Travelers' Intercom

My two daughters and I traveled to Moscow in October ’08. Via the Internet, we had arranged for an apartment with Uncle Pasha, aka Paul or Pavel or Pasha Voytinsky (www.unclepasha.com). His website was attractive and he quickly answered our e-mails. We requested a room for three people, close to the metro, at $100 per night.

When we finally arrived at the apartment (identified as “Street Skakovay, the house 15/1, apartment 5. A floor 1 — underground stop ‘Belarussky’”), we were met by Valentina, who spoke no English. My daughter had to talk with a translator on the phone.

The...

Strolling along Avenida del Libertador in Buenos Aires on an April-May ’10 trip to Argentina, I passed a building identified as the Automóvil Club Argentino (1850 Avenida del Libertador, Buenos Aires; phone 0800 777 2894), easily identified by the yellow flags out front and the steady stream of locals coming and going to renew their driving permits and tend to other bureaucratic business.

On a whim, I doubled back and entered the lobby. A pair of vintage Fords flanked the sunlit marble room, including a stunning 1908 touring model and an open-top race car from the 1920s. The body...

As a tour operator, I was on Midway Atoll in March ’11 escorting a group of 15. Part of the Hawaiian Archipelago, the atoll is an unincorporated US territory, but everyone needs a valid passport to visit, even US citizens. Midway is probably best known as the site of the Battle of Midway, during WWII the turning point of the war in the Pacific.

The atoll is part of — and is the only access to — Papa­hānau­mokuākea Marine National Monument, one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world. The coral reefs, islands and waters of the monument provide...