Travelers' Intercom
Timor-Leste visit
A friend and I visited Baucau, Timor-Leste (East Timor), May 27-June 4, 2011. Timor-Leste uses the US dollar as currency.
Road Scholar’s ‘great guides’
My wife, Ginny, and I went on a two-week cruise to Greece and Turkey, “Voyages to Antiquity: Athens to Athens,” Sept. 7-21, 2010, with Road Scholar (Boston, MA; 800/454-5768).
Zichron Ya’akov in Israel
In Israel for only one week (Sept. 1-7, 2011) for a family wedding, I hadn’t planned on any sightseeing. However, a friend who had moved to the town of Zichron Ya’akov, a place I had not toured before, invited me to spend the day.
Chambres d’hôtes
My wife and I parlayed our SkyMiles into a trip to France and would like to recommend a few chambres d’hôtes which provided good accommodation and real contact with the local people.
‘Pampered’ on Rhine with Uniworld
I’ve cruised rivers in Europe, China and northern India with several companies, but my April 3-10, 2011, Rhine River cruise on Uniworld’s River Empress surpassed them all for style and elegance in an intimate and relaxed setting. Most of all, I loved being pampered!
Fab flushers
Rick Steves’ piece on toilets (July ’11, pg. 59) brought to mind the new toilets my husband and I have run across in Asia on trips in 2005, 2009 and 2011.
Kindness in the Philippines
My wife, Jane, and I took a two-week private tour of the Philippines in May ’11 with Marsman Drysdale Travel (19F Robinsons Summit Center, 6783 Ayala Ave., Makati City 1227, Philippines; phone +632 8870000, ext.
Rewarding Amazon cruise
My partner and I had a truly stress-free, happy 10 days on the trip “Amazon River” with National Geographic Expeditions (Washington, DC; 888/966-8687), May 14-23, 2011.
Contract text trumps verbal assurance
In March 2010 I called Wholesale Flights and booked airfare for my husband and myself to South America.
Hotel Wallis, Munich
Whenever my husband, Bernie, and I go to Europe, we enjoy flying Lufthansa, and when we go to Germany, which most recently was in September ’10, we like to arrive in and depart from Munich.
Luggage lost and lessons learned
After a 21-day study tour in Israel/Palestine, I went to the Tel Aviv airport on Feb. 10, 2011, for my return flight.
France’s ‘Megalithic Parthenon’
My wife, Dorothy, and I visited the Cairn of Barnenez, located near Morlaix, in Brittany on the west coast of France, in May ’11.
Bulgaria by bike
I had heard about the beauty of the Rhodopen Mountain region in the south of Bulgaria and took a cycling tour, Aug. 14-21, 2010, with Penguin Travel (9 Orlej Str., 1421 Sofia, Bulgaria; phone +359 2 400 10 50), which I found online.
Arlequin in Brussels
My husband, John, and I had the luck to find a wonderful hotel in the center of Brussels’ I’lot Sacré (the historic district).
Car rental snag in Ireland
Our family of 20 was planning a June ’11 visit to Ireland, where we would rent six vehicles. Our son mentioned that Visa would not provide insurance coverage on his rental, though it normally does when he uses that credit card to rent a car.
Brazil’s Pantanal
My husband, Ed, and I and our daughter, Allison, and son-in-law, Tim, took the tour “Pantanal Expedition” with International Expeditions (Helena, AL; 800/234-9620).
Security pass
I was rushed from my home to the hospital on April 27, 2011, after passing out on my way to the mailbox. I had a pulse of 30 beats per minute. About an hour later the doctors had implanted a pacemaker.
‘Disappointed’ on Cunard’s Queen Eilzabeth
I cruised on the Queen Elizabeth, Dec. 15, 2010-Jan. 5, 2011, embarking in Southampton, England, and visiting Madeira, then crossing the Atlantic to Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, Dominica and Tortola before recrossing the ocean to Ponta Delgada, Azores, and Southampton.
By Bromo Volcano on Java
A friend and I visited Indonesia, May 5-27, 2011 (Nov. ’11, pg. 4). On Java we stayed near Borobudur temple at the gracious Lotus Guest House (Jl.