Tours in Review

Our trip to Ho Chi Minh City, VIET-NAM, and Bangkok, THAILAND, in March ’04 was grand. Darryll at Asian Affair Holidays (360 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Ste. 3008, El Segundo, CA 90245; phone 800/742-3133 or visit www.asianaffairholidays.com) made all the arrangements and planned each detail. Nothing went wrong. As independent travelers, we need to know all legs of our trip will work out. This was our second trip planned by Asian Affair Holidays and we highly recommend this company.

Flying Singapore Airlines from Newark, New Jersey, to Singapore to Ho Chi Minh City was a pleasure. Such...

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I took an 18-day tour with smarTours (501 Fifth Ave., Ste. 1402, New York, NY 10017; 800/337-7773 or visit www.smartours.net), May 14-30, ’05, in which we spent 10 days in Malaysian Borneo, two days in Kuala Lumpur and three days on the island of Penang. The other days were spent flying. Our group consisted of 28 people, ranging in age from 22 to 86, with the average being the late 50s.

All of our flights were on Malaysia Airlines, which did an excellent job in cabin service and food. Our hotels ranged from good to outstanding and, with two exceptions, were well located. One hotel...

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I had some concerns about crime in Guatemala after reading reports in ITN and other publications about bandits and attacks on tourists. I hope these reports do not discourage people from visiting this country. My friend Roni and I never felt unsafe or threatened on the 14-day “Route of the Maya” tour that we took with Overseas Adventure Travel (Box 3167, Boston, MA 00241; 800/221-0814 or www.oattravel.com), May 8-21, ’05.

Tourist sites, banks and stores all had armed guards, which also made us feel secure. The guide did suggest to some people who wanted to hike in the countryside on...

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I enjoyed reading Judith Anshin’s account of her junket to Guatemala (Jan. ’06, pg. 6). I traveled there one on one with tour operator/owner Enrico Caputo of Otupac Tours (Km. 200.1 Carretera a Coban, Santa Cruz Verapaz A.V., Guatemala; phone 502 7951 4444 or visit www. otupactours.com).

We explored 12 Mayan sites, most of them remote and many in active excavation by archaeologists. Among the sites we visited were Takalik Abaj, Cancuen, Ceibal, Aguatecca, Pomona and San Claudio. Enrico’s passion for the Maya made the past a living entity.

The land cost for my April ’05 trip...

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On my first trip to Europe in 1958, my mother and I sailed on the Italian liner MN Augustus from New York to Naples, with a one-day stop in Lisbon. The ship’s route took us through the Azores, approximately 1,000 miles off the coast of Portugal. We sailed through them around 8:30 in the morning, and I can still remember how beautiful and sparkling they looked in the bright morning sunlight, just like jewels in the water. I promised myself that one day I would return to explore those peaceful islands.

Never able to locate a tour to the islands, I had almost given up hope when, thanks...

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My wife and I took the 14-day “Highlights of VIET-NAM” offered by Bestway Tours & Safaris (8678 Greenall Ave., Ste. 206, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5J3M6, Canada; phone 800/663-0844). The tour, in April ’05, cost approximately $1,500 per person, ground only. My wife and I were the only ones in our “group.”

Our 2-week trip began in Ho Chi Minh City (still referred to as Saigon by locals) and ended in Hanoi. Along the way we visited Da Lat, Nha Trang, Hoi An and Hue.

During the course of the tour we had three guides and three drivers. Our guide for the Saigon/Da Lat/Nha...

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Chile Scott Jones of Chilean Special Journeys (28 Morrill Rd., Montville, ME 04941; phone 888/345-6077 or visit www.chileanspecialjourneys.com) outdid himself in making our 21-day, April ’05 “Chile in Depth” trip memorable. Scott, originally from Maine, has lived in Chile for several years. He accompanied our group as tour guide, and local guides were used also.

Chile is an interesting country of contrasts with dramatic landscape features. Our tour started in Santiago, in the central part of the country. After exploring the area for two days, the group flew north to the seaport of...

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As a serious amateur photographer, I had seen many portraits of the colorful painted faces of the tribal people of Papua New Guinea. Finally, I had the opportunity to go see for myself. I joined Greg Stathakis of Trans Niugini Tours (408 East Islay St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101; 800/676-1241 or www.pngtravel.com) on a 2-week tour in July ’05. An excellent leader, Greg fell in love with PNG and has led small-group trips there for over 20 years.

We started in the capital, Port Moresby, then flew to Tari in the cool highlands to visit the Huli wigmen. We had plenty of time to visit...

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