ISIConnect NEWS - January 2002
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Welcome to the January edition of ISIConnect NEWS.

This month you can discover the dirt cheap call rates from Australia and 
find out how to get multiple copies of your Contact details printed on 
handy cards to give to friends and family, so they can keep in touch.

ISIConnect NEWS also unearths the best of January's fests, including 
Grand Slam tennis, Jazz and Mardi Gras.  Also check out the best search 
engines to find Australian, UK, and USA web sites. 

Happy trails!

The ISIConnect NEWS Team

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THIS MONTH IN ISIConnect NEWS
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1. What's new at ISIConnect? - discontinued Access Numbers.
2. Win US$ 50 each month - the best festival or event you've been to.
3. Travel whispers - the best bargains you've picked up.
4. Best of the fests - Australian Open, Mardi Gras & Jazz in January.
5. Spotlight on - Contact Cards for family & friends.
6. The Missing Link - Australian, British & American web sites.
7. The Vent  - the best way to have your say.

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1. WHAT'S NEW AT ISIConnect?
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~~ Discontinued Access Numbers ~~

We're sorry to say that from the 31 December 2001, you won't be able 
to access the ISIConnect phone service from the following countries 
until further notice:

Czech Republic:	00-42-000-101 / 800-318-5719
Guatemala:	99-99-190 / 800-325-6089
India:		000-117 / 800-303-6687
Jamaica:	1800-640-5507
Malta:		8008-90-110 / 800-318-6496
Peru:		0800-50-000 / 800-873-7250

For a full list of Access Numbers, go to 
http://www.isiconnect.ekit.com/ekit/Info/Accessnumbers

~~ Summer Down Under ~~

If you're travelling to Australia or New Zealand for the southern 
summer, check out our cheaper than ever economy rates! Make sure 
you use the Australian economy numbers to call home for even less. 
Australian and New Zealand economy numbers are available in Adelaide, 
Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Auckland.

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2. WIN US$ 50 - TELL US THE BEST FEST YOU'VE BEEN TO 
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Enter our competition to win US$ 50 of free calling time!

Simply tell us about the best festival or event you've ever been to. 
Was it the Patagonian ice flow surfing, or the local music festival 
that lasted for a month? Tell us what it was, where it was and what 
was so good about it. Don't forget to tell us what country you are from.

A US$ 50 account credit goes to the two best stories each month!  
Give us a shout at ISIConnectNews@ekit.com.

Congratulations to Stefanie and Mark who are this months winners of the
best bargain competition! US$ 50 account credits are on their way! 

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3. TRAVEL WHISPERS
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 ~~ Best bargains you've picked up ~~

Beginning my travels across Europe, Thailand, and Australia I decided 
not to take a camera. Both of the people I was travelling with had 
them and we agreed just to share. However, in Thailand, I decided to 
split off from them. At that point I needed a camera, for it is 
definitely the most rewarding and cheapest way of documenting a trip 
visually. I did some research on the Internet and then headed off in 
Bangkok on the search. I was in the China town area when I walked 
into this very tight, enclosed market. Later I learned that this was 
the thieves market! I found a canon EOS 66 and decided to try it out. 
Though most of the merchandise there was "second-hand" I could tell 
that this one was brand new. I imagine that the Thai gentleman who 
sold it to me won't have to work for a year because of how cheap it 
is to live in Thailand. I bought the camera for 11,000 baht, which is 
about $400 Canadian. I saw the same camera in a shop in Thailand for 
$700 Canadian dollars! The camera has been awesome and I've been able 
to start working on my photography skills with so many interesting, 
foreign pictures to take!!

Stefanie Willan
- Canada

At the start of a two-month trip around the USA I purchased a pair of 
inline skates from a shop in San Francisco. I then proceeded to skate 
in Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Boston and 
New York (Central Park where I had a huge wipe out and gashed open my 
leg). I'm not sure whether this made up for having to carry them 
around for two months, but at least I can say I skated around America.

Mark Lockwood
-Europe

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4. BEST OF THE FESTS
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~~ A what's on guide to the world ~~

2-30 January
Jazz in January
325 5th Ave. N. 
Seattle Center Campus
Seattle, Washington
USA

In the 1930s and 1940s, scores of gifted Seattle musicians, including 
teenage sensations Ray Charles, Ernestine Anderson, and Quincy Jones, 
wowed post-war club hoppers with their talents. In 2001 the Experience 
Music Project launched "Jazz in January" - a month of performances, 
film screenings and educational programming to celebrate and explore 
the genre that these artists helped popularise.

For further information, visit 
http://www.emplive.com/visit/special/jazz_jan_2002.asp

14-27 January 
Australian Tennis Open
Melbourne Park, Australia

For any tennis loving travellers, Melbourne is the place to be in 
January as the Australian Open bursts into life. The Australian Open 
is the first Grand Slam tournament of the tennis year, and is one of 
Australia's biggest sporting events.  

For two weeks the worlds best players compete for the coveted title of 
Australian Open Champion.  The tournament is hosted at Rod Laver arena, 
a fantastic venue with a retractable roof. The arena is situated on the 
banks of the Yarra River, where the occasional player has jumped in for 
a swim after their match.

For more information visit: http://www.ausopen.org/

25 January - 12 February
Mardi Gras
New Orleans, Louisiana
USA

Mardi Gras is New Orleans' premiere party season! It's time to enjoy the 
hallmarks of New Orleans: bourbon, music and vibrant costume. It's 
irresistibly fun, vibrant, sarcastic, and sassy! If you understand how 
this city hums during the day and sings at night, you may be able to 
envision the celebration that is Mardi Gras. 

For further details visit: http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com

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5. SPOTLIGHT ON...
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~~ Contact Cards ~~

You can now print your own personalized Contact Cards from the ISIConnect 
web site to give to family and friends. Your Contact Cards contain easy to 
follow, step-by-step instructions on how your family and friends can leave 
you a voice message. Your Contact Cards are also small enough to fit in 
your wallet. 

To print multiple copies of your Contact Cards, just log in to the web site 
and click "My Contact details" from the side bar. Then follow the 
instructions on the website to print your Contact cards. You can then hand 
them out to family and friends before you go and to people you meet whilst 
travelling. 

Remember your family and friends can leave you a voice message for FREE! You 
just pay the standard per minute rate to listen to your voice messages when 
using the phone service or you can listen to your voice messages for free 
from the website.

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6. THE MISSING LINK
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~~ Looking for an American, Australian or British web site? We have listed 
three search engines for each region that you may find useful ~~

United States/Global search engines
http://www.mamma.com - The big mamma of all search engines.

http://www.google.com - Lists more than 3 billion web pages, images and 
newsgroup messages. Of the 2 billion web pages in Google's index, more than 
a quarter are in languages other than English.

http://www.metacrawler.com - It is like using 10 search engines at once.

Australian search engines
http://www.webwombat.com - Lists pages of sites within the .au (Australian) 
and .nz (New Zealand) domains. It also offers global coverage. 

http://www.goeureka.com.au - Provides AltaVista-powered crawler results and 
a LookSmart Australia-powered directory. Formerly AltaVista Australia.

http://www.anzwers.com - Well-known and popular guide to Australian and New 
Zealand web sites.

United Kingdom search engines
http:///www.ukplus.co.uk  - Lists UK web sites mainly. 

http://www.yahoo.co.uk - You can search UK Yahoo, Ireland Yahoo or all of 
Yahoo.

http://www.lifestyle.co.uk - Includes reviews of the best sites in UK where 
you will be able to find, research or buy just about anything you want.

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7. THE VENT
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~~ Everybody's got an opinion. What's yours? ~~

This is your newsletter and we want your thoughts. Did ISIConnect News rock 
your world or induce a spontaneous siesta? Were you enlightened, or did you 
switch off? Tell us what you think of ISIConnect News, and what you want to 
see in the next edition. Send your thoughts to ISIConnectNews@ekit.com.

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