Travel Tidbits

Being in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia, is always rewarding, with its kind, smiling, hospitable people; enchanting live gamelan music; tantalizing dance performances (especially those at the ARMA [Agung Rai Museum of Art] on Sunday nights); bright green rice fields; museum-quality shopping; vibrant markets, and excellent restaurants. — CHERYL TANO, Malden, MA

On a September-October cruise through the islands east of Bali, Indonesia, aboard the Indies Trader IV, we stopped at West Sumba, where we saw a performance of a smaller version of the annual Pasola (mock battle) on horses. After that, we visited several villages and watched a funeral. On East Sumba we witnessed a chicken sacrifice, had lunch with a royal family, saw a harvest dance and came away with purchases of many great weavings. — DORIS NEILSON, Avoca, MI

My best trip was to Tanzania and Kenya with 2AFRICA (New York, NY; 866/462-2374, www.2afrika.com). We spent pleasant nights at the Tarangire Sopa Lodge, in a suite; at the Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge, overlooking the crater 2,000 feet below; at the Lobo Wildlife Lodge, on the Serengeti, with baboons on the roof as a wakeup call in the morning; at the Seronera Wildlife Lodge, also on the Serengeti, with hippos eating grass at night outside of our window, and at the Lake Manyara Hotel, with baboons sneaking in the open windows of two of our rooms and stealing food while we ate breakfast downstairs. — JACK EFIRD, Deerfield Beach, FL