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19 days/17 nights. Highlights: In SOUTH AFRICA, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Soweto/Chobe National Park, BOTSWANA/Victoria Falls, ZIMBABWE/meet villagers and chief in NAMIBIA/game viewing in Kruger National Park, South Africa/wine tasting in Cape Winelands/Boulders Beach Penguin Reserve. With air from New York or Boston, from $5,599. Single supp., $799.
Vantage Deluxe World Travel (Boston, MA; 800/322-6677).
12-day, 11-night tour of JAPAN, Nov. 6-17, 2011. Highlights: Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market/tea ceremony in Kanazawa/Ninja Temple/in Kyoto, learn to make soba noodles/dine with geisha and maiko entertainment/back in Tokyo, kaiseki dinner at Iron Chef winner Kimio Nonaga’s restaurant. Land, £5,000 (near $8,020). Single supp., £1,200 ($1,600).
Inside Japan Tours (Lewins House, Lewins Mead, Bristol, BS1 2NN, U.K.; phone, in US, 303/952-0184).
18-day, 17-night tour, April through November. Highlights: In Beijing, Forbidden City/Great Wall/Summer Palace/fly to Lhasa, Tibet/Potala and Norbulingka palaces, Jokhang Temple/Gyantse/Tashilhunpo Monastery in Xigatse/Everest Base Camp/finish in Beijing. Land and internal air, $3,095. Single supp., $550.
JMG Tibet Tours (Lauderhill, FL; 866/548-4238).
Nine-day, eight-night tour of SWEDEN, ESTONIA, RUSSIA and FINLAND, June-September. Highlights: Stockholm’s Old Town, City Hall (home to Nobel Banquet)/Tallink ferry to Tallinn, ESTONIA/Toompea Castle/artisans’ studios/ferry to Helsinki, FINLAND/Sibelius Monument/Rock Church/in St. Petersburg, RUSSIA, Peterhof/Hermitage. Land, from $2,740. Single supp., from $1,235.
Scantours (Los Angeles, CA; 800/223-7226).
Nine-day, eight-night women-only tour of POLAND, July 13-21, 2011. Highlights: In Kraków, Wawel Castle/Chopin recital/Kasimierz Jewish quarter/Wieliczka Salt Mine/Pieniny National Park/raft down the Dunajec River. Land, $2,795. Single supp., $650.
Sights & Soul Travels (Germantown, MD; 866/737-9602).
13 days/12 nights, June 2-15, 2011. Highlights: Rothschild estate tour in Nice, FRANCE/Fragonard Perfumery/day trip to MONACO/Portofino, ITALY/winery tour/Cinque Terre/cooking class in Saint-Paul de Vence/back in France, Cannes/Antibes. With air from New York or Boston, $6,299.
Olde Ipswich Tours (Ipswich, MA; 877/356-5163).
11 days/10 nights, Oct. 26-Nov. 5, 2011. Highlights: Edinburgh “Witchery Tour”/graves at Greyfriars Kirkyard/Glamis, “Britain’s most haunted castle”/Autumn Festival in Pitlochry/Edradour Distillery/Glasgow Necropolis/Clairvoyant Evening. Land, $3,795. Single supp., $695.
Scottish Dream Tours (Cle Elum, WA; 800/511-7803).
There is a hobby that could be considered a cousin to travel, and that is Amateur Radio. Your voice can go to the far reaches of the globe, prompting responses from people on the air, and you never leave your chair.
In the US there are about 650,000 FCC-licensed Amateur Radio operators. Upon passing an examination, they each were issued their own distinctive call sign, the prefix of which identifies the country they are in.
The 2011 Asian Winter Games will be held in Almaty and Astana, Kazakhstan, Jan. 30-Feb. 6, hosting 2,500 athletes from 32 countries plus 10,000 visitors. Events include alpine and cross-country skiing, speed skating, figure skating and ice hockey. Visit www.astana-almaty2011.kz.
