Features

by Brita Bishop, Dallas, TX

To sail French Polynesia — and to do so on a square-rigged, tall-masted brigantine — seemed the height of romance. So in July ’07 I signed on for a cruise on the Søren Larsen, becoming a member of the Voyage Crew. Sixteen of us were joined by the permanent crew of 10, all of them laid-back, friendly and patient.

Getting acquainted

The Søren Larsen (www.sorenlarsen.com) circumnavigates the South Pacific out of New Zealand every year. Passengers can sign on for any length of trip — from 12 days of island hopping, which I did on this trip,...

by Jane L. Reber, Palo Alto, CA

I had such significant doubts that I would ever travel to Myanmar (Burma) because of its repressive government that when I found a group that assured me the moneys paid would go to the people and not the government, I signed on. I booked with Craft World Tours of Byron, New York.

The focus of the tour was visiting craftspeople and their villages, going “behind the wall,” as it were, to meet the locals. Our small group consisted of craftspeople, teachers and buyers, and the prevailing sentiment was to encourage tourism to this region so that...

by Bill Kizorek, Lisle, IL

International travel: the phrase conjures up visions of adventure and exploration. There are so many ways to go about it. When I am by myself, I don’t care if I sleep in a tent in Botswana with hippos grunting through the canvas or eat breakfast at a camp table across from a yellow-eyed camp attendant recovering from malaria.

Traveling with Janie and Carly, my wife and daughter, is a different story.

Although they also like to poke their noses into different cultures, both like to revel in the joys of heavenly mattresses, massages and...