Features

November 2009 issue

Vietnam and Cambodia – Plying the waterways of the Mekong Delta

by Mary Beltran, ITN

I stood on deck, feeling the cool breeze of our passage and realized, again, that river cruising is one of my favorite ways to travel.

I love being aboard a ship and watching the flow of the river and the changing view of the banks as we move by; joining the small group of travelers who form that bond of shared interests; exchanging travel stories at the dining tables, and being welcomed upon my return to the ship at the end of a day’s excursions. I particularly adore the fact that I have to unpack just once during my trip, no matter how many miles the...

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October 2011 issue

Slovenia — discovering this tiny treasure
The road leading toward Mt. Vršič Pass offers dramatic alpine scenery.
Not to be confused with Slovakia, Slovenia is one of six countries formed out of the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s. A microcosm of all the best features of Europe, Slovenia packs within its borders castles, vineyards, caves, quaint medieval towns, the Julian Alps and 29 miles of coastline.
February 2010 issue

Exposing the next generation to the wonders of Africa on a Zambian safari

by Herb Phillipson; Dowagiac, MI

Long ago I fell in love with Africa.

Many years ago the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations sponsored a trip to Kenya and Tanzania for $495. My first wife and I decided to go, taking my two teenage boys and an exchange student.

Since then, Eve, my present wife of 28 years, and I have driven ourselves around South Africa; we have twice taken the “Ultimate Africa” trip with Overseas Adventure Travel (Cambridge, MA; www.oattravel.com), which we heartily recommend, and we have undertaken a camping trip to Namibia, Botswana and Zambia with...

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January 2009 issue

Peru — Exploring Machu Picchu and beyond

by Paul Burke, Harpers Ferry, WV. Photos by JoAnn Koppany, San Diego, CA

Machu Picchu has a beautiful setting. While the ruins themselves are simple rock walls, you can look both up and down at precipitous granite mountains and forests. However, if you want sculpture or carvings, this is not the place; it has nothing like the extensive carvings found in Mexico, Asia and the Mediterranean.

Revisiting the site

It had been 30 years since I last visited Machu Picchu, and on this July-August ’08 trip I found it had grown a lot. Staff said that about 40% of what visitors...

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January 2009 issue

It's all about the food — Cooking classes in Asia

by Sandra Scott, Mexico, NY

I love serving my dinner guests Phad Thai and hearing them ask, “Where did you learn to make Phad Thai?”

I enjoy their surprised looks when I reply, “At the Peninsula Hotel in Bangkok.”

A cooking class is a delicious and personal way to learn about a country and its culture. Thanks to the popularity of TV cooking shows, hotels and restaurants worldwide offer a variety of cooking experiences. The lessons vary from demonstrations to hands-on cooking. A few are free, but most cost between $18 and $200.

On our 3-month trip in Asia,...

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April 2009 issue

Vietnam — Navigating the mighty Mekong

by Inga Aksamit, San Rafael, CA

“This is a river that could keep us busy for years,” uttered my husband, Steve, who has a fascination with rivers. We began our exploration of the Mekong River on our first trip to Vietnam, in the summer of 2008, an exploration that will span many trips to come as we unlock the secrets of this undulating waterway that moves through China, Burma, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.

Scouring the lands of many dialects, the river brings both opportunity and destruction at its terminus in Vietnam, more than 2,000 miles from its headwaters in the Tibetan...

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August 2009 issue

The pros and cons of a 5-country whirlwind tour of Eastern Europe

Paula Prindle, Orient, OH

Okay, most seasoned travelers poke fun at whirlwind tours, ourselves included, and swear they’ll never, ever take one — but we did. My husband, David, and I fell for a 13-day, 5-country trip through Eastern Europe in August-September ’08. We were leery, but since it was a river cruise we decided to give it a go.

Choosing a tour

Knowing very little about the five countries to be visited, we figured that a Danube River cruise offering a glimpse into each one would be a good introduction to this part of the world. As it turned out, it was a...

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June 2011 issue

Hitting high waters on a Danube River cruise
We were certainly enjoying our June 2010 cruise up the Danube on Uniworld’s River Countess. The food was wonderful, the sites visited were interesting, and life aboard was relaxing. However, on our fifth day on the river, we were wondering why the captain had suddenly called a special meeting. We soon found out why: our cruise would be over the next day, midway through our itinerary.