There are worthwhile travel leaflets and paperback books not often found in bookstores, usually because they are government publications. They provide tightly focused, reliable travel information-no pictures and no chat, but plenty of facts.
Consider the subject of electricity, for example. A notable revival is
”Electric Current Abroad,” which has been reprinted for the first time since 1984. It has been revised by the Department of Commerce and is for sale by the department and by the Government Printing Office.
It is not just people new to travel who forget that all electric current is not identical, or who buy a set of plug converters and figure the problem is dealt with. It is the wrong voltages and cycles that do the damage to appliances.
The 90-page booklet is intended for companies establishing overseas offices, but private travelers, particularly those to the Third World, who want to take hair dryers, coffeemakers or other plug-in devices have long relied on it.
For each country and for specific cities, the booklet specifies the type and frequency of current, the nominal voltage, which may vary somewhat, the number of wires and, in a notation valuable to computer users, whether the frequency is stable enough for an electric clock.
It also has drawings of types of plugs and specifies what types are in use in each country.
”Electric Current Abroad,” if ordered from the Department of Commerce
(publication PB-91-193383), National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Rd., Springfield, Va. 22161; 703-487-4650, costs $9.95, plus $3 for one-week delivery. From the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D.C., 20402, where the document number is 003-008-00203-0, the cost is $3.
There are companies that sell appliances and small devices such as Water- Piks that are adapted to other currents or that use batteries. One such is Appliances Overseas, 276 5th Ave., New York, N.Y. 10001; 212-545-8001.
Air Travel
Concise, basic information on plane travel is being published by the Department of Transportation as free one-page fact sheets: ”Tips on Avoiding Baggage Problems,” ”Tips for Defensive Flying,” ”Public Charter Flights,” ”Transporting Live Animals” and ”Frequent Flier Programs.” The last two topics are not covered in the department`s 1985 publication, ”Fly Rights,” a $1 leaflet.
These fact sheets take nothing for granted-for example, always put your name and address inside your checked luggage as well as on the tag outside-and probably are useful as checklists.
Hoyte B. Decker Jr., assistant director for consumer affairs in the Department of Transportation, said that the fact sheets were written for people who have not taken a plane before.
The department added three sheets last fall:
– A sheet on public charters, a topic also omitted from ”Fly Rights,”
is valuable for anyone not familiar with charter rules. For example, it explains that all arrangements for public charters are subject to change, but a refund may be obtained without penalty in the event of a ”major” change:
if the departure or return city is changed, if the date is changed by more than 48 hours, if a new hotel is substituted or if the price rises more than 10 percent.
– ”Baggage Problems” contains much that seems obvious, but some travelers may not know that they must lodge a claim for lost or rifled bags before they leave the airport.
– ”Defensive Flying,” which is in large type, offers tips for anxious or inexperienced travelers.
These sheets may be obtained at no charge by writing to the Consumer Affairs Office, Department of Transportation, I-25, Washington, D.C. 20590.
More flying facts
The 1985 edition of the 32-page pamphlet, ”Fly Rights,” is available for $1 from Consumer Information Center, Department 134Y, Pueblo, Colo. 81009. This contains information on the bumping process-denied boarding, to give it its formal name. Decker said that ”Fly Rights,” which is out of date but not in error, was due for revision, although a new edition does not sound imminent.
A Ralph Nader group, the Aviation Consumer Action Project, publishes a similar book, ”Facts and Advice for Airline Passengers,” at $2; it was revised in 1991 and includes current information on smoking rules. It covers topics such as health alerts that ”Fly Rights” does not touch. Order from Aviation Consumer Action Project, Box 19029, Washington, D.C. 20036.
Health publications
A government publication on travel health, ”Health Information for International Travel 1991,” is prepared by the Centers for Disease Control of the Public Health Service; this edition came out in June 1991. An invaluable compilation of current research, it covers vaccination requirements, Public Health Service recommendations for travelers and in what areas various diseases are found.
A 17-inch shelf of travel health books is above my desk, but when two professional photographers called to say they were cruising the Amazon and their physician had made no immunization recommendations, I took down the compact ”Health Information.” According to information on page 20, the CDC recommends yellow fever vaccination for travelers leaving urban areas of Brazil, and said that reactions to the vaccine were generally mild, which was what the photographers needed to know.
The book has a country index as well as a disease index and is easy to use, although non-professionals may want to supplement it with a dictionary. It is publication CDC 91-8280 and costs $5 from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington D.C. 20402; 202-783-3238.
Even hiking trails
”America`s Rail-Trails” is valuable to casual hikers. This 1991 sixth edition of the 138-page paperback is a directory to 360 paths created on old rail corridors. Each entry notes the use permitted, generally non-motorized, but snowmobiles are sometimes permitted. Some trails exclude horses, and there are other limitations.
The listing is by state; 40 states have at least one trail, and some have many, such as California with 17, and New York with 11. Pennsylvania, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin also have many trails, while some New England states have hardly any.
For each state, a map is marked with a star to show the location of the trail, and each entry designates the end points of the trails as well as the counties they cross, the length, the surface and a name and phone number for each trail manager. Trails that are in national forests are so noted, and there are maps showing the general locale of the trail in a state.
Non-members of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy pay $8 for the directory, which may be ordered from the organization at 1400 16th St., N.W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20036. Membership information is in the back of the booklet.
