Holiday Scams Warning

Cheapflights.com.au warns of holiday scams

With the summer holidays fast approaching record number of Australians are headed overseas. Ben Rosier, travel expert at cheapflights.com.au warns holidaymakers to beware of tricks and scams that can wreck a trip of a lifetime.

"In a foreign country people let their guard down, relax, and often behave in a way they never would back home – leaving them open to highly-organised tourist scams," says Ben.

"These scams often play on the traveller's kind and trusting nature, their desire to save on holiday purchases, and their lack of local knowledge."

Michael McAuliffe, executive director at insurance provider SureSave, says it is difficult to pinpoint the exact number of Australians who fall victim to scams overseas as travellers often don't realise they've been caught out until it is too late and many are simply too embarrassed to admit being fooled by a simple con.

"All it takes is a momentary lapse of judgement to fall prey to scammers, and yet you might regret it for a very long time," says Mr McAullife.

The key piece of advice is to keep your wits about you and learn from past travellers' mistakes and, if in doubt, call the police.

Common cons:

Fake Police: If a traveller finds themselves being accused of a crime they didn't commit, chances are they're dealing with a counterfeit cop. A common story is that fake police might charge an over the top, on-the-spot fine for putting out a cigarette in public. Always check the officer's ID and contact the real police if you have any doubts.

Gem Scams: En route to their official destination dodgy tuk-tuk or taxi drivers take travellers to stores where they are offered deals that are literally too good to be true. The so called Gem Scam can actually involve any high-priced or desirable item such as leather goods or "authentic" carpets. Victims soon discover their "jewels" may be nothing more than polished glass and those larger items, well; they never make it back home.

Distraction: These can be anything from a child waving a paper in your face to an old woman needing assistance or a local helping you wipe mess off your shirt. While you are distracted, a second crook comes in and swipes your stuff. The key to making it out with all your valuables intact is to pay careful attention to your belongings and others around you.

Bar Scams: These can take a variety of forms, but the basics involve a traveller, usually male, being approached by locals who invite them for a drink in a bar. After a few drinks the locals are gone and the traveller is left with a ridiculously large bill.

Taxis: Some of the most common taxi scams are inflating fares or telling passengers their selected hotel/bar/restaurant is closed – but, never fear, they know a better one. Always travel in licenced taxis and if there is not a meter, agree on a fixed fare before departure. Also, insist on going to your original destination and see if it's closed for yourself.

www.cheapflights.com.au searches and compares the best value holidays by working with more than 300 travel partners to find the most affordable travel flight and travel packages.

Today's Hot Deals at cheapflights.com.au:

Return flights to Vanuatu from Sydney from - $565. Includes taxes. For travel from 1 February until 31 May 2013.

Return flights to Los Angeles from Melbourne – from $1128. Including taxes. For travel until 28 November 2012.

Return flights to Las Vegas from Sydney from $1526. For travel from 27 November to 2 December 2012.

Return flights to Fiji from Sydney from $550. Includes taxes. For travel between 2 February and 26 March 2013. Fares from other ports are from $617-Brisbane; $733-Melbourne; $831-Adelaide.

Ocean Cruise Guide

www.oceancruiseguide.com

Struth! Hotel manager gives dopey guest the wind-up

IN his continuing search for the more weird, wacky and wondrous in the world of travel, David Ellis says that when a couple left their car parked at Sydney Airport's Ibis Hotel while they made an extended overseas trip, they discovered a hotelier who showed what it meant to go beyond the call of duty.

In their haste, the couple inadvertently left a window of their car wound down before flying off to the UK and Europe. Ibis General Manager, Larry Raffel noticed the open window during his nightly check of the hotel car-park before going home, and with rain threatening, and for temporary security, got hold of a car-cover from a mate and blanketed the couple's car.

As well, aware that the couple's daughter was baby-sitting their house, office and family dog in the NSW Southern Highlands, he contacted her next day and arranged for a spare set of keys to be Express Posted to him so he could wind-up the electrically-controlled window, and lock the car.

Our STRUTH columnist Ellis says it certainly was service above and beyond the call of duty, the more-so with the Ibis being a so-called "airport budget hotel." And Ellis admits that he should know – he was the dope who left the car's window down in the first place…

WHEEL DEAL CONFOUNDS THE NAYSAYERS

David Ellis

WITH a self-drive writing trip on the slate that would take us from Heathrow to England's Cotswolds, across to Wales to ride their famed Little Trains, back into England for Staffordshire's Trentham Monkey Forest, and down to Heathrow again, mates in the know told us we'd need a good ten days to comfortably meet our goals.

But we had just half that, and were heading into back-blocks we either knew nothing about, or had last driven over a quarter-century ago.

Cut your itinerary in half, suggested one doomsayer. Re-write it entirely, suggested another. Talk to coach companies, suggested yet others.

But the car had been booked, the hotels pre-paid – and most important of all, we'd got interest in our travels from those who mattered most… our editors.

We'd requested GPS when we'd booked a Vauxhall Zafira (similar to a Subaru Forester) through DriveAway Holidays, and felt this would be our time-saver. Not so said the naysayers.

Then my web-hugging wife discovered Select Sojourning Solutions, and John Greenwood who offered private guiding to those who, like us, wanted to cover the most ground possible, learn the most, see the most, and delve into the most – all in the least possible time.

Gwenda fired off an email to which John zoomed back overnight. Yes, he knew all places great and small we wanted to visit, yes he was available, and yes, of course we could achieve it all in our five days. Better still, comfortably.

We explained our change of plans to DriveAway Holidays. No problem: John would be registered as an "additional driver" at no extra cost (even though he would be doing all of it!) and to speed things up they'd arrange with their UK supplier to make our car available directly to John at a depot close to him, with no need for us to be there for either pick-up or return.

We flew into Heathrow on a Monday night, and John arrived next morning at our airport Ibis Hotel fifteen minutes ahead of schedule, cheerfully loaded our luggage, and within minutes we were on the road to Woodstock in the Cotswolds for a nostalgic lunch at our favourite little English country hotel, The Feathers.

And John soon proved his worth as a knowledgeable and affable guide: within an hour he came up with the first of many unexpected gems, suggesting we make a quick diversion before Woodstock into the little village of Bladon – final, and unpublicised, resting place at its Church of St Martin of Sir Winston Churchill, his beloved Clementine and many of his family.

There wasn't another tourist in sight, which is how the locals like it… and why they don't publicise their treasure-trove graveyard.

And we discovered The Feathers now proudly boasted the world's most expensive gin-and-tonic, a GBP23 (AU$30) drop – in the name of research, we were again thankful for having John aboard as our driver.

Despite this dalliance we still made Porthmadog in north Wales by dusk on the Tuesday night, and in the next three days rode the Snowdon Mountain Cog Railway, dropped into the Welsh Slate Museum and Caverns which were another of John's unscheduled gems, took the West Highland Railway to Caernarvon, clicketty-clacked across the Festiniog Railway – and marvelled at John's greatest surprise gem, the extraordinary Portmeirion Italianate Village.

We now had just one day to get across to the open-range Trentham Monkey Forest for Gwenda, a lover of animals in general and monkeys in particular, and Heathrow. Again John, a one-time marketing researcher and consultant whose passion for the histories and cultures of Britain and European countries led him into customised tour guiding at age 50, proved his worth.

Sightseeing back-roads and villages for much of the way we "did" the Monkey Forest, found yet another of John's unscheduled gems in the Wedgwood Factory, Museum and Shop just off the M6 at Stoke-on-Trent, and amazingly were back in Heathrow by 4pm for our flight that night to Rome… with 1160km behind us in five days.

FACT FILE:  Vauxhall Zafira for 5-days through DriveAway Holidays for pickup Heathrow up to January 31 2013 including unlimited mileage and 24hr roadside assistance, from $356.24; phone1300 363 500. John Greenwood GBP200 per day plus GBP100 planning fee, his meals and accommodation: details www.sojourning.co.uk or jdgreenwood24@hotmail.com



PHOTO CAPTIONS:

[] LITTLE known final resting place of Sir Winston Churchill.

[] WALES' famed "Little Trains" – note how the driver just fits in.

[] GWENDA and John checking we're on track at one of Wales' unpronounceable little town.

[] A TASTE of Italy at Portmeirion in Wales.

[] WILD: monkeys roam free at Monkey World at Trentham in England.


(All photos: David Ellis)

Getting the Gibbon Experience

Dispatch from Lee Mylne

Today is World Responsible Tourism Day. To mark the occasion, here is a story I wrote last year after travelling in Laos. This story, of which I am very proud, was one of three finalists in the Best Responsible Tourism Story category of the Australian Society of Travel Writers‘ annual Travel Journalism Awards for Excellence, announced last week. It was published in Geographical magazine in the UK. The wonderful images accompanying this story were taken by Australian photographer Paul Wager, who is based in Laos.

A guest at the Gibbon Experience riding part of the 52km of zip lines

 READ FULL STORY AT LEE MYLNE'S BLOG: A GLASS HALF FULL

Kingdom of Dreams - Culture Gully

Eat Your Way Around India in One Night

Kingdom of Dreams main pavilion

Kingdom of Dreams, India’s first live entertainment and leisure destination located in Gurgaon, is proud to present Culture Gully, one of the core attractions of this unique destination. Spread over 100,000 square feet Culture Gully is an elaborate boulevard of culture, arts & crafts and cuisine under India’s first ever skydome. This magical avenue offers an exciting experience of a busy Indian street showcasing India as a delightful destination to savour the best of local cuisines, sample many of India’s renowned handicrafts and enjoy live performances by traditional artists. The Culture Gully presents a magnificent Indian carnival showcasing 14 states of India in all their splendour on a single street enveloped under the breathtaking skydome. It is a kaleidoscope of India’s unique cultural diversity. Culture Gully brings together the grandeur of India’s ancient and diverse architecture, integrated perfectly with traditional Indian performing arts, entertainment and India’s rich cultural heritage.

Culture Gully entrance facade

Six restaurants, six show kitchens, three street bars and seven retail stores, representing 14 states of India engage and entertain visitors at Culture Gully. Interesting architectural and cultural facets of Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Chennai, Goa, Mumbai, Lucknow, Kashmir and Rajasthan, are presented in this magnificent boulevard. Visitors have a surfeit of options from enjoying a leisurely cup of South Indian filter coffee at the unusual Madras Café, to a massage near the beaches of Goa; from trendy shopping on Mumbai’s fashion street to enlightening spiritualism at the Mystic Centre. Assam Tea House welcomes all visitors with India’s famed variety of teas, while enjoying performances and wares of local artisans, street performers and folk dancers from across the country.

Goa Pavilion

The sheer artistry extends to the splendour of the architectural details at Culture Gully. It places a visitor in the midst of a huge set of an epic serial or period movie with its imposing façade designed by Omung Kumar. His innovative multilayered and complex architectural style and ingenious designs, have given Kingdom of Dreams and Culture Gully a unique dimension.

Chennai Pavilion

Here you can visit a quaint tavern in Goa; imbibe the spirit of Kerala’s backwaters; or walk past Mumbai’s Rajabai Clock Tower, all while you savour authentic cuisine, crafts and culture! Choose from over 20 amazing food and beverage destinations with over 250 regional dishes, cooked by our 140 chefs; brought in from various culinary destinations across India. This uniquely modern yet intrinsically Indian destination is expected to contribute to domestic tourism and carve its place as a must visit attraction in the hearts and minds of Indian and International visitors.”

Entertainment is never to be the same before since Kingdom of Dreams has opened its gates to this magical and mystical arena.

http://kingdomofdreams.in

Struth! Worm your way to world champion

IN his continuing search for the more weird, whacky and wondrous in the world of travel, David Ellis says hundreds of people with obviously little better to do, descend on the English village of Willaston in Cheshire every July for the World Worm Charming Championships.

The idea is to lure as many worms as possible out of a designated area of farm turf in half an hour, with contestants using a wondrous array of devices to "vibrate" the soil, which makes the inquisitive worms come up for a look.

It's an ancient art often used by anglers seeking bait, and in 1980 after a Willaston farmer's son, Tom Shufflebotham lured over 500 worms out of the ground in a half hour, the International Federation of Charming Worms and Allied Pastimes was formed to conduct the annual Willaston Championships.

Today it attracts worm charmers from around the world, some contestants simply thumping the ground with their open palms, others driving wooden stakes in and rubbing them with steel rods, while some choose the most popular method - driving a garden fork into the ground and "twanging" it like a guitar.

And in more recent years, some have bent the rules a little, sprinkling the turf on which the Championships are held with cold tea and beer to encourage the ever-thirsty worms to pop up for a drink.

The current record of 567 worms charmed out of the ground in thirty minutes was set by locals Miss S. and Mr M. Smith in 2009.

SIR HENRY’S HOME TRULY WAS HIS CASTLE

 

david ellis

CANADIAN businessman Sir Henry Pellatt firmly believed in every man's home being his castle, so when he and Lady Mary decided in 1912 on somewhere new to live, they had plans drawn up for just that – a castle.

He was not the least phased when his architect said he would first need 25 hilltop housing lots overlooking Toronto to accommodate it, nor that it would take 300 men three years to put his castle together.

And as for the cost, that was no problem either: Sir Henry had a loose C$3,500,000 (about $48m in today's terms) he'd put aside just for his house. Sorry, castle.

Today, as a result of Sir Henry falling on hard times just ten years after moving into his castle, inquisitive visitors can take themselves on a nostalgic tour of the Pellatt's remarkable fairytale home.

They can marvel at its 98 Edwardian-era rooms that took 40 staff and cooks to maintain and service, a banquet hall with 18m high ceilings, a kitchen with an oven large enough to cook a whole ox, secret passageways, artworks, a library that once housed 10,000 volumes, three bowling alleys (that were never completed,) and a wine cellar that held more bottles than most of us could contemplate getting through in a lifetime.

There's also Lady Mary's personal suite that alone covers an average Australian suburban house block, and a couple of secret passages that, according to legend, were there should Sir Henry have need to slip away unnoticed...

Henry Pellatt was born into a wealthy Canadian stock-broking family in 1859, and as a young man made a fortune from the family company and his own investments in everything from railways to insurance companies and founding the Toronto Electric Light Company.

While he chaired the boards of 21 companies, he was also very active in the volunteer Canadian Queen's Own Rifles, while Lady Mary worked tirelessly with the Canadian Girl Guides, receiving their highest honour, the Silver Fish.

Henry Pellatt was awarded a knighthood for his services both to the Queen's Own Rifles and for bringing electricity to Toronto from Niagara Falls.

The Pellatts moved into their castle in 1914 and named it Casa Loma, Spanish for The House on the Hill.

Because one of his investments was the Roman Stone Company, the castle was built of replica ancient roman building blocks the company cast from concrete, with foundations sunk 15m into the ground to support it.

A keen horseman, Sir Henry's stables had each horse's name displayed in gold leaf on their stall's mahogany doors. And in case it rained, a 250m-long tunnel ran 6-metres under an outside roadway to link castle and stables.

Although designed externally along medieval lines, Casa Loma had some amazing mod-cons for its time, including showers with nozzles spraying from the top and three walls as well, and one of Canada's first private elevators. And being keen gardeners the Pellatts had a conservatory and potting house with floors and walls of Italian and Canadian marble, topping it with a stained-glass dome that was backlit with 600 new-fangled electric light bulbs to show it off by night and day – and promote the product of his Toronto Electric Light Company.

To communicate through the castle's jigsaw of rooms and the outside world, a private 59-line telephone exchange handled more calls in its first few years than the entire City of Toronto.

But World War I hit Sir Henry hard, his stock crashed, companies folded and he and Lady Mary were forced to auction off C$1.5m in art and furnishings for a mere C$250,000, abandoning Casa Loma in 1923 for their small farm outside town; Lady Mary died that same year and Sir Henry in 1939.

For a while the castle operated as a luxury hotel and became a popular nightspot. The City of Toronto seized it for unpaid taxes in 1933 and leased it to the Kiwanis Club of Toronto (later the Kiwanis Club Casa Loma,) which used it to raise funds for the castle's maintenance and charitable projects until management was taken over again in 2011 by the City Council.

Casa Loma is open daily except Christmas Day, and the 2ha gardens from May to October; for details visit www.casaloma.org

                                                    ………………………..

 

PHOTO CAPTIONS: (CANADA TORONTO CASA LOMA….                              

 

[]  EVERY man's home is his castle: the extraordinary castle-home of Sir Henry and Lady Mary Pellatt.                                  

[] JUST the place for potting up the plants: Casa Loma's Conservatory whose stained-glass dome was back-lit with 600 electric light globes.

[] TUNNEL vision: Sir Henry had several "secret" tunnels for emergency escape routes, plus this one under the outside road to his stables.

[] PART of the 2ha of landscaped gardens surrounding Casa Loma Castle.

 

(Photos: Kiwanis Club Casa Loma)