Travel Tidbits

  On our trip to Thailand in February ’02, we found Bangkok hot and crowded, and the pollution was unbelievable. The northern part of the country was much nicer.— BARBARA RAGLAND, Oroville, CA

New Zealand appeared very “user friendly” to me during a tour my wife and I took in January ’98. The costs were reasonable, though not inexpensive, and it seemed to be a great destination for even the most inexperienced independent travelers, if they could negotiate left-side driving. Those fond of breakfasts in the U.K. would love the hotel buffets in N.Z. Not being a fan of British fare myself, I found the home-grown venison, pork, lamb and seafood to be very good, along with some great salads and local beers, such as Wakatipu Gold in Queenstown.— NORM LOEFFLER, Wichita Falls, TX

Located on Captain Cook Highway about halfway between Cairns and Port Douglas, Hartley’s Creek Crocodile Farm in Palm Cove, Australia (Captain Cook Highway; phone 07 40590861), is well worth a visit. Several years ago we saw the 2 p.m. snake show (Australia has some of the most poisonous snakes on Earth) and the fascinating 3 o’clock crocodile attack show, but we did not stay to have our picture taken with a croc at 4! Hartley’s also keeps kangaroos, koalas and emus in captivity. I especially liked the huge sleeping crocodile (1,000 pounds!).—HERBERT POPPER, Ardmore, PA

Our guides in China warned us to be very careful when shopping at the Great Wall during our October trip a few years ago. We were told, “You’ll meet the ‘hello people,’ anxious to make a sale. Hold on to your choice of item or you may find a cheaper one in the package when you get home.’ We did meet many ‘hello people’ everywhere in China. Bargaining at the Wall was fierce and fast; one book, originally 150 yuan (about $20) was down to 40 yuan ($5) within minutes.— CHLOE WINSTON, Ashland, OR

My husband and I were on a train in Europe in March ’04 when the backpack containing his medications was stolen. Unable to get the meds replaced in Rome, we went ahead to Naples, but there was no possibility that we could stay in Italy without his asthma medications. We learned a valuable lesson: to have the generic names of medications with us and to each have a set of the other’s medications in case one is lost or stolen. — ILSE GAY, Albuquerque, NM

During a trip to London in October ’98, the best thing I did was visit the Cabinet War Rooms, located under the Admiralty Building. These are the rooms in which Winston Churchill and his staff conducted WWII. There were wax replicas of people in all the rooms to make it more authentic (for example, a stenographer typing, a map reader, etc.). I really enjoyed visiting this place. — SINGLEA HALL, New Rochelle, NY