Former bordello now a charming little Madrid hotel -- writes Margo Classe from Los Angeles -- Hotel Monaco is female-friendly, centrally located and priced under $US50. Rooms all have toilet & bath or shower. English is spoken, there's direct-dial phone, TV, marble hallway floors, grandiose comfortable rooms with fabulous decor & decorative bathrooms and six rooms with balconies, #121 & 123 (with mirrored ceilings) are the best. Close to Metro Chueca or Gran Via. Rates: 7,400 ptas single; 10,400 ptas double. Address: Calle Barbieri 5, Madrid 28004, Tel: 011-34-9-1-5224630, Fax: 011-34-9-1-5211601.

In Indonesia, businesswomen should pay for meals in advance -- writes Louisa Nedcov of Toronto, Canada -- A foreign woman wishing to invite a male Indonesian to a business dinner should make sure to indicate that the invitation is on behalf of her company. And to avoid embarrassing your guest, it's a good idea to make arrangements for payment in advance. Be culturally correct!

In Rome do as the Romans -- writes Melissa in Rome, Italy -- As an American living in Rome, I always cringe when I see my countrywomen walking around in shorts, tennis shoes and t-shirts. I know this makes them a perfect target for pickpockets who can easily spot them as American tourists. Also most churches won't allow you to enter with shorts, short sleeves, or mini skirts. Do the smart thing. Wear a longer skirt and a loose top with sleeves. You'll have more fun and less hassles visiting in this fabulous city.

Bedbugs hate lavender -- writes Kelly of Toronto, Canada -- My pal Kirsty, the most travelled woman I know, introduced me to this particular use of lavender oil. On a trip together, in Bangladesh and India, we used drops of lavender oil on the mattresses of our beds to scatter the bed bugs. It seems the little biters hate the smell and will flee. It prevents bites, and lulls you to sleep in foreign locals. Sleep well, ladies!

Bagels in Nepal -- writes Joyce Tapper of California --There's a breakfast place in Nepal that female trekkers will love. It's called Pumpernickel Bakery and it's easily found in Kathmandu's Thamel District. This spot is wonderful for a quick breakfast out-doors, (or inside if it's cold or raining). Stand in line to order fresh-squeezed orange juice and a wonderful bagel or a huge cinnamon roll along with tea or coffee. This tiny gem will allow you to rub shoulders with the trekking crowd and experience the gorgeous aroma of freshly baked goodies.

A panda in Hong Kong walks into a bar, sits down and orders a sandwich. He eats it, pulls out a gun and shoots the waiter dead, then gets off his stool.

As he starts to leave, the bartender shouts, "Hey! You just shot my waiter and you didn't pay for your sandwich!"

The panda yells back over his shoulder. "Hey, man, I'm a panda! Look it up!"

So the bartender opens his dictionary and reads the definition: "Panda: a large mammal of Asian origin, distinguished by prominent black and white colouring. Eats shoots and leaves.

(Source: Canada's National Post Newspaper, December 23, 2000. JW added the words Hong Kong to the joke as originally published)

We are extremely grateful to all the journalists who helped us to spread the word about the Journeywoman Network this year. Each and every one was extremely kind to us and their generous descriptions of the site brought thousands of new visitors to our door.

One writer, in particular, (Janice Kennedy, Ottawa Citizen) approached our women's travel community with fabulous tongue-in-cheek comments which absolutely tickled our fancy. She wrote...

"Faster than a speeding byte, more powerful than a Pentium processor, able to leap Web site popularity charts at a single bound --look up there on the screen. It's JOURNEYWOMAN!"

Thank you!

Sandra Phillips is the author of Smart Shopping Montreal and a Canadian member of the Journeywoman Network. She recently sent us this message that contains a perfectly wonderful women's travel tip. Sandra writes...

My husband Stan found this terrific female-centered excerpt from a book he was reading. We're sending it along however you will have to give credit to a JourneyMAN or to a Journeywoman's Man this time --take your pick. Seriously, Evelyn, isn't it nice to know men read your pages too?

Ed. note: We love it when guys stop by the site! Often readers-of-the-male-kind send us endearing but nervous little notes saying things like, "I'm a real guy and I'm going to keep coming by. O.K.?" or "I'm a boyfriend who comes here to collect travel tips for my girlfriend who's travelling around the world" or " When your travel tip newsletter comes in, my wife and I wrestle to see who's going to read it first." Our Journeywoman reply is always the same... Welcome, welcome, welcome, and we mean that sincerely!

Here's Stan Posner's tip which is delightful ...

From "Fires of Eden" by Dan Simmons

Eleanor's hair was usually cut short - one friend had said that she looked like Amelia Earhart -- but in the spring, she usually let it grow longer just for the purpose of having it cut wherever she traveled. Usually Eleanor's first act after settling into her hotel room was to leave the hotel of whatever city she had arrived in, and wander the streets until she found a place that cut women's hair: a beauty parlor, although Aunt Beanie had taught her to laugh at that phrase when she was five. There, receiving whatever terrible haircut was in vogue in that city, that country, Eleanor almost always broke through the barriers of language and culture to make contact with the other women. After getting her hair done - and sometimes her nails - Eleanor was armed with enough information about the city to find the real restaurants, shop the real stores and marketplaces, see the real sights, and often ended up eating and traveling with some of the women she had met under the hair dryers. She had suffered haircuts in Moscow and Barcelona, Reykjavik and Bangkok, Kyoto and Santiago, Havana and Istanbul... the hair always grew out and she would cut it after returning to campus in the fall. In the meantime, she was often mistaken for a local in the country she was visiting - buying clothes at the stores frequented by the women who met in the beauty parlors was usually the second item on her agenda - and this also helped break down barriers.