Last week I realized that a new breed of flier has emerged in America’s airports and reluctantly, I have joined its ranks. Call us defensive fliers or strategic schedulers. In today’s chaotic airport culture, getting to your destination, requires a whole new set of skills.

My introduction began last Thursday evening at Newark. I was waiting to board US Airways 6:10 p.m. flight to Phoenix, when an announcement was made that travelers connecting on to Phoenix should go back to the ticket counters to rebook their flights. The gate agent promised the rest of us Phoenix-bound travelers an update, but clearly this was not a good sign. It turns out that a passenger on the inbound flight had died of a heart attack. Hazmat crews were on their way, which usually means that the plane goes out of service. Finally, the agent conceded that the flight could be cancelled but he wouldn’t know for certain for “awhile.” Well, I had to arrive for appointments on Friday morning, so I couldn’t take my chances. I called my office where a colleague searched Expedia and discovered a Continental flight departing at 7:30 with seats left. With only carry-on, I could switch terminals and make the flight. In the old days, I might have expected the airline to help find space on a sister carrier, but it was clear even if the inclination were to emerge, our gate agent would not make those attempts until the (nearly empty, by the way) Continental flight had left. I had to buy another ticket but I made my Friday appointments.

I didn’t fare much better on my scheduled return trip three days later, when a nor’easter headed to New York instigated another booking shuffle—a gamble that paid off when I received a phone message while waiting to board my new flight, which informed me that my original flight was cancelled. Had I waited for the airline to tell me, I would certainly have not been able to get on an earlier flight.

Only a decade ago, frequent fliers were treated like airport emirs—showered with free upgrades and feted in lounges—and last-minute cancellations and day-long delays were the exception, not the rule. The decline clearly began in 2001 with the arrival of the virtual strip-down required at security. Not surprisingly, the indiginity of having to shuffle in socks and display plastic bags of private bathroom unguents before strangers degraded the atmosphere and attitude of everyone. Then last Christmas, passengers who were imprisoned on American Airlines flights for hours emerged rallying for an Airlines Passengers Bill of Rights. In 2007, flight delays and cancellations reached a new peak. The occurrence has become so common, in fact, that many airlines don’t seem to feel any responsibility for getting their passengers where they are meant to go near the promised arrival time.

Two passengers overheard me share the news of my cancelled return flight while we were boarding. “I told you,” one said to the other. “Okay, it was a good call,” agreed his friend. They had been booked on the same flight but decided not to risk the weather either. “Ugh, US Airways,” said a woman next to me, “they cost us a whole day on the way here.” Turns out their Friday morning flight had been cancelled, then they had been rerouted through Vegas, where they were booked on separate flights into Phoenix. “It was only because we really raised hell that we got on a flight together and in by dinnertime,” one of them said.

Trading strategy stories, I realized that we were the next generation of commercial fliers—those who know you have to game your chances, not just buy a ticket, to get where you want to go. Of course, the agonizing airport drill has spawned two other new fliers as well. You just don’t see them at Newark, JFK or O’Hare; they can be summed up with the old hitchhiking metaphor: NetJets or Bust. They either go private or stay home.

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As a lifelong traveler, I was despaired this holiday season to witness the new low that has arrived at our airports and how American travel companies are participating in their own demise and demonization.

Countless articles have been written about how the glamour has gone out of travel. The days when one dressed up to board a plane or chatted with cabin mates over Champagne have been replaced with mobs of people in their track suits eating fast food out of paper bags. I’ve accepted that air travel has become mass transit. My consolation: the number of airline passengers traveling globally has grown from 108 million in 1960 to 2.25 billion in 2007, so quantity wins out over quality. After all, the benefit of more people seeing the world outweighs the loss of cachet.

Of course, 9/11 and the new security controls degraded the passenger process further. There is no dignity in shuffling around in your socks in front of strangers while laying out your toiletry items for all to see. But at least the security gauntlet is one that has to be run by all, and is not arbitrarily meted out by disgruntled airline employees.

Unfortunately, what I experienced last week added injustice to indignity. For the past four years, my family and I have traveled after Christmas from New York to Deer Valley for a week of skiing. We send our ski clothes ahead so we can avoid the long lines at check-in and travel only with carry-on. (Yes, convenience trumps fashion.) This year, however, after we printed our boarding passes at the self-service check-in kiosks, a Delta agent stopped us before we could proceed to security.

“You have to check those bags,” he said, motioning to our roller bags. We pointed out that the bags are designed to fit in the overhead bin and we always travel with them. “Well, if they don’t fit in this square, you have to check them,” he said. There was a board painted with measurements 22 inches by 14 inches. We placed our luggage against the measurements; all of them fit within the painted outlines but two extended slightly over the edge of the base. “Those will have to be checked.”

Another family arrived pulling similar bags. “You have to check all of those,” the man commanded. He was now joined by a grimacing female cohort, who nodded. “But we just bought them at Macy’s and were told that they were regulation,” said the father in the group. The Delta enforcer shook his head, no. “Unless you can zip them to be narrower, you have to check them.”

It was clear that if we were going to make our flight, we would have to follow his edict, but as my husband went to check in the two bags, I watched as some with larger bags were waved through and others weren’t. On December 5, 2008 Delta instituted bag fees of $15 for the first bag and $25 for the second checked bag. Could this be why the employees were suddenly getting so strict about size limits? Daniel LeSieur and his wife from Portland were also sent to wait in the long line to check bags, even though they had carried the same ones on board on their flight East. The additional cost: $150. “It’s outrageous,” LeSieur said. “These bags fit overhead but they can now make money from telling me no.”

Keith Rang, who was on his way up to Buffalo for his bachelor party (he’s a Bills fan), worried about missing his flight and had a duffel bag. He tried to pile on enough sweaters and shirts from his bag so that he could shrink it down to fit in the luggage lines. Despite being amused at his labor of layering, the agents still made him check it.

A gentleman flying to Spain, who also had traveled with his suitcase as carry-on coming over the Atlantic, was forced to check his bag and when he returned with a camera around his neck and a hanging passport pouch, in addition to his knapsack, was told that he couldn’t have two personal items. As soon as I began taking names and snapping pictures, the enforcer called over security. “Are you traveling today?” he asked me. “Yes, my husband is checking a bag.” He asked a friend of the man headed to Spain, who was challenging the agent, to leave the terminal if he wasn’t traveling. “I can be inside if I want,” he said. “No,” security threatened. “You must step outside.” Why? Because he was pointing out Delta’s bag scam to other passengers?

When we finally did pass through security and got to the gate, we found ourselves surrounded by passengers with bags much larger than those we had checked. They had come through a different entrance. I have been reading Margaret Atwood’s wonderful meditation on debt, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth. One of her central tenets is that a system of debt and credit rely on “our sense of fairness.” She notes that even in chimpanzee societies, fair play must exist.

I may have felt that the security guy stifling free speech was an anti-democratic gesture, but at a more basic, animal level, I was outraged at the unfairness of rules applying to me but not to others. As Atwood remarks, “If fairness is completely lacking, the members of the chimpanzee group will rebel; at the very least, they’re unlikely to join in a group hunt next time.” That’s how we are hard-wired, but my saga wasn’t over.

After we collected our bags in Salt Lake, we arrived at the Hertz car rental desk to be told that our pre-paid reservation wouldn’t be honored. “We’re out of cars,” the manager told us. But we had a confirmation number, even a voucher, showing that we had paid in full for a four-wheel drive. “We don’t have any cars,” the manager repeated, and then motioned to the man behind us in line, who was holding his Hertz Gold car. He looked at his confirmation number and handed the man a pair of car keys. “Hey,” a man down the desk from us shouted. “You said that you had no more cars. I paid in July.” Yes, I thought, but your money is not quite as golden as that man’s. Cajoling and complaining led to another set of car keys materializing for us, but then the manager pulled out a ‘Closed’ sign. Dozens of people in line – and more still arriving on flights – had no cars, not even anyone to complain to. Did Hertz or Delta management care that they are actively discouraging travel just as the industry is facing its steepest predicted decline in a decade? They don’t seem to.

I have spent more than a decade trying to inspire people to travel the world, and now I cannot blame many for just wanting to stay home.

Shopping in a foreign country can carry risks—and rewards—that you may not be aware of.

In yesterday’s New York Times, I read a story about a St. Louis resident who bought some Red Army medals and old ruble notes from a street vendor at a market in provincial Russia in June. When Roxana Contreras, a Chilean citizen, tried leaving the country to return to St. Louis, where she is a student, custom agents discovered her souvenirs. She has been accused of trying to smuggle national treasures out of the country and has been detained, awaiting trial ever since. Her purchase has been valued at approximately $20 by investigators, so these were not museum-quality artifacts, but common market finds. However, Russian law prohibits the export of any cultural object that is more than fifty years old. Ms. Contreras claims that she had no idea that it was illegal to take the trinkets that she bought out of the country and had no intention of breaking any laws. Apparently, that defense will not keep her from being tried for the crime, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years.

There’s something Kafkaesque and chilling about Ms. Contreras’ experience. I confess that one of my favorite things to do in foreign countries is to browse for unusual keepsakes. Among my treasured finds: a rug from the market square in Samarkand; a series of elephants in descending size that were used for weights in Laos; pipes and lacquered bowls from Cambodia; miniature paintings from Rajasthan; amulets from Oman to protect children from evil spirits and a thanka from a musty shop in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. A lesser find—I am not sure where it is now, even—was a stash of Soviet medals that I bought with one of my sisters in Budapest in 1991. We were in college and decorating our jean jackets with Red Army pins and Soviet slogans seemed the height of anti-authority chic. They were sold out in the open streets by vendors displaying their cache beside tourist landmarks. When I bought some of the other treasures, the vendors probably vouched for their age—the older, the better—and there may well have been laws against removing antique objects from those countries. Yet my buys were not Khmer statuettes or antique coins, something that I knew should belong in a national museum instead of in a traveler’s suitcase. “Lack of knowledge does not free one from responsibility,” one of the Russian authorities is quoted as saying. And there’s no doubt that such logic would have prevailed in many of the totalitarian countries where I was shopping.

I can’t claim that I didn’t know that I was doing something potentially illegal when I followed a friend through a back alley and someone’s kitchen to a dark store room full of counterfeit designer goods in Shanghai last year. Sure, everybody does it and many right out in the open. I had visited the counterfeit market in the French Concession, where people carried placards and made loudspeaker announcements about the illegality of counterfeit goods. Shoppers just sailed right by and into the maze of stalls selling knock-off sneakers, bags, DVDs and watches. “As long as the government has signs saying that they are officially against fake designer goods, it is paying homage to the spirit of international law,” explained one expat friend. A cheap imitation watch or very convincing Balenciaga knock-off bag didn’t seem worth suffering anxiety in the airport, which seemed the worse that could happen, even if odds were good that I wouldn’t be busted. When I was in Paris this spring, I noticed a new ad campaign against counterfeit goods that declares that even possessing a knock-off Lacoste shirt or Vuitton purse can cost you a huge fine and jail time.

All of this raises ethical and practical concerns for the traveler. My resolution is to be more aware. My shopping solution is to now seek out another kind of find—one that is even more gratifying to buy—and that is the local craft that aids small communities. I have found carved wooden bowls in Brazil, bead work in Tanzania, textiles in India and Zanzibar and jewelry in South Africa; all of which had been made by the local artisans or a community project who sold them . I get to take away another beautiful keepsake but I leave behind money that benefits local artisans and their traditions.

If you discover artisan projects with sustainable economic components, please share them with us and we will add them to the site so other travelers can support them. Send an email to info@indagare.com.

To read the New York Times story, click here.

To read an interesting New York Times op ed piece by Dana Thomas on the cost of buying counterfeits, click here.

Last week our news blast included a member’s rave about a special riverboat in Myanmar, the country which has just been devastated by Cyclone Nargis. Tens of thousands of people are reported dead and yesterday the U.S. State Department advised all U.S. citizens to leave Myanmar, as it anticipates a severe humanitarian crisis. We have received updates from some on the ground, including Jack Healey, former director of Amnesty International, as well as advice on how to help those in Myanmar.

“All of our staff, house, office and people around us are fine,” the owner of the Amara boat wrote us yesterday. “It seems, there will be a big problem for all of the delta region and Yangon. A lot was destroyed and the government is till now unable to support. My wife will fly with some money as soon as possible to Yangon to help. At least, we can support the region where we live a bit. Most of the roofs are gone and people need some shelter. There is still a lot of rain. If there are any new information, I will let you know.”

We hear from our sources that so far, the ruling military junta, as expected, has been slow to react and is doing little to see the country through this crisis. “As headlines have told us, Cyclone Nargis has hit Burma hard. 22,000 to 60,000 have passed and tens of thousands are missing….the Junta is doing nothing to help the people,” writes Healey, aka Mr Human Rights, to friends and supporters. “Fortunately, timing proves to be on our side, as we are in the midst of a month-long campaign to help the people of Burma. HRAC, US Campaign for Burma and Fanista.com have organized a 30-day video campaign to educate Americans and others around the world about the military regime in Burma. Our goal is to mobilize 1 million people to sign up to take action. Just as the world came together to help free Nelson Mandela and South Africa in the 1980s, we are now organizing an effort to help Burma’s imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma.”

View the spots at www.burmaitcantwait.org. Yesterdays’s spot with Eddie Izzard was directed by Anjelica Huston.

The best way to donate is through the site above or CARE (www.care.org), as their funds will NOT go through the Myanmar military.

Another concerned member has been trying to reach Burmese human rights activist who has been working along the border and will send news from him when they connect. So share the videos with others and check back for updates.

Read more on how to get aid to those in need in Burma.

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Indagare, a membership-based community for sophisticated travelers, offers carefully curated editorial content, printed bimonthly newsletters, and a custom travel advisory and booking service.

For a free trial of Indagare, click here and enter referral code: ind1622.

Take a tour of the site

Learn about our booking services

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For weeks chaos and uncertainty have gripped Kenya, and yesterday the Associated Press reported that Kofi Annan had called an end to the peace talks because of a lack of progress.

The Douglas-Hamilton family, who, for years, has lived in the Samburu Reserve, working on conservation projects, has allowed us to share their letters in hopes that we, who love Africa, will not be frightened away from visiting and will continue to champion the beauty of the place and its inhabitants.

“…Everything that we love is under threat and people are being slain in the most brutally savage way. We never thought something like this could happen here, but it has. The Nairobi slums have been vomited right into our faces. All of a sudden we are meeting, dealing, talking, crying with people we would never have otherwise met. Cars spin in panic and roar down the wrong side of roads. Desperate emails and SMS circulate calling for help. We do what we can…The only thing that keeps us sane and soothes the vertiginous pain in our hearts is to be involved, up to our necks, in trying to make things better…” Read more of BBC filmmaker and conservationist Saba Douglas-Hamilton’s letter to her grandparents, by clicking here.

Saba’s father zoologist and founder of Save the Elephants, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, has spent his life in Kenya, where he and his wife, Oria, have made enormous progress in preserving the endangered elephant population. (They co-authored the landmark work Among the Elephants.) In the past few weeks, the family has witnessed scenes of horror and hope and launched an inspiring peace initiative.

• To read a letter from Oria about their peace efforts, click here.

• To read a letter from Iain Douglas-Hamilton of Save the Elephants, click here.

• For information on the family’s special Elephant Watch Safaris, which are still welcoming guests, click here.

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To celebrate our second anniversary, we’d like to offer members an opportunity to invite friends and family to try out Indagare for a trial period.

Each member has been given ten complimentary 30-day trial memberships to pass along to like-minded travelers who they think might enjoy being a part of Indagare.

Claim your trial memberships:

• by following the Trial Membership 101 instructions, which will explain where to find your referral key and include directions, which you can cut and paste and email to ten of your friends

• by sending us an email with the names and emails of the ten friends you would like to invite and we will forward them the sign-up instructions

• by calling us at 212-988-2611, so we can walk you through finding your referral code and sending the invitation email yourself

• by forwarding the Trial email you will receive shortly, which includes directions and your referral code

Thank you for being part of our community.

“Travel is more than a seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” —Miriam Beard

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Indagare, a membership-based community for sophisticated travelers, offers carefully curated editorial content, printed bimonthly newsletters, and a custom travel advisory and booking service.

For a free trial of Indagare, send us an email and we will send you a login and password.

Take a tour of the site

Learn about our booking services

Read about Indagare in the Press

Read what our members say about us

Last week on a radio talk show, it was announced that NBC News anchor Brian Williams had decided to forego spring vacation with his family this year because of the recession. “Brian makes an estimated reported annual salary of 10 million dollars a year,” declared Travel Show host Erik Hastings “As far as I am concerned, he should realize what a vital role he plays in this faltering economy. His money can help people stay in business.” Well, this week Brian called in and explained how he had been feeling that in today’s economic climate “sitting on a beach with a book and my ipod for a week didn’t feel right.” Williams, a college drop-out who started working when his father lost his job at age 50, acknowledged that he is overcompensated in TV, but that outside of buying groceries, a lot of “expenditures seem pretty gross these days.”

Thankfully, though, he decided not to put travel in that bucket, after all. On the show, he pointed out that this may be the last time his college-age kids have vacations that line up and that he and his wife are now probably going to take them to New Orleans. Clearly, aiding in that city’s recovery feels like a more positive way to spend his time and money than sitting idly on a beach. “I also had lunch with my friend Jonathan Tisch, who owns Loews Hotels a week ago,” Williams acknowledged, “and I heard it from him that people have got to get out there, spend money, go to a resort, go to a hotel. The busboys depend on that.”

They do, and I would argue that family bonding time, especially when it involves showing your children a wider world and how they can learn from it and even have a positive impact on it, is not an indulgence but an investment. Nor does a family break have to be expensive to be meaningul. In this environment, everyone is taking a new look at what things are worth. I, for one, am relieved that irresponsible extravagance is out and that engagement, enrichment and voluntourism are in. It’s about time that our society focused on what really matters and has lasting value. The other day a friend, who recently lost her job, remarked that her closet is now full of regrets. When she scans the shelves of expensive designer bags, shoes and clothes that she bought over the past ten years, it kills her to think of all of the money that she spent. “If I could do it over, I wouldn’t have bought almost all of it,” she said.

We all probably have some foolish spends in our past. Certainly, I do. But in my house we have a shelf with albums from all of the trips that we have gone on as a family—from Disney World and D.C. to Paris and Brazil—and whenever any of us cracks open one of those albums, we are flooded, not with regret, but meaningful memories. They inspire no buyer’s remorse. To the contrary, there is a sense of priorities and passion pinned down on the page. Our devoted time together, away from the daily grind, to explore as a family, whether it was reading Lincoln’s words carved into the walls of his memorial in Washington, snorkeling among angelfish in Brazil, or introducing my daughter to soufflés in Paris with her grandmother, is to quote that corny ad: priceless.

Read our list of top ten last-minute family spring breaks

Read What’s New on Indagare this Week

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Last week I moderated a panel on “Preserving Culture through Style” at Madeline Weinrib’s Atelier at ABC Carpets. Weinrib and I, who co-hosted the event, share the belief that the more of the world that you see, the greater your commitment to safeguarding indigenous cultures. Weinrib’s ikat blouses and dhurries woven in electric colors with silver thread motifs are vibrant examples of how stylish creations can play a role in this mission. When she first discovered ikat weavers in Uzbekistan—years before they had reappeared on runways in Paris and Bryant Park—there were only two men still crafting them as their predecessors had; today, as demand for the true (not machine printed varieties) has soared, there are multiple Uzbek villages supported by the ikat trade.

Our panelists included furniture designer Vladimir Kagan; Weinrib, who is a textile designer; architect Andrew Kotchen; developer Mitch Willey and interior designer and author Rita Konig (she is also editor at large at Domino magazine and the daughter of English design legend Nina Campbell). All of them use their talents in different ways to celebrate traditions but with a modern sensibility. In this time of renewed huddling and tightening of belts, their values resonate.

For instance, almost all of them touched on the idea that in times of crisis, people tend to want to be surrounded by things of lasting value. And when money is tight, people spend wisely. They are hesitant to buy cheaply made items and prefer investing in well-made objects. Vladimir Kagan, whose iconic furniture can be found in such museum collections as the Victoria & Albert in London, spoke about how he sees a renewed interest in the work of craftsmen. He argues that we, as Americans, cannot blame the Chinese for stealing our production business when we demand lower priced goods. In fact, as these items have flooded the market, he has seen an increase in appreciation for artists who focus on individually made pieces. Perhaps, the boom in box stores has resulted in a craving for the bespoke.

It’s a starkly different trend than one that he recalled in the 1960s, when disposable furniture was declared the next big thing. “It was conceived for the mobility of American life,” he explained. “Back then twenty-five percent of the population moved every two years.” Blow-up couches and stackable cardboard tables, which could be disassembled and reused were to be the rage. In recent years, he argued that the design world has not shown the obsession with fads that the art world has. In particular, he pointed to the work of artist Damien Hirst and his sheeps’ heads in formaldehyde as an example of “the emperor’s new clothes” art.

However, Konig pointed out that fads, or trends, serve an essential role in elevating styles that ultimately become classics as well as bringing needed flair to traditions. “Fashion or fad is that dash of color that gets us excited about the every day,” she said. “It’s the innovation that makes us look at things in a new and passionate way.”

She also spoke of how in her work and her own life she likes to think of ways to incorporate the past. “For instance, I may buy one or two beautiful antique Nymphenburg cups and saucers at a market to drink my morning coffee,” she explained. “Most people cannot buy a full service for twenty anymore, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot integrate that beauty into our lives.”

Architect Andrew Kotchen, who has worked with Mitch Willey on the Harborview condominiums in Nantucket as well as lofts in New York, made the point that while green design may be a fad, incorporating original elements and focusing on lasting quality is practicing sustainability. In Nantucket, his building exteriors are faithfully preserved or kept in the historic vernacular, while the interiors are opened and updated with loft aesthetics. Weinrib also practices a form of chic recycling by bringing the past and present together. For example, she salvages ornate Victorian furniture from flea markets and reupholsters it with ikats or suzanis. The result: an instant update that is shockingly new, thanks to an unexpected combination of relics.

Weinrib wound up the discussion with an even more poignant example of how style can preserve culture. “I buy Tibetan carpets from Tibetan communities in Nepal, who have been practicing their art form for generations,” she noted. “The families are able to hold on to the traditions of their predecessors through what they weave.” It’s a powerful image to think of people who have been forced out of their homeland passing their folk culture down to the next generation through their carpets. Yes, many of the rugs are destined to be sold a world away, but the practice helps to keep the stories and culture alive—a modern update on the magic carpet.

Submitting a “postcard”—a few lines or paragraphs about a travel discovery—is easy. Just send us an email to postcards@indagare.com. You might choose to give tips about a trip or destination that you loved, or focus on one wonderful detail, like a great hotel, meal, shop or guide. If you like, use the following bullet points as a guide (just copy and paste into an email). Thank you for sharing your discovery with our community of travelers.

Or do an instant postcard on Discussion Boards.

Read some recent postcards.

Where I went (the trip):

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Please return to postcards@indagare.com.

For those traveling internationally, we put together this quick checklist:

• We strongly recommend you purchase trip insurance. We are happy to provide a quote for you. Most of our members prefer the Cancel For Any Reason package, which must be purchased within 21 days of the first deposit. To obtain a quote, simply send us an email.

• It is imperative to double-check the entry and exit requirements for the country you are visiting well in advance of your visit as well as right before departure, as these may change at any time. You should also check for any travel advisories or crime alerts. Here is a link to the U.S. State Department website: http://travel.state.gov

• Double-check your passport expiration date and make sure it has at least six months before it expires. For assistance with visas and passport renewals, we recommend Zierer Visa services. See passport/visa details

• If you are a parent traveling alone with children to certain destinations, such as Central America, please be advised that you will need notarized written permission for any parent or guardian not traveling with the child in either direction. If the mother has a different surname from the child, you should also bring a copy of the birth certificate.

• Be sure to visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website well in advance of your visit to double check any vaccine requirements or travel advisories. Typically a vaccine should be taken 4-6 weeks prior to your departure in order for it to take effect. Here is a link: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov

• We suggest that you consult your personal physician for advice on non-required immunizations or preventive protocols that may be deemed advisable. For instance, some doctors recommend bringing an all-purpose antibiotic as well as anti-diarrhea medicine to certain destinations.

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Each time I return to my hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia, I’m amazed by the quality of life enjoyed there—natural beauty, excellent dining and an interesting, intellectual community supported by the University of Virginia. When I went home this Christmas, husband and two-year-old in tow, I discovered a new side of the town that’s great for traveling families. Parents with young children should start their morning at C’ville Coffee, a cheerful café near historic downtown with a play area for children to scamper while tired moms and dads caffeinate in (relative) peace. We went almost every day and couldn’t get enough of their homemade cookies. We also returned, as we do every time we’re visiting, to Ash Lawn-Highland, the estate of President James Monroe and the lesser-known neighbor of Jefferson’s Monticello. My husband and I were married here, and our toddler loved roaming the expansive grounds and visiting the sheep, cows and peacocks that live on the working farm.

We had two great nights out, one at a local brewery and the other at a legendary restaurant. For a casual evening, head to South Street Brewery to try their local beers, brewed on-premise. Arrive early and they’ll take you on an impromtu tour of where the behind-bar facilities where the seasonal ales are made. (Call ahead to confirm as this may be difficult when the restaurant is very busy.) South Street does not bottle their beer or sell kegs elsewhere, so this is the only place in the world to get your hands on a $4 pint of Satan’s Pony, a pale ale so popular they struggle to keep enough on tap. The menu is typical pub grub but the burgers are great, and children are very welcome.

For a child-free evening, book a table at the C&O, an utterly charming and romantic restaurant across from the old train station downtown. Open since 1976, the eatery has been hailed by Food and Wine, Bon Appetit and the Washington Post, and I absolutely second their recommendation. Gas lanterns mark the entrance to the restaurant, and diners can choose between the bustling downstairs bistro, mid-level mezzanine or the more formal upstairs. I’d eaten upstairs growing up, but for a couple and in cold weather, the cozy mezzanine is the place to be. Although the menu changes frequently to reflect seasonal offerings, dishes like the decadently rich sweetbreads, served with a creamy green peppercorn and Marsala cream sauce and homemade brioche, have been on the list forever—and with good reason. We ate almost every part of an animal you can imagine and were waited on by helpful and friendly servers who seemed as knowledgeable about the food as a chef. A meal here will now be tradition every time I’m in town.

KENYA TOURISM FEDERATION DAILY SECURITY UPDATE

Friday 15th February 2008, 7 p.m. Nairobi

SECURITY SITUATION IN KENYA:

The security situation remains unchanged, with all areas throughout the country reported to be calm and no reports received of post-election violence anywhere in the country.

In the tourist areas all continues to be calm and unchanged with no problems reported affecting any tourist visitors to the international hotels in Nairobi, the beach resorts at the coast and the wildlife parks and reserves.

Naivasha and Nakuru: Tourist vehicles continue travelling to Lake Naivasha, through Naivasha town and onwards to Lake Nakuru National Park without experiencing any problems as the security situation on the main highways through these towns is now reported to be back to normal. The freight and transport companies also confirm that their lorries heading to and from Uganda have been driving through Naivasha and Nakuru without encountering problems.

Areas to avoid: The Kenya Tourism Federation continues to monitor the security situation to ensure that any areas considered unsafe for tourists are avoided. While the beach resorts, the safari circuit, the airports in Mombasa and Nairobi as well as the highways between the airports to the Nairobi international hotels and beach hotels at the coast are considered safe for visitors at the present time, the following areas continue to be off-limits for tourists until further notice:

Western Kenya: The Kenya Tourism Federation continues to recommend that for the time being visitors should avoid the following areas where there have been sporadic incidents of civil unrest in past weeks: Nyanza Province, Western Province, and the western area of Rift Valley Province including roads to the north of Narok to Bomet, Sotik and Njoro, the areas surrounding Kericho, Molo, Londiani, Nandi Hills and Eldoret. These places are not normally visited by tourists and members of the Kenya Association of Tour Operators have avoided the whole area since the onset of the post-election problems. Currently the situation in most of these places is reported to be calm with no reports in recent days of any election-related violence or ethnic clashes.

In Nairobi it is recommended that the high density housing estates and slums should be avoided, including Eastleigh, Mathare, Huruma, and Kibera but tourists have always been advised to keep away from these areas.

TRAVEL ADVISORIES The Italian government has announced that it has lifted its travel advisory against visiting Kenya and now recommends its citizens to avoid the western part of the country. This is on similar lines to the advice of the US, British and German governments which also do not have “non-essential travel” advisories for the whole of Kenya but advise against visiting areas in the western region of the country.

Jake Grieves-Cook

Spokesman, Kenya Tourism Federation

Thursday, October 23, 2008

“While the world was awash in money, no two Western cities benefited more from the spending spree than London and New York. Mayfair, like Madison Avenue, glistens with high gloss shops, where designer labels and diamond dealers have come to outnumber discreet men’s tailors. A little more than a decade ago, it was tough to find a good restaurant in Knightsbridge; today some foodies declare that they can dine better in London than in Paris. The boom, of course, was fueled by the City’s success as a financial capital. First came the investment bankers (and their families) from across America and Europe. They brought customs that shook up British traditions like fancy benefit parties and a penchant for manicures and blow-drys. At the time of the American invasion that included Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow moving to town, a British friend remarked with a sneer, “You can spot the American women before they speak because they are so polished.” Investors from Russia, Dubai, China and India soon followed, snapping up property with such gusto that prices were going up 25 percent a year in central London. Trendy restaurants, glamorous art galleries and beauty salons providing that polished look moved in with them. Many longtime Londoners found the rising costs of living so outrageous that they decamped full-time to the country.

So maybe it shouldn’t be shocking to discover that the English response to the financial meltdown is different from the American one. In New York for the past few weeks, the press and the people have been full of panic. There’s no other word for it. Forget nouveau riche. Everyone is nouveau pauvre and paralyzed by the shock of it. Will the city return to what it was like in the ‘70s? How long will the hard times last? Will my 401(k) go to zero? Who is going to go bust next? Is this the Next Depression, a Deep Recession or just Greatly Reduced Circumstances? These are the worries relentlessly pondered.

In London this week, I have noticed something else. There is not the terror, though the stores on Sloane Street are as uninhabited as those in New York and the property prices maybe falling even more quickly. And despite their ancestors’ experience with war-time thrift, the average Brit may be deeper in debt than their American cousin. According to the New York Times, “Britons now owe, on average, 180 percent of their disposable income.” Nor is it a stiff upper lip I am witnessing, but rather a sense of relief. As London-based N.Y. Times correspondent, Sarah Lyall wrote on Tuesday, “perhaps the downturn, however difficult, will usher in a return to that elusive concept, traditional British values.” India Knight in the Times of London put it even more bluntly, “I am happy to observe that the decades of vulgar excess are finally over…It’s like a huge national reality check.” And a few weeks back in the Daily Telegraph, A.N. Wilson speculated that the primary value that will reascend is austerity. “We should not underestimate the pleasure that discomfort brings to the British,” he wrote. “All their ‘finest hours’ and ‘happy memories’ tend to be of wars, family holidays on rainswept Welsh beaches or periods at boarding school—experiences that would be expected to reduce human beings to despair. Austerity cheers us up. Already we look back on the past twenty years with disgust—the wastefulness of it seems nauseating. There will be positive pleasure in the cold mornings, before we don our darned and mended garments and eat our austere meals. All the things one hates—air travel, ‘abroad’, new cars, new clothes and the company of the rich—are now things of the past.” The English are going to go back to their old ways of understatement, discretion and thrift.

So while most Americans are mourning their losses in a stupor, the British will embrace austerity with national pride—and a bit of prejudice. For “affluenza,” which is the term that was coined by British psychiatrist Oliver James to describe the fever of spending that gripped the country, seems to be a disease that was foreign. Whether you argue that others were responsible for bringing excess and all of its consequences to Britain or that excessive behavior just never fit the true British personality, now it is being banished in all of its forms. Which makes it all the more fitting that this week Madonna and Guy Ritchie announced their separation. The original Material Girl is going back across the Pond. As always, she has impeccable timing.”

Enlarge Photo

As more and more cities around the world start to look the same, it’s a pleasure to spend even a day in one that retains its distinct character. I spent fewer than twenty-four hours in Zurich last week, but experienced a real traveler’s high from its pure Zurichness. For a number of years, it’s been ranked as “the city with the highest quality of life in the world,” according to Mercer ratings. But more telling than a survey may be that Google chose to base its largest engineering office outside the U.S. here. Okay, it was lightly snowing when I arrived, with flurries evoking a fairytale mindset and casting a softness to the city lights and illuminated medieval church towers. When my cab turned off the fashionable Bahnhofstrasse into the narrow cobblestoned streets of the Old Town, the Catholic Church came into view with a spray of evening stars projected upon its façade, and then around the next corner, we entered a small square dwarfed by a towering Christmas tree strung with lights.

My favorite hotel, the Widder, epitomizes how the city blends old and new in Swiss fashion. A collection of nine historic townhouses in the heart of the Old Town shopping area, it is a masterpiece of preservation and renovation. The sleek, all-glass elevator cabins whir up and down with a wall of windows facing the garden on one side and an exposed medieval wall of piled stones on the other. Some guest rooms feature 16th century frescoes and Mies van der Rohe furniture; others blend Eames chairs and beamed ceilings; the penthouse has a sleek terrace with views of church spires and its own original Robert Rauschenberg. Mine felt like a modernist’s attic apartment with steel and glass tables and lamps accenting Biedermeier pieces; a Baroque console fit for an Italian church hid the minibar. Because all the details are genuine, artistic and at home, the mingling of old and new feels considered not contrived—just like the surrounding area.

Widdergasse could contend for one of Europe’s most picturesque streets. Centuries-old houses with gables and painted facades, wooden shutters and wrought-iron detailing now contain stylish shops and trendy eateries. At one end sits an ancient square and at the other runs the pedestrian shopping street Rennweg. On the night that I wandered the area, church bells tolled and children played outside of an ancient guild hall turned restaurant, while their parents ate inside. The restaurants and bars were packed, from modern ones, like Munz with its vast glass walls and skinny-legged steel chairs, to the Cantinetta Antinora, a charming building, where diners could be seen in the upstairs windows framed by antique wooden shutters. Lumiere, the French brasserie where I savored coq au vin, felt more authentic than any in Paris, because a Gitanes smoky haze suffused the place (no smoking ban here).

Influences from all its border countries (Italy, Austria, Germany, France) inform Zurich’s food and culture. In fact, thirty percent of its 370,000 inhabitants are foreigners, so its melting pot mentality thrives. Zoogle, as the Zurich-based Google is called, arrived four years ago and will soon have a new large (and green) office in the Hurlimann Areal. Its 300 Zooglers (employees) come from more than forty countries, joining the Swiss brigade of workers who walk and bike across the city bridges to work and spend weekends skiing in the Alps in winter and hiking or swimming in summer. Lake Zurich has gone from being too dirty to swim in only a decade ago to being so clean that the tap water served in restaurants consists of 70 percent lake water. The city prides itself on having a greater density of “bathing facilities” (Swiss for places to swim) than anywhere else in the world. So there Sydney, LA and Cape Town. In summer, riverfront lounges buzz all day and evening with patrons taking a plunge before, after—and sometimes midway through—a meal. Water also provides sixty percent of the country’s energy, making Switzerland a clean power leader.

Detractors may accuse the Swiss of stubbornly holding on to their traditions, of being conservative about embracing change, but frankly, they seem to know what’s worth changing and what’s worth holding on to, and that’s helped them carve out a city that stands apart. The Paradeplatz, a former pig and cattle market, in the city center has been cleaned up and now lures art lovers and shoppers with new galleries and their neighboring boutiques and cafes. Across the lake, too, landmark buildings have been reinvigorated with elegant restaurants and coffee houses, such as the just-opened Goethe House, next to the Opera House.

When I had breakfast there, a transplant pointed out that he feels the city is emerging as a refuge for people who could live anywhere but want to live in a place that doesn’t feel like anywhere else. Just as there’s a growing trend in fashion against global homogeneity, so do I think the next decade will see a renewed appreciation for places that revel in their unique cultural identity. Zurich fits that bill.

Read a review of the Widder Hotel.

Read more suggestions on Zurich Highlights.

Read our insider’s guide to St. Moritz.

Read our recent letters from Kenya from filmmaker and conservationist Saba Douglas-Hamilton and from her mother Oria Douglas-Hamilton, author of Among the Elephants, about their peace project.

In response to the recent unrest in Kenya, Dennis Pinto of Micato Safaris shared with us a letter from Luca Belpietro, the owner and founder of Campi ya Kanzi and Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. Below, you can read an excerpt that provides personal perspective on the situation.

Dear Friends,

It is quite important for us to address what is really happening in Kenya.

Many of you have contacted us with concerns: you have no reasons to worry. Here is our side of the story and how we perceive events. First of all, there is no civil war in Kenya and there is no sort of tribal confrontation.

What is really happening then and how did it all start?

The two main candidates, Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki, in the polls were at 2% distance from each other. We all knew it was going to be a very close election. The Electoral Commission of Kenya was releasing the results very slowly, as they wanted to make sure there were no mistakes in the counting. For the first 36 hours Raila Odinga, the challenger to the President Kibaki, was quite ahead. His supporters were already in the streets celebrating. When all results from the Central Province, which is highly populated and strongly in support of Kibaki, were accounted for, Kibaki pulled ahead and was declared the winner. The losers felt victory was stolen from them.

Final counting and the declaration of the winner could have been handled much better by the Electoral Commission. Were the elections rigged? Yes, but not just from Kibaki side, also from Odinga side. In certain constituencies votes counted were higher than actual voters, for both candidates.

What has been ignored by the media to date is that Raila Odinga (a Jaluo by tribe) and Mwai Kibaki (a Kikuyu by tribe) five years ago were peacefully celebrating together their victory over Uhuru Kenyatta (a Kikuyu and the son of the first President of Kenya). Odinga and Kibaki were in the same party for more than 2 years, but 2 years ago Odinga decided to create his own political alliance with key members of the government.

This is to explain you that there is no tribal issue in Kenya, but simply an issue about who wants to be in power.

Where I live in the Chyulu Hills, the votes were split in half for Kibaki and Odinga. The Maasai, as the rest of the Kenyans, were likewise split 50/50, yet there is no confrontation among them and there is a total absence of animosity. As in all electoral campaigns, both candidates have been making huge promises. Kibaki had on his side a 7% economic growth in 2007 and promised further growth, whereas Odinga has been offering jobless people with silly, unachievable promises.

The ones who were reacting on the streets are precisely those desperate jobless people Odinga was appealing to. They have nothing to lose and they are more interested in looting than in anything else. They are looted small businesses, normally run by Kikuyu. Stating that this is a tribal confrontation is just plain wrong.

Those who are comparing the current Kenya situation to Rwanda are, in our minds, doing all Kenyans more of a disservice than anything else that has transpired thus far. The consequences of such sensationalistic reporting can be devastating to say the least.

Yes, a few jobless desperates are instigating violence, while 99% of the population is fed up with the clashes and this nonsense. Kenyan TV stations are broadcasting interviews of hundreds of Kenyans, from different tribes, all with different social status, but all speaking with one voice saying, “this violence has nothing to do with us and it must be finished now.” But this is not what the rest of the world is seeing… Much better to show the looting and the violence.

Simply put, Kenya has a record of four decades peaceful independence that one tight election will not destroy. All Kenyans are very responsible and are all waiting for their leaders to show the necessary sense of responsibility. 14 millions Kenyans went to vote in an extremely peaceful and democratic way. 13 million 990 thousand of them are very concerned and are only interested in having their country peacefully lead.

Odinga has lost the Presidency, but he has Parliament majority. We all expect him and Kibaki, the reconfirmed President, to find an agreement as the Government will need a majority in the Parliament in order to govern. We believe the agreement will be found and relatively soon. This country admittedly deserves better leaders, but so do many other countries (including Italy and the USA, if you ask me!).

Tourists are totally not affected by the confrontations which have happened in urban areas. Our logistics have not been affected in any way. Of course the main concern is the impact on tourism, thanks to the exaggerated reports most people are receiving. An example to help you understand better.

Naples is one of the most attractive Italian cities, for its people, its art, its Mediterranean hospitality. Yes there are people shooting each other on a daily basis and organized crime has a tight grip on the entire city. Yet you are not told to not travel to Naples and the newspapers and television do not report the violence that happens there. Why? As it is no longer newsworthy. Much better to portray Kenya as a place where a Rwanda type genocide is about to take place. This has nothing to do with the truth, however

Are we worried about the current situation? Of course we are, but not for our own safety or the safety of travellers to Kenya, which are not at stake. We are very concerned that the current unrest and the way it is portrayed will have terrible consequences for the people we employ, for the wildlife and wilderness we are commit to preserve.

At the moment there is, in our opinion, no reason to reconsider travelling to Kenya in the months to come. We feel that common sense will soon prevail and this nonsense will soon be forgotten in just few weeks.

Kind regards to all.

Sincerely, Luca Belpietro Owner and founder, Campi ya Kanzi and Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust

~Posted January 8, 2008

To read a letter from Dennis Pinto with another on-the-ground perspective, as well as a piece from the New York Times, click here.

In light of the recent events in Mumbai, members have inquired about the current state of the city. Mr. P.R.S. Oberoi, the Chairman of the Oberoi Group, sent this update on the staff and guests at the Oberoi and the Trident, two hotels affected by the attacks. Our thoughts are with the Indian people and the families of the victims as they recover from this tragedy.

“The last few days have been traumatic for all of us. In these circumstances, I would like to recognize the heroism shown by the law enforcement agencies and by our staff. They have risked their lives for the safety of our guests and in doing so some of them have made the supreme sacrifice.

We have received hundreds of messages of support and sympathy from people in India and from around the world. We all must stand united against such acts of terrorism. These acts of terrorism seek to disrupt our normal daily lives. If we bow down to such pressure, we are helping the terrorists to succeed in their mission.

Our hearts go out to the families of all those who have lost their lives or have been injured due to this act of terrorism. Tragically, four resident guests, eighteen visitors who were dining in our restaurants and ten of our staff members lost their lives. Of the four resident guests, three were foreigners. Three resident guests, four visitors and two of our staff members were injured and are presently in hospital. Had it not been for the courage and presence of mind shown by our staff members, the casualties may have been much more.

One-hundred-thirty-five guests were evacuated from the Oberoi and three-hundred-sixteen guests were evacuated from the Trident hotel. During the ordeal, many resident guests called our executives and the helpline number we had announced on our website and on the television channels. All those guests who called were advised to stay in their rooms till the arrival of the rescue teams. This saved the lives of many people.

We are assessing the damage of the Trident and the Oberoi. From our preliminary assessment, the damage at the Oberoi appears to be much more than at the Trident. At this point, to is very difficult to tell you when we can re-open each of these hotels. However, our effort is to open both hotels as soon as we can.”

So the rules have changed—drastically, quickly and, I believe, for the long term. Even if this recession does not turn into a depression and if the most optimistic financial seers are right and it only lasts another year, the cultural landscape has been profoundly altered. As trend forecaster Faith Popcorn has said, “This is not a momentary correction, nor a down cycle—it’s the end of the world as we know it. What we’ll be deciding in [the next year] is whether we’ll simply succumb, or whether through a new set of Rules of Engagement, we’ll find a new way to set our priorities.” In a time when most people’s retirement savings have plunged fifty percent in value and unemployment is higher than it has been in more than 20 years, luxury isn’t just over, it’s perceived by many as offensive. We have gone from luxury fatigue to luxury rage. The very things that people clamored for a year ago now turn them off. What people value is being radically reevaluated, with drivers, diamonds and Dior ‘it’ bags being dumped like hot potatoes.

The first result is massive consumer disorientation. Most people are trying to figure out how to navigate this new world. Some have been paralyzed. In full panic mode, they have bought safes, stockpiled cash and slammed their wallets shut. They’re in a state of suspended spending. Then there are those who are still being paid well, who realize that a new sense of what is appropriate has emerged and they are trying to find their bearings, and to do the right thing. They may feel badly about sitting on a beach while others are losing their jobs. To assuage guilt about spending money, many operators are packaging volunteering into trips as was noted recently in the New York Times Sunday Travel section.

But revenge or opportunism has spawned another consumer, who I call the negocianado, and who is growing stronger by the day. In a piece that I wrote for the Huffingtonpost in November, I described him as a connoisseur of wine, cigars and cars who has always paid full price. Now that his bonus has been abolished and his portfolio has plummeted, he’s decided to take paying retail personally. He swaggers into stores and demands discounts. He is usually alone in the store, but if he has an audience, he stokes up his performance as he grinds down the salesperson. “You say $12,000. I’ll give you $7,000. You need a piece of my black card, and I know how to make deals.” He’s been making flamboyant appearances in Aspen and St. Barth’s in recent months and will be heading to Europe and New England this summer. Only a year ago the philosophy: if you have to ask, you cannot afford it reigned. Well, no one is embarrassed to ask today. In fact, bragging rights are being awarded to those who have managed to get the best deal. The ones in the best position to bargain are the ones doing it the hardest. The wealthy are saying if I am getting discounts offered from retailers, I know I can get a better deal at resorts so they turn to their travel advisors to see what they can do. Just last month a multi-millionaire called her travel agent from a resort in the Caribbean, where she was staying in the nicest room and getting meals and amenities included, to say that since she didn’t think the hotel was full, she wanted a better rate negotiated. Only when she was informed that no one was paying less than she was was she satisfied.

What is the best way to respond to this? I think it is to recognize that in this period of disorientation, the affluent need to be re-empowered and rewarded. For a number of years, consumers have been growing skeptical of big corporations and demanding more individual attention and these trends are only deepening in this era of crisis. It’s important to help consumers rearm themselves as spenders so they can take pride in where they are putting their money and also to recognize that times have changed. The consumer knows you need him and he wants to be coddled, comforted and catered to. You have to acknowledge that making extra efforts will help conflicted spenders to justify their expenditures. People are looking for a reason to spend, getting a special deal, being given special attention or recognition in times of stress goes a long way.

The stories that people want to tell about their lives today involve authentic, local experiences; they are the moments that add humanity to a frightening world. So how do you market in this environment? You must change the story. Don’t talk about luxury. Talk about how closely your chef works with local farmers. Or play up your property’s connection to the community by making it easy for guests to access local experiences whether it’s a visit to a nearby market or a historical tour. Share how the hotel may be working protect the wilderness that surrounds it or supporting the artists in the region. These are the stories that resonate with today’s consumer.

As an article in the Financial Times recently argued, “Because consumers are feeling so vulnerable they want to demonstrate through their buying power that they care. There’s a drive toward simplicity. Artistic products make a statement about keeping uniqueness alive; cultural richness is about not losing ourselves.” Properties that have recognize the individual and who have spread the concierge mentality throughout its ranks, empowering all employees to try to adjust experiences for each guest—whether it’s by offering special kitchen tours for the kids, keeping the gym open for late-arrivals, or, yes, offering a special rate to regular guests—are going to be those that engender loyalty today.

November, 2007

Dear Members,

It’s that time of year when hopefully you have squared away your travel plans and can now focus on your holiday shopping. I believe that the best presents I give are the ones that I find when I am traveling and discover something that is just right for someone who isn’t with me and may never get to where I am.

A number of years ago I was in Napa and found wooden folding chairs that had been made out of wine barrels. I could picture my father, who loves his fine red wine, sitting on one under an old tree and enjoying the view of Lambert’s Cove from his house in Martha’s Vineyard. So I sent him a pair.

My stepfather so loved the pile of Charvet cashmere and silk socks that I put under the tree one year that now I pick up pairs for him whenever I am in Paris. Of course, I also bring home a box of macaroons from Ladurée, which is only a few blocks away. Both the socks and the cookies come in seductive colors and enticing packages that really do convey a taste of la vie Parisienne.

I admit I have made a few mistakes. Some beaded crystal bracelets that looked ravishing in a little jewelry store on London’s Walton Street appeared a bit costumey when my mother opened the box. And when I was in a full shopping frenzy with friends in Hanoi, I imagined that my sisters really would wear the red Vietnamese flag with a central yellow star as sarongs. The image didn’t appeal to them back home—nor did the stacks of linen napkins embroidered with blue oxen.

Many of the people on my list are lucky enough to have what they need and to be able to buy whatever they want. To offer something special to them involves unearthing something that they wouldn’t or couldn’t find easily on their own. One of my sisters loves fine green tea and chocolates so it was a thrill when I tracked down rare Japanese tea that she now orders herself from Kyoto, and when I first introduced her to Vosges chocolates that she can now buy just a few blocks from her house.

For the hard-to-shop-for people on your holiday list—whether they be friends, family members or business associates—we’ve teamed up with Smythson to come up with the perfect solution: a gift membership to Indagare, paired with a gorgeous leather travel accessory and packaged in an elegant blue Smythson box. Visit www.indagare.com and click on Give a Gift at the bottom of the page to see all of the premium options, from luggage tags, passport covers and folding leather picture frames to a sumptuous jewelry roll and a slim travel wallet. Or call us at 212-988-2611. This year, give the gift of travel intelligence and inspired journeys.

Melissa

The current economic turmoil has had a dramatic effect on travel plans and increasingly members are contacting us for guidance. Here are some of the frequent questions, major trends and how to navigate the landscape.

QUESTIONS

Are all of the hotels on sale? No, though occupancy rates have already begun to drop in all categories, the high-end of the market has not slashed its room rates and the best brands probably will not. What they may do is offer special packages with added values such as reimbursed airfare or stay three nights, get a fourth one free. Hotels are more willing to work with partners like Indagare, so members can benefit. Also, members can give us their wish list of properties to keep an eye and alert them to specials.

Has everyone canceled for Christmas? Cancellations have been more common and are increasing, however, holiday bookings at sought-after properties are solid. For instance, while last year there was little or no movement from wait lists at top Colorado and Caribbean properties, this year a number of members have gotten late-booked villas and rooms. Also, the closing of the Four Seasons Nevis after hurricane damage resulted in a new scramble for resort spots at warm-weather destinations, so many open rooms have been filled.

Should I wait for prices to drop to book? Overall, the customer is regaining negotiating power and minimum-stay requirements have become negotiable at some properties. If you are truly flexible in dates and destinations, you may find deals. However, you may also be left without flights or any satisfactory options.

How do I get a better deal? Be flexible and take advantage of changing circumstances. For instance, a number of members have decided to benefit from the strengthening dollar and head to Europe for Thanksgiving or Christmas. What they’ve found: hotel rates at five-star properties that are half the cost of comparable ones in the sun or on slopes.

TRENDS

Flight Issues: The airline industry has been hard-hit by the economy, with two major consequences: higher prices and fewer flights. Hawaii, for instance, has seen twenty-five percent of its seats reduced from the mainland in recent months, so even if you can find good deals on hotels, it will cost a lot more to get to them. Unfortunately, this situation will probably get worse as more flights will be cut in January. To certain destinations, such as Argentina and Hawaii, we suggest securing flights before even exploring hotels.

Bargaining Power: The customer definitely has more leverage in this environment, and we predict that they will get more value on things big and small. As mentioned above, hotels will work with known communities, such as our membership, to create added value to entice members with special packages. They will also begin to reevaluate the cost of incidentals such as $10 charges for a cup of coffee and fees for wireless. You can expect more people to speak out against these—the economy has given people license to push back—and hotels to listen and adjust.

Quality over Quantity: Once you have bitten by the travel bug, it’s unlikely that you will forsake trips. In fact, travel research conducted in the past two months has shown that the majority of people would rather wait to buy a new car or other object than give up their holiday. Meaningful experiences, especially with those you love, are not indulgences; they are investments in life’s great moments. However, we expect that people will be wiser about researching, planning and selecting their trips, with an emphasis on quality over quantity.

Staying Home: The next great discovery may be just how much we have in our own backyards. Whether you live in London, Los Angeles or Greenwich, there is a wealth of culture and natural beauty to visit without getting on a plane. As we have said before, the elements that so often make a trip memorable do not depend on price or distance but on imagination and insider advice—and we hope to provide you with both.

Update: At New York’s JFK Airport, It’s Easy, a Manhattan-based passport and visa expedition company, now offers an emergency service at terminal 4’s ground floor hotel desk. Morning orders—for new passports, passport renewals or more pages—can be fully processed on the same day while next-day service is available for afternoon customers. $457 for new passports; $427 for renewals and $360 for new pages (all prices include the State Department’s fee).

I was supposed to be in Paris right now. I was supposed to be dancing at the wedding of one of my best friends from college. I was supposed to be eating Epoisses and strolling around the Marais and ducking into my favorite patisserie. It’s not so much that I missed my flight, although that’s technically true. It’s more that my passport is currently stuck in a government processing plant in Charleston.

A month ago, I bought my plane ticket under my married name, forgetting that I had never bothered to change my passport over from my maiden name. (Mistake number one, meet mistake number two.) As soon as I realized my error, I tried to make an appointment at the passport agency in New York. No dice. So I went to the State Department’s Web site and printed out form DS-82 for a name change by mail. For a fee of $60, the instructions stated, I could expedite the change, provided all my documentation was in order (it was): “Expedited requests will be processed in three workdays from receipt at a passport agency.” It seemed risky, certainly, but I didn’t see what other choice I had. With all the increased security at airports, I knew it was flat-out dumb to try to check in with one name on my ticket and another on my passport.

So I FedExed my passport off with my marriage certificate and waited. And waited. And waited. The three days went by, then a week. As my departure date neared, I started to panic. I called the passport agency, where an automated voice told me that expedited passports were taking three weeks due to unprecedented demand for U.S. passports. I begged a representative for help. In a frazzled tone, she said that there was little hope of getting my passport back before my departure date and that I should make an appointment at my local branch. “But their next appointment is September 18, and my flight is September 7,” I said. “Well did you try Philadelphia?” she replied. “You could go to the Philadelphia office. Or the Boston one.” What’s the chance the passport would arrive on time, I asked. “I have to be honest with you,” she said. “Not good.” Horrified, I went back to the State Department Web site, where I discovered, in a completely separate area from the name change page, that expediting now meant weeks rather than days. (The name change form still says three days.)

In telling this story to my friends and coworkers, it’s perfectly clear that I have no one to blame but myself. Aside from the obvious point that I should have done this years ago, I work in the travel industry, for Pete’s sake. I was completely aware that with the change in regulations, passport demand had surged out of control. “I know people who had their passports stuck in processing for over three months this summer,” said one friend. “Didn’t you see all the articles in the paper?” inquired another, incredulous. “If you had asked me, I would have told you that you never should have done it.”

So now I know. I could have gone to the airport with my old passport and marriage certificate and hoped for the best. But a much smarter move would have been to call Zierer Visa Service or Passport Plus, two well-regarded companies that specialize in just this type of scenario, from the start and never to have attempted to go through the State Department. For a fee of $195, not much more than the $127 I ended up paying ($67 fee plus $60 for expediting), for instance, Zierer would have sent my paperwork to Miami, which had appointment openings, and returned my new passport in a matter of days.

What to know if you are dealing directly with the State Department: The current wait time for a new passport is six to eight weeks. For expedited service, it’s three weeks.

The first time I set foot in Bali, a lifetime ago, in 1984, I knew the place was just too good to be true. For $5 a night I had a whole cottage of my own in a tropical garden, to which a beautiful girl brought fresh fruit and tea every morning, with rice fields just across the lane. A golden, palmy beach was five minutes walk away, and in the hills not far away was a never-ending pageant of cremations, ceremonies and silk-clad women walking to their temples. Either this should cost $500 a night, I decided, or there must be some shadow to it; Paradise rarely comes without an asterisk.

For the only time in all my years of traveling, I was right, on both counts. Nowadays it does cost $500, or $1,000—or $1,400—to get a piece of the Balinese dream I savored; and bombings in 2002 and then in 2005 have reminded everyone of what paradise, or at least tourist success, brings in its wake. If you seek to entice foreigners carrying open wallets, as Bali has done, you also bring in outsiders carrying hidden explosives; and if you really believe the Hindu island in the middle of Islamic Indonesia is a newfound Garden, you have to remember that Eden was most famous for its snakes.

The development of Paradise—what is good for it versus what is good for the eager foreigner—has been the central theme of Bali ever since the first Westerners began to settle down there eighty years ago. If the first impulse of every arriving newcomer was to declare he’d landed in Paradise, the second was to decide that Paradise would be lost as soon as the next newcomer arrived. By 1930, Hickman Powell was publishing a book on Bali called The Last Paradise, and within a decade the great Mexican artist, Miguel Covarrubias, author of the defining Island of Bali, was writing, ” ‘Isn’t Bali spoiled’ is invariably the question that greets the returned traveler from Bali—meaning, is the island overrun by tourists, and are the Balinese all wearing shorts?”

In time, the famously bare-chested local maidens who had attracted the attention of the world were covering up, even as the latest arrivals from Marseilles or Düsseldorf were stripping off. More than anywhere in the world, including Tahiti or Tibet, Bali became a parable of what happens when any place notable for its innocence of the world gets discovered by the world: nowadays the visitor driving in from the airport sees an unbroken Malled City of massage parlors, Vegas-worthy karaoke parlors, MTV bars offering “Costume Dancers” and scruffy surfers’ shacks and shops selling “No Money, No Honey” T-shirts. Escape up into the hills, and the cultural centers of Ubud, and you will be greeted by used kimono stores, Brahma Kumari’s World Spiritual University and so many Coach and Dolce & Gabbana outlets that you realize that you really must have arrived in Osaka.

Yet look closer, as you always should do in Bali, and see what it has that the islands of the Gulf of Siam or the beaches of the Philippines do not. The darkness was chattering around me when I stepped out of my exquisite villa in Amandari my first morning in Bali this summer, and the key to my room, as in no other place I visited, depicted a weird lion-headed dog from the other world. Down the road, later in the day, women in their finest silks were walking, with a straight-backed majesty, home from the temple, large baskets on their heads, and disappearing off into the dark. After nightfall, all I could hear was the gamelan, jangled and insistent, clanking from the cluster of houses across the valley in the night.

The beauty of Bali is precisely the elusiveness of Bali, and the fact that most of what is happening, in the air, the soil, around you, is taking place in a language you can’t decipher. To this day, foreigners I met began telling me of the ghosts they’d seen beside—or even inside—their beds, and one recalled how she’d had a seizure here. On my first trip to the island, I fell under the spell (quite literally, I now think) of a local girl, and then had a different kind of spell cast on me when I wanted to say goodbye (I couldn’t move for several days). I bought an owl mask to take back home, and as soon as I put it on the wall of my apartment in Manhattan, the darkness became so intense that I had to yank the mask down and put it where I’d never see it again.

It is the shadows that endure in Bali, at least here and there, and that remind us of how much in the place is out of reach, and charged. Locals still pray, after all, at a temple within the Hyatt Hotel, and the five-star resorts built along the previously neglected strip of Nusa Dua have temples all around them. There is said to be one room in the Grand Bali Beach Hotel that is reserved for a goddess (and when a fire gutted the place in 1993, only that room survived).

My first evening on Bali on my most recent trip to the island, my fifth, a group of local experts told me of the wild dreams and witches they’d encountered in the place. The one Balinese among us said nothing and smiled enigmatically, as if merely amused. Then he told us how when he went to Australia “I saw this figure by my bed, a little one. He was trying to pull me away.” Later, as he drove me back to Amandari through the dark, he spoke of a “black magic” healer down the road who had just cured his brother of a stroke, the same stroke that had doctors at the hospital throwing up their hands. He began speaking of “left-handed tantra” and the ancestors who were everywhere, why his Australian wife could not hang her laundry higher than the temple.

As he dropped me at my hotel, he said that the one book I should read on Bali was called Bali: Sekala and Niskala. It means, he said, The Seen and the Unseen. What it really meant was that everything I could see in Bali—all those “Osama Can’t Surf” t-shirts and new oceanfront villas—didn’t really have anything to do with what was going on at all.

Pico Iyer, June 2007

Years ago, at my grandmother’s suggestion, I began a travel tradition that I have just begun instilling in my own kids. Before I went to Greece and Turkey for the first time, my grandmother gave me Mary Renault’s novels of ancient Greece. Visiting the Palace of King Minos at Knossos on Crete after reading The King Must Die, I could easily envision the life and intrigue that once inhabited its crumbling chambers. Years later, in India, I devoured Rudyard Kipling’s Kim and Rohintin Minstry’s A Fine Balance. These colorful epics cover different eras, but each brought into clearer focus the country that I toured. The magical realism of Jorge Amado helped explain the extremism of Brazil, as did John Updike’s novel Brazil. Fernando Meirelles’s brilliant film The City of God haunted me each time I drove past one of Rio’s favelas. Thanks to Beryl Markham’s West with the Night, every time I have visited the Serengeti, I have viewed it through my eyes and hers.

This spring, before I took my daughter to Paris, I ordered the movies Gigi and A Little Romance so she could get acquainted with the city’s look and feel. On the plane, I began reading Diane Johnson’s Into a Paris Quartier: Reine Margot’s Chapel and Other Haunts of St. Germain. During our five-day trip, I looked out for the historical landmarks in my book, and my daughter searched for those in her movies. Major scores: Maxim’s and Angelina. The lyrics of the films’ songs were an added bonus, as I’ll never forget my daughter singing “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” with her cousins in the Tuileries. We were there for another family tradition, which my mother started with my eldest niece: she introduces each granddaughter at age nine—this year two of them—to the capital of fashion, fine food and all things French. It’s an ideal city for any age because as Henry Miller is quoted as saying in Johnson’s book: “…each day I will see a little more of Paris, study it, learn it as I would a book. It is worth the effort…The streets sing, the stones talk. The houses drip history, glory, romance.”

In anticipation of our next trip, my daughter has already read Cornelia Funke’s The Thief Lord, which is set in Venice. I will finally dig into Andrea de Robilati’s A Venetian Affair. It’s a way to prepare for the journey but also to deepen our immersion in the place, which is why our online destination reports include recommended reading and film lists in the Library sections. One of our members, who recently traveled with her teenagers to Egypt, couldn’t get her kids to read history books, so she downloaded Cleopatra, Ben Hur and Helen of Troy on their iPods. This kind of technology is not something my grandmother would have imagined. She and my grandfather always traveled to Kenya with a leather book box filled with works by Hemingway, Freya Stark and Laurens van der Post among their trunks. The medium doesn’t matter, though; it’s that the stories help us understand the places we visit.

Add your favorite travel-inspired books to the site by clicking on the Comment icons on the Library reading lists or by adding a new list to the Discussion Boards.

Last week, I posted a story encouraging people to travel to Egypt. Two days ago a French tourist was killed and many wounded when a bomb exploded near Khan el-Khalil bazaar in Cairo. This summer I walked in the square where the explosion killed a seventeen-year-old girl from a suburb of Paris; she was on a class trip. I can imagine the crowded cafes at dusk that night; the shop owners standing in doorways, calling to the tourists; the lingering smell of tobacco from the shisha pipes and the minarets piercing the darkening sky. How quickly a magical Middle Eastern night must have turned into a nightmare. In an instant the terrorists grabbed control from the tourists. But does that mean that now I don’t think people should go to Egypt?

As a travel journalist, I am frequently asked if I think certain places are safe or unsafe. Unfortunately, I don’t think any place is totally safe. Think of the number of people who fall in their own bathrooms each year or who are in car accidents within a few miles of their homes. I live in New York, which we know is top of Al Qaeda’s wish list of targets and where a terrorist task force delivers regular updates to Mayor Bloomberg. Yesterday, six people were shot in the middle of the afternoon at Mardi Gras in New Orleans. And in recent weeks, hundreds have been poisoned by peanuts. How many Americans travel to the Caribbean or Mexico without Hepatitis A vaccinations or refuse to inoculate their kids at all? Is any place really safe?

Before I traveled to Brazil two years ago with my family, a number of people questioned my judgment. “Your kids could be kidnapped,” they said. I knew about the crime rates, but we decided that if we took precautions, we should be safe. We traveled with locals who knew how to get around. One night when we left a Rio restaurant in a high-rent neighborhood and suggested that we walk the few blocks to the hotel, our guide insisted that we take a car. “This is the time of night and area, where you will get rolled,” he said. I didn’t feel unsafe, but we listened.

So yes, I still think people should travel to India and Egpyt. In fact, one of our members just returned and sent this: “Egypt and Jordan seemed utterly safe, and we sensed no anti-American or anti-Western sentiment at all, though it is possible that we were just shielded from it by having such tight “parental” control on us in the form of our guides. The local people we met when we did get out on our own all wanted to talk about Obama, Obama, Obama. This was true in all corners of Egypt and Jordan, particularly since we were there during the inauguration and the lead-up to it. I even got an unsolicited bear hug from a man in the Aswan souk when I acknowledged we had supported his campaign. They have placed such high hopes for peace in the region on him, hopes we all wish will be fulfilled.”

Comfort zones are personal, but I want my kids to see many countries and explore many cultures, so I make decisions that balance risk and reward—for our family. And knowing what I know now, that terror could have caught me in the square near the Hussein el Mosque, would I have gone anyway? Yes, because my ten-day trip left my head spinning with new insights into ancient history and current events and a sense of renewed wonder at what makes a civilization great and how it disappears. But then Mark Twain expressed more beautifully than I can, the sense of awe that Egypt inspires. He wrote of being in the presence of the Sphinx: “It was gazing out over the ocean of Time—over lines of century-waves which, further and further receding, closed nearer and nearer together, and blended at last into one unbroken tide, away toward the horizon of remote antiquity. It was thinking of the wars of departed ages; of the empires it had seen created and destroyed; of the nations whose birth it had witnessed, whose progress it had watched, whose annihilation it had noted; of the joy and sorrow, the life and death, the grandeur and decay, of five thousand slow revolving years.” To see that is a trip worth making.

Read Melissa’s Reasons on Why Egypt Is A Must Visit

Read Melissa’s Letter from London

Read Airport Hell: Plane Travel Hits a New Low

Indagare strongly recommends that you purchase trip insurance as soon as possible after booking your trip, preferably within seven days. Typically, trip insurance costs between 5% and 7% of the total trip cost. A good resource for comparing and contrasting policies is this Web site: www.insuremytrip.com.

Before you commit to any policy, be very careful to read and understand the fine print. Many policies only cover medical emergencies (sudden illness, death of a particular family member, etc.) with proper documentation, and may not cover pre-existing conditions. Others may cover unavoidable events (such as hurricanes), but only if you buy before the hurricane watch is announced. Most policies do NOT cover your losses if you change your mind or cannot travel due to work.

Here are two well-regarded travel insurance companies:

• AIG Travel Guard (www.travelguard.com 800-826-4919)

• CSA Travel Protection (www.csatravelprotection.com 800-711-1197)

In addition to trip cancellation insurance, you should make sure you have medical evacuation protection as well. This would serve as a supplement to your primary medical insurance at home and is generally purchased on an annual basis for a few hundred dollars. One highly-regarded company is MedjetAssist in the event of an emergency, they will med-evac you to the hospital of your choice. Indagare members receive preferential rates. See MedjetAssist details

A month ago, I checked a bag for the first time in three years because I was combining city and country stays in Denmark, and I couldn’t fit boots, sweaters etc… into a carry-on. Knowing that I was possibly consigning my bag to eternal lost luggage limbo, I packed less treasured clothes, and when I watched my bag glide away on the conveyor belt, I cast a wistful, possible last look at it. Sure enough when I arrived in Copenhagen on my non-stop, I learned that my bag was still at Newark. “It didn’t make it on the plane,” the woman at the luggage desk explained, but it would arrive the following day. She handed me a tiny toiletry bag with deodorant, a comb, a toothbrush, toothpaste and a razor. Not exactly refreshing consolation but I was lucky; I did get my bag within thirty-six hours. My fears had been justified, and I renewed my long-held vow to travel only with carry-on or to send my bags ahead.

Today’s Wall Street Journal has a story on luggage delivery services with up-to-date statistics on the increased chances of losing your bags while flying in the U.S. and price charts on the many services that you can use to ship luggage to your destination instead. Frequent travelers don’t need the U.S. Department of Transportation figures (3.5 million bags lost so far this year) to know that they are gambling with their possessions every time they check in a suitcase.

Now, the Journal story would have you believe that there are lots of options for shipping, but having tried a number of them, I can vouch that the best one is FedEx. First, there’s the price advantage. The Journal chart reveals that shipping a 45-pound bag from Atlanta to New York overnight ranges from $178 with FedEx or UPS to $284 with Baggage Quest. What is mentioned in small type is that if you use FedEx Ground with a few days extra planning (which is easy, if, say, you are going skiing this holiday season) it costs under $100. Most of the luggage concierge services use FedEx or UPS for transporting the bags. What you pay more for is their “packaging or handling,” which I have found isn’t necessary since FedEx will pick duffel bags up from house and deliver them with just a FedEx tag to a hotel or house across the country. The one time I used Luggage Express, they required that my bags be ready two days beforehand so they could ready them for pick-up and then still managed to deliver them a day late. True to their word, since our bags were late, they did reimburse me for the ski clothes that I had to buy once I provided receipts and returned the items to their central office. So it seems that what you get for the higher priced concierge services is more hassle and some insurance. However, in the past three years when I have been using FedEx (not just for my luggage), they have never delivered an item late. So, I say, forgo the extra handling and the extra fee and use FedEx. Oh, and there’s the added thrill of breezing into the packed airport and passing the lines of harried passengers herding their suitcases and going straight to the gate to check-in.

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SPECIAL SECTIONS News + Resources In this section you will find our resource directories which will be regularly updated. They include:

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Indagare Intelligence: a listing of some of our favorite worldwide travel specialists, ranging from art historians to yoga instructors, as well as locals and loyal visitors who share their insider tips.

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COMING SOON Check back often. The following destinations are posting soon: Puglia, Copenhagen and Chicago.