Travel Tidbits

The highlight of a trip to the Levant was a day trip to Baalbek in Lebanon. The largest Roman temple ever discovered is on the site of the second-millennium Canaanite temple to Baal. This site compares to the Valley of the Kings in Karnak in Egypt, the palaces of St. Petersburg in Russia and Samarkand in Uzbekistan for incredible human construction. Petra in Jordan wasn’t impressive after seeing Baalbek. Much of its charm is derived from the natural setting rather than the man-made structures. — HARRIET HUGHES, Alexandria, VA

Rather than your taking Cipro for “traveler’s discomfort,” which does work but goes throughout your bloodstream and kills some good bacteria in the body, may I recommend Xifaxan 200mg? A fairly new antibiotic, it goes directly to the gut and does its work there within an hour. It’s only taken for three days instead of Cipro’s seven. Remarkable stuff! But it’s not cheap. — CLAUDIA REED, Las Vegas, NV

On a visit to Southwest Africa in October ’07, Chobe National Park in Botswana was tops on my list. I did both a boat tour and the early morning park drive. The place was resplendent with wildlife. Crocodiles, lions, elephants, water buffalo, vultures: you name it and it was there. Parts were wet and green, and parts were dry with shrub grass and small bushes. Animals living free, as they should! At one point we were in the midst of a 30-elephant herd. Magnificent! — JO RAWLINS GILBERT, Menlo Park, CA

I’ve driven in the Alps, and I’ve been to Mt. Everest, but the roads in Peru were the scariest I have ever been on! One example — our bus from Agua Calientes took us 1,250 feet up the side of a mountain on a wet dirt road to the entrance to Machu Picchu. I don’t like high, cliff-hugging roads, and Peru’s were simply breathtaking. At times, I just closed my eyes and dreamed of the flat roads at home in north central Ohio. — DAN HENIGE, Ontario, OH