburg (Germany)
• Mallaig (Scotland)
• Bern (Switzerland)
• Killarney (Eire)
• Pecs (Hungary)
• Brugge/Bruges (Belgium)

Prettiest Capitals:
• Bern
• Stockholm
• Tallinn

Scenic Areas:
• Ordesa National Park (Spain)
• The Untersberg (S. of Salzburg in the "Deutsche Eck'" of Bavaria)
• The N. Coast of Devon and Cornwall
• The Isle of Skye (Scotland)
• The Berner Oberland (Swiss alpine region S. of Bern and centered in Interlaken)
• The Haukeli Highway in S. Norway
• Die Sächsische Schweiz (Saxon Switzerland) along the Elbe SE of Dresden, Germany.)
• The Harz Mountains (S of Hannover,Germany)
• The drive from Salamanca (Spain) to Coimbra (Portugal)
• The Loire Valley (France)
• The Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse (Highway over the Grossglockner Pass in the Austrian Alps SW of Salzburg)

Lesser-known Tourist spots/activities:
•The Postojnska Jama Caves (Slovenia) There's a train inside!
•Elbe Cruise from Dresden to Bad Schandau (Germany) Some cruises continue on into the Czech Republic.
•St. Michael's Mount (Mont St. Michel's double in the Bay of Penzance, UK)
•Legoland (Billund, Denmark)
The Castle in Trenčin (Slovakia)
•Znaim (Czech Republic near the Austrian border)
•Parma (Italy) between Florence and Rome.
•The narrow gauge steam trains that cross the Harz in Germany. (Harzquerbahn)
•The German Border Museum in Marienborn. (The old E. German border checkpoint on the autobahn between Hannover and Berlin has been turned into a museum.)
•The island of Mainau in the Lake of Constance (Der Bodensee), Germany. Superb botanical gardens in a subtropical micro-climate.)

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Favorite Airlines
Emirates
Owned by Dubai's ruling family, the Al-Maktoums, this one of the classiest airlines in the world. Superb service even in economy class, where passengers all have their own LCD screens, foot rests, and little "winglets" at the top of the seat on either side to lean your head against when you sleep.

Qantas
The Aussies know how to handle long-haul flights. They feed you, show you one movie, and then let you sleep the rest of the way across the Pacific. Very civilized treatment here! I, for one, hate being woken up to eat, which some airlines do in the mistaken belief that people would rather eat than sleep.

Malaysia Airlines
Like most other South East Asian airlines, MAS knows what service is and how to provide it. Somehow, they always manage to make me feel like I'm the only passenger on the plane -- even flying economy. For the present, they’re the only company with a non-stop flight between Dubai (UAE) and New York, too!

KLM Royal Dutch
I've flown more miles than I care to think about on KLM. They're efficient, friendly, and the food's not bad. That said, their seats aren't as comfortable as they once were, possibly because of the influence of their partner, Northwest. They're still my favorite transatlantic carrier. And they're based at Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam, one of the world's best. This, too, is a plus.

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Nationwide
This relatively new, primarily domestic, South African carrier is very, very good. We've flown them but once between Cape Town and Jo'burg, but we were very impressed: leather seats, friendly, competent service, and remarkably good food made for a very pleasant flight. And for anyone in the UK, they are flights from Gatwick to Jo'burg, one I certainly wouldn't think twice about taking advantage of. Generally, airlines are better on their international routes than on their domestic ones, so Nationwide's long-hauls to Britain ought to be very comfy, indeed...

Northwest – The only thing I have good to say about "Northworst" is that their WorldPerks frequent flyer program is one of the best AND that they have their own staff of meteorologists, so their pilots are given real-time weather updates. Othewise they're awful. The food -- if you get any -- is appalling; cabin crew are surly, patronizing, and thoroughly unpleasant; and ground staff would sooner snarl than help.

Update on Northwest: although I find it hard to believe, transatlantic service on Northwest seems to be improving. We flew them from Amsterdam to Newark in June 2003 and were quite pleased. The food was a lot better and the cabin staff were far more pleasant and helpful. Will it last?? Who knows…

Indian Airlines - India's state-owned domestic
carrier is lousy. Cramped seating, vile food, indifferent service, and an appalling punctuality record all make
for a thoroughly distasteful flying experience.

Other American Carriers --
I fly American air carriers if and only if I have absolutely no other choice. I'd rather fly anything else -- well, almost anything else. (I'd take an American carrier over most African ones any day of the week simply because of the safety consideration....) Service is a little better on international routes, but domestically, they're all pretty bad when compared with airlines elsewhere in the world. Since Reagan deregulated the industry in the early 80s, service has gone to hell. Very little food is ever served, indeed, you now have to pay for it on some carriers if you want anything at all; you pay for booze and earphones in economy; and you get treated like the cattle they consider you to be. You won't even necessarily get where you're going on time.

One good thing, however: If you can keep your schedule fairly loose, you can often get free tickets by simply agreeing to fly later or the next day because they overbook all the time. I never can take advantage of it, but I've heard Northwest offer volunteers free tickets to any destination anywhere within
North America and the Caribbean if they will agree to fly the following day.

Airports
Not necessarily in this order, but :
1) Las Vegas
Unbelievably congested baggage claim area that beggars all description! Avoid it at all costs!

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Nairobi, Kenya)
Having just had the dubious privilege of experiencing two connections in Nairobi between flights on Kenya Airways, I can say without a moment's hesitation that this airport is the worst I have ever encountered anywhere in the world. Being sent through a door and down rickety stairs and out onto the tarmac, dodging luggage trains and breathing in exhaust fumes while looking for our connecting aircraft is not something I'd wish on my worst enemy. AVOID THIS EXPERIENCE AT ALL COSTS!! (More shortly in an account on a new Nairobi page.)

JFK International (New York City)
Huge, with at least a dozen terminal buildings, it's confusing, the buildings are often dirty, and the staff is insufferable. It gives you the worst possible first impression of the USA. Fly into Newark instead!

London Heathrow
Again, huge. Signposting is not the best, so it's often confusing. Gatwick, Luton, or Stansted are all much more user-friendly. I avoid Heathrow when possible.

Ninoy Aqino International (Manila)
Mainly, the trouble here is that it is very dirty and very dingy looking because the lighting is bad. It just makes you want to say, "I wanna get outa this place!"

Lindbergh International (Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, USA)
This one has been greatly expanded in the past few years. It's now confusing, you've got huge distances to cover, and there aren't enough moving sidewalks. As is true of all US airports, it's totally non-smoking, so if you need a smoke, you have to go all the way outside. Even there, they have specific smoking areas set up -- at either end of the terminal building! If you smoke anywhere else, the Minnesota Nicotine-Nazis will be on you in a minute. Those cops will even fine you!

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A Note for First Timers to the US
My USA page has lots of basic, nuts 'n' bolts information for you. Some of it covers things most guide books fail to mention, e.g., how to use the phone system and how highways are differentiated on road maps!

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Achtung erstmalige USA-Besucher!!
Schauen Sie sich, bitte, meine USA-Seite an! Dort finden Sie vieles interessantes, das Sie in anderen Auskunftsquellen wohl nicht finden können! (Sie stammt ja schließlich von einem Ami-Mitglied, der dort aufgewachsen ist...) Unter anderem biete ich Ihnen Gebrauchshinweise für das jetzt sehr kompliziert gewordene US-Telefonsystem an.