by Charles and Nita Swartz, Las Cruces, NM
My wife, Nita, had always wanted to visit the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. We searched for tours of those countries but never found one that visited all of the places in which we were interested.
New Zealand, an expensive country, can be done on the cheap. I spent $2,200 plus my grocery costs on my trip from Thanksgiving Day to Christmas Day 2007.
From SÉGOU, Mali, Feb. 4, 2009. . .
• Hotel Mande (Cite du Niger, BP 2639, Bamako, Mali; phone [223] 21 19 93, fax 21 19 96).
by Philip Wagenaar (Last of four parts)
I just finished reading the reader’s letter titled “Impressions of Russia” (March ’09, pg. 32) and disagree with his evaluation of Moscow as dirty, expensive and unfriendly.
by Inga Aksamit, San Rafael, CA
My 7-year-old son, George, was, in his own words, “really into LEGO.” Knowing he would be a little boy for only a little while longer, my husband, Skip, and I decided to indulge him and took him to Denmark’s LEGOLAND in June ’08.
Rick Steves’ “Scandinavia” guidebook recommended staying overnight at either the LEGOLAND hotel or hostel. The hotel was out of our budget, so I booked a 2-day park package at the family hostel LEGOLAND Village (Ellehammers Alle 2, Billund, Denmark DK-7190; phone +45 7533 2777, fax 2877, www.LEGOLAND-village.dk).
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.
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
by Philip Wagenaar, third of four parts