KEY POINTS:
I am an Aquarius obsessed with waterfalls. I've seen waterfalls almost everywhere in the world except Angel Falls. Can I join a group tour for about a week to Venezuela? Travel brochures and travel agents have not been able to enlighten me. - Ruth Ponnian
Then it's
about time you saw the highest waterfall in the world. The fall's total height is 979m, of which the uninterrupted drop is 807m which is about 16 times the height of Niagara Falls.
The waterfall's volume depends on the season. In the dry months from January to May it can be pretty faint - just a thin ribbon of water fading into mist halfway down its drop.
In the rainy season, particularly August and September, it's often voluminous and spectacular.
The waterfall is in wilderness and there is no road access or walking trail. Most visitors get there in two stages: by flying into the village of Canaima then taking a light plane or boat from there. You can only get to Canaima by air.
Ciudad Bolivar is the main jumping-off point for tours to Angel Falls and it's usually from here that visitors fly into Canaima.
A number of tour operators run one to three-day packages to the falls costing from $135 to $340. Try Gekko Tours (www.gekkotours-venezuela.de), Sakaika Travel (www.sakaikatravel.com) and Adrenaline Expeditions ( www.adrenalinexpeditions.com).
You can also fly direct from Caracas to Canaima with Avior for around $170. From here a boat or light plane can take you to the falls. A 40-minute trip in a five-seater plane over and around the top of the falls costs $62.
For nine or 10 months of the year, when the water is high enough, motorised canoes can take you for a one-day tour to the falls ($135) or for a more relaxing three-day tour ($200).
Canaima-based tour companies include Bernal Tours (www.bernaltours.com) and Tiuna Tours (www.tiunatours.com).
While MFAT (www.safetravel.govt.nz) isn't currently issuing a travel advisory for Venezuela, Australia suggests a high degree of caution throughout the country and suggests not to travel at all to certain areas (www.smartraveller.gov.au).
Celebrating a world trip
Two friends and I are planning an overland trip from April 2008 to April 2009 starting in Jakarta and ending in London. Could you recommend an interesting route, keying in some unique festivals that we could see along the way, and do you recommend taking local transport or buying a car whilst on mainland Asia? - Jenkins Hon
That's a big trip and there are quite a number of different routes you could take.
Before leaving Indonesia try to attend the Kendari Bay Festival, which turns the capital of southeast Sulawesi into a frenzy of celebration with dragon-boat races and traditional music.
From Malaysia you can travel to Thailand by train, or by ferry from Langkawi to Satun on the Thai coast.
From Thailand you might decide to travel overland by bus through Laos and then Vietnam and then over the border to China. You will find travelling by public transport to be the easiest way of getting around Asia - by far.
In Thailand (and also in parts of Malaysia) you will probably catch up with celebrations for the Thai Buddhist New Year (Songkran Festival) and for Buddha's birthday, as they take place in April and May. June in China is the time for the Dragon Boat Festival.
From Beijing why not embark on one of the world's great adventures aboard the Trans-Manchurian or the Trans-Mongolian and the Trans-Siberian Railways? Taking the Trans-Manchurian north from Beijing will bring you through Harbin, with its onion-domed Orthodox churches. If you're here in winter you must visit the famous Ice Lantern Festival with the world's most amazing ice sculptures. The Trans-Mongolian, via Ulaan Baatar, on the other hand, would be a totally different experience as you pass through the Great Wall, across the Gobi Desert, and past lush green fields and forests.
Lonely Planet has a guide devoted to the Trans-Siberian Railway, or read more about the journey on www.trans-siberian.com.au. The very useful rail travel website www.seat61.com gives information on the rail trip as well as information on travelling overland from Moscow to many European cities.
From Moscow you could either travel through the Baltic States and Scandinavia to the UK, or through Belarus, Poland, Germany and France or Belgium.
If you are in Latvia look out for the pan-Baltic Baltica International Folklore Festival, which occurs every three years and is scheduled for 2009. Other good festivals are the Carnival celebrations in Nice in the south of France and the month-long art festival from mid-September in Lyon. Carnival in Germany is best in Cologne, Munich, Dusseldorf and Mainz.
Audio travel guides
I wish to travel with my wife to Baikal, the Caucasus and Ukraine. I could help plan the trip if I could read some of the travel guides we have bought. Could you please tell me if anyone has put any of your guides on audio book or some other format accessible to an old blind man. - Leigh Sheridan
Unfortunately there are no travel guides in audio format - neither Lonely Planet's nor any other publisher's. There are a number of travel memoirs on cassette or CD but nothing that can help you specifically plan your trip. It's certainly an idea to pitch to publishers; surely you're not the only one interested in audio-format travel guides.
Changi airport delights
Soon, my husband and I will be travelling to Holland, via Singapore. On our way to Holland we'll only have a three-hour stopover, but on our return, we'll be arriving at Singapore at 6.30am and we won't be leaving until 9.30pm. Someone has told me that there are free trips to Singapore, and you don't have to check out your luggage. Is this possible? Do you have any other ideas about what we could do? - Mineke Meyerink
Singapore's Changi airport (www.changiairport.com) is regularly voted the world's best airport.
Many of the airport's luxurious facilities are designed for transit passengers. The Rainforest or Plaza Premium lounges offer 24-hour shower, fitness, spa and massage services, and for $12 you can go for a swim in the pool at the on-site Transit Hotel.
The airport offers free city tours with a choice of colonial, cultural or lifestyle themes. You won't need to worry about your luggage as you can check it through to your final destination when you leave Holland.
You could also do your own mini tour of Singapore by jumping on the very efficient Mass Rapid Transport rail system. Visit Chinatown, the colonial district and boat quay, and perhaps take a trip on the river.