north shore news Synchronize your Suan Dial Make sure your winter escape is in the right place at the right time THE Cathay Pacific airliner from Manila was flying through torrential rain as it swooped over the South China ‘Sea toward the slender finger of Hong Kong airport. _. Turbulence made the aircraft buck and shudder but I was not worried; this was home to the CX pilots, skilled vet- erans who know every washing pole on ‘the approaches to Kai Tak. : Aker the landing I ran into a col- ague in the taxi line-up. “That’s it,” he said,” : nervously lighting a “cigarette. “No more flying in typhoon sea- son.” - Typhoon season? I was..new to Hong ~~ Kong and this was the -. first [had heard of the _ Storms that occasion- ‘ally tock Hong Kong’s skyscrapers in the © summertime. : After that, I began’to pay close atten- ‘tion to-weather. conditions, particularly when. vacations were concerned. Time off is rationed and travelling is expen- sive, and as wifiter closes in anguished ‘cries are heard all over Vancouver: “Get me out of the rain!” —. Tf it’s not raining as you read this it soon will, Vancouver gets an average of 19 rainy days in November, and sad to ay, it only gets worse in December with 2 days. Average high temperature is 48 legrees in November and a numbing 43 legrees in December. Those who have. taken their vaca- ions ‘in the summer don’t deserve any ‘sympathy, unless they are trapped in the school vacation rut. . + «Vancouver has long summer days that allow for a full day’s work and then a bike ride, round of golf or sai! around the bay. Precious holiday-time should be reserved for that November to February period when the city is wet, cold and bleak. * But, and this is critical, winter vaca- tions require careful planning, for it’s possible to visit a supposed sunspot and be greeted with leaden skies, or worse. Some places, while not offering, beach weather, are also very good value in winter. For example, you don’t need sunshine to enjoy the Louvre in Paris. Nor will you necessarily need an umbrella; London in February is drier than the Algarve, Corfu, Cyprus, Monaco, Tunis, Istanbul and Sorrento (see story below). Whar follows, then, is our guide to try to help you avoid paying a lot talk of money to be in the right place ar the wrong time. Let’s start off with Hawaii where the vacation rush is at its peak in January — yet January rainfall in Oahu (home of Waikiki beach) is 4.4 inches, making it the wettest month of the year. November by comparison is much dryer with 3 inches of rain. Beware Kauai with 5.9 inches in January and Hilo on the Big Island with a drenching 9.8 inches that soars to~a soggy 15.1 inches in November. Kona on the Big Island, however, gets just 1.8 inches of rain in November and is your best ber, along with Lahaina in Maui at 1.6, for a dry month. . Pve been to Hawaii many times in November and rarely have been disap- See Little page 27 _. A suite In The Savoy in the heart of London’s theatretand is the per- wae fect place to stay during a wintertime visit to Great Britain. TRAVELLERS looking for bargains rather than beach weather should check out flights and packages to Europe. Whereas a ticket to London last summer was around $1,300 (and hard to get at that), all the scheduled carriers, Air Canada, Canadian and British Airways, are now anxious to have you on-board for just $700. Charter tickets are going for $479 and some even less. And for just $999 you can fuxuriate to London in Canada 3000’s new Club 3000 big seat with all the trimmings — a saving of about $3,000 on what the scheduled carriers charge for business class. British Airways Holidays is even throwing in a free car for a week when you book a flight to London. In addition it has a City Saver add-on offering three nights in a London hotel for $233, Paris mini-breaks with Eurostar under the chanel one way, air the other, and two nights in a Paris hotel all for $255. British Airways Holidays also has an add-on to Monaco and Europe car rentals starting at $39 a day. Thistle Hotels, with 90 hotels up and down Britain including 24 in London, has a winter special for Canadian travellers offering rates with a dollar equal to a pound. Contrast that to last summer, when London hotel rooms were hard to get at any price. Sunday, November 9, 1997 — North Shore News — 15 Photo submitted LIFE’S A BEACH... and then you come home. A sungeeker strotis on a Bahamian beach, the memory of Vanccuver rain as distant as the horizon line. London switches on its Christmas shopping lights November 6 (Oxford Street) and Regent Street (November 13), while the lights on the great Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, an annual gift from the people of Norway, will be lic December 4. Shoppers should note that Harvey Nichols has a new store in the Oxo Tower on the South Bank near Blackfriars Bridge, while upstairs is the Oxo Tower Restaurant. I was just there and the views are spec- tacular, the food excellent but the service leisurely. The English National ballet has a new production of The Nutcracker at the London Coliseum, and try to catch a pantomime. : If on the other hand, you want to have fun, eat well and stay home, go to the Metro Theatre between December 19 and January 3 and see Dick Whittington and His Cat, amaze your palate and pocket with a curry at the King Mahal on West 10th near Sasamat, go home and put a jog on the fire and think about all the money, jetlag and sunburn you've saved, For more information pick up a copy of What's On, the London activities guide, at the News Hound magazine/coffee shop at 2997 Granville St., Vancouver. Or contact the BTA in Torouto, 1-888- VISIT-UK.