This was published 7 years ago
Readers' tips and advice: If you can afford to travel, you can afford insurance
Travel insurance is an essential part of every holiday.Credit: iStock
BITTER PILLS
If you can afford to travel you can afford insurance, an essential part of every holiday, and it can alleviate unnecessary worry if things go wrong.
Many travellers require daily medication in one form or another; I've often heard when there have been unforseen delays or an accident that people only have enough medication for just the specified time of travel.
Tandem paragliding with an Egyptian vulture in Nepal.Credit: Emma McDonald
Please take an extra week's supply or more; it can be difficult to locate a doctor or pharmacist to prescribe the correct medication in a strange city. Those few extra ounces of weight could be life saving.
Charmain Williams, Forster, NSW
VULTURE CULTURE
I recently visited Pokhara, Nepal for a short break and by recommendation from a friend, booked a tandem paragliding flight with the Parahawking Project (a British NGO). It was not an average paragliding flight however as I took "Kevin", a trained Egyptian vulture, with me.
As I sailed high above Lake Phewa strapped to my instructor, chasing thermals and marvelling at the spectacle, I was also feeding Kevin buffalo meat by hand.
Project founder Scott Mason is an experienced falconer who conceived the concept of "parahawking" in a Nepali pub. It is an utterly unique experience which also supports the conservation of endangered vulture species in Nepal. It is pricier than other paragliding flights (about $200) but worth every cent.
Emma McDonald, West Brunswick, VIC
WAT A HOTEL
I would like to recommend Khmer Mansion Boutique Hotel & Cambodian Angkor Tour who made our recent trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia one of the best holidays we have ever had.
Khmer Mansion is a 22-room hotel just near Pub Street with lovely staff who are so incredibly helpful and thoughtful; nothing was too much trouble, everything is done quickly and without fuss and all the staff referred to us by name.
When we went exploring, we went with Chhen from Cambodia Angkor Tours. He had a very comfortable 4WD and his knowledge of the area was amazing. Make sure you eat at the local NGO restaurants and support them as they do such great work for the local Cambodians.
Peter Govan, Carlingford, NSW
GIVE ME A BREAK
Regarding Lee Atkinson's article "Now for a station break" (Traveller, January 22), it would be advisable to check if tourists still have access to Mount Elizabeth Station; it is my understanding that the station was sold to a Chinese company, Shanghai CRED, in 2016.
Our visit to Mount Elizabeth in August 1996 was exciting and memorable. Peter and Pat Lacey were wonderful hosts and by following the mud map provided we saw all the places, plus many more, mentioned in Lee's article.
The rock art was magnificent and I hope strict, enforceable regulations are in place to protect the sites. Any development which impacts on the indigenous cultural areas would be criminal.
Barbara Pupich, Coffs Harbour, NSW
EDITOR'S NOTE At the time of writing Mount Elizabeth Station was still accepting guests. But, as our reader recommends, do check with the operators before making a booking.
OFF THE AIR
Travelling independently can sometimes be stressful, especially when trying to navigate around foreign cities. We discovered the application MAPS.ME on a recent trip overseas. It is a free off-line map with turn-by-turn navigation. After the initial download, you then add the countries you are going to visit (you can do this along the way but it's best to do it in a free Wi-Fi zone to save data).
It can be fun to get lost, but sometimes it is invaluable to know where you are especially in a Moroccan souk or the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul! Highly recommended!
Jacqueline Wilkes, Dolphin Point, NSW
HAM IT UP
The best travel discovery I've made this year is TripAdvisor's restaurant reviews. I went to the most sublime restaurant near Montserrat in Spain. It is family-owned and run and we had a simple meal of jamon Iberico, seafood and mushroom paella, and broad bean salad. Talk about died and gone to heaven. The name of the restaurant is Cal Tallon, Olesa de Montserrat.
Denise Hunter, North Sydney, NSW
Sign up for the Traveller newsletter
The latest travel news, tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox. Sign up now.