Food & Wine

From SÉGOU, Mali, Feb. 4, 2009. . .

• Hotel Mande (Cite du Niger, BP 2639, Bamako, Mali; phone [223] 21 19 93, fax 21 19 96).

In the March ’09 issue, page 55, Wanda described her pretrip planning before she and her husband, Ray, took the tour “Ultimate Australia” with Overseas Adventure Travel (Cambridge, MA; 800/493-6824, www.oattravel.com) in October-November ’07. Here are her tips from the trip itself.

We took a trip along the “Silk Road” to the five “Stans” (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) and Turkey, Aug. 17-Sept. 9, 2008. The total cost for two was $20,680, which included round-trip air from New York to Istanbul, visa fees (over $500 per person) and mandatory tips ($400 per person).

Except for the sights, which were fantastic, and the friendly local folks, we felt this was not a great trip.

My wife, Joan, and I are inveterate independent travelers with 45 years’ international experience. We usually travel by car or rail, with vaguely planned itineraries and seldom with prebooked overnight accommodations.

In her letter on India, Martha Spring asked how other ITN readers “respond to poverty on their travels” (Dec. ’08, pg. 58).

• Founded in 1990 by Leonard Bernstein, the Pacific Music Festival is a celebration of classical music held annually in Sapporo, Japan. For two of the last three years, I’ve attended the festival’s Picnic Concert, held the last Sunday of July in Sapporo Art Park.

From childhood, I was taught that Russia was my enemy and to fear it. My impression was that it was a mighty superpower of great warriors and conquerors. Now that I have had a chance to visit my “enemy’s” land and people and learn more about their history, culture and present-day conditions, my viewpoint has changed drastically.

From MUNICH, Germany, Dec. 12, 2008. . .

As to which was the world’s first revolving restaurant (Dec. ’08, pg. 63), several readers noted that the Seattle Space Needle opened at the World’s Fair in 1962.

Regarding the reader’s letter “Can Guidebooks Be Trusted” (Nov. ’08, pg. 24), I must add that I cannot trust them.