The Backpacker Express: Hop-on/Hop-off buses

For more than 3,000 years, splendid floor coverings made by hand in Turkey have been dazzling visitors - and Shannon E. from Flagstaff, Arizona, was no exception. Returning from a shore excursion to the resort town of Kusadasi, she cornered me on the upper deck of our delightful Orient Lines cruise, thrilled with her prize catch: a 4-by-6-foot rug with a classic "Tree of Life" pattern for only US $400. I raked my fingers over the pile: it was brittle, garishly colored, clearly poor quality. It might have sold at her local Karpet Korner for $89. As our ship sailed away from any hope of clobbering the sleaze who sold it to her, I didn't have the heart to tell Shannon she'd been had. If, like Shannon, you travel to exotic Anatolia with dreams of bringing home an exquisite memento to grace your floor, this need not happen to you. Most Turkish rug dealers are reasonably honest, and armed with the pointers below, you can acquire a unique work of art that will enhance your home, impress your friends - and even let you walk all over it. Will you save money by going to the source? The answer is usually a resounding "yes," often as much as 50 percent or more for a comparable piece in a U.S. shop (though this savings by itself wouldn't justify the cost of the trip, unless you're buying several rugs). Cutting out the middlemen, however, isn't the only source of savings: the exchange rate has plummeted in the last year ($1 now buys some 40 percent more Turkish lira than in 1999), and exaggerated fears of the now dissipating Kurdish terrorism still keep some tourists away. The result: prices are remarkably low on everything, from food to lodging to the vast array of arts and crafts for which this land is famous. True, to compensate for the devaluation of the currency, rugs are usually priced in U.S. dollars - but even so, deals abound. Three basic pointers The first step (unless you're a serious connoisseur of Oriental floor coverings) is to hire a professional shopping guide who knows his rugs. The cost - about $50 for a half day - is well worth it, because you'll reduce the risk of buying a turkey, as it were, and still save big-time. The key is to retain a guide you feel can be trusted, from a reputable, certified association (see box); never go into a shop with someone who approaches you on the street, as they generally get a 30 percent commission that comes right out of your pocket. Second, brush up on your bargaining skills. Haggling - no matter how crass it may seem - is the only way to get a fair shake. Keep in mind, too, that the asking price often has less to do with the actual product than with how rich you look. If you can't pass for a refugee from Kosovo, at least don't wear jewels or fancy loafers on your shopping day. Third, do your homework before you go. Are there quality carpet stores near your home? Go in and ask questions; feel the different materials and grades of craftsmanship. "Educate your eye and your hand," says buyer Katie McGrail of New York City's Central Carpet, one of the East Coast's top dealers, because "your eyes and your hands will tell you" if a particular piece is right for you. If it feels coarse or brittle, don't buy - it's probably inferior or even synthetic. If the colors are too bright, suspect chemical dyes (not necessarily a bad thing, but vegetal dyes will mellow over time, giving your rug that prized "aged" look). Natural dyes, in fact, are one of several factors that make a rug valuable - the others being the purity and quality of the materials (wool, cotton, or silk), number and type of knots, design, and region of origin. If you want official reassurance of quality, look for the Turkish government's DOBAG seal, which certifies the craftsmanship; such a carpet, however, will cost about 20 percent more than others of similar quality. Talking Turkey about carpets The classic Oriental consists of a wool pile knotted by hand onto a woof and warp of wool or cotton. A wool base, having a thicker fiber, makes for a rougher design, so wool-on-wool pieces tend to be rustic, with geometric tribal or nomadic patterns; they're generally less expensive than wool-on-cotton, running about $300-$400 for a 4'-by-6'. A cotton base, which allows more knots per square inch and thus more subtlety in the pattern (often floral or abstract), is more labor-intensive and expensive; a 7'-by-10' wool-on-cotton can start as low as $600 and go all the way up to $5,000 and beyond. You'll also see spectacular pieces in silk, but these are insanely expensive ($2,000-$3,000 a square meter - roughly ten square feet). The very best buys here are kilims, which are woven and flat rather than knotted and piled. Yes, they're rustic, but most are bold, beautiful, and unbeatably priced: as low as $80 for a 5'-by-7', up to $200 or so for larger sizes and $500 and up for antiques. Also, lighter weight and smaller sizes mean you can carry, rather than ship, a kilim home, additionally saving you as much as $100. As for knots, don't sweat the per-centimeter count too much, unless you're a serious collector; even a low-count rug will likely outlive you. More importantly, look at the back: if the weaving is even and you see the design clearly, it's a good piece. Make sure, too, that it will lie perfectly flat on the floor. Finally, you can visit Web sites such as carpets-and-rugs.com, rugreview.com, or rugimports.com to refine your sense of the going rates back home and make you a much better haggler. Ultimately, though, for most folks it comes down to design and color, and this is where the fun begins. The different patterns all have a story and a meaning, and are usually named after the village or region of origin. There are no fewer than 1,076 recognized regions in Turkey with several local patterns each, resulting in variations to suit just about every taste and decor. Some (but by no means all) of the less expensive rugs come from places like Doseme Alti, Yagcibedir, Kars, and Milas; all are fair- to medium-quality village rugs, selling for approximately $160 to $214 a square meter in American shops; in Istanbul you'll find them for far less. Pounding the pavement The picturesque Grand Bazaar of Istanbul is famous - but therefore also quite touristy, so most of the best carpet deals will be found elsewhere. Your shopping guide will have his or her choice rug emporia (just make sure to emphasize what your budget is), but here are four good, reputable Istanbul merchants where, with a good eye and a bit of persistence, you can walk out with a future family heirloom and a happy wallet. Mavro's Carpet and Kilims (Tavukhane Sok. 23, Sultanahmet, 90-212/517-7358) Right off the Hippodrome in the heart of the historic Sultanahmet district, this medium-size dealer offers some of the best prices in town. Mr. Bulent Ozyirmidokuz, the charming young owner, offers a fine selection of contemporary and antique knotted rugs (starting at $400 for a gorgeous 7'x10' wool-on-wool from Antalya) as well as kilims (starting around $150; keep in mind that here and below, I cite the asking price; a good bargainer should be able to knock off 20 to 30 percent). He also has some interesting possibilities for the more financially challenged who want a unique souvenir, such as cushions ($5-$12) and slippers ($20-$40) made from old kilims. Galeri Estetik (Divanyolu Caddesi Isik Sok. 10, Sultanahmet, 90-212/518-4970) A one-stop shopper's paradise, this six-story gallery sells just about every Turkish craft, from ceramics to copper pots to (naturally) rugs and kilims. Manager Nihat Yilmaz maintains a delightfully low-pressure atmosphere, too, which makes browsing a rare treat. Kilims measuring 3' x 6' start around $120, going up to $650 for a 7'x10', while wool-on-cotton or wool-on-wool rugs start around $200 for a 3'x5'. Even if you don't buy, check out the seventh-floor terrace for extraordinary views over the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia. Sinbad Oriental Carpets and Kilims (Sandal Bedesten Old Bazaar or 224 Terziler Sok., Kapalicarsisi, 90-212/527-1624) No trip to Istanbul is complete without a visit to the Grand Bazaar, the sixteenth-century "shopping mall" with some 5,000 shops strung along endless "streets" covered with vaulted ceilings. Closed on Sunday, it's usually not the best place for bargains, but this 28-year-old shop stands out both for quality of selection and fairness of price. Ekrem Canbeyli, whose British schooling shows in his laid-back approach, offers kilims starting at about $100 for a 4'x6' wool-on-cotton priced from $500. I recently fell in love with a marvelous piece from the town of Van, near Mount Ararat, depicting the animals from Noah's ark. Considering a size of 5'x8', the asking price of $1,300 was a bit steep for me - but then it was wool and silk on cotton. Bergama Gallery (Arasta Carsisi 167, Sultanahmet, 90-212/517-6807) For the savvy, the Grand Bazaar is great for sightseeing, but when it's time to whip out the plastic, they head for the seventeenth-century Arasta Bazaar, a smaller outdoor version where prices are lower thanks to government-subsidized rents and lower tourist turnout-surprising, considering that it's literally around the corner from the Blue Mosque. There's no dearth of carpet vendors, and the small two-story shop at number 167 is among the very best, offering a somewhat limited selection but superior bargains. Mehmet Oguzhan, a wiry, nervous Kurd, has been a rug man for more than 20 years, and his passion and knowledge show. Four-by-six wool-on-wools start around $250, wool-on-cottons around $500, and 3'x5' kilims around $100. Mehmet claims he doesn't like to bargain, discounting only about ten percent, but Yavuz, my very Westernized guide, later confides that Mehmet is a haggle-hound and can be tough. It was at Bergama, in fact, that my own skills were recently and quickly put to the test as his acici (shop assistant) unrolled a stunning 7'x10' from the well-regarded Kayseri region. Mehmet started at $1,100 - considerably more than I could afford. After many offers and counter-offers, we settled on $800. Did I land a winner? I didn't know for sure until I came home, where I found a similar-quality rug from Kayseri at New York City's huge ABC Carpet & Home showroom - for $1,800. And as for my own rug, all the salesmen I showed it to said they'd never seen anything like it. Bingo. More info To hire a reputable guide, contact the Chamber of Istanbul Tourguides (011-90-212/240-2523, turizm.net); one I can recommend personally is Mr. Yavuz Ozdeniz (011-90-216/332-6726). Also, the Turkish Tourist Office in New York City (212/687-2194 or 877/FOR-TURKEY, tourismturkey.org) publishes a guide that includes shopping information. Kilims, such as the three woven rugs pictured here, are rustic, but most are bold and beautiful and unbeatably priced. Nick Wheeler (2); Sheila McKinnon/Dave G. Houser//The Grand Bazaar of Istanbul. Robert Frerck/Stone//Young workers at the Anatolia Carpet Manufacturing Company in Cappadocia. Jeff Greenberg/Photo Researchers, Inc.

To many, West Virginia remains a hardscrabble state scraped raw in the quest to transform coal into money, a place where miners cough up black dust and farmers break plows on rock-embedded fields. This is the popular image and to some extent it is true even today. The coal mines and the rocky farms still exist in pockets and patches, along with the people who work them. The difference now is that visitors must search to see the truly impoverished face of West Virginia. Nevertheless, it should come as little surprise that West Virginia is one of the cheapest places on earth. Though desperate poverty seems relatively uncommon these days, the state lags behind the national average in weekly wages, dramatically in some industries: more than 38 percent in computer programming services, for example, and more than 27 percent in millwork. The coal business that had been West Virginia's economic backbone is alive but struggling, fiercely battling to overturn a 1999 Federal ruling that drastically restricts the strip mining technique accurately called "mountaintop removal." All this results in amazingly low prices for lodging and food (if you avoid the national chains), free tourist attractions for the most part, and nominal admissions for the places that do charge. Getting there and around You can fly into Charleston's compact, convenient Yeager Airport, but you'll need a rental car to get around the state. The cheaper alternative for residents of the eastern United States is simply to drive - and it's a quick trip for millions of people. West Virginia is just two hours by automobile from Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, only a slightly longer haul from Richmond, Cincinnati, and Charlotte. Chicago is seven hours away. West Virginia isn't as tiny as many people may imagine: It's more than three times the size of New Jersey. But the state is small enough that you can tour much of it comfortably in five days. Though the interstates connect major regions, many of the best sights are accessible only on the narrow, twisting roads that thread through the mountains and hollows. These are great fun if you enjoy driving, miserable if you don't. Still, the native motorists seem mostly cautious and polite. And you can console yourself with the knowledge that you'll probably be very safe whenever you get where you're going - West Virginia has had the lowest crime rate in the nation for 24 consecutive years. The state's top tourist lures There are far more reasons to visit West Virginia than any magazine article can name. One of the best is the state's natural beauty - a landscape that seems a hybrid of Colorado and Vermont, with jagged outcroppings of rock among round, wooded mountaintops. Many of the residents seem as rugged as their mountains, but they also are pleasant and unpretentious. Together, the scenery and people lend vacations here a down-home, welcoming feel. Outdoor enthusiasts can white-water raft, ski, bicycle, fish, hunt - even parachute into a nearly 900-foot-deep gorge. And less adventurous travelers will find more than enough reasons to park the car often while touring West Virginia's roadways. Charleston Some may want to begin their visit in Charleston, the capital. Located on the Kanawha River (pronounced "kan-AW" by locals), the city feels old and industrial, with red-brick construction and one-way streets everywhere. Because of the road system, getting around town isn't easy. Still it's worth the effort to enjoy some of Charleston's sights and sounds. For starters, visit the impressive state capital, where the broad limestone building rises to a gold dome towering 293 feet-taller than the U.S. Capitol dome. Tours are free every day (304/558-0220). Nearby sits the historic East End, a lovely National Register of Historic Places neighborhood where you can take a walking tour past homes that look much as they did in the teens and 1920's (304/342-7676 or call the Charleston convention and Visitor's Bureau, 304-344-5075). If you're in town on Sunday, you may be able to get into a taping of the West Virginia Public Radio's popular program, "Mountain Stage." The internationally broadcast show features top musicians performing in a vast array of musical styles and includes big-name stars of blues, alternative, and bluegrass music. Ticket prices vary but are always modest, from only $5.50 to about $12 (304/556-4900). Malden and Parkersburg Just 20 minutes from Charleston, the tiny valley town of Malden cradles among its surrounding hills one of the nation's last quilting co-ops. Cabin Creek Quilts was formed in the early 1970s, gaining fame partly through purchases by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Today, the quilts still are handmade in the homes of Malden-area women. You can view the intricate handiwork for free at their shop - or buy anything from a $6.50 potholder to $985 quilts (304/925-9499). About 1 hour north is Parkersburg, known as "the town that oil built." This Ohio River city offers its own free walking tour through history, with buildings along brick-paved Ann Street dating as far back as the 1825 Cookhouse(304/428-1130). There's also the Oil & Gas Museum, where for $2 ($1 for kids) you can learn about the rich background of this oil-soaked region (304/485-5446). Or for $6 ($5 for children) take a stern-wheeler boat to the Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park (304/420-4800). Visit the reconstructed mansion filled with eighteenth-century furnishings for another $3, hop a narrated horse-drawn wagon ride for $4, or check out the museum for a $2. Williamstown and Monongahela National Forest Another 20-minute drive north brings you to Williamstown, home of world-famous Fenton Art Glass (304/375-7772). Don't miss it. The company's museum displays an extensive exhibit of fine glass from 1880 through 1980, and there's a 25-minute film in the adjoining theater. Or take the 45-minute guided tour, where you'll see the entire glassmaking process at close range, including the designing, molding, and painting of these prized pieces. Best of all, everything is free. Drive southeast a few hours to Monongahela National Forest, where you'll find some of the state's most spectacular scenic attractions. Be sure to include Canaan Valley, Cranberry Backcountry, and Seneca Rocks, a dramatic natural sculpture of gray quartzite that juts almost 900 feet high. You can hike trails from the Seneca Rocks visitor center - or for $25, ride horseback to the top mid-April to November. Anyone with even a vague interest in the cosmos should stop by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (304/456-2011) at Green Bank, about 45 miles southwest of Seneca Rocks. It is among the elite astronomical research sites on earth, with the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope: the Green Bank Telescope, taller than the Statue of Liberty (daily Memorial Day through Labor Day, and weekends in September and October). Take a free guided tour of the array of scopes that search for clues to such things as how stars form, the age of the universe-and whether extraterrestrial life exists. Civil War sites Continuing southwest about 40 miles, make time for visits at two free state parks overseen by the same delightful superintendent, native West Virginian Michael Smith (304/653-4254). He's a natural storyteller who gladly recounts detailed stories of Civil War battles fought at what is now Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park, a bluff where Federal forces effectively drove outnumbered Confederate troops from the just-established state. Walk the grounds with Smith and savor the history lesson. Then drive to nearby Beartown State Park. This 107-acre natural area has one of the most unusual boardwalks anywhere, with dozens of steps that wind through enchanting natural sandstone rock formations - crevasses, cliffs, and boulders all set among a thick forest. Lewisburg, Beckley's Coal Mine, and New River Gorge Next, tour historic Lewisburg (800/833-2068) about 30 minutes away, a community restored to become one of the state's most charming towns. You can walk through the Old Stone Church that was built in 1796, look over a slave graveyard, or take a walking tour of the many eighteenth- and nineteenth-century buildings. It's all free. Then jump on Interstate 64 to Beckley for this unique part of a West Virginia vacation: the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine (304/256-1747). Open April to November, the mine began in the late 1800s as a "low seam" operation, meaning miners literally crawled inside a 30-inch high shaft to dig coal. Today, the full-size mine operates for tourists, who ride more than 1,000 feet inside the earth in coal cars, guided by a veteran miner. It's not for the claustrophobic, but the visit is safe and engrossing - your guide makes frequent stops, demonstrating equipment and explaining mining techniques. Adults pay $8, seniors $7, kids 4-12 cost $5, and younger children are free. At least one more sight shouldn't be missed in West Virginia: the impressive New River Gorge National River at Fayetteville. Supervised by the National Park Service, this narrow canyon lies about 30 minutes north of Beckley and costs nothing to enjoy. The visitor center affords photographic views of the world's longest single-arch bridge, rising 876 feet above the New River. You can drive across the New River Gorge Bridge, but once each autumn it's closed to traffic for the slightly mad enjoyment of skydivers and rappellers. The gorge also has lots of hiking trails and the area is a white-water rafting mecca. Lodgings The budget lodging available in West Virginia is alone enough to qualify this as one of the world's cheapest places - as low as $15 a night. You'll nearly always find the best bargains by sticking with locally owned motels. And they're spread nicely around the state so you can ramble from night to night, rather than limit yourself to a single home base. To ensure a great deal, drop by one of nine spots that give out free coupon books providing substantial savings on accommodations - nearly 20 percent in some cases. You'll find the booklets at official state "welcome centers" located in Harper's Ferry or along the interstates near Huntington, White Sulfur Springs, Valley Grove, Mineral Wells, Morgantown, Falling Waters, and Inwood. Tamarack, the popular arts and crafts center in Beckley, also has coupons. Dial 800/CALL-WVA for more information. One other tip: you can make toll-free reservations through these welcome centers. Because of their relationship with local owners, center staffers nearly always nail down the cheapest possible rates. Fairmont Fairmont, near I-79 in north central West Virginia, is a perfect first-night stopover for anyone driving from Pennsylvania, Maryland, or other points north. And it offers a profusion of good, low-priced motels. The two-story Country Club Motor Lodge (304/366-4141) looks more contemporary than the others. It's AAA-rated and all rooms are $26.95. There's also the Avenue Motel (304/366-4960), where the $30 rooms are newly carpeted and wallpapered, with nice bedspreads and drapes. And the Fairmont Motor Lodge (304/363-0100) is the kind of place you hope to find in small-town America. It even has a lobby that resembles a living room, complete with fresh coffee, home-baked cookies, and jigsaw puzzles. Built in 1956 and still operated by the Schmidt family, the hotel offers spotlessly clean rooms with excellent personal service. Room rates vary somewhat seasonally, but go as low as $29.95. Elkins In Elkins, bordering the Monongahela Forest, the Four Seasons Motel (800/367-7130) provides a pleasant haven, especially for senior citizens. Its perma-stone 1960s appearance is misleading; all rooms were completely renovated in 1999, some with king-size beds. Plus there's an unusually friendly touch upon check-in: Guests get a free three-minute phone call home to let family members know they've arrived safely. A single room is $34, but with an AARP discount two can stay for $32. Marlinton Some fine bargains can be found in and around Marlinton, a quaint town well-located for skiers at nearby Snowshoe Mountain or tourists at Monongahela National Forest, Droop Mountain, or the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Linwood Lodge (304/572-BUNK) rests at the mountain's foot and is popular with the college ski crowd. You probably won't find a cheaper place to sleep outside the developing world. This 600-square-foot home has been turned into a bunkhouse, where you get a bunk bed for $15 weeknights, $18 weekends. Bring your own linens and towels or pay a $5 one-time charge for theirs. It's bare-bones but clean, with a white pine exterior, and wood loors inside. Eight can sleep here in three bunk beds and a pullout couch. Four miles south of Marlinton is Graham's Motel (304/799-4291), a homey place with rocking chairs on the porch and eight rooms, each decorated differently. Some have cherry four-poster beds. A single goes for $30, a double for $35. For families, consider the Old Clark Inn (304/799-6377), a folksy B&B that feels like staying in a private home-including the presence of two young, well-behaved children. Prices may seem outside budget range: $45 for shared bath, $55 with private bath $10 more, during ski season. But the room comes with a sumptuous breakfast worth perhaps $15. Lewisburg, Beckley, and Fayetteville Enjoy Lewisburg's charm without its high prices by staying at The Embassy Inn (800/260-8641), where you can sack out for as little as $29 with a coupon. The motel has modern rooms with new beds and carpets. Juice, coffee, and pastries are free in the morning. Mention this article for the lowest seasonal rate, owner Arthur Dodson recently told us. Farther west in Beckley, there are plenty of budget options. At the Greenbank Motel (304/253-3355) rooms in the 1940's block building go for $35 and up. Several miles away, the Patriot Motor Inn (304/253-3395) will put you up for the same price, with a coupon. The rooms are on the dark side, but their enamel paint shines under the lights. You may find some of that enamel peeling a bit, though the exterior looks fine and the rooms are adequate. Beckley's Honey In The Rock Motel (304/252-7391) is another possibility, where a double bed is $35 in winter. The rooms are enormous and clean, with an old-motel feel that may appeal to veteran bargain-hunters. The Fayetteville area's funky choices include the Midland Trail Motel (304/658-5065) in Ansted, with its hand-painted outdoor sign and clean, standard rooms that come as cheap as $35 for two people. The New River Lodge (304/632-2121) in Gauley Bridge is funkier yet, built in 1932 and showing its age. Still, the lobby is especially pleasant, the bathroom floors are old-fashioned black-and-white tile, and the price is $29.95/single, $35/double. Charleston Back in Charleston, your best bet is Cutlip's Motor Inn (304/345-3500), where $33.95 gets you a good double bed in a typical motel room. But locals know Cutlip's as a family-run place with a strong reputation for cleanliness and safety. Or you can pick the Budget Host Inn (304/925-2592), where some rooms overlook the Kanawha River. Rates are seasonal but bottom out at $27.95 for one person, $34.95 for two. Then there's the Days Inn in St. Albans (304/766-6231), just seven miles west of the city. It offers clean rooms, white and teal walls, and decent prices starting at $26.95 for a single, $36.95 for a double. Finally, up north near Parkersburg try Microtel Inn (304/489-3892), built in 1998. Standard rooms with two queen beds go for $34.95. Cheap eats West Virginia's most interesting cuisine is essentially Southern country-style. Brown beans and corn bread, country ham, and mountain trout are among the local dishes worth sampling. As with lodgings, you should stay away from big chains when you can. This is easy enough. Many places tucked along back roads promise "Good Home Cookin'" - and often deliver. These are among specific choices for a good meal at a good price. In Charleston try Joey's (304/343-8004), with three locally famous joints that serve West Virginia barbecue. For $8.95 you get ribs or chicken, baked beans or green beans, and a roll. If you're in the mood for Mexican, Azteca's (304/344-3660) is the place to get lots of food, fast service - and a small check. An example: a bean burrito, bean tostada, cheese enchilada, and nacho cheese costs $6.99. In Parkersburg, The Crystal Cafe (304/428-5680) makes a great spot for breakfast or lunch. Two eggs with bacon or sausage are $2.80, coffee 85 cents Or try the unlimited soup bar with tossed salad and homemade sourdough bread for $3.99. On the way to Monongahela National Forest, stop in Clarksburg for the laid-back CyberPerks Internet Cafe (304/622-5770). Customers can surf the Internet at four computer workstations while downing a ham-and-egg croissant with cheese for $2.35. For meals as for accommodations, Marlinton again has some of the best values. The River Place Restaurant (304/799-7233) beside the free-flowing Greenbrier River is a true find. An exceptionally bright, clean place, this restaurant serves plenty of delicious food for next to nothing. Two eggs with grits and a hotcake cost $2.95. Most sandwiches are in the $2-$3 range, and a filling helping of brown beans and fabulous sweet corn bread is $2.25. For dinner, rainbow trout is $9.95, country ham $8.95, and baked ham $6.95 - and they come with potato, coleslaw or applesauce, and rolls. Lewisburg's historic General Lewis Inn (304/645-2600) is a country guesthouse that's outside the budget range for rooms, but very affordable for breakfast or lunch, offering Belgian waffles with pure maple syrup and spiced apples for $3.95 or fine sandwiches with potato salad and pickles for around $3-$4. After eating, you can also enjoy the lovely common areas, with antiques everywhere, a wood-beamed ceiling, and pleasant fireplace. Finally, make certain you visit Tamarack (888/262-7225), that intriguing place in Beckley offering what is surely the best bargain-priced food in West Virginia. The architecturally modern building is designed in the round, presenting work from the state's finest artists and craftspeople. These pieces are for sale, and prices run the gamut from cheap to exorbitant. Tamarack also shows free films about the state and offers crafts demonstrations and performing arts. Its cafeteria-style restaurant is managed by The Greenbrier, a luxurious resort that has attracted the wealthy for more than a century, but here the excellent food costs very little. An Appalachian egg biscuit with country ham, fried green tomato, and Swiss cheese is $1.95. The Italian sausage and roasted-pepper pizza goes for $3.95. And a West Virginia rainbow trout fillet costs $6.50, fresh vegetables $1.25, country-fried potatoes $1.25. Stroll around the exhibits, buy a keepsake if you want, but by all means stay for a meal. Tamarack's food is so good and so cheap that you'll likely want to relish it more than once - much like West Virginia itself.

How many "worlds" do you know? To how many "worlds" have you traveled? Apart from a periodic jaunt to Mexico or the Caribbean, have you traveled to the "Emerging World," the "Third World"? And can those beach vacations at a Club Med in Cancun, or a casino-resort in Curacao, really be regarded as equivalents to the real thing? Nine organizations outside the bounds of the normal travel industry have set about operating "reality tours" to the true Third World. Their aim is enlightenment rather than recreation or rest. Their area of activity is the poorest part of what is also called the "developing world": most of Central and South America, most of Africa, and some of Asia, a cauldron of struggle and promise. Their method is to stress contact with ordinary people of the Third World, to expose tour passengers to conditions experienced by residents of that "world" (who make up three-quarters of the population of the earth). And their search is for solutions: to poverty and debt, domestic instability and disease, the unequal allocation of income and resources. So is the trip a chore, an exercise in self-flagellation? Far from it, say the backers of these odd travel ventures. For this, it is claimed, is "transformative travel" that irrevocably broadens the mind and liberates the spirit of those who engage in it, makes them clear-headed and emphatic in their public judgments, enhances their love for humankind, gives them goals and purpose. And some concessions are made to personal comfort: the use of modest hotels in place of mud huts, an occasional stay in modern dormitories or pleasant private homes. Largest of all The Center for Global Education, Augsburg College, 2211 Riverside Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55454 (phone 800/299-8889 or 612/ 330-1159, fax 612/330-1695, e-mail globaled@augsburg.edu, Website augsburg.edu/global), is the largest of the Third World tour operators. Though its base is that of a small Lutheran school with limited funds, it successfully sends out more than 40 groups a year -- more than twice a month -- to Mexico, Central America, Cuba and Southern Africa for the most part, but occasionally to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim area. Most tours are planned for seven to 14 days, at total tour costs of $1,300 to $3,000 per person, including airfare, accommodations, and all meals. Trips here are called travel seminars, and seminars they most emphatically are: discussions from morning till night with a multitude of individuals and groups. In recent brochures, participants are scheduled to meet, on the one hand, with officials of the U.S. embassy in each capital, and with members of the U.S. business community there, for one viewpoint, but also with contrary-thinking clergy from "base Christian communities" and "grassroots organizations for social change" in each nation. And then, to inject still more "voices" into the talk: In Nicaragua: "Dialogue with officials of the Nicaraguan government . . . with peasants and labor union leaders . . . Dialogue with religious and human rights organizations . . . Visits to development projects in rural Nicaragua." In El Salvador: "Discussion of foreign policy issues with Salvadoran government officials. . . Dialogue with mothers of disappeared persons. . . Visit to repopulated refugee communities. . . Dialogue with representatives of the church." In Mexico:"Visit to a squatter settlement in Cuernavaca and discussion with residents about their situation. . . Visit to a rural village and discussion with peasants." Heavily influenced by the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, the center's officials take pains to emphasize their use of his theories: that "experiential education" (here, a short-term immersion in travel) is the most potent form of self-education; that dialogue, in which people critically assess their own situation, can liberate them from prejudice and lead to beneficial social action; that even the illiterate can gain from such dialogue; and that communication can be achieved between the poor and non-poor, greatly benefiting both. Accordingly, the center stresses advance preparation for travel, which "helps people recognize their biases and provides them with tools to discern the truth in the voices they will hear." En route, it exposes passengers to "a variety of political points of view so that they can reflect more critically on all the voices they hear." And though it seeks to meet with leaders and decision makers in the countries it visits, it "places emphasis on learning from the those struggling for political and economic justice -- those who do not often have an opportunity to speak." Accommodations in most nations are in modest hotels, private homes, or in the organization's own dormitory-style residences in Mexico and Nicaragua. For literature, contact the center at the address above. Toward "transformative education" Plowshares Institute, 809 Hopmeadow St., P.O. Box 243, Simsbury, CT 06070 (phone 860/651-4304, fax 860/651-4305, e-mail plowshares@plowsharesinstitute.org or visit their website at plowsharesinstitute.com), operates a similar if smaller program, but to a broader array of geographical areas -- Africa, Asia, India, South America -- and with a particular emphasis on critical issues of U.S. foreign policy toward the Third World, debt and apartheid among them. The organization was founded in 1982 by a Protestant minister, the Rev. Robert Evans, whose life and outlook were profoundly changed by a stint as visiting professor in the African nation of Uganda; he resolved soon after to use travel as a means of "transformative education," and has since co-authored an important book often cited by others in the field, Pedagogies for the Non-Poor (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1994; $26.00). The strategy of Plowshares is to visit areas and organizations of the Third World where active solutions are afoot to the area's classic problems; the group feels it is nonproductive simply to dwell upon festering conditions or to feel rage without hope. Once at the destination, according to former program director Hugh McLean, "we find articulate voices on all sides of each issue; the goal is to listen to as many voices as possible." On a past visit to Mexico, Plowshares travelers met with officials of IBM, but then with landless peasants; with members of the "PRI" (Mexico's ruling political party), but then with social workers and "base Christian communities in the barrios"; they lived in a dormitory of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Mexico City, but then traveled to the poor and rural province of Hidalgo in the north to visit creative development projects. Plowshares' travel seminars, although focusing on broad areas of social transition, still retain a strong religious pull. For instance, a tour to South Africa, led by Evans as well as black South African theologian and peace activist Margaret Steinegger-Keyser, commenced with an orientation by the Secretary General of the South African Council of Churches in an effort to show the church's role as a "reconciling and empowering agent." Travelers also met with members of Parliament in Cape Town, visited Afrikaaner communities in Pretoria, and stayed overnight in the former township of Soweto. This fourteen-night tour was offered for $3,500 per person all-inclusive (air from New York, all meals, lodgings and visa). In 2004, Plowshares' tours explored US-Cuban relations; and human rights issues in China. Plowshares passengers sign a "covenant": that they will engage in considerable preparation for the trip, live "at the level" of their hosts (dormitories, government rest houses, private homes), and tell of their experiences to others, in both formal and informal talks, for at least a year following the trip. For brochures, write to the address above (enclosing a stamped, self-addressed envelope) or visit the website for the most up-to-date information. GATE (Global Awareness Through Experience) Though it's been less strident in recent years, more conciliatory and subject to church discipline, this organization was once the reflection in travel of the surging and controversial "Liberation Theology" movement in the Catholic Church. Determined to expose a wider public to the realities and sufferings of emerging world nations, nuns of the Sisters of Charity founded the odd travel agency called GATE in 1981, in Mount St. Joseph, Ohio, then moved its offices in the early 90s to the Abbey of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, for greater effectiveness. From there, each month, simple, unadorned, one-color leaflets -- like none you've ever seen -- go cascading forth to every part of the nation, advertising GATE-led tours to Guatemala and the barrios of El Salvador, or to "base communities" in Mexico. In place of "today we journey to the famous waterfall," GATE's literature talks of "dialogues with ministers, professors, and the poor," attendance at "meetings of popular movements . . . supporting their search and struggle for freedom in their country." Tour rates (and amenities) are moderate in level; participation is ecumenical and increasingly promoted also by Protestant groups; tour leaders and destination representatives (some of them on-the-spot missionaries) are opinionated but non-controlling. Some tours go to countries of Eastern Europe. Despite its recent move to the center (politically), there still remains a hint in GATE's approach of "Liberation Theology." That, as one of GATE's officials once described it to me, is "a theology in which we are all brothers and sisters achieving equality, freeing and then empowering the oppressed to achieve their full dignity, enabling them not always to be dominated by some white-faced person . . . ." Most GATE tours (to the Czech Republic, Poland, Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador) are 10 days in length, and consist of visits to untouristed local communities and homes, and daily seminars attended by persons representing every stripe of political thinking at the destination. Tour members learn, says GATE, "from the poor, as well as from social and political analysts, theologians and economists." GATE tours are among the least expensive to anywhere, and generally start at $900, plus airfare, for 10 days of all-inclusive arrangements (all lodgings, meals, and transportation to programmed events), in addition to a non-refundable registration fee ranging from $100 to $150. On trips to Mexico, several times a year, participants meet in Mexico City and travel "to rural, indigenous communities, marginal settlements and the megalopolis . . . grow in global awareness of the social, religious, economic and political challenges" they face. In Guatemala, GATE travelers "explore human rights issues with a people whose tradition spans centuries of development, ancient, colonial and modern." In El Salvador, a nation "struggling for peace after years of civil war," participants hear the views of "campesinos, church leaders, teachers" and others. In Central Europe (Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland), a 13-day trip costing $1,800 plus $150 registration fee per person (again, non-inclusive of air fare), participants "dialogue with Christians and non-Christians about health, education, church, political, social and cultural life," and explore "dynamic changes in those countries." For literature, you contact Maria Friedman, FSPA, GATE North American Coordinator, 912 Market Street, LaCrosse, WI 54601 (or phone 608/791-5283). They also have a Web site at gate-travel.org and can be reached bye-mail at gate@fspa.org. May I suggest that no better use could be made of our vacation time than to travel with them? Another major source Global Exchange, 2017 Mission Street, #303, San Francisco, CA 94110, phone 415/255-7296 or 1 800/497-1994, headed by the dynamic Medea Benjamin, rivals The Center for Global Education in the size of its following and frequency of its tours, possibly because it is a strongly activist organization, rushing to new areas as developments warrant their presence. In recent years it has maintained a major presence in Haiti, and more recently in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, monitoring the uprising of the so-called "Zapatistas." Their groups going to Chiapas meet with coffee producers, "campesinos," human rights workers, church leaders, both government and non-government organizations, including (it's rumored) the Zapatistas themselves. The nine-day trip to Chiapas is priced at $750 to $900, including lodgings, interior transportation, reading materials, translator, and two meals a day. Other trips go to Cuba, Iran, Ireland, Brazil, South Africa, India and Palestine and Israel. Visit their vibrant Web site for more information: globalexchange.org. Other important groups Marazul Charters, Inc, 725 River Rd., Edgewater, NJ 07020 (phone 800/223-5334 or 201-840-6711, e-mail info@marazulcharters.com) or view the Web site at marazulcharters.com. Marazul organizes over 700 trips to Cuba annually (direct, chartered flights from Miami and New York to Havana began July 1, 1998), organized at the specific request of individuals. The packages typically run from $750 to $1,250 per week from Miami for an average of 20 participants, inclusive of airfare, hotel accommodations, daily breakfast, and guide/translator. For packages from New York, add approximately $300. Marazul will organize custom designed conferences, university study abroad programs, professional classes and/or professional research programs for fields such as health care, law, and architecture (among others). Most trips pursue a specific theme-a trip sent a group of UN delegates to a weeklong Cuban conference on sustainable development. Past trips have included "Guatemalan Women Today" and "Health Care in Nicaragua," though Marazul is currenty only providing tours of Cuba. Intensely political, some of their literature refers to their trips as "progressive travel for progressive people." Marazul emphasizes they do not book leisure trips. Travelers must obtain a license from the U.S. Treasury Department. Our Developing World, 13004 Paseo Presada, Saratoga, CA 95070-4125 (phone 408/379-4431 or e-mail odw@magiclink.net or on the web at magiclink.net/~odw), is another secular West Coast heavyweight in the Third World field. A nonprofit group whose husband and wife director team caters mainly to Californians, it generally schedules its all-inclusive packages from that state, but also allows for travelers to join them in their destination. The programs run on a three-year cycle. Each tour is an equal three weeks in length and limited to 10 people. The 2002 destination was South Africa -- nearly the entire country was explored from varying bases in major cities -- Soweto, Durban, etc. In 2003, the program visited Central America, travelling through Cuba, Nicaragua and Guatemala, concentrating on the problems of sustainable development. A 95-year old woman traveled with the group. The 2004 tour is scheduled to explore Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. All trips are concerned with "people and socio-economic development" and include some touring of cultural and geographical highlights. Trips to South Africa and Southeast Asia average $4,000 per person, inclusive of airfare from either New York or San Francisco and L.A. (depending upon the trip), as well as breakfasts and some dinners, in-country ground transportation, a translator/guide. Rates for the Central American trip are typically around $3,500. The organization strives to put together "an extremely varied group of all ages (18-82) and occupations, as well as persons from other countries (than the U.S.)." In the words of co-director Vic Ulmer, "Our developing world strives to bring the realities of the Third World into the consciousness of North Americans through direct contact with the people of those areas." Thus, a three-week summer tour to Nicaragua will typically meet with peasants, social workers, church leaders, "members of Christian base communities," trade unionists, and government officials, and will visit facilities ranging from medical clinics to day-care centers. Another sort of reality tour People to People is the "centrist" of these groups, more heavily involved in broad public affairs than in special interest advocacy or politics, and so prestigious as to be frequently mistaken for a U.S. government agency. It once was. President Dwight D. Eisenhower founded it in 1956 out of a belief that people-to-people contacts across national boundaries were as vital as government efforts to maintain world peace. He initially made the organization a part of the U.S. Information Agency, then in 1961 persuaded his friend, Joyce Hall, of Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, to fund the transition to a private, nonprofit corporation; the then former President Eisenhower was the first chairman of the board. Today, in addition to its many Student Ambassador Programs sending teenagers abroad, its Collegiate Study Programs Abroad, and American-homestay plans for foreign visitors to the U.S., PTPI organizes trips by several thousands of adult Americans each year to visit with their counterparts overseas: lawyers with lawyers, teachers with teachers, scientists with other scientists in their field. The goal: to "unleash the common interests among citizens of all countries and avoid the difference of national self-interest." More than 200 overseas chapters in 39 countries make the arrangements for personal contacts; several prestigious U.S. tour operators handle the technical arrangements. Because itineraries involve an intricate schedule of meetings, briefings, speeches, and seminars, the trips aren't cheap. A typical 14-day program runs $4,200-inclusive of international air, accommodations, most meals, and in-country transportation-with an average of 35 participants. Some trips do run as low as $3,500 per person. The most popular programs, PTP reports, are those in China, Europe, Australia and New Zealand and South Africa. In addition, PTPI sends out U.S. government certified trips to Cuba. Contact People to People International, 501 East Armor Blvd, Kansas City, Missouri 64109 (phone 816/531-4701, fax 816/561-7502, email: ptpi@ptpi.org) or view the PTP Web site at ptpi.org.

Big-game safaris have become too darned big-ticket; even a cheap one to Africa typically hits you for $2,200 a week. So how can a frugal addict of Survivor or National Geographic live like Marlin Perkins for pennies? The backpackers know. They're not thronging Africa, paying luxury rates and dodging rebellions. They're in exotic Australia, where you slice prices in half to get the rough cost in U.S. dollars. Australia's secluded, tropical Top End is the cut-rate home of your wildest Discovery Channel dreams. Unlike ecosystems in the rest of Oz - ravaged by feral cats, rabbits, and pigs - here there have been few extinctions since Europeans arrived. Better yet, a sensational exchange rate comes with nearly free access to thousands of square miles of pristine wilderness, English-speaking locals (well, sort of), and the best-preserved pockets of Aboriginal life anywhere in the world. Leave your tent at home, because there's a safe place to sleep. Like the best seaside hangouts, quirky Darwin (the only settlement you could call a city up here) lures folks who drop by and never want to leave. Mitchell Street, the sluggish heartbeat of budget Darwin, hosts an eternal pub crawl where clean hostel beds are $10 and every other bar offers a trough of free meals (stir-fry, lamb, rice) to anyone who buys a $1.25 beer (prices cited in U.S. dollars). Though it's tempting to spend listless weeks swilling beer from a "stubby" on the shore, the real draws to the Top End are two of Australia's least-tamed national parks, Kakadu and Litchfield. Kakadu, larger than Connecticut at 7,336 square miles, is a World Heritage-protected site, and with good reason. A virgin wilderness in a country renowned for funky flora and fauna, Kakadu is home to a third of all Australia's bird species, many breathtakingly big. Not to mention termites that build 20-foot towers, a welter of wallabies, and 1,000 species of flies - most of which, sooner or later, will attempt to explore your nostrils. Many animals, including the endearingly named black wallaroo and chestnut-backed button-quail, are found only here. Others, such as the menacing saltwater crocodile, lurk in their thickest populations on Earth. On the nearby Mary River, our pontoon recently pulled nose-to-nose with dozens of dozing crocs, which set our teeth chattering nearly as loudly as our camera shutters. The Crocodile Hunter would have tinkled his khakis. Down under on the down low Yes, there's that pesky matter of getting to Oz, but light expenses on the ground will balance your initial transportation outlay. Happily, the Top End is best seen during its warm and dry winter, from June through August, when round-trip airfare prices from Los Angeles to Sydney (13 hours) ebb as low as $800. In fact, don't bother with the Top End during the sultry Aussie summer, because roads turn to pudding, animals disperse, and the sweat flows freer than Victoria Bitter. If you arrive via Sydney, you can fly to Darwin one-way (five hours, or about the same distance as Washington, D.C., to Phoenix) for $190 using Qantas's Boomerang Pass (800/227-4500), purchasable only in the United States, which gets you discount fares within Australia and New Zealand based on how far you fly. It's definitely the way to go if you want to hop around Oz. Then again, because Darwin is close to Southeast Asia, you might choose to tour Asia by flying Malaysia Airlines from Los Angeles (via Taipei and Kuala Lumpur) to Darwin (around $1,500 round-trip). If you have time, go by road. Greyhound (011-61-7/5690-9888, greyhound.com.au) charges $386 for a six-month pass including unlimited stops along the East Coast from Sydney to Darwin. For $448, Oz Experience's "Fish Hook" route does Sydney-to-Darwin via the Red Center, stopping all you want for a year (011-61-2/8356-1766, ozexperience.com). I recently took an unforgettable drive south from Darwin, out of the tropical rain belt and through the eerie Gold Rush ghost towns along the dusty Stuart Highway (there's plenty of food and fuel), ending four days later at legendary Uluru (better known to some by its European name, Ayers Rock). Australians, who cherish the family road trip in a way Americans have forgotten, also pride themselves on saving money, so most hostels provide plenty of private rooms, with communal bathrooms and kitchens, for couples and kin. In Darwin, the YHA (69 Mitchell St., 8981-2560, yha.com.au) and the more rambunctious Globetrotters Lodge (97 Mitchell St., 8981-5385, globetrotters.com.au) both charge $10 for a spot in a four-bed room, and double rooms go for just $23. If you don't like those, Mitchell Street in Darwin offers many others. Motels are plentiful, too. Value Inn (50 Mitchell St., 8981-4733, valueinn.com.au), smack in town, and The Capricornia (3 Kellaway St., 8981-4055), near Mindl Beach, lead the pack at $39 for a standard (but spotless) room, with A/C and TV, sleeping up to three. For its Tales of the City vibe, I favor the Mississippi Queen (4 Gardiner St., 8981-3358), inhabited by colorful misfits, where very basic beds ($17) are aboard retired campers, and the beer is served aboard an aging railway car. Thanks to the exchange rate, nearly no meal in Darwin is out of range. Locals sniff at munching 'roos and crocs, but tourists tuck into them at Barra Bar (15 Knuckey St., 8941-0513), a greasy spoon where Australia's indigenous critters, including barramundi fish, cost just $3 a burger - which is ironic, considering the pains travelers take to see the same animals in their natural glory. Darwin's sea bounty and a booming Asian population prop up more authentic cuisine. Go Sushi (28 Mitchell St., Shop 5, 8941-1008) serves a la carte $1.50-$3 plates on a traditional rotary-belt bar (though the owner laments workmen installed it incorrectly, making it the only one in Australia to commit the Buddhist heresy of running counter-clockwise), and six helpings of high-quality sushi will set you back an unheard-of $8 to $10. Even five-star dining, such as braised rabbit or Sri Lankan lamb curry served in the garden of Twilight on Lindsay (2 Lindsay St., 8981-8631), runs just $20 for three gourmet courses with a glass of fine Australian wine from the Hunter Valley. Darwin itself has a savage past. Early explorers died by the dozen trying to reach it, the Japanese blitzed it during World War II (killing 243 servicemen - battleships still litter the harbor floor), and Cyclone Tracy obliterated it on Christmas Day, 1974. To survive, the Northern Territory folk became ornery, and they know the values of beer, beach, and strangely unruly ZZ Top beards - blokes look like wallaroos got stuck on their chins. Befitting the eccentric populace, pleasures in town are one-of-a-kind. The owners of Aquascene (Doctors Gully, 8981-7837, aquascene.com.au; adults $3) trained lumbering oceangoing creatures like milkfish and shovel-nosed rays to eat from tourists' hands during high tide. Over at Indo-Pacific (Darwin Wharf, 8981-1294, indopacific.com.au; $8), they've spent 30 slow years cultivating vats of fluorescent coral, sea cucumbers, and tropical fish-dazzling life unique to the local Arafura Sea. And at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (Bullocky Point, 8999-8201; free), expect a snazzy facility with bizarre displays like jarred jellyfish, dry-docked Indonesian sloops, and the worldly possessions of an elderly widow who died in 1995. Of course, Darwin also supports an array of touristy farms (about $10) where "jumping crocodiles" leap for raw chicken meat. Most visitors don't miss the ghoulish spectacle of a "croc feed." If you can, time your visit for late July to catch the annual Beer Can Regatta at Mindil Beach, when ale-sodden Darwinites race flimsy boats made of empty cans. If you yearn for a dip, though, heed the posted warnings. Darwin is a nice town but it's still wild - depending on the season, waters teem with sharks, deadly box jellyfish, or snapjawed crocs. Darwin's animal kingdom When they're ready to fan out from town, folks flock to Kakadu, three hours southeast of Darwin, on a guided tour that includes food, 4WD vehicles, and camping. Of the many contenders jostling for business on Mitchell Street, Adventure Tours Australia (8936-1311, adventuretours.com.au) is the 800-pound kangaroo, including private billabong (water hole) boat rides and camping in tents. It has six itineraries with meals, including a three-day Kakadu romp for $288. Young travelers tend toward simpler (and cheaper) options such as the $200 three-day tours from Kakadu Dreams (8981-3266, kakadudreams.com.au), but in cramped vehicles. For Litchfield National Park, beloved in Oz for its waterfalls, swimming holes, and magnetically aligned termite mounds-flat as giant playing cards-Coo-ee Tours (8947-4066, coo-eetours.com) offers a full-day tour, complete with food and a croc safari at a private billabong, for $48. You can tour the parks for even less on your own. It costs only $8 to enter Kakadu for two weeks, and space at bathroom-equipped campgrounds rents for just $2.70 per night. Bushwalks cost nothing (stay on dry land unless you want to become dinner), and timetables for free ranger-led walks and talks, as well as Aboriginal culture cruises ($15) and croc cruises ($17), are available at the Bowali Visitor Centre at Jabiru. Mechanically inclined backpackers buy and resell third-hand clunkers from the local car market (Mitchell and Peel Streets; $300 and up) for extended outback odysseys, but short-termers rent for around $21 per day from Territory Thrifty (8924-0000) or $29 per day for a 2WD camper from KEA (011-61-2/8707-5500, keacampers.com). Four-wheel-drive vehicles, required for the most spectacular spots such as Jim Jim Falls in Kakadu, cost about $86 per day before fuel (about $2 per gallon). Litchfield National Park is free to enter, and campsites cost $1 to $2.50 per night; it's two hours south of Darwin. Besides crocs and walks (and nights so clear the Milky Way streaks the sky like the stripe on a billiard ball), tourists come to Darwin in search of Aborigines, Australia's oldest natives, who have dwelt in the region for some 40,000 years. The Top End is certainly the best place to learn about them, since Kakadu borders the vast Aboriginal territory called Arnhem Land. Tours there are too pricey and require permission, but Australians are mindful of their heritage, so nearly every organized tour to Kakadu includes a lesson in "bush tucker" (food found in the wilderness), Aboriginal traditions, or a visit to sacred sites such as Ubirr and Nourlangie, where you find rock art of untold antiquity. This paradise won't last forever. In 2004, a proposed rail link between sleepy Darwin and the rest of Oz is poised to generate a deluge of industry and big money. Worse, in March 2001 the unstoppable cane toad, an alien species that poisons its predators, arrived in Kakadu. With Australian currency at a historic low and the ancient ecosystem of the Top End teetering on upheaval, there will probably never be a better time to go to this inexpensive wonderland. And if you're like many travelers, you'll certainly find no good time to leave it. Keeping up with the Indiana Joneses For Northern Territory tourist information (including Uluru/Ayers Rock to the far south of Darwin), visit northernterritory.com or ntholidays.com. Unless otherwise indicated, when calling from the U.S. precede all telephone numbers in this article with 011-61-8.