Soviet Union Popular Following Failed Coup

A curious result of the attempted coup against Mikhail S. Gorbachev is that the Soviet Union suddenly has become an “in” place to visit. One of the largest U.S. tour operators specializing in Soviet travel reports that its phones “have been ringing off the hook” since the plot began to falter, the Washington Post reports. The firm expects to double or triple its anticipated sales this fall.

“What’s happening is almost amazing,” says Wally Lawrence, chairman of the Russian Travel Bureau in New York. He and other tour operators attribute the response to the delight that Americans took in seeing vast numbers of Soviet citizens rise up to protest the power grab.

While the outcome of the coup was still in doubt, at least some tour operators canceled departures to the Soviet Union through the end of August, refunding all deposits. Lawrence’s firm dropped three tours for which it had booked 50 people. Now, he says, some of them are calling back complaining, “Why did you cancel? We want to go.”

Travel Quiz: What city is home to the world’s tallest self-supporting structure?

Mail in Those Mexico Traffic Tickets: American drivers who get traffic tickets in Ensenada, Rosarito Beach or other popular Baja California Norte cities no longer must show up in person to pay fines at local Mexican police departments. As of today, tourists may sign citations and mail in payments to a post office box in San Ysidro, Calif. Both the cost of the violation and the address to which it must be mailed will be printed on the ticket. The change is designed both to eliminate the possibility of bribes and as a convenience for travelers, according to a Mexico tourism spokeswoman. Mail-in payments will be possible only for minor traffic citations that do not include damage to property or people. A similar program has been in effect in the municipality of Tijuana since Aug. 1.

A Taste for Suites: A survey of hotels in nine locations worldwide discovered that the most expensive suite was not necessarily where you would expect to find it. No, not in New York (The Plaza is only $15,000 a night); not Tokyo (the Imperial Palace is a paltry $5,040); not London (the Carlton Tower is a bargain at $3,400), and not Las Vegas (The Mirage is practically cheap at $3,000). It is in the Bahamas at the Crystal Palace Resort and Casino, where the price is $25,000 a night for the Galactic Fantasy suite.

What do you get for your hard-earned $25,000? A robot servant named Ursula, a Lucite piano, a rotating sofa and bed, pulsating light columns activated by body heat, and thunder-and-lightning storm sounds and a light show in a two-bedroom, bi-level penthouse suite. The suite is not often booked, a Crystal Palace spokesman told Hotels magazine.

Quick Fact: Most popular destinations of travelers leaving LAX: 1) New York/Newark, N.J., 2) San Francisco, 3) Phoenix, 4) Honolulu, 5) Chicago, 6) Washington, D.C.

What Becomes (of) a Legend: Singapore’s historic Raffles Hotel--which has been closed for renovation for two years--will reopen Sept. 16. Much has changed. The old hotel, where Somerset Maugham corrected galleys for the volume that contains the famous short story “Rain,” has been remodeled into 104 suites. (Suite 78, where Maugham worked, is still there.) The large, plain rooms with louvered windows and ceiling fans, which from the ‘20s on hosted celebrities including Joseph Conrad, Noel Coward, Charlie Chaplin, Maurice Chevalier, Frank Buck and Jean Harlow, have been refashioned into luxury suites with restored furniture from the era and Oriental carpets on teak, marble and tile floors. The famous Long Bar, where the Singapore Sling cocktail was created in 1915, has been moved out of the original building (which will be open only to guests) to a newly constructed hotel extension that houses shops, meeting rooms and restaurants.

Up With Travel: In July, the cost of travel in the United States increased 6.6% over last year at this time, according to the U.S. Travel Data Center. A 3.3% rise in airline fares represented the smallest increase. Food and beverages also rose modestly at 3.6%. Lodging registered the primary rise with a leap of 12.9%.

Paris Enhanced: Paris is hoping to replace the long-abandoned wine warehouses in the area of Paris called Bercy, between the Gare de Lyon railway station and the Seine, with the world’s first food and wine trade market. Part of an ambitious project to transform one of the last working-class neighborhoods of Paris into a European business center, the International Food and Beverage Trade Mart aims to be a showroom for 1,000 agribusiness firms, starting in June, 1993.

It is hoped that the planned eight-story glass-and-granite building will help transform the area into a modern city landscape, nestled alongside the Bastille Opera, the giant Bercy stadium and the luxurious waterfront Finance Ministry.

The developers also plan to convert some of the old wine stores in the area into restaurants, wine bars and food stores catering to Parisians and tourists alike.

Comparatively Speaking: Most expensive city for the business traveler: London ($364 per day). Second most expensive: Paris ($332). Third: Stockholm ($313). Least expensive in the survey: Budapest ($143). (Source: Runzheimer International.)

Fair Warning: About 800 visitors are expected to attend a small-town fair called the Cotton Harvest Festival, Sept. 21 in Buttonwillow, about 30 miles from Bakersfield. Hosted for several decades as a celebration of the cotton harvest, the day offers a pancake breakfast, an all-day carnival with rides and a parade that features floats made by local organizations, local school bands and farm machinery. There will even be tiny pedal tractors for the kids to ride. For more information, call (805) 764-5406.

Quiz Answer: Toronto, home of 1,821-foot-tall CN Tower, a television and radio communications facility that also houses two observation decks, a restaurant and a disco.