The island of Hokkaido, Japan, conjures up images of wild land and misty mountains where wild bears once roamed. However, on the Muroran, Hokkaido, port stop of our September-October ’05 cruise aboard Princess Cruises’ Diamond Princess, what we first saw were tunnels.
I travel often to Thailand and have always wanted to be able to speak with Thai people in their own language. I have also wanted to be able to travel to areas of the country where there are few tourists and where there may be few people who speak English.
We went on a 16-day cruise-tour from Beijing to Shanghai, “China’s Cultural Delights,” with Viking River Cruises (Woodland Hills, CA; 877/668-4546, www.vikingrivercruises.com), Aug. 5-21, ’06.
Bill Altaffer of Mammoth Lakes, California, said he once saw a paramedic ambulance motorcycle in London. The medic could arrive at the scene of an emergency quickly even in heavy traffic. He then suggested that ITN readers write in about great ideas that they’ve seen overseas.
Usually, the ships that cruise in Russia are rather sparse in amenities, unless you upgrade to a suite, but our cabin aboard the M/S Tikhi Don, with Grand Circle Travel (347 Congress Ave., Boston, MA 02210; 800/959-0405, www.gct.com), had
