Chapter 23-b

Weights, Measures, and Conversions
With
Other Useful Travel Information

Weights and  Measures  Conversions  Health and Safety  IAMAT  Medical Kits  Insurance  Health Organizations  U.S. Passport Agencies  Hostel Organizations  Student and Budget Specialists  Courier Agents  Travel Gear  Maps and Books  Clubs

1. Weights and Measures

• One English stone is 14 pounds.
• One pound is 454 grams.
• One kilogram (1000 grams) is about 2.2 pounds.
• A 155 pound person weighs 70 kilograms or 11 stone.
• One ounce is 28.35 grams. At a deli you might ask for 100 or 200 grams of cheese, which is about 3½ or 7 ounces.
• One gram weighs about the same as one regular paper clip.
  
  
• One fluid ounce is two tablespoons, six teaspoons, 29.574 milliliters, or 29.574 cubic centimeters.
• One liter is about 2 ounces more than one quart, or about 60 cubic inches.
• One gallon is 4 quarts, or 3.785 liters (U.S. Customary System).
• One British Imperial gallon is 4.546 liters (becoming obsolete).
  
  
• One inch is 2.54 centimeters.
• One millimeter is about the width of a dime edge.
• One meter (100 centimeters) is about 10% (3 inches) greater than one yard, or about 39.37 inches.
• 12 inches are one foot.
• 3 feet or 36 inches are one yard.
• A person 5' 10" tall is about 1.78 meters, or more precisely 177.8 centimeters.
  
  
• One hectare is 100 meters by 100 meters, or about 2½ acres.
  
  
• One kilometer is about 6/10 of one mile.
• 100 kilometers per hour is about 60 miles per hour.
• One mile is 5280 feet or 1760 yards or 1609 meters.
• One nautical mile is 6076 feet or 2025 yards or 1852 meters.
  
  
• Freezing is 0° Celsius (same as centigrade), or 32° Fahrenheit.
• Boiling is 100° C or 212° F.
• 0° F is -18° C.
• 100° F is 38° C.
• 75° F is 25° C, or in Ireland a killer heat wave with children and old people collapsing on the streets.
  
  
  

1a. Conversions

Coming Soon

 

2. Health and Safety Information

A. Centers For Disease Control
Atlanta, Georgia
cdc.gov/travel/travel.html
voice tel. 404-332-4559
fax tel. 404-332-4565

Current information on disease and health risks in every country. Information is also accessible by listening to recordings, or by fax-back Call the number and the tapes guide you step by step.

B. State Department Overseas Citizens' Emergency Center
Washington, D.C.
voice tel. 202-647-5225
modem tel. 202-647-9225
fax tel. 202-647-3000

Current safety and political advisories for every country. Accessible by voice recordings or computer modem.

C. International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers (IAMAT)

IAMAT lists English-speaking doctors worldwide that have agreed to treat IAMAT members for a relatively low fee. Membership and list is free. Other services available for a donation.

IAMAT (U.S.) 417 Center Street Lewiston, NY 14092 tel. 716-754-4883	IAMAT (New Zealand) P.O. Box 5049 Christchurch 5
IAMAT (Canada) 40 Regal Road Guelph, Ontario N1K 1B5 tel. 519-836-0102	IAMAT (Switzerland) 57 Voirets 1212 Grand-Lancy-Geneva

D. First Aid and Medical Kit Suppliers

Both have informative, free catalogs of first aid kits, water filters, high altitude and oxygen gear, books, etc.

Chinook Medical Gear, Inc. PO Box 1736 Edwards, CO 81632  tel. 800-766-1365 or 970-926-9277 fax 970-926-9660 chinookmed.com

Atwater Carey, Ltd. 218 Gold Run Road Boulder, CO 80302 tel. 800-359-1646 or 303-444-9326

E. Travel Insurance Companies

Travel Guard Internationale 1145 Clark Street Stevens Point, WI 54481 tel. 800-826-1300 or 715-345-0505 fax 800-782-5151 or 715-345-0525	Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) 205 East 42nd St. New York, NY 10017 212-661-1450
Travelers Aid International 918 16th Street NW Washington, D.C. 20006 tel. 202-659-9468 fax 202-659-2910	TravMed P.O. Box 10623 Baltimore, MD 21385 800-732-5309
Travel Assistance International 1133 15th Street NW Washington, D.C. 20005 tel. 800-821-2828 or 202-821-2828 fax 202-331-1609	Carefree Travel Insurance The Berkeley Group 120 Mineola Blvd. P.O. Box 310 Mineola, NY 11501 800-645-2424
Global Travel Insurance 220 Broadway Lynnfield, MA 01940 tel. 800-821-2488 fax 617-592-7720	Carefree Travel Insurance The Berkeley Group 120 Mineola Blvd. P.O. Box 310 Mineola, NY 11501 800-645-2424
WorldCare Travel Assistance 1995 West Commercial Blvd. Fort Lauderdale, FL 33307 tel. 800-521-4822	Access America P.O. Box 90310 Richmond, VA 23230 800-284-8300
The Traveler Insurance Companies TravelPak One Tower Square Hartford, CT 06183 tel. 800-243-3174 or 203-277-0111	Carefree Travel Insurance The Berkeley Group 120 Mineola Blvd. P.O. Box 310 Mineola, NY 11501 800-645-2424

F. Other Health Organizations

Immunization Alert P.O. Box 406 Storrs, CT 06268 tel. 203-487-0422	International SOS Assistance Box 11568 Philadelphia, PA 19116 tel. 800-523-8930, 215-244-1500
Air-Evac International 8665 Gibbs Drive, Suite 202 San Diego, CA 92123 tel. 800-854-2569	World Health Organization 2 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017 tel. 212-963-6001

3. United States Federal Passport Agencies

Note that a post office in your area is designated to handle passport applications. Use the following agencies for rush service and general information, although designated post offices also offer rush services.

Boston Passport Agency Thomas P. O'Neill Fed. Bldg., Rm. 247 10 Causeway Street Boston, Massachusetts 02222 tel. 617-565-6990 recorded information: 617-565-6698	New York Passport Agency Room 270, Rockefeller Center 630 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10111-0031 tel. 212-541-7710 recorded information: 212-399-5290
Chicago Passport Agency Klucynski Federal Building, Suite 380 230 South Dearborn Street Chicago, Illinois 60604-1564 tel. 312-353-7155 or 312-353-7163 recorded information: 312-353-5426	Philadelphia Passport Agency U.S. Customs Building 200 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 recorded information: 215-597-7480
Honolulu Passport Agency New Federal Building, Room C-106 300 Ala Moana Blvd. Honolulu, Hawaii 96850 tel. 808-541-1918 recorded information: 808-541-1919	San Francisco Passport Agency Tishman Speyer Building, Suite 200 525 Market Street San Francisco, CA 94105-2773 tel. 415-744-4010 recorded information: 415-744-4444
Houston Passport Agency Mickey Leland Federal Building, Suite 1100 1919 Smith Street Houston, Texas 77002 tel. 713-653-3153 recorded information: 713-653-3159	Seattle Passport Agency Federal Office Building, Room 992 915 Second Avenue Seattle, WA 98174-1091 tel. 206-553-7945 recorded information: 206-553-7941
Los Angeles Passport Agency 11000 Wilshire Blvd, Room 13100 Los Angeles, CA 90024-3615 tel. 213-575-7075 recorded information: 213-575-7070	Stamford Passport Agency One Landmark Square Broad and Atlantic Streets Stamford, CT 06901-2767 tel. 203-325-3538 or 203-325-3538 recorded information: 203-325-4401
Miami Passport Agency Federal Office Building, 3rd Floor 51 Southwest First Avenue Miami, FL 33130-1680 tel. 305-536-4681 recorded information: 305-536-4681	Washington Passport Agency 1111 19th Street N.W. Washington, DC 20524 recorded information: 202-647-0518
New Orleans Passport Agency Postal Service Building 701 Loyola Avenue, Room T-12005 New Orleans, LA 70113-1931 tel. 504-589-6161 Recorded information: 504-589-6728

4. Hostel Organizations

American Youth Hostels (AYH) 733 15th St. NW Suite 840 Washington, D.C. 20005 tel. 202-783-6161 fax 202-783-6171

Hostelling International Canada (HI-C) 1600 James Naismith Drive #608 Gloucester, Ontario K1B 5N4 tel. 613-748-5638

5. Student and Budget Travel Specialists

STA (Student Travel Australia) 17 E. 45 St. New York, NY 10017 tel. 800-777-0112 and 212-986-9470	Air Hitch 2790 Broadway, Suite 100 New York, NY 10025 tel. 212-864-2000 or 800-326-2009
STA 7202 Melrose Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90046 tel. 213-934-8722 Also has U.S. offices in San Diego, San Francisco, and Boston.	Travel CUTS (Canadian Universities Travel Service--Main office) 187 College St. Toronto, Ontario M5T1P7 tel. 416-979-2406 Twenty other offices in Canada, and one in London.
Council Travel (Main office) 205 E. 42 St. New York, NY 10017 tel. 212-661-1414 or 212-661-0311 Several dozen other offices throughout U.S.

The following agencies offer discounted one-way, round-trip, around-the-world, and circle-Pacific tickets.

Cheap Tickets 1247 3rd Avenue New York, NY 10021 tel. 212-570-1179 The national telephone number for Cheap Tickets is 800-377-1000, fax 800-454-2555.	Global Access Travel Group 595 Market Street, Suite 2810 San Francisco, CA 94105 tel. 415-896-5333 fax: 415-227-4641. Has sister offices in London, Athens, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, and Auckland.
Cheap Tickets 6151 W. Century Blvd., Suite 100 Los Angeles, CA 90045 tel. 310-645-5054	Pan Express Travel 25 W. 39 St., Suite 705 New York, NY 10018 tel. 212-229-5889 fax: 212-730-1486
Cut Throat Travel Outlet 731 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 tel. 800-642-TRIP and 415-989-TRIP	Tip Top Travel 27 W. 20 St., Suite 503 New York, NY 10011 tel. 800-228-5889 or 212-229-5889 fax: 212-967-9757
TRAVAC 989 Sixth Avenue New York, NY 10018 tel. 800-TRAV-800 or 212-563-3303

6. Courier Booking Agents

International Air Couriers Association 191 University Blvd., Suite 300B Denver, CO 80206 tel. 303-278-8810 (Information clearing house for $58 fee.)

Courier Travel Service 530 Central Avenue Cedarhurst, NY 11516 tel. 516-763-6898

7. Travel Gear Catalog Companies

Campmor Box 998 Paramus, NJ 07653 tel. 800-526-4784 Produces six 140-page catalogs per year. Offers a large selection of camping, backpacking, and travel gear.	REI Sumner, WA 98352 tel. 800-426-4840 Has a color catalog with a large selection of backpacking gear. REI has about fifty retail stores.
L.L. Bean Freeport, Maine 04033 tel. 800-221-4221 The "Spring Sporting" catalog offers its best selection of packs, sleeping bags, and general travel gear.	Cabela's 812 13th Ave. Sidney, Nebraska 69160 tel. 800-237-4444 Mostly hunting and fishing gear, but has a large selection of walking shoes and boots, down jackets, and other apparel.
Magellan's P.O. Box 5485 Santa Barbara, CA 93150 tel. 800-962-4943 General travel gear.	Long Road Travel Supplies 111 Avenida Drive Berkeley, CA 94708 tel. 800-359-6040 Specializes in mosquito netting, including the "Skeeter Defeater" ($40).
Design Salt P.O. Box 1220 Redway, CA 95560 tel. 800-254-7258 Sells cotton and silk travel sheets and sleeping bag liners.	Them guys in Idyho

8. Map and Book Sellers

Maplink 25 East Mason Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101 tel. 800-627-7768 805-965-4402 Catalogs thousands of maps.

Adventurous Traveler Bookstore P.O. Box 577 Hinesburg, VT 05461 tel. 800-282-3963 802-482-3330

9. South American Explorer's Club

126 Indian Creek Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
tel. 607-277-0488
$30 annual membership nets use of information and trip planning services, use of clubhouses in Quito and Lima for swilling tea and gear storage, and a subscription to the quarterly South American Explorer. For free they send a catalog of books and maps.