|
A personal note from
Yvonne
|
|
I
am writing this introduction from freezing Hobart!!! There
is light sprinkling of snow in the city!!!
We are making a very quick visit with family from South Africa
to visit MONA and taste the wonderful food of this state.
I had not been to Tasmania for at least ten years and have been
blown away by what I have seen.
Salamanca Market must rate as one of the best markets in the
world. The quality of the goods and food available is
outstanding and the woollen products beautiful.
MONA - either you hate it or you love it. I loved the
Kiefer and the jury is still out on Marina Abramovic .There are
a few ways to get to MONA - but I have to thanks Jan and
Robert for introducing me to the Posh Pitt which is a stylish
way to travel to MONA by ferry.
The sky walk is closed but we spent a very pleasant afternoon
sipping cider and listening to music in the Willie Smith Apple
Museum. We also went to Port Arthur where we had a wonderful
guide who gave us an incredible insight into the life and
living conditions of the convicts. I would sincerely recommend
Hobart for a weekend break!
Later this month I will be off to Cuba and the
Southern States of the USA on our Pharmacy Small
Group Jazz and Blues Tour and shortly after our return
Mike is off to Myanmar to do the site inspection.
Until
next time,
Yvonne
Lazarow
Managing
Director
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
INFORMATION ON FUTURE AMACO/SMALL GROUP TOURS
|
|
As so many of you have requested what is in
the pipeline here is a preview of what we will offer:
Jazz and Blues Tour
22 August - 15 September 2015 to Cuba, New Orleans and a
Mississippi River Cruise (SOLD
OUT)
Vietnam
Tour with extension to Cambodia
14-26 September 2015 (www.amacovietnam2015.com.au).
Registrations will be closing shortly so contact us now to see
if there are still places available.
Japan
Tour
7 - 20 April 2016. Our 2016 conference year will kick off
with an amazing GP and Specialist Medical Conference and
Small Group Tour to Japan in April... timed
perfectly for the Cherry Blossom Festival. Running from 7 - 20 April 2016, the
all-inclusive itinerary spans 13 nights and includes Tokyo,
Takayama, Kanazawa, Hiroshima, Kyoto and Hakone. The group is
limited to no more than 60 participants. Take a look at the
information below or visitwww.amacojapan2016.com.au for
more information and to download a registration form. This
conference is open to participants who are not necessarily
doctors but like the way we do the small group tours.
Poland
and Czech Republic
The second of our planned conferences will take place in Poland from 6 - 14 June 2016. The itinerary
will focus on the beautiful cities of Warsaw and Krakow with the option to
extend to the Czech capital of Prague from
the 14 - 19 June 2016 available
for those with a little extra time. Mathew recently
visited Prague to put the finishing touches to our itinerary
and hopes to have a full brochure to you in the coming
weeks.
Golden
Pagoda Tour to Myanmar
4 - 22 October 2016 plus four nights in Bhutan (no website as
yet – the site inspection is scheduled for early
November). We are taking expressions of interest.
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A VERY SPECIAL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION (PART 1)
|
|
We gave Yvonne the task of creating
something very special for Kerry’s 70th birthday and
boy, did Impact come up with the goods. Our original idea was
to visit somewhere special for the actual day. What
eventuated was a 10 week trip visiting 5 different countries
and lots of highlights!
We began our journey with a 12 day cruise down the Irrawaddy
River in Myanmar (Burma). Our chosen boat was the Sanctuary
Ananda which had only been commissioned late last year and was
5 star all the way, with a maximum capacity of 42 people and
around 20 staff. Luckily for us, it was the end of the cruising
season and beginning of the wet season, so the boat only had 17
passengers which meant that we were totally pampered.
We began our cruise in exotic Mandalay and finished in Yangon,
the old capital, after travelling through Mingun and the lost city
of Bagan which has around 2,000 monasteries, temples, shrines
and stupas, and hosts the largest number of stupas and temples
in the one area in the world. Whilst on the boat, the crew
managed to organise a barbecue on a sandbank in the middle of
the river, complete with fireworks and the most magnificent
food (as well as a birthday cake for Kerry). It was a real
highlight. I told Kerry the fireworks were for him. Not sure
whether he believed me or not.
To our way of thinking the Irrawaddy was the best possible way
to see Myanmar as you were able to experience the everyday life
of the Burmese people on the river. They are such lovely
friendly people and watching them use their river for bathing,
fishing, washing and going about their daily lives, is a real
delight. The villages along the banks are incredibly poor and
basic, but everyone had a smile on their face when they saw
these “strange looking non locals” walking around their
villages. We don’t think we have ever seen a more smiley race
of people. They have nothing, but are so welcoming and happy.
After a fabulous 12 days, four of us flew to Inle Lake for four
days. Yet again, what an enchanting place, with even more
magnificent scenery and smiley people. We saw the leg
rowing boatmen, the floating gardens, cheroot factory and a
village actually on the lake with entire streets of houses on
stilts. Here again when the resort found out it was Kerry’s
birthday, a cake was produced and he was serenaded by not 1 but
7 minstrels!
We
flew from Yangon to Bangkok to Chang Rai then went by bus to
the Laos border where we were met by our guide. There were only
2 other people on our tour of northern Laos. After crossing the
border we boarded our boat for a 2 day cruise down the Mekong
to take in river life and spectacular scenery, stopping to
spend the night at Pakbeng then continuing to Luang Probang the
following day.
Luang
Probang is a UNESCO World Heritage listed town and is
surrounded by mountainous forests and has more than 30 gilded
Buddhist temples and well preserved French architecture. We had
lots of fun playing petanque with the locals and then going to
a hands-on cooking school at Tamarind Restaurant.
Another magical moment was getting up at 5.00am (that was not
the magical part of it) and watching a few hundred monks
walking in total silence, dressed in their saffron robes,
collecting their daily food. The streets were just awash with
colour. It was quite an eerie sensation but worth the
effort of getting up at that time.
(Continued next month )
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
COMMON TRAVEL PROBLEMS AND HOW TO SOLVE THEM
|
|
YOUR WALLET IS STOLEN
Solution: Contact the local police immediately and make
sure you get a copy of the crime report with the statements you
have made. Report any missing cards to your bank as soon as
possible - they may be able to send you a replacement card or
give you an emergency cash advance (dependent on bank).
Alternatively, someone from home could always use an online
money transfer operator to send you money. It's important that
you file a report with your travel insurance company as soon as
you can. Most travel insurance companies have strict time
regulations regarding when you report the crime to local
police, so make sure you don't delay this or you could miss out
on your compensation.
Top tips: Keep a decoy wallet with a few local currency
notes in case you're mugged. Keep your cash and cards in
different locations, rather than carrying everything together.
When you buy foreign currency, keep your receipt so the travel
insurance company knows how much you've lost. Before your
holiday, be sure to make a note of your bank's emergency 'lost
or stolen card' phone number.

JETLAG
IS RUINING YOUR HOLIDAY
Solution: Set
your watch on the plane to the time of the destination and
avoid too much alcohol, caffeine, fat and salt. If you arrive
in daylight, stay awake and don't have any naps. Do anything
you can to stop yourself falling asleep - go for a walk or have
a shower. Going in the sun can also help to reset our internal
clocks and exercise is good as it releases endorphins.
Top tips: Prepare ahead of time by changing your
sleeping and eating patterns before you go on holiday. Remember
the rule: "East to West is best, West to East is a
beast". Travelling east is worse for jet lag as we are
trying to go to sleep when our bodies are waking up and it
feels like you're waking up in the middle of the night.
YOU MISS YOUR FLIGHT
Solution: Firstly, stay calm and don't panic! If
it's your fault that you've missed the flight, whether you
are charged to change a flight really depends on the airline,
but a lot of staff have the power to waive payment. Make sure
you're super polite and apologetic and prepare to be patient
and wait until a new flight is available. If you've got a
frequent flier account, this will help you. If it's a missed
connection because of a previous flight delay, you may even be
able to blag some freebies out of it (depending on the airline
once again). Also - some airlines may be able to refund your
passenger bound taxes if you have to book a different flight,
so always ask about this.
Top tips: Always ask reception for a wake up call and
have a backup alarm if you've got an early flight time. Don't
leave right at the last minute - you never know what hold ups
(weather or traffic delays) there will be on the way.

YOU LOSE YOUR LUGGAGE
Solution: If your baggage hasn't shown up on the
conveyor belt - be patient then go to the airline's counter to
file a report. They may offer you a bag of essentials (i.e.
toiletries) and will take your contact details. Be aware that
the longer your luggage is lost, the more compensation the
airline will provide. Your travel insurance policy will
probably cover lost luggage too so check the wording on your
policy. Be aware that if you lose your bag after you've left
the baggage claim area, you need to contact the police, not the
airline.
Top tips: Label your bag clearly and put something
recognisable on it (i.e. a colourful ribbon around the handle)
so nobody takes it by mistake. Also take a photo of your
suitcase in case you need to show this to the airline. Keep all
valuables (as well as medication and glasses/contact lenses) in
your hand luggage bag and pack a change of clothes in your
carry on bag too. Be sure that the person checking in your
baggage attaches the correct destination tag to your
luggage.

YOU
GET FOOD POISONING
Solution: If you've got an upset stomach, stay hydrated
and sip lots of water. Take rehydration sachets and try to eat
bland foods such as bread, bananas, crackers, scrambled egg and
plain rice. Avoid spicy, sweet or fatty fried foods. Try to
avoid immediately resorting to anti-diarrhea medicine as it's
best to let the condition take its course. If you're vomiting,
avoid solid foods until it subsides. If it carries on for more
than a couple of days, contact a doctor.
Top tips: Avoid water that isn't bottled as well as ice.
Also be careful about bottles where the seal has been broken as
they have been refilled. Be wary of fruit and salad (they could
be washed in contaminated water). Also stay away from food that
has been standing around for a long time and exposed to flies,
as well as reheated food, especially rice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ANSWRS TO YOUR NEXT TRAVEL TRIVIA QUIZ
|
|
e hottest place in the world

Death Valley National Park, U.S.A. - The highest recorded
temperature, was taken on July 10, 1913, and it reached 134°f
(56°c).
The coldest place in the
world

Antarctica – In August 2010, the lowest recorded
temperature was recorded in the East Antarctic Plateau. The
record temperature was -135.8°f (-93°c).
The most populated city in
the world

Shanghai, China – With a population of over 24 million
residents.
The least populated city in
the world

Vatican City – With a population of 842 residents,
Vatican City also boasts the title of smallest state in the
world.
The wealthiest city in
the world

Tokyo, Japan – The city of Tokyo has the highest GDP
($1,520 billion) of any other city in the world.
The poorest city in the world

Kinshasa, D.R.C. – The Democratic Republic of Congo is
the poorest state in the world, and its capital, Kinshasa, is
the poorest city. It has a GDP of $55 billion, and most of its
residents live on less than $1 a day.
The highest place in
the world

Nepal – Mount Everest stands at 29,029 ft (8.84km),
and is the highest mountain in the world.
The lowest place in the
world (on land)

Dead Sea, Israel / Jordan – Located at -1,401 ft (-427m)
below sea-level, it is also the lowest lake in the world
The lowest place in the world
(underwater)

Mariana Trench, Pacific Ocean – In a depth of 35,797 ft
(10.91km) below sea level, it is known as “Challenger Deep”,
and has been visited by only 3 humans so far. (More people have
visited the moon)
The wettest place in
the world

Mawsynram, India – This region in the Indian subcontinent
enjoys an average of 467.35 inches (1187cm) of rain per year.
(In 1985, it had an amazing 1000 inches, or 25.4 meters of
rain!)
The driest place in the world

Atacama Desert, South America – It may be hard to
believe, but the Atacama Desert gets about 4 inches (10cm) of
rain every 1000 years. (Yes, 1000 years!)
The Oldest city in the world
(still exists)

Damascus, Syria - While there are many older cities
that no longer stand, the city of Damascus has evidence of
civilization going back 11,000 years, and is the oldest city
that still stands.
The newest country in the world

South
Sudan – Following a bloody genocide, the southern part of
Sudan, which consists mainly of Christians, split from the
northern part (Muslim majority) in 2011, making it the youngest
country in the world
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Skinny
Dipping. . .
An elderly man in Florida had owned a
large farm for several years. He had a large
pond in the back.
It was properly shaped for swimming, so he fixed it
up nice with picnic tables, horseshoe courts, and
some orange, and lime trees.
One evening the old farmer decided to go down to the
pond, as he hadn't been there for a while, and look
it over.
He grabbed a five-gallon bucket to bring back some
fruit. As he neared the pond, he heard voices
shouting and laughing with glee.
As he came closer, he saw it was a bunch of young
women skinny-dipping in his pond.
He made the women aware of his presence and they all
went to the deep end.
One of the women shouted to him, 'we're not coming
out until you leave!'
The old man frowned, 'I didn't come down here to watch
you ladies swim naked or make you get out of the pond
naked.. '
Holding the bucket up he said, 'I'm here to
feed the alligator.
Some old men can still think fast.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
25
|
|
|
|
|