Travelers' Intercom

We participated in a week-long “working vacation” in northern England, March 27-April 3, ’04, with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers, or BTCV (Conservation Centre, 163 Balby Rd., Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN4 0RH; phone 01302 572-244, fax 01302 310 167, e-mail information@btcv.org.uk).

The cost for the week was £95 (about $170) per person. This included all expenses except a dinner on our day off.

We were picked up at the Hexham train station late Saturday afternoon and returned on the following Saturday morning. We stayed at the Ninebanks Youth Hostel, near...

Two friends and I went to Myanmar for eight days, Feb. 8-15, 2011. I really love traveling to unusual places, and this was one of the most different places I have ever been to.

We got our visas in Thailand but had to waste a day of our trip to do it. The rush cost was about $86 each. (A visa purchased in advance in the US costs $20 from the Myanmar Embassy; 202/332-3344, http://mewashingtondc.com. — Editor)

We flew to Yangon from Bangkok on Air Asia — a one-hour flight and not expensive ($75-$80 each).

We had arranged for a private guide after seeing a review by ITN...

We traveled to Sri Lanka primarily to see the Kandy Nawah Maha Perahera, the Pageant of Kandy, an absolutely exciting procession honoring the relic of the tooth of Buddha. This festival is held for about 10 days, with the last day falling on the first full moon in August (for 2012, July 23-Aug. 2). We attended the procession on the eighth night. The streets were packed and there was a carnival atmosphere. Then the procession began, with men cracking whips as they walked down the street. They were followed by bands with drums beating and horns blowing. There were dance troupes with dancers...