Features

October 2008 issue

Papua New Guinea — Spirits, sing sings and the woman thing

by Clark Scott, Birmingham, AL

From everything I’d heard, read or seen about Papua New Guinea, it was death itself to go to that little-visited island off the northeast coast of Australia. A recent Internet story included the capital, Port Moresby, on its Top 10 Hells on Earth list, and everyone said the country was crawling with venomous snakes, disease, rampant “raskols” (the PNG term for robbers, murderers and rapists) and tribal wars — just the kind of place your grandmother told you never to go.

Payback

I wasn’t worried about the danger, really, despite the...

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May 2007 issue

Affordable Japan

by Charles Longo, Tucson, AZ

Japan appeared on my radar screen a number of years ago — when the U.S. Navy granted me a free trip for just signing on the dotted line. A post-college career in Hawaii with frequent assignments on nearby Guam provided opportunities to eventually see the country from top to bottom. But poor yen/dollar exchange rates recently pushed Japan to “News Watch” status, so I sought better-value destinations.

My “yen” for Japan, however, never wavered, and a 2-week sojourn in September ’06 confirmed the results of my research: Japan is again affordable!...

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September 2007 issue

Antarctica — unimaginable beauty

by Debi Shank, ITN

After a full day at sea, I woke up, peered through the window of my cabin and had my first sighting of Antarctica. The months of anticipation were over as we sailed past Deception Island and began our 5-day voyage through the South Shetland Islands and down the Antarctic Peninsula.

The first distinct sound I heard when the ship stopped was ice crackling as it floated by the ship, as though someone were pouring a very large drink. The first smell — penguin guano, wafting through the air from about a quarter mile away.

Beginning the voyage

...

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December 2007 issue

Reflections from the world's most-traveled couple

Robert Pine, Boulder, CO

In the March ’06 issue (page 2), Editor David Tykol included a mention of Robert and Dorothy Pine, recognized by the Travelers’ Century Club as the first couple in the world to have visited all 315 countries on the organization’s list. In response to readers’ feedback, Robert Pine is sharing more of his and his wife’s story.

I have always been interested in seeing the world. When I graduated from the University of Kansas in 1941, I immediately joined the Navy Air Corp and was a naval aviator for 22 years. In that capacity, I saw much of the world. In...

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March 2008 issue

Discoveries in Bulgaria and Romania

by M. Lewis Stein, Irvine, CA

As we crossed the border from Turkey into Bulgaria, our guide, Borut Sraj, a 55-year-old Slovenian who wore a tiny flute around his neck to alert laggards when the bus was leaving, advised us, “The country may or may not work for you, but take it as it comes.”

It was sound advice for those whose European travels focused mainly on France, Italy, Spain and other countries in the western part of the continent. My wife, Barbara, and I had been in former Soviet-bloc nations, including Russia, Poland, Estonia and the Czech Republic, but we had a...

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July 2008 issue

A modern Greek odyssey

by Henry S. Lee, Houston, TX

My wife and I took a memorable 2-week Greek vacation in August ’07, spending four to five days each in Crete, Santorini and Athens. We traveled only to Greece because we had missed it on a previous trip and we wanted to focus on one country to experience it more in depth.

My wife and I are budget-conscious, independent travelers. As such, we take public transport, eat in low-key restaurants, shop for local groceries and visit neighborhoods not typically mentioned in tour books. One exception to this is our choice of lodging; we prefer higher-end...

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February 2007 issue

The North Pole — an experience like no other
 

by Gordon Kilgore, Sharpsburg, GA

 

A trip to the Geographic North Pole is not a trip for everyone. It is not a trip for those on a tight budget. It is not a trip for those who must always have the trappings of civilization within easy reach. However, a trip to one of the most remote areas on our planet most certainly is a unique experience — one that I will never forget.

What to expect

So just what did we find at the North Pole? No, there is no one living there. No, there are no buildings or structures, no huts from earlier expeditions....

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October 2008 issue

Israel & Palestine — Searching for understanding in this region of conflict

Rob Sangster, Memphis, TN

On my first visit to Israel, I was touched by being in the midst of all the names, places and stories that had been part of my upbringing. That was in 2000, after I’d spent a couple of weeks in Jordan. I didn’t realize it at the time but, as a sightseer, I was shielded from all but the shadows of the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

This year I decided to learn more by talking directly with knowledgeable Israelis and Palestinians. I wanted to challenge my preconceptions, to see, listen and question in an attempt to understand what the conflict...

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