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Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it’s
something you design for the present
Newsletter 44 | May 2005
P.O. Box 13600, NOORDSTAD,
9302 E-mail:
info@etniquetravel.co.za
Tel: (051) 406 2500
Fax: (051) 436 3793
To receive our monthly newsletter electronically please send an
e-mail to
info@etniquetravel.co.za
AFTER HOURS EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBER:
083 461 2561
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Customers to pay only for
services rendered |
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As of 1 May 2005, travel
agents will no longer receive commission from airlines for selling
their services. The new remuneration model for the travel industry
will now see agents charging a professional transaction fee to
passengers for services rendered.
To facilitate the new
business model, SAA has announced that they will be reducing their
fares by 4% to ensure that the travel industry is still best placed
to provide their clients the best deals.
Travel agents will be
charging a professional transaction fee in line with services that
they will be offering based on expertise, industry knowledge and
value added benefits.
Importantly, one also has
to realize that travel agents are making a fundamental change in
moving from being a supplier agent to a consumer travel management
professional.
This new business model
will be beneficial for the consumer, because it is bound to
stimulate both healthy competition, and will definitely raise
professionalism within the travel trade.
But despite the new model,
three fundamental principles will remain for the consumer:
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Consumers will get the
best travel deals available to ensure that their travel costs are
managed and contained professionally
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Consumers will now only
pay for services that have actually been rendered to them
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Consumers can rely on
travel agents to give the best expert advice on all products
available and assist in making choices between various options
If you
cannot trust and rely on your travel agent as your travel consultant
anymore, you no longer need them!
Many people don’t regard the
Netherlands as a prime tourist destination. But how
wrong they are! We’ve toured this country more than once, and each
time we are amazed at what it has to offer: interesting cities,
intimate small towns, the most beautiful sceneries, castles,
palaces, churches, museums, flowers, and water, water, water … and
everything associated with it. A short article can only scratch at
the surface of its richnesses.
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One of the most
interesting introductions to this “Land of Water”, is by air -
especially if you fly from the north, say Scandinavia or
Scotland, over the north sea towards Schiphol, the main airport
at Amsterdam. It always amazes us when we see the patches of
land geometrically interspersed by shimmering canals, streams
and lakes. Less than 85% of the country is land, whilst
approximately half of it lies below sea level. Three rivers of
European significance empty through this coastal and delta area,
namely the
Rhine, Meuse and Scheldt.
They say that even the airstrips of Schiphol in a certain sense
“float” on the groundwater, so that when a large aircraft lands,
the tilt in the landscape can be measured!
If you are
looking for inexpensive, but well-cared for accommodation, the
Netherland’s chain of Bastion Hotels is to be recommended. They
can be compared to the City Lodges or Town Lodges in South
Africa, all situated on the fringes of the cities, near to
public transport. From the Bastion Hotel at Schiphol, for
example, you hop on the train close by for a 20 minute trip to
the centre of Amsterdam. |
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Amsterdam
Amsterdam, more than 700 years old, is considered to
be one of the most interesting cities in Europe. It is a metropolis
with a unique ambience and entirely individual effervescent
atmosphere - and with no less than 7000 monuments! The best way to
familiarize yourself with this city, is to tour the rings of canals
(with more than a thousand bridges) spreading out like a fan around
the historic city centre, called the Dam. But don’t take the tourist
boats in front of the station - they really are expensive. Walk some
way down to the Dam, where you can board at a more reasonable
tariff, especially those of the “Rederij Plas”. On such a roundtrip
you will be able to observe the typical Dutch style houses on the
banks of the canals - also the one where Ann Frank wrote her diary -
as well as the interesting house boats on which families have their
homes.
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Places of interest in Amsterdam are so numerous,
that a visitor will have to make choices. The Rijksmuseum, with
Rembrandt’s “The Night Watchman” is a must, The red light
district, called the “Walle” is world renowned. But beware -
always be accompanied when you walk these narrow streets. And,
what are advertised as “Coffee Shops”, don’t sell coffee at all!
However, although a city like Amsterdam is a
must, it is the northern countryside with its small villages and
inspiring scenery that interest us the most. We found that the
following route will give you a rewarding insight into most of
what is typical of this interesting country with its rich
cultural heritage.
Noord
(North)-Holland |
From Schiphol, where you take possession of a rented
car, a circular route through the provinces of Noord-Holland,
Friesland and
Groningen can be undertaken in three to four days. The first stop
will be just north-west of Amsterdam in Noord-Holland at the Zaanse
Schans, where a group of working windmills (for mustard, plant oils
and wheat) stand together within a historically and picturesque
setting. There, visitors can get a good view of the typical
architecture of this province during previous centuries. The wooden
houses are painted in the standard colours of green and white.
From here the road takes you north via the 200 m
wide, 32 km. long “Afsluitdijk” built through the north sea to form
the Ijselmeer, from which large expanses of land called “polders”,
like Urkerland and Flevoland, were won from the water. In the middle
of the dyke, which in itself is a monument to man’s capabilities of
mastering the forces of nature, and with the north sea rolling
against the buttresses, an inspiring statue of a man putting down a
rock on the place where the dyke was finally closed, grips your
attention. The inscription reads: “De strijd tegen het water blijft
een strijd door en voor de mens” (The struggle against the water
remains a struggle by and for mankind).
Friesland
After crossing the
Afsluitdijk, you are in
Friesland, for us one of the most
beautiful and serene regions in the whole of Europe. It is criss-crossed by canals, with fertile and green pastures on which
thousands of
Friesland cattle and black and brown sheep can be
seen. It has eleven towns and numerous picturesque villages and
hamlets, a thankful object for photographers with an eye for detail.
No wonder that numerous Dutch poets expressed themselves lyrically
on the Frisian landscape.
Although you can explore this region by car, we were lucky to have
friends residing in a house on the waterfront of one of the canals,
taking us on a day-long trip. However, boating trips can be taken
from some of the villages. Slowly passing through the countryside,
with sailing boats to be seen everywhere, you have an unusual
perspective, since the canals are on a higher level than the
pastures alongside. Sometimes traffic on the roadways passes
underneath the canals! The most stately homes, pearls of the Frisian
landscape, can be seen on small islands, can only be reached by
boat.
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Occasionally you have to pass through sluices,
opened by a keeper after you have paid a small fee. In one case
the money had to be put in a clog (wooden shoe) attached to a
fishing rod, lowered by the keeper perched above the canal.
One of the smallest but most picturesque villages
is Sloten, not far from Leeuwarden, the main city of Friesland.
Sloten was established during the 13th century as a
small trading centre for butter, cheese and meat. It remains
largely intact up until today, where you can still see an
example of a pillory, reminding you of days long gone by.
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Groningen
The northern province of Groningen, which borders
Germany, has always had a strong agrarian character. There are many
extensive farmlands with the steeples of countless small and large
churches, mostly built of red bricks. The solitude of the
countryside contrasts with the bustling principal town Groningen.
Here ample attractions are to be found. On the market square you can
enjoy a “lekkerbekje”, mouth watering freshly baked fish, or, if you
have the taste, down a (raw!) herring. A climb up the Martini
Tower afterwards rewards you with a magnificent view over the city.
From Groningen you can directly travel back to
Amsterdam within a day, on the way visiting interesting places like
the living museum village Orvelte, displaying how communities lived
a few centuries ago. Here nothing may be changed without permission
of the government. Near Apeldoorn a visit to the previous royal
palace, Het Loo, is worthwhile.
There are many other regions and places of interest
in the Netherlands, but the region that I’ve tried to describe, is
unique. And since the Netherlands is a relatively small country,
this trip is only about 250 km. long, to be discovered at leisure.
In my mind it should not be disregarded when planning a trip to
Europe.
- Manie Wolvaardt
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Letters from our Customers: |
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”Nerina,
I really want to say that you have done a great job, we have really
battled with the other travel agencies to arrange the flight tickets
for us as fast as possible. If we need assistance in the future, I
will make sure that it is with you.”
Wendy Nortman - Team Leader DSS Parexel UFS
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”Tiana,
baie dankie vir die puik diens wat jy vir die UV gee. Jy is 'n
regte ster.”
Frandri Bosch - Finansies, UVS, Bloemfontein
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”Maquida, thanks for your speedy response. It is nice to know that
we at Honey Attorneys (especially myself) can also rely on you to
give us excellent and friendly service.
Monique Ramsden - Honey Attorneys,
Bloemfontein
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“’n
Hartlike dank aan julle by Etnique vir die moeite met die
reisreëlings vir die lede van die toneeltoer, Cor, die andere van
Gogh, na België en Amsterdam gedurende April / Mei 2005. Ons
waardeer dit opreg dat julle ons tegemoet gekom het met sekere van
die finansiële implikasies van ons reis. Weereens hartlike dank vir
julle belangstelling en ruimhartigheid ten opsigte van hierdie
projek.”
Naomi Morgan en Daleen Krige -
Departement Kommunikasie en Inligtingstudie - UVS
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Travelling with plastic is cheaper and safer |
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If you are a South African travelling overseas, you will most likely
purchase travellers’ cheques, even though credit cards and debit
cards are accepted internationally and are usually a cheaper option.
South Africans in particular tend to favour traveller’s cheques and
foreign cash notes - despite the fact that they cost more. When you
make purchases with your credit card you pay no commission and the
exchange rate you’ll get is highly competitive. If you need cash
while overseas you can use your credit card to draw cash at
virtually any ATM - and depending on the amount you draw it is still
cheaper than buying foreign notes at your local bank.
With the bells and whistles plastic offers, why do people still use
travellers’ cheques? There is a case to be made for travellers’
cheques in that you fix the rate of exchange when you purchase them.
When dealing with a particularly volatile currency like the rand,
you may want to know exactly how many rands you are paying for your
euros before you start your holiday.
It is also easier to replace travellers’ cheques than it is to get
another credit card, provided you have all your documentation.
However Visa has come up with a plastic solution that fixes your
rate before you travel and gives you a contingency plan should you
lose your card while travelling.
Visa TravelMoney is a prepaid travel card that acts like a debit
card except that you have foreign currency on the card rather than
rands. It can be used at 12 million merchants and can be used for
taxi and metro fares, gratuities, museum entrance fees, telephone
calls, souvenirs and snacks.
Up to 60 days before you travel you are able to purchase foreign
currency which is credited to the card. |
