More Rubles for Dollars Shrinks Black Market

A recent sharp rise in the rubles-for-dollars exchange rate offered to American tourists in the Soviet Union has apparently cut deep into the thriving black market there, according to the daily Izvestia newspaper.

Many more people have changed money officially since the rate was raised in early April, it said, which suggests the state is succeeding in cutting the flow of hard currency to black marketeers.

“The state is getting a minimum of 10 to 12 times more hard currency (from tourist exchanges),” Izvestia said, though it gave no detailed figures.

In April, the rate offered to foreign tourists and business executives was changed to 27.6 rubles for a dollar compared with the previous rate of 5.74. At the time, black marketeers were offering more than 40 rubles to the dollar.

Travel Quiz: Which famous London landmark has 11 courtyards, 100 staircases, 1,100 “apartments,” two miles of passages and one large clock? (Answer below.)

Dog Days in China: China’s first and only dog zoo, “Shenzhou Doggy Park” in Changping, 40 miles north of Beijing, opened officially last month.

For a mere 56 cents--$1.80 for foreigners--zoo-goers can observe canines from around the world, watch trained attack dogs demonstrate their skills and even “rent” a dog for a walk.

Xing, a 40ish entrepreneur who formerly worked in a local rural factory, began the dog park in 1989 by buying 10 rare species with his own money. The park had a trial opening in 1990, and opened to the public last month under approval by the state tourism bureau.

The $1.80 ticket buys an hour’s playtime with the dog of your choice, a luxury for most urban Chinese. China banned dog ownership in most large cities in 1983.

Quick Fact: State visited by greatest number of overseas travelers in 1990: California, with an estimated 4.8 million visitors. (Source: Travel and Tourism Administration.)

Best Beaches (?): What kind of survey resulting in a list of the 20 best beaches in the country does not include a single Southern California name? A beach list gone wrong? Yet a first-of-its-kind study by a University of Maryland geography professor that judged a total of 650 beaches listed Kapalua Beach on the Hawaiian island of Maui as best, and 15 Florida beaches and two others in Hawaii on its elite 20 list.

One factor that kept California off the list, said study author Stephen Leatherman--director of the university’s Laboratory for Coastal Research--were those crashing waves that surfers so adore. Another factor: cold water temperatures. Another: quality of sand. Powdery sand made of quartz apparently is the fashion. Another problem: “Parts of Southern California are overdeveloped and some of your beaches are overpopulated.”

The nation’s top 20 beaches in order:

1. Kapalua, Hawaii (Maui).

2. Grayton Beach State Recreation Area, Fla. (Panhandle).

3. Perdido Key State Recreation Area, Fla. (Panhandle).

4. Hapuna, Hawaii (Hawaii).

5. St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Fla. (Panhandle).

6. Bahia Honda State Recreation Area, Fla. (Key West).

7. Eastern Perdido Key, Fla. (Panhandle).

8. Crandon Park, Fla. (Atlantic).

9. Napoopoo, Hawaii (Hawaii).

10. Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Recreation Area, Fla. (Atlantic).

11. Clam Pass Park, Fla. (Gulf).

12. Little Talbot Island, Fla. (Atlantic).

13. Lover’s Key State Recreation Area, Fla. (Gulf).

14. St. Andrews State Recreation Area, Fla. (Panhandle).

15. Fort Pierce Inlet State Recreation Area, Fla. (Atlantic).

16. Sand Key Park, Fla. (Gulf).

17. Ocracoke, N.C. (Outer Banks).

18. East Hampton, N.Y. (Long Island).

19. Fort De Soto Park, Fla. (Gulf).

20. Beacon Hill, Fla. (Panhandle).

Comparatively Speaking: Number of passengers involuntarily bumped from major U.S. airlines, January-March (most first): TWA (1,789); Southwest (1,665); Continental (1,351); America West (1,330); United (1,198); Delta (996); USAir (824); Northwest (585); American (566). (Source: Department of Transportation.)

Fair Warning: Have a longing to toss a caber (a 25-foot telephone pole) or participate in a ceilidh (dance)? The Big Bear Lake Scottish Games & Festival, beginning Wednesday and continuing through June 30, will celebrate all things Scottish at Bear Mountain Ski Resort. Scottish folk music, fiddling, pipe bands, a sheep dog show and Highland dance competitions, as well as Scottish food, will be part of the festivities. And there will be supervised child care and activities for kids 5 to 10. For more information, call (714) 866-6212.

Quiz Answer: The Houses of Parliament (the clock is Big Ben and “apartments” is the official term for offices).