Travelers' Intercom

On All Saints’ Day, Nov. 1, 1755, an earthquake estimated at 9 on the Richter scale struck Lisbon, Portugal; it was felt from Ireland to Morocco.

In September ’07, on the “Downtown” tour with Lisbon Walker (Rua dos Remédios 84, 1100-449 Lisboa; phone [+351] 218 861 842, www.lisbonwalker.com), our guide, Rita, met us in Comércio Square, where this statue of King José I presides.

The king and the rest of the royal family were in Belém at the time of the earthquake and all survived; the square where his statue stands was flooded. (The tour currently...

Here are my impressions of Malaysian Borneo from a 2-week November trip my wife, Carol, and I took there with smarTours (New York, NY; 800/337-7773, www.smartours.net).

It’s hot (of course), bustling, surprisingly clean, inexpensive and, best of all, very friendly. We walked everywhere, on city streets and jungle trails, and took boats and rode public buses, always feeling safe and enjoying friendly receptions. All the roads were in very good condition. Kuala Lumpur is a very big city, but it’s very tourist-friendly and easy to get around in on foot or by transit....

In November ’07, my wife and I traveled to Botswana, Zambia and South Africa on a private trip for just the two of us organized by Rothschild Safaris (Denver, CO; 800/405-9463, www.rothschildsafaris.com). They did an exceptional job in helping us set up this trip, and I would highly recommend them. It was not inexpensive, our 21 days costing $15,720 per person without international airfare, but the trip was first class. In Botswana we stayed at Mombo Camp, Botswana’s top wildlife documentary location, where many of the National Geographic specials on African wildlife are...