March 2012

(See Favorite Flea Markets)

My wife, Nenko, and I have taken 14 tours and traveled extensively independently, and we have never met a finer guide than Ron McGregor, our guide on the 14-day trip “South Africa — Highlights and Safari” with smarTours (New York, NY; 800/337-7773).

Our trip, Aug. 23-Sept. 8, 2011, cost $2,999 per person (land and internal air) plus $899 each for a three-day extension to Victoria Falls. The itinerary included Johannesburg, Cape Town, Kruger National Park, Swaziland, Zululand, Soweto and Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve.

I enjoyed reading of the variety of ways air travelers get all their liquids and gels into a one-quart bag (May ’11, pg. 40 & June ’11, pg. 42). I, too, travel this way and put whatever I need in little half-ounce sample containers and containers holding up to two ounces that I’ve bought at a travel store. I have traveled to Australia, China, Egypt and many places in Europe with no problem.

We took a fascinating trip, called “Life Along the Mekong River by Barge,” with Road Scholar (Boston, MA; 800/454-5768), Sept. 27-Oct. 11, 2011.

Once a year, I travel to my favorite country: Italy. During my 2011 trip, I visited Bolzano, May 15-18.

We asked for your recommendation of a good, pocket-sized, point-and-shoot digital camera that has a viewfinder. But we also asked you to name the digital camera — of any type — that you prefer to use while on a trip. The response was impressive, so in this issue we’re printing subscribers’ comments just on “ultracompact” cameras (about the size of a deck of cards and, in most cases, weighing less than six ounces without batteries).

by Lee Kline; Leesburg, FL

My companion and I are looking around to find an ATM card that we can use abroad without incurring exorbitant foreign-transaction fees. We welcome our fellow ITN readers’ advice and expertise on this matter. Help! — JOELLYN ROSS, Philadelphia, PA

Readers with suggestions for fee-less or low-fee debit cards may send them to Preferred ATM Cards, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818, or e-mail editor@intltravelnews.com. Please specify the type of card (cash-withdrawal-only card or debit card or debit/credit card).

Our day started at the ungodly hour of 4 a.m. In the early darkness, with the starry skies above, my second godson, Vasilli (almost 80 years old), and I joined pilgrims from Greece, Russia, Ukraine, Romania and Poland to sit, stand, make the sign of the cross and kiss icons while monks chanted age-old Byzantine hymns and prayers that have remained unchanged since the birth of Christianity.

At the end of January 2011, my daughter, LeAnn, 22, and I finalized our plans to visit Egypt. Our trip was not meant to be a traditional vacation but one arranged as we went along our way, using local guides and taking public transportation. We wanted to see the same Cairo that 18 million residents live and work in every day.